Imperial Valley press., 1931-07-08

Report Exposes
Prison Conditions
Continued from page u

! NCOnIlnueu from page i
was charged against the national
training school for boys at Wash
ington last year, but these condi-
tions were said to have been cor
rected
! Overcrowding was shown at near
ly all places where federal juvenile
delinquents are placed. AT Chilli
cothe the living quarters were
/ found to be lin poor repair, crowd
/ ed. unsanitary and not fireproof.
The national training school for
girls at Muirkirk, Md, was de-
scribed as "a dismal. restrictive
place. reflecting its spirit
The only place given a clean bill
was the Idaho industrial training
school, St. Anthony, Idaho. There
it was reported a boy arriving from
another prison was treated for
/ leg sore resulting from iron shack
les and the confinement of his foot
in an Oregon boot.
The Washington state institution
! received the SeVerest criticism.
Twelve correction cells there con-
tain no light or bedding, the report
said. Inmates are required to sleep
on a plank on the floor The aim
of the medical aid was said to be
ito stave off epidemics rather than
to treat those who are obviously
seriously ill
Harsh Discipline
One punishment described there
is "the drilling crew" of which it
was stated:
Those placed on the drill crew
are required to keep moving con-
stantly in the yard, They are fed
in the dining room twice a day.
slice of bread. tablespoon OF po-
tatoes and water"
As a summation OF her opinion
the investigator concluded:
at is a matter for some inter
pretatiye comment that the hardest
punishments are found usually in
the institutions for the reform of
young children.
THE best of the institutions
houses the children in large groups, /
uses Easements for living and play
rooms, employs disciplinary meas
ures such as silence at meals,
marching, drill routine and flog-
ging. Inmates are frequently at
the mercy OF boy captains. The !
worst is not to be distinguished |
from the prison"
Only Minor Crimes
To merit such lives, the federal {
delinquent youngsters were general /
ly guilty Of one of three crimes
violation of the prohibition law, the ,
immigration laws or the motor yehi- !
Gle theft act. the commission found. !
Of the 2243 boys and girls under |
l8 incarcerated during the six /
months ending December 81, 1880, |
there were goo convicted of yiolat- /
ing the prohibition law GAP per /
cent of the totaD, 492 violators Of +
the immigration law and 293 motor /
theft miScreants.
Eighteen CT the prohibition law
violators were under IA and nearly
$50 were l6 or under.
The report did not consider the
vast number of state and local de-
linquents-only those guilty of vio-
lating federal laws. Its recommen- !
dations therefore were confined TO
what the federal government can
do in the situation. Some OF the
penal institutions to which refer
ence was made are state institu-
tions where the federal government |
merely houses its delinquents. so its
recommendation was only that !
where cases Of cruelty are shown |
the prisoner should be moved to /
another institution.
Changes recommended are legal !
and technical. The major recon-
mendation favored federal legiSla-
ton to recognize the status of juve-
nile delinquency for the child vio-
lator now tried as adult violators
of federal law.
Improvement Urged
Pending enactment of this legis-
lation the commission recommend
ed:
That a service be established by
the attorney general for the pur-
pose Of supervising the handling of
children, this service should include
special registration and consistent
verification Of age of arrested mi
nors; instructions 10 marshals and
agents of the bureau of investiga-
ton, district attorneys and commits
sioners TO investigate childrens
cases by means Of federal probation
offices or local juvenile courts; use
of social agencies, foster homes, and
juvenile detention homes instead Of
jails; encouragement Of the policy
now inherent in the practice Of
several districts 10 study federal
court proceedings until juvenile or
other state courts have been con-
suited with view TO cooperation,
where federal courts must act, an
extended use of probation for mi
nors; where young children are
now in penal institutions and jails
under conditions improper TO their
welfare, their removal or parole
Concluding the report stated:
1T is recommended that the fed
eral government recognize the con-
cept of juvenile delinquency and
withdraw the child offender from
the ordinary operation Of federal
penal justice save in cases IN which
the local processes for dealing with
delinquent shildren prove to be or
plainly are inadequate.
The precise nature Of legislation |
required to accomplish this result !
viii have TO be determined by ex- |
pert legal research.