The times., 1901-03-11
SAVING BOYS FROM CRIME
New York Judges on the Results
of a Probation System.
Youthful Offenders Kept From Assoc
cintfon with Hardened Criminals
The Co-operation of the Courts
Necessary to Effect Reform.

| cintfon with Hardened Criminals
| The Cooperation of the Courts
Necessary to Effect Reform.
| NEW YORK, March 10-FOr the last
| two months the judges of the Court OF
| Special Sessions have adopted what Is
| known as the probation system in deal
| ing with juvenile offenders who have been
convicted OF petty offences. These judges
| declare that 1t settles effectually the diff
Guilty hitherto experienced in treating the
| cases of young men convicted of minor
| offence. without sentencing them to the
| degradation of city prison or peniten-
| tiary with its accompanying dangers.
The probationary" system AS adopted
| by the judges of this court is to parole
all offenders between the ages of sixteen
| and twenty-one, for one month in the
| custody of David Willard q young man
who is devoting himself to settlement
! work among poor boys in the lower East
| Side. Mr. Willard is a teacher in the
| Tombs prison, and in various ways his
work has been brought to the attention
! of the judges, who rely upon his judg
| ment in the cases of boys and young men.
While the prisoners are on parole Mr..
| W lizard enquiries into the antecedents and
| environments in each case, and submits
report Of his findings TO the judges.
| When the date of the boys parole expires,
| Mr.. Willard appears in court. If he thinks
| that the boy is not inherently bad, or that
| he can be reclaimed. he so reports, and
! asks that the prisoner be released under
| suspended sentence.
The chances are that Mr. Willard may
! be able to report that he has secured en-
| plOyment for the offender; at all events
| the judge knows that a careful watch Will
| he Kept on the hoy in future, and he
almost invariably releases the prisoner as
| requested,
Before the prisoner is released on parole
| the Judge informs him that the ultimate
! decision in his case rests entirely with the
result of Mr.. Wizards Investigation, and
! instructs him to report TO Mr. Willard
| once week, or as often as he may d-
rect.
Mr.. Willard said yesterday that he very
seldom had any difficulty in keeping track
! of the boys. They understand that the
! judges sentence will depend largely on
| my report" he explained, "and lose no
| opportunity in letting me know that they
! are keeping straight and are not getting
| into mischief. One boy who seemed espe-
cially anxious to impress upon me his in
/ tention to reform nearly pestered me to
! death. He kept coming to report at all
! hours of the day and night, three or four
! times each day. He became such a nui-
saHce at last that l literally had to chase
! him off to work. He is doing well now
and viii prove a useful citizen.
L have investigated between seventy
/ five and one hundred cases so far, and in
a vast majority have recommended that
the boys be given a chance to reform.
Most of them We're convicted of small
offences, such as stealing brass or lead
pipe. They hardly realized the gravity of
their offences until they were convicted.
| II some OF them Were sent TO prison
the penitentiary, the consequences Fnight
be disastrous for them. Association with
hardened criminals is almost always fatal
to the character and future OF the class
of boys that come into my charge
Even when the boys are sent to prison
| on Mr. Wizards report, they seldom bear
him any grudge. In their vernacular, they
recognize that they have had "a square
deal When they return to the city. Mr.
! Willard looks for them, and tries to get
! them employment in some business where
! they VIII be subject to no temptation. Il
/ never recommended a bov who has once
! been convicted TO position of any trust
/ he said. They must take a low place
! at first, and earn their employers con-
hdence by their own work and efforts.
Mr.. Willard was in Chicago last fall
and while there investigated the proba-
tiOn system which is employed by the
I
teen years old, cases that would be treat
ed by the Gerry Society in New York. Il
thought the-system could be worked with
my boys" he said, and it seems that l
was right
Judge Holbrook expressed his approval
of the probation system and of Mr. vii
I lard's work in the highest terms today
! There is every prospect that this system
/ is going to accomplish a vast amount of
/ good, he said. In month or two
! when we get over the experimental stage
n q
subject but at present / can say that II
promises great results. The most i'm
pOrtant thing about the system is that
need not send youthful Offenders at an
/ impreSsiOnable age to associate with
hardened criminals in our prisons and
pcnitentiares. to the utter ruin of their
/ characters. Mr.. willard makes very care
! full Investigations We can rely upon his
| judgment and so far the results are most
encouraging
"One batch Of reports showed that
/ fOrty-five prisoners had been paroled. OF
these forty-tWo were reported upon favor
/ ably and released on suspended sentence.
| The three who had no favorable reports
were sent 10 the city prisons or penl-
/ tentiaries. That record speaks for itself.
! in many Of the cases reported favUrably
we can safely look for complete reforua-
! tion without the individual having been
! objected to the degrading influence of
contact with hardened criminals The
/ prospects / consider most encouraging
! Mr.. Wizards work is done without
/ salary. Besides his investigating work he
! has a little houee on Chrystie Street
which he has fitted up with eight small
/ bedrooms, where he houses eight friend
/ less orphan boys. AS soon as he can find
work for one Of his family as he calls
! them, and the boy is seh-Supporting, he
! must hustle" for himself and make
/ room for another boy.
/ When he has room Mr. Willard some
times takes some Of his parOled prisoners
room. The house is supported by volun-
! tary subscriptions. Sometimes the sub
scriDtionS do not come as numerOuslY or
/ as largely as are necessary, and then, as
/ AIr. Willard expresses II, we have to
/ hook some of cur goods at the near
! by pawnshop until things look brighter.
! we have dark days as well as bright ones
/ in my family
! 1t is regretted by those interested in the
/ project for a special "Chidren's Court
! that the Charter Revision Commission,
/ when it recommended the establishment of
1 such a court, did not at the same time
/ recommend some provision for a probs-
/ ton system ln connection with II. The
! city magistrate presiding over the Child
| ren's Court will have the right 20 sus-
! pend sentence on Juvenile offenders and
| designate any citizen, If he desires. to
| watch over the children so released, re-
| porting what their progress has been to-
! ward better department. In case the for
iuSer prisoner does not improve he can
nsught back on a bench warrant and
n o 1uunnipstitution. This would