Probation and the Young Persons Discharged Prisoners' Aid Society
| Date | 01 April 1938 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455053800201203 |
| Author | Basil Q. Henriques |
| Published date | 01 April 1938 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
I8I
PROBATION AND THE YOUNG
PERSONS DISCHARGED
PRISONERS’ AID SOCIETY
Summary of a Lecture delivered to the London Branch
By BASIL Q. HENRIQUES, J P.
Under the present system I can find nothing to be
said in their favour.
One of the greatest deterrents of crime is the fear
,oaf a prison sentence. After all, except for capital
punishment, it is the severest sentence the court can
inflict.
I think it matters little whether the sentence,
WANT
IT
to preface my remarks by emphas.ising
t
is long or short. The real tragedy of the whole
the importance of the insertion of the small
matter lies in the f aot that this most dreaded fear
word &dquo; To.&dquo;
I am lecturing to P.Os. ; I do
is found on experience to be not so dreadful after
not intend, nor in any way to suggest that I am
all.
The loss of freedom is a punishment. Apart
lecturing P.O-s.
If
there be any criticism
from that, the routine of prison life
of
their
may be
work, it
will
be of the
system
monotonous; the food
rather than
may not be appetising, but it
of them. Nevertheless I feel that P.Os.
is regular and adequate; and the work may be dull
are broadminded enough to admit that not all P.Os.
but requiring no undue physical exertion.
The
are absolutely faultless.
worst part of a prison sentence, both from the point
Let me first describe what ~takes place at the
of view of the prisoner and especially from that of
weekly meetings of the Young Persons Discharged
those who are keen on his reform, are the long hours
Prisoners’ Aid Society at Wormwood Scrubs.
of solitary confinement in the cells for youths who
Every young person below the age of twenty-one
are by nature, during adolescence, not only bursting
who is serving a sentence of seven days or more in
with physical energy, but also filled with a desire
Wormwood Scrubs comes before us.
Where the
for association with others of the same age.
sentence is long enough we interview him one month
I maintain that the boy leaves prison, rejoicing
before the earliest possible date of his discharge, in
once more in his freedom, disliking prison, but with
order that we may ihave as long as possible to make
far less dread of returning to it than he had for it
the necessary plans for him.
before he ever entered its gates. If then, a prison
Unlike the magisterial bench which sentenced him,
sentence is looked upon as a punishment that is
we have only one purpose in view in our dealings
going to deter a boy from further crime, it utterly
with the boy, namely how to rehabilitate him so that
and completely fails in its purpose.
If a prison
he may become a self supporting, self respecting,
sentence is meant to be reformative, the failure is no
honest, decent citizen who will keep within the law
less great, for it is absurd to think it possible to
and sin no more.
The information before us about
change the character of a fellow between the ages of
each boy is very great indeed. I feel that if only
i 7 and 21, when he is almost becoming set in his out-
the magistrates had the same...
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