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1933. NEW ZEALAND.

PRISONS DEPARTMENT: PRISONS BOARD (ANNUAL REPORT OF) FOR 1932.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Members of the Board. Hon. Mr. Justice Heed, C.B.E. (President); Sir Donald MoGavin, Kt., C.M.G., D.5.0., M.I). (Lond.), F.R.C.S.; D. G. A. Cooper, Esq., 0.8. E.; John Alexander, Esq., C.M.G.; Theo. G. Gray, Esq., M.8., M.P.C.; Mrs. C. A. Fbaer; and B. L. Dallard, Esq., Controller-General of Prisons.

g IB _ October, 1933. I have the honour to forward herewith the report of the Prisons Board for the year 1932. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Justice. J- R- Reed, J., President.

REPORT OF THE PRISONS BOARD For the Year ended 31st December, 1932. The Board has to report that during the year it visited each of the prisons, prison camps, and Borstal Institutions in the Dominion. It dealt with a total of 1,524 cases at fifteen meetings held at the various institutions. The following summary gives details of the cases considered and the decisions arrived at: — Cases dealt with. Board's Decisions. Persons undergoing Borstal detention .. 553 Recommended for release on probation .. 605 Persons sentenced to reformative detention 489 Deferred for further consideration .. 774 Persons sentenced to hard labour .. 384 Petitions declined .. .. .. 88 Habitual criminals .. .. ■ ■ 69 Recommended for discharge .. .. 43 Habitual offenders .. .. ■• 2 Discharged from probation .. .. 11 Habitual criminals for remission of head : Recommended remission of head sentence sentence • ■ • • Modification of terms of probation .. 3 Probationers under Crimes Amendment Act .. •• ■• .•• 9 Probationers under Offenders Probation Act 18 1,524 1,524 Comparison of the statistics with those of former reports shows that the percentage of those who make good after release remains much the same from year to year. The number released after serving terms of Borstal detention and sentences of reformative detention or imprisonment with hard labour"who have been reconvicted or failed to comply with the conditions of their release is approximately 21 per cent. Of the habitual criminals released on parole approximately 18 per cent, refrained from further offending. These results on the whole are very satisfactory. The habitual criminal, as the statutory term indicates, has become fixed in his habits, and, after a lifetime of crime, the prospect of reformation is not very hopeful. The Board has endeavoured to give individual habituals a chance to continue in outside life the records they have made for industry, good conduct, intelligent and valuable work while in prison ; but, while this policy has been fully justified in a fair number of cases—that is, of cases of definite and well-established rehabilitation—there