Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-26

women and ch1ldren VINO now 80 10
| the House of Detention and would
provide a home for men and women
| in separate wings. with proper serv.
ice and not merely affording lodging.
1t is thought that the National
Training School for Girls might be
modernized to provide the Industrial
Farm Home School for Girls.
It Is planned to put the Industrial
Home School for Boys at Fort Wash.
ington. This is now an active Army
post. 1t was declared surplus, hut
was withdrawn by the War Depart
ment from this listing at the request
of the National Capital Park and
Planning Commission, which wishes
to acquire the old fort site as part of
the park system of the National
Capital.
Plant Called Ideal.
| The War Department is ready to
withdraw from this location as soon
as Congress is ready to let it
be used in conformity with the
city builders program. 1t is pointed
: out that there is an ideal plant at
Fort Washington for an industrial
farm school for boys-barracks. Off
GERS houses, which could be used for
industrial schools and for a cottage
colony system; hospital. bakery and
|
power plant.
The detention home for women 1t
| is proposed to leave in charge Of the
Police Woman's Bureau. In this con-
nection 1t is thought that it might be
we'll to give the Woman's Bureau a
separate precinct of its own with
facilities for handling all phases of
police work with reference to women.
/ Now some of the worse women Offend
| x.t- inc RS
| throughout the city where they can be
| confined in cells. In a separate pre-
| cinct house for women, Z Is argued
all woman prisoners could be properly
| handled.
An alternative plan Is to give the
Police Women's Bureau headquarters
| in the new model municipal group
| that Is being planned to be located
between Third and Sixth streets,
| Pennsylvania avenue and d street.
Because Of the standing of the
Police Women's Bureau, which IS a
| model for the rest of the country and
being closely watched by all of the
large cities, it is suggested hy those
making the study for the Bureau of
| Efficiency that it might serve a much
better purpose to have this nutstand.
ing bureau given a separate precinct.
Get Lenient Treatment.
One Of the most interesting phases
of the work the Bureau OF Efficiency
| finds in the plan being considered
with Maj. Hesse for organization Of a
squad of both man and woman 20
lice to deal with the juvenile prob
lem. The bureaus investigators say
their studies have shown that 20 per
| ~ hro. hat In.
venile Court are of boys over II Yeas
of age. who are ordinarily brought in
by policemen. They argue that as a
rule the policemen maxim the arrests
are not forgetful that they were boys
themselves once and are inclined to
deal sympathetically with the youth
full offender.
So the effort is being made to work
out some development of special i'll
venile officers, both men and women.
to include the highly specialized work
being done by the policewomen under
Mrs. Van Wrinkle along with the
long established policies among the
man officers-thus bringing the best
| qualified and most sympathetic men
and women to cope with the delicate
problem of handing children. This
is advancved also because Washington
|
so many Juveniles come here from all
over the country. 1t is the hope
of the Bureau Of Efficiency that sort
of big brother and big sister squad
can be put to work instead OF the
fear of the cop"
Then there Is the penal system
phase of welfare work that is being
studied. This starts with the Jail. 1t
Is hoped to put in operation the pol
icy adopted in 1909 by the penal com.
mission headed by John JOY Edison
and outlined in its report to President
Roosevelt. written by Justice Stafford,
which said that "the Jail Is to be used
only as a house Of detention, never a
place of confinement for those under
sentence"
The Bureau Of Efficiency feels that
the time Ia ripe to put that policy In
operation. because the new buildings
| at Occoquon, which are being com
pleted with prison labor and prison
made bricks. are about ready to take
over the sentenced men. And an ad
ditional reason 1t finds Is because
there can be no fundamental cleaning
up Of the Jail until the congestion car
be relieved, even when the new wing
is opened.
Two Classes OF Prisoners.
June is there were 426 prisoners In
the Jail. They are Of two classes
one, those sentenced in Police Court
to short terms. who are about one
half of the total inmates Of the Jail
and the other half are people being
held for further hearings, or for the
grand jury, or until committed. This
latter group are those who the
penal commission said should be the
only ones held in the Jail.
The splendid work being done un
der NJ. M. Barnard, director of the
penal institutions at Occoquan. with
prison labor will make this relief al
the Jail possible.
At the workhouse and reformatory
it is to be recommended that an in
dustrial program be put in operation
to keep the prisoners out of mischie
and out Of the evils of idlenes.
ElEpEn II