H—2o

The late Lord Hewart stated: " Imprisonment is the last resort, necessary, of course, for cases that really call for serious punishment, and in these cases a substantial term might d,o some good. A short sentence hardly ever does any good." The experience of a short sentence usually merely serves to accustom a man to prison conditions and diminishes what should be a wholesome dread of penal institutions. Approximately 30 per cent, of the total receptions are what may be called petty recidivists who have been in and out of prison several times, many of whom have qualified to be declared habitual offenders. Short sentences do not deter these, as time is an essential element in habit formation and in giving effect to a course of training which might assist in rehabilitation on release. Time also is a factor from a deterrent point of view, for the reason that under the present ameliorated prison conditions the loss of liberty is virtually the only punitive factor in imprisonment. Unless the offence is such as to really call for a salutary penalty, it is often better to have recourse to some alternative to imprisonment, such as probation.

NATIONALITY OF OFFENDERS The following table shows the receptions classified on a nationality basis. I have shown the figures for the past ten years because they indicate the marked upward movement until recently in the number of Maoris committed to prison. The number of Maoris sentenced to imprisonment last year was 123 less than during the previous year; nonetheless, on a population basis, the proportion of Maoris committed to prison still substantially exceeds those of European stock, and unhappily the number of serious crimes of a sexual nature by Maoris has increased. The number of New-Zealand-born prisoners (excluding Maoris) was almost the same as for the previous year.

3

Number of Prisoners. 1939. 1 1940. 1 1941. 1942. ' 1943. 3944. 1945. Under one month 964 774 638 552 430 367 364 One month and under three months 642 527 739 1,283 824 627 639 Three months and under six months 286 260 356 398 421 327 318 Six months and under twelve months 194 210 181 206 241 189 187 One year and under three years 320 362 364 444 475 456 449 Three years and under five years 76 57 76 98 60 78 64 Five years and over 23 11 15 48 31 31 18 Indefinite (including " defaulters ") 24 26 Totals 2,505 2,201 2,369 3,029 2,482 2,099 2,065

Year. New-Zealand-born (excluding Maoris). Maoris. British and Foreign. 1 Total. 1945 1,109 430 526 2,065 1944 1,105 553 44] 2,099 194B 1,401 523 558 2,482 1942 1,880 450 699 3,029 1941 1,402 346 621 2,369 1940 1,257 330 614 2,201 1939 1,427 310 768 2,505 1938 1,248 252 724 2,224 1937 1,383 257 351 1,991 1936 1,022 199 569 1,790