Review: The Indian Police
| Published date | 01 October 1932 |
| Date | 01 October 1932 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X3200500414 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS
TWENTY
THOUSAND
YEARS
IN
SING
SING.
By
WARDEN
LEWIS
E.
LAWES.
8s. 6d. net. (Constable.)
THIS volume by the Warden of Sing Sing prison is far more than a mere
account of his experiences during twenty-seven years' prison service.
In
form an autobiography, it is in reality a plea, and a very strong plea too, for
a more enlightened attitude towards the treatment of convicted prisoners.
The
author is fortunate in having his long experience to draw upon, as he can
show that the system which he advocates has to a large extent been tried and
in many ways proved successful. His experiment in conducting a ' prison
without walls' is especially interesting, as it shows that under certain circum-
stances and particularly under the right officials the most hardened criminal
may be implicitly trusted with a considerable amount of freedom.
It
is,
however, of Sing Sing, its routine and its inmates that Warden Lawes chiefly
writes. During his twelve years as Warden of that prison he has personally
taken the greatest interest in the development of those committed to his
charge.
'My
job,'
he says, ' is to hold my men and, as far as possible, to win
them over to sane, social thinking.' He certainly has succeeded in holding
his men as his record of successful escapes shows. One is bound, however,
to wonder whether with so much discomfort outside a prison and with so
much consideration inside the inducement to escape is as great as it used to
be.
There
is, of course, no doubt that the average prisoner longs and yearns
for the day of his release,
but
under modern conditions he is not driven to
that degree of despair which forces him to make a bid for freedom.
Many reasons are given for the commission of crime,
but
the two chief
ones in the Warden's opinion are the love of that publicity which the shoddy
press of to-day showers upon the worst type of criminal, and in the second
place a desire to enjoy those expensive luxuries which to many appear to be
necessities.
Much
space is devoted to the advantages and disadvantages of the
death sentence, and the author allies himself very strongly with those who
are opposed to capital punishment. Whether or not the reader agrees with
the Warden's attitude to the criminal, he will inevitably be fascinated by this
book, which is full of interesting experiences and ambitious experiments.
The
length of the sentences which seem to be imposed in America will
probably surprise many.
THE
INDIAN
POLICE.
By J. C.
CURRY.
12S.
6d. net.
(London:
Faber &Faber.) An account of the past and present activities of the
Indian Police by a former member of the Service, with a preface by the
Rt. Hon.
Lord
Lloyd of Dolobran, P.C., G.C,I.E., D.S.O.
TO-DAY
the Indian Police may be regarded rightly as one of the most
important services of the British Empire. Yet how little is known about it
in England, even by those who profess to be keen students of Indian affairs!
Mr.
Curry deserves the gratitude of his own service and of all even lightly
interested in the work of administration in India for writing this book, from
602
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