Probation and Social Work of the Courts in British Guiana

DOI10.1177/026455054700500805
Published date01 March 1947
Date01 March 1947
Subject MatterArticles
102
PROBATION
AND
SOCIAL
WORK
OF
THE
COURTS
IN
BRITISH
GUIANA
by
F.
J.
BRIGGS,
Chief
Probation
Officer,
British
Guiana
From
the
shipyards
of
the
Hartlepools
and
the
coalfields
of
Durham
to
Demerara
is
a
far,
far
cry.
Aboard
a
small
vessel,
the &dquo;
Arabian
Prince,&dquo;
I
left
Liverpool
in
October,
1945,
in
company
with
twelve
fellow-
passengers,
which
included
one
lady.
They
were
a
mixed
&dquo; bag,&dquo;
hence
the
exchange
of
varied
experiences
as
we
lounged
on
deck
over
a
friendly
smoke and
drink,
both
almost
terrifyingly
cheap
after
life
in
wartime
Britain.
Four
of
us
were
bound
for
British
Guiana:
a
District
Commissioner,
a
sugar
estate
oversee,
a
young
R.A.F.
pilot
returning
to
the
timber
trade,
and
myself,
a
&dquo; fresh-
man.&dquo;
Of
the
remainder,
two
of
whom
were
R.A.F.
pilots,
one
of
French
extraction,
the
other
of
African,
educated
at
an
English
Public
School
and
Cambridge.
The
rest
were
young
engineers
bound
for
Trinidad.
After
fourteen days’
sailing
we
disembarked
at
the
port
of
Georgetown.
By
the
time
we
were
through
with
the
Customs,
and
after
jockeying
our
way
’midst
the
crowd
of
dusky
waterfront
workers,
we
arrived
at
our
hotel
in
time
for
dinner.
The
hotel,
a
wooden
structure
with
an
open
gallery-
surround,
reminded
one
of
a
Continental
boulevard
cafe,
except
for
the
chorus
of
frogs
emerging
from
the
tropical
garden
below.
Here
I
lived
for
six
weeks
until
I
shared
house
with
two
other
Government
officer,
and
we
are
still
&dquo; three
men
in
a
boat,&dquo;
not
counting
the
dog,
a
cat
and
a
monkey.
Georgetown,
the
Capital
City,
has
a
population
of
73,537;
the
population
of
the
whole
colony
is
376,146.
The
area
is
estimated
at
83,000
square
miles;
86
per
cent.
of
the
area
is
forest
and
10.5
per
cent.
savannah,
and
the
re-
mainder
lies
mainly
on
the
coastal
belt.
The
racial
composition
is
42
per
cent.
East
Indians;
39.9
per
cent.
persons
of
African
descent;
10.9
per
cent.
mixed
races;
2.7
per
cent.
Aboriginal
Indians
(Amerindians);
2.8
per
cent.
Portuguese;
other
Europeans
7
per
cent.;
9
per
cent.
Chinese;
and
miscellaneous
1
per
cent.
Georgetown,
a
city
of
wooden
buildings,
for
the
most
part
painted
white,
strikes
the
newcomer
as
being
indeed
a
garden
city.
The
probation
officer
and
social
worker
ere
long
discover
another
Georgetown
that
is
neither
painted
white,
nor
is
it
a
garden
city.
In
common
with
places
in
other
parts
of
the
world,
Georgetown
is
over-
crowded
to
a
degree
detrimental
to
health,
sanitation
and
family
life.
Add
to
this
the
effects
of
malaria
and
other
tropical
discomforts,
and
you
will
realise
that
the
under-
privileged
are
very
much
victims
of
their
environment.
Government-sponsored
social
welfare,
the
Churches,
and
other
voluntary
bodies,
are
in
the
field,
and
already
a
good
deal
of
work
has
been,
and
is
being,
undertaken
in
order
to
improve
the
lot
of
the
ordinary
people.
There
are
many
thriving
boys’
and
girls’
clubs,
youth
organisa-
tions,
including
Scouts,
Cubs,
Guides,
Brownies
and
Boys’
Brigade.
Many
more
are
needed,
but
even
more
urgent
are
trained
leaders
in
almost
every
sphere
of
social
work.
In
addition
to
leaders,
there
is
also
a
need
for
more
voluntary
societies
willing
to
spend
money
establishing
hostels
for
boys
and
girls .and
homes
for
younger
children.
Ethnographically,
workers
find
a
mine
of
interest,
but
simultaneously
a
heap
of
trouble.
Apart
from
the
Amer-
indians,
not
a
single
race
is
indigenous.
The
Colony
is
divided
into
seven
judicial .areas
and
the
courts
are
presided
over
by
a
stipendiary
magistrate.
Children
7
to
14
years
and
young
persons
14
to
16
years
come
within
the
purview
of
the
Juvenile
Courts.
Probation
treatment,
hitherto,
has
been
almost
entirely
confined
to
these
age
groups,
and
supervision
of
probationers
under-
taken
by
officers
of
the
Salvation
Army
and
Brothers
of
the
St.
Vincent
de
Paul
Society.
These
officers
were
part-
time
and
had
to
fit
in
probation
work
as
best
they
could,
and
in
many
cases
trying
to
serve
several
courts
many
miles
distant.
This
in
a
tropical
country
with
its
intermittent
rains
and
primitive
means
of
transport
was
an
almost
impossible
task.
Magistrates
were
often
at
a
loss
as
to
how
best
to
try
and
use
probation
treatment
under
such
circumstances.
A
real start
was
made
in
Georgetown,
where
formerly
charges
against
juveniles
were
hurriedly
heard
daily
in
the
Magistrates’
Chambers,
small
and
congested,
prior
to
the
work
of
the
ordinary
court.
Courts
in
British
Guiana
are
crowded
with
litigants
almost
daily.
They
seek
resort
to
the
court
on
the
most
apparently
trivial
matters.
It
was
impossible
to
segregate
the
young
from
adults;
impossible,
too,
to
give
the
necessary
time
and
thought
to
the
offender.
Recently,
a
juvenile
court
has
been
established
and
sits
in
a
schoolroom
near
to
the
centre
of
the
city,
accessible
to
all.
It
is
simply
furnished
with
ample
sitting
accom-
modation
for
parents
and
children.
At
one
end
is
a
platform
screened
off
from
the
main
body
of
the
room.
On
this
sits
the
magistrate
at
a
table,
his
clerk,
police
and
probation
officers.
This
court
is
held
weekly
every
Saturday.
Arrangements
with
the
Commissioner
of
Police
ensure
that
the
probation
officers
is
informed
of
all
juveniles
who
are
summoned
to
appear
before
this
court.
In
turn,
a
visit
is
paid
to
the
home
and
a
careful
report
presented
to
the
magistrates.
Thus
the
magistrates,
who
have
co-
operated
100
per
cent.,
are
supplied
with
information
which
advises
them
to
mete
out
as
far
as
possible
the
right
treatment
in
each
individual
case,

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