Evening star., 1938-09-04
JEW BAlTlN6-
FOR A PURPOSE
Ry UHbnr La Roe, .Jr.,
Member of Board of Parole,
District OF Columbia,

YE ARE inviting criminals into
M our community. We are invit-
v ing burglars to raid our homes.
We are exposing our daughters
to attack.
These are strong words but they do not
eXaggerate a condition which exists in the
District Of Columbia, To be more specific,
nearly every day in the year we are turn
Ing out vicious criminals from the Iorton
Reformatory (Which is pcnitentiary) and
permitting them to roam our streets Is
It any wonder that We have between 5000
and 10000 felonies year in this compara-
lively small city?
There was time when it was the custom
to hang vicious criminals or send them off
to the islands of the sea- That day is
fortunately past. Instead OF that We now
sentence them to relatively short terms
the average sentence even for such crimes
as burglary and robbery in this jurisdiction
does not exceed four years-and upon the
termination of such short sentences we
release the offenders to prey again upon
the community
Too Hard for Parole
I am not speaking about parole The
confirmed felons of whom speak are not
usually granted parole The men selected
for parole by the Board of Parole are
usually either young offenders or men
whose history shows that they are not
confirmed criminals. 1 am speaking of
the men who are denied parole and the
men who refuse 20 apply for parole, the
hardened thugs who are in real sense
public enemies. This group consists in
the main of robbers, dope fiends, sex per-
verts. burglars and housebreakers 1t is
this latter group that we are deliberately
turning loose upon our community
Is it any wonder that taxicab men are
frequently held up at the point of gun
by their fares? Is it any wonder that
stores are being held up, not by the score,
but by the hundred? Is it any wonder that
young men are being shot and left dying
at the door II hospital? Is il any wonder
that girls are being attacked on our streets
and in our parks?
Let lis take a look at our population of
800 felons at Lorton. Between one fourth
and one-fifth of them are very young, al
most first offenders, hardly more than mis-
chievous boys who have gotten into diff
Guilty. usually because of bad company.
Perhs ps third of the total population con-
sists of older men who cannot fairly be
designated social enemies. They may have
forged a check under dire STRESS or may
have committed single crime which they
deeply regret and which often was not pre-
medtated. Both of the groups mentioned
are good candidates for parole under
proper supervision. There are $50 of them
now on parole in the District of Columbia,
and they are behaving themselves so well
that the public rarely hears anything
about them.
One Third Anti Social
But there is also at Lorton far different
group. consisting of we'll over one third of
the population, who are second, third.
fourth and fifth offenders--and worse. men
who are distinctly anti-social and whose,
rehabilitation is almost hopeless 1t is with
this group, who are usually not good cam
didates for parole, that this article is in
tended to deal
Before dealing in detail, however, with
the dangers inherent in the release of this
group. let me point out what parole is and
how it serves to protect the community
In the first place parole is a process of
careful selection under which only those
men are chosen for release under parole
supervision who are shown by the records
to be safe risks. The fngerprint records
today are so nearly perfect that the Board
Of Parole cannot easily be misled, no mat
ter how good the appearance of the appli-
cant may be-
Before the Board Of Parole releases a
man on parole it finds a suitable Job and
home for him. 1t contacts his relatives and
his prospective employer, exacting pledges
from each to report any suspicious circum-
stances. 1t appoints big brother parole
adviser to whom the parolee must report
weekly and who promises to take personal
interest in him and in his problems In ad-
dition skilled staff of parole officers en-
ployed by the board keeps watchful eye on
the parolee. 1t is almost literally true that
q parolee cannot remain away from his job
for an hour, or have the smell of liquor on
board to explain. The board has almost
unlimited power, which it uses freely, to
revoke parole in case of serious violation
OF Its rules. The net result is that the pub
lie is well protected so far as the parolee
Is concerned.
Release Eventually Comes.
But We come now to the more dangerous
group OF men who are not entitled to parole.
In surprisingly short time after they are
eligible for parole they will be released
even if parole is denied. And they will have
no job. The chances are that they have no
home worthy of the name. And they have.
on the average, only very few dollars in
their pocket when they leave the institution.
What is apt to happen when those few
dollars have been spent?
These men released without parole are
called conditional releases A better name
would Be automatic releases, because they