SOME PRISON PROBLEMS

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[At the recent meeting of the American Prison Association, Frank L. Randall, Superintendent of the Minnesota State reformatory at St. Cloud, read as chairman the report of the committee on reformatory work and parole, from which we print the following extracts.]

To the chief executive officers of penal and correctional institutions in the United States and Canada was submitted the following question: “To what extent do you recognize mental inadequacy and constitutional inferiority among the persons in your charge?”

The estimates are various. Among prisons for adults they range from 3 persons out of 240 in Wyoming, to 10 per cent. in Nebraska and Philadelphia, 20 per cent. in Rhode Island, 25 per cent. in Vermont, 30 per cent. in Indiana, 30 per cent. to 40 per cent. in Wisconsin, fully 50 per cent. in Kansas, 60 per cent. in West Virginia, 50 per cent. to 75 per cent. in Minnesota, and a still higher percentage of prisoners lacking in energy, mentally or physically, in one Michigan prison. Major McClaughry, and Warden Wood of Virginia, wrote that they could not answer the question.

From state reformatories came estimates covering a range from 25 per cent. to 40 per cent. only in Iowa, Washington, Kansas, and New York (Elmira). The writer, regretting his inability to report more exactly, because the work in his institution has not been completed, feels safe in concurring in the general approximations cited by reformatory superintendents.

From the New York reformatory for women at Bedford Hills we have the following: “Realizing that a large percentage are subnormal, July 1, 1911, we employed a trained psychologist who will make it a year’s study.” From juvenile institutions the returns are neither more hopeful, nor more satisfying, and many institutions of that class seem to have no special facilities for caring for weaklings, and depend upon a relaxation of the discipline in their behalf. A study of 200 in the boys industrial school in Kansas disclosed that 174 were mentally dull, markedly defective, or two or more years behind their proper place in school. In the industrial school of New Hampshire about 75 per cent. are reported to be four to five years below their normal grade in school.

Other letters say “probably 25 per cent., at least;” “one-third;” “50 per cent.;” “to a very large extent;” and so forth. The Idaho industrial training school reports: “A very small per cent.; I think not above five per cent.;” and the Georgia state reformatory reports that “the discipline has to be based on the fact that 75 per cent. of inmates are mental defectives and 99 per cent. are moral defectives.” The girls industrial home of Ohio says: “Fully nine-tenths are subnormal mentally, and a large per cent. physically weak or crippled.” From the Iowa industrial school for girls comes the following: “There is a certain inferiority, either mental or constitutional inadequacy, in each and every one. In the majority of cases it is a weakness; that is, they are easily influenced, therefore easily led astray.”

It seems fair and right to allow for a difference among the writers as to the full import of the question to which they have responded, but that may not entirely account for the considerable differences in estimates. Possibly varying court proceedings, and the use of the power of probation by some of the courts or other exemptions from detention, may, in some places, have culled out most of the normal children.

Your committee rather inclines to think however that longer and more extensive experience, in many cases, tends to fix in the mind the necessary recognition of a grave amount of mental inadequacy and constitutional inferiority, calling for custodial care, among all classes of delinquents, including juveniles, no less than adults.

While the incompetents remain with the normal persons in labor, in school, and in recreation, the progress of the bright is certain to be retarded by the association, while the outlook for the dull is not improved. This mingling and attempted classification of unequal units seems to be the rule almost everywhere, with consequent lowering of efficiency and tone, to the basis of the inferior.

So far as returns have been received from prisons, reformatories and juvenile institutions for correction, the average terms of office of the executive heads during the last twenty years have been about as follows: In prisons about four and one-third years. In reformatories for adults about eight and one-third years, and in institutions for juveniles about six and one-quarter years. These averages are considerably higher than they would otherwise be, by reason of the fact that in some states it is not usual to make a disturbance without cause, and somewhat lower than they would otherwise be, because in some states each change in the personality of the governor, as well as each change in party politics, has almost uniformly resulted in the dismissal or enforced resignation of the wardens and superintendents of the class of institutions under consideration, quite regardless of their capacity and fidelity, and sometimes apparently without a serious inquiry as to the peculiar fitness of the new appointee.

Some of the delegates to this Prison Congress may hardly appreciate the fact that there are institutions in some states where neither institution heads nor subordinates attend caucuses, discuss politics, contribute to campaign funds or take any part in election matters, except to vote: and where the political preferences of the members of the staff are unknown to each other, or to their chief. The elections bring to the institutions no unusual excitement or personal anxiety.

The establishment of truant schools in the cities has demonstrated that the best and most capable teachers and managers are necessary to their successful conduct and discipline, and for the same reasons a prison or reformatory should be manned by the best obtainable talent.

Your committee have made diligent inquiry but have not learned of any jurisdiction in which the compensation and status of subordinates in penal and correctional institutions is such as to ordinarily attract young men and women of the kind and character needed for the work; and neither do we find that such subordinates are any where required to have technical training or prior experience, before assuming their responsible positions as exemplars, directors and officials to those whose careers have been, at least to some extent, oblique.

With their small pay, and perhaps small chance for promotion, and often with an uncertain tenure, their hours of duty long, and their work somewhat monotonous, and depressing to those not peculiarly fitted to it, they not infrequently have uncomfortable quarters, and but little opportunity to develop their social side.

It is not to be wondered at that many of the young people who should follow institution work turn their attention in some more pleasing and promising direction, and that the service generally fails to measure up to its possibilities.

Subordinates are found, to be sure, who fill every requirement, and who could not be improved upon on any basis of wages, but that merely indicates what might be done, if the appointing power might only offer inducements for likely young people to come to the institution, and make them glad to remain.

The State attempts to secure first class work for second class compensation, and while it may often succeed in individual instances, the policy is not to be approved.

In conclusion we wish to recapitulate to the extent of indicating in brief the points deemed by us to be the most important for improvement in reformatory work, as follows:

1. The recognition of mental incompetency and constitutional inferiority among delinquents.

2. The segregation of persons of marked inferior equipment and capacity, and their detention in custodial asylums, and other places suited to their care and treatment.

(This for the purpose of humanely and favorably disposing of, and caring for, helpless recidivists, dements, chronic invalids, epileptics and others.)

3. The furnishing to the public of reliable and important information regarding the character of the inmates of institutions, and the work carried on.

4. The need of men and women of higher ideals and higher culture in places of confinement, necessitating preliminary training, higher wages, improved accommodations, suitable hours, fair tenure of office, and opportunity for promotion.

5. The elimination of political consideration from the conduct of the institutions, and from the appointment of all persons of high or less high degree in connection therewith.

6. The closest scrutiny into the physical and mental condition capacity of each person detained, and into his past history and environment.

7. The establishment of a system under which no delinquent shall be released, unless in the judgment of the board, after searching inquiry, there is good reason to believe that he can and will maintain himself without relapsing into crime, and will be of some service to society; and under which no delinquent will be further held when such a condition is believed to have been reached.

8. The extension of state agency and other supervisory means for observing and aiding the delinquent on parole, and for selecting suitable location and employment for him, and caring for his surplus earnings.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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