Evening star., 1935-01-13

<2
to q world in which his nature de-
mandS that he live without working.
Some Of the most vicious criminals
ever confined in the ward for the
criminal insane at st. EliZabeth's
Hospital recently were described as
very charming fellows and men
whom most amateur parole boards
would hardly hesitate to turn loose for
vacations between homicides.
Some Need Miracles.
Parole boards. it is pointed out.
cannot help the recidivist, the psy-
chopathic personality, etc., to re-
form. Only miracles can reform
them. It Is better for themselves
and for society that they stay in
custody. But they are the smoothest
takers, make the most favorable i'm
pressions and usually have the least
trouble in obtaining paroles. The
point is that they follow fairly we'll
marked grooves, known to the expert.
Even their life stories often match,
item for item. The expert Parole
Board often would not waste time on
the case which the amateur Parole
Board would give the most earnest
attention. And often they would turn
loose. with perfect and justified con-
fidence. the man whom the amateur
and the prison warden would brand
as the most hopeless case in prison.
Behavior trends fall into grooves,
and even the amateur. If he devoted
any attention to them, could learn
their characteristic patterns. The
trouble Is that they are often para
doxical and, at the best, are ILL
defined. so that few individuals fit
perfectly into one Of them. The
diagnoses must be the province of
the expert, with much experience
and specialized knowledge to draw
upon in forming q judgment upon
any case.
The Parole Board was set up not
only to pass upon Federal penitentiary
parole applications, but to serve as
q model for the States in the applica-
ton Of their parole systems. For,
say the psychiatrists, so long as pa
roles are given out by the Supposed
good judges Of human nature"
nothing but tragedy can be expected
to result.
The good fellow" will be turned
loose.
The good man may be kept in
solitary confinement.
The parole board Of experts works
Internationally. without preconceived
opinions, according to the basic prin-
ciples Of any sound scientific proceed
ure. First, it assemblies all the facts
available concerning mans behavior.
1t may be necessary to go no further.
A complete life history not infre-
quently shows that the single slip
which landed an individual behind
bars was pretty much Of an uufor-
tunate accident-an isolated incident
in an otherwise honorable and law
abiding career. It appears unrelated
to anything that has gone before. In
such an event, all other things being
SAao4s kt2Ao1C RAOb0bAy Would US u
foregone conclusion. Society would
not be protected by keeping such an
individual in Jail, nor would the man
himself get any benefit.
Behavior Pattern Obstinate.
Unfortunately, criminal acts seldom
are isolated. They are parts of a pat
tory& NJ hato vy{o {nH
for years, and there are few things so
obstinate as behavior pattern. 1t
persists from the cradle to the grave
The criminal act which put the SUBJ
ject in Jail often is only part of a
chain Of events which may, but most
probably are not, shown by court
record.
The parole board must 60 behind
this record, and this Is a task which
requires the expert investigator who
Is not easily deceived by appearances
or favorable stories. This is where
the professional parole officer is in
valuable as a field investigator. He
alone is able to attend to the work
effectively in the light Of the cumula-
tive lessons of his experience and the
experience of others.
There may even be q morphological
pattern of the recidivist criminal-a
point upon which criminologistS are
not agreed. All agree, however, that
there are one or more types of person.
ality characterized especially by in
stability in the face of temptation. A
presumption of 1t may even be raised
by purely objective tests, such as mir
ror writing, etc. The individual cannot
break a life habit. The forger's pro-
estations that he will never commit
another forgery are worth about as
much credence-and no more-as the
drunkard's protestations before the
Police Court Judge that he never will
touch another drink. Both may be
perfectly sincere at the time. They
simply lack the strength to break out
Of an established pattern Of behavior.
Pattern Holds In Crimes.
It long has been known that crimes
tend to be specialized. The pickpocket
Is seldom q counterfeiter, or vice versa.
Every one Is probably familiar with
tlIC RAt4lOiOBlCdl 1lhI - AatAAC4 AAoAA
less variation Of the psychotic per-
sonality pattern. Little hope is held
out at present for such an individual.
The best that can be hoped for him
Is that he will adjust happily In Gus
tody.
Then there ore the various psyche
tic trends which result In anti-social
behavior, but are not actually ad-
vanced to the point Of insanity. These
form complex patterns which only the
trained Individual can untangle. And
even he can untangle them only by the
Unconditional process Of science, with
its three essential steps-collection
and arrangement Of facts and drawing
deductions from them.
4