The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1956)(about) |
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Saturday 18 August 1928
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'.DBLI^UPT BOÏS.
EVILS OP REMAND DEPOT,
lack of Accommodation.
Although the Children's Welfare depart- ment; is doing'its best to deni willi delin- quent and neglected, boys, the inadequate moans at its disposai moko .the', task im pofisiblp. The remand depot at Royal Park js a clumsy institution.that,neccssl tates the mixing'of boys who'aie on re- mand from the Children's Court awaiting trial with convicted boys ¿f strong crimi- nal tendencies, mental deficients, and, sometimes, mornl pevvcits. There is urgent need for suitable accommodation where boys on remand and boys guilty of minor offences could be hold 'in a ' helpful _ cn1 vironment until their cases nie disposed
of. , "
The direction has been given, anil is followed, that boys who'aro only neglected and boys who ure not of ä criminal type shall not bo sent to the remand depot. These boys are kept by the Childicu's Welfare department in their trust build- ing under tho honour system and in plea- sant surroundings. On the other side of the road is the remand depot, nccessaiilj behind high iron fences, which of them- selves would strike terror into the heart of a normal boy. -There are now 38 boys at the depot, and they^ comprise boys com- mitted to leformntories, mental deficients, and boys awaiting trial- Officially, the only segregation is batween, the_ juniors and sen¡01 s. Tile juniors aie aged up to' 14 years and have a separate dining-room and dormitory. The seniors, who are ngod up lo 21 years, sleep in cubicles. This ia the official discrimination, hut the oificorsi in theil- discretion, go to considerable trouble to separate the worst cases.
Despite their effoits, however, there are only two gcucral rooms,, which aie Ubcd as dining-rooms ' and recreation-rooms. They ore very small, and in these the boys aie thrown together. For instance, if one boy of criminal tendencies persuades a dupe to join lum in housebreaking. both boys ore charged with hoiisebrealcing, and both are sent to the depot. If there weie piopcr ncrommodation the more or less in- nocent dupa would be separated fiom the criminal boy, and a scientific effort would be made to reform him. An innocent boy could not remain innocent- long ut the leniand depot, despite the vigilance of the officers, 'the officers have often heaid criminal boyH boustius of tlieir exploits, telling fictitious tales about hidden mo cceds of robberies, and urging their
heareis to embark on coreen, of crime. The task of supervising; the boys is made harassing by the lock of segregation, be- cause the criminal boys plan icvolts and escapes and enlist the innocent boys.to assist thom.
Indiscriminate Mixing.
The problem of the indiscriminotc mix- ing of boys at the depot would.be over- come if the Children's Court'sot at the depot once or twice a week and dealt promptly with each case. Some boys have been kept on remand theie ,for many weeks. The trouble, however, u> thnt the State's machinery for -dealing with the mentally and morally unlit is hopelessly inadequate. After a proper remand depot a mental defective colony is nigently needed. There is at piesent no plnce to send the mental defect» to except the lunatic ni} Innis, and they are kept foi- indefinite peuods nt the depot. One lad, who has no vice and is spoken of highly bv the super- visors, .has been nt flic depot for nearly ii year, subject to the ultliionie of lads who arc really hardened elimináis, bcciiiite time is no place to send linn. A fniincr medical superintendent estimated that of the boys ut the depot 00 per cent, weie mental deficients, for which the State
rankes no moriston.
The Children's Court cither commits boys to n reformatory ol' to the care of the Children's Welfore department. The department .has nowhere to send boys com- mitted to'its care except the salvation Army homes, so, with the object of re- habilitating them as speedily us possible in civilian life, it sends them chielly to forms. The failure of this system is shown by the number of times the boys abscond from the forms. And this is undeistand able, in view of the large number who are city bred and know; nothing of agriculture. The State, it is suggested, should establish a training- farm, wneio tho boys would be paid for their labour, htid -whence they would be sent to private employers after they had reached a standaid of ellicioni-y ond at the discretion of trained ob
colony apd a trairting farm would bo costly,
but for compaiuth'oly little 'expense -ac- e
commodntioii could bo provided tliot would ovcicomc the evils of tue icmand depot,
"BORDER-LIKE" CASES.
Evil of. Mixing Types.
Dr. Argyle, M.L.A., who" has alwaj-s boen interested in tho-probltjm of mental defectives, and who introduced a bill to deni with them, Baid j-estcrday:-''The trOublo is that lhere is na authority. to deal . with border-lino- mental cases, and there is no place where they eau receive treatment likely to improve their con- dition, if that is possible. The schools, the ' children's welfare department, the Children's Court, tlie gaols, the reforma tory prisons, and the idiot branch of the lunacy department have a large number of these border-line cases mixed with their legitimate charges. That is a very seri- ous ' position. ' I realised it, and intro- duced a bill to deal with mental defectives, which provided an authority, and my Ministry did more than that by purchas- ing nn estate for a mental defective colony. The purchase was made two and a half years ago, but nothing has been done with it, and nothing can be done in the absence of nn authority. It is bad for tho mental defectives to. mix with normal persons, mid bod-for the normal persons. . If this Ministry carries out the intention ex piesscd in the Governor's Speech of pro- viding for mental defectives it ' will find a supporter in me."
REMAND DEPOT CRITICISED.
"Conditions Very Bad."
''The conditions 'at the remand depot are vcrj- bad," said Professor Berry, of the University, "but little improvement can he effected until places are provided for the treatment of defectives. ' There should bo a colony where they can be as self-supporting as they aro capable. Re- membering that I, too, waa a boy once. I am very sj-mpathetic towards the juvenile criminal. He should be given every chance, but there are no means for giving bim a chance. ' In any case the mixing of t.vpes at the remand depot is very in- jurious, both to the sub-normal and the
normal."