Part 5

There is great diversity of opinion as to the best form of paroling authority. Generally, as in this Commonwealth, this power is lodged in the inspectors or managers of the several institutions or, in the case of commitments to county prisons, in the courts of criminal jurisdiction. In some States, as in New York, a distinct Board of Parole is constituted which visits the convict prisons at intervals and hears and determines all applications for parole that may be awaiting determination. Neither system has worked with complete satisfaction. Under both the grant of parole is largely a perfunctory matter, the inmates who have served their minimum sentences being generally admitted to parole at once, except in those cases, comparatively rare in number, where the applicant has been penalized for misconduct while in confinement. It would seem, therefore, that the first step toward a reform of the paroling system is not to set up a new paroling authority but to devise some more effective machinery to put before the existing authorities all the essential facts as to the applicant’s mental, moral and physical capacity to conduct himself as a self-respecting, useful member of the community. A second, but not less necessary step, is such a change in the spirit and method of prison discipline as will develop in the inmates by actual practice the qualities of self-respect and self-reliance, the sense of honor and of responsibility and the habit of co-operative action so essential to fit them for a life of freedom and responsibility, and at the same time to equip them with the habits of industry and the vocational skill which will enable them to make good in the life that awaits them beyond the prison-wall.

VII.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS.

In the foregoing analysis of the penal system of this Commonwealth, the Commission has endeavored not only to present a picture of the existing conditions in the light of modern conceptions of penology but to point out, also, the lines of a sound and progressive development of the system. Most of the suggestions thus made have already been embodied in the penal systems of other states and of enlightened communities beyond the seas. Especially is this the case in such matters as the general employment of the prison population in useful and productive labor and in the substitution of farm and cottage colonies for the old type of prison. In a few of the larger cities and in some institutions promising beginnings have been made in the mental examination of delinquents with a view to the provision of specialized treatment for those found to be mentally afflicted or seriously defective. But in no State or country, as yet, have all these improvements been welded into a comprehensive system which makes them available for the entire delinquent population. The inertia or indifference which leaves the extension of these benefits to chance or to the slow contagion of example is unworthy of a great and progressive Commonwealth which has in the past more than once demonstrated its capacity for leadership in penal reform.

It is evident that the general adoption in this State of these modern improvements in the treatment of the criminal problem can be effected only through the institution of a central agency adapted to secure a co-ordination of effort and a uniformity of development which under the present system of separate control has been demonstrated to be impossible. It seems equally evident, however, that the system of separate management of the several institutions with their diverse aims and problems possesses advantages which we would not willingly sacrifice to an ideal unity. For this reason the Commission has not deemed it wise to recommend the example of other States which have committed the management of all their correctional establishments to a central board of control. Moreover, with such a body as the Board of Public Charities already vested with a certain authority over the penal institutions of the State, it has not been deemed desirable to recommend the creation of a new and independent body to exercise a new jurisdiction over such institutions. It seems better to utilize the authority which already exists, to enlarge its range of functions to meet the needs of the proposed development and to commit the exercise of these functions to a standing committee analogous to the existing Committee on Lunacy. Through such a committee of the Board of Public Charities your Commission believes that the desired co-ordination and future development of the penal system of the Commonwealth can best be secured.

VIII.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

Upon the foregoing facts and conclusions the Commission submits the following recommendations, which are herewith submitted for such action as the General Assembly may deem proper:--

_First._--The Commission recommends that the General Assembly provide for the enlargement of the Board of Public Charities by the addition of two members thereto, at least one of whom shall be a woman, and by the institution of a standing committee of five members of such Board, at least one of whom shall be a woman, such committee, which shall be chosen annually by a majority vote of the Board, to be known as the “Committee on Delinquency” and to be vested with the following powers:--

(_a_) To inspect and investigate the condition and management of all penal, correctional and reformatory institutions within the Commonwealth and inquire into all complaints against the same and report thereon, with recommendations of appropriate action, to the Board of Public Charities, the Governor, the General Assembly, or the Courts, as the circumstances may require;

(_b_) To institute, maintain and supervise a medical service adapted to the examination of the inmates of such institutions and the proper professional treatment of all such as are mentally or physically afflicted or deficient;

(_c_) To make recommendations to the governing authorities of all such institutions for the improvement of the sanitary and hygienic conditions, the medical and hospital equipment, and the medical service thereof;

(_d_) To transfer inmates of institutions within its jurisdiction to other institutions owned, managed or controlled by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, or, if suitable arrangements can be made, to other institutions, where such inmates may receive treatment more suitable to their mental and physical condition;

(_e_) To institute, maintain and supervise in institutions within its jurisdiction a system of correctional and reformatory education;

(_f_) To institute, maintain and supervise a system for the employment of the inmates of institutions within its jurisdiction;

(_g_) To prepare and submit to the Board of Public Charities not later than the first day of December of each even-numbered year, a biennial budget for the Committee and such of the institutions within its jurisdiction as are wholly or partly supported by the Commonwealth, and for that purpose to require of such institutions such reports from time to time as the Committee shall deem necessary; and

(_h_) To make rules and regulations establishing a uniform system of accounting and bookkeeping in all institutions within its jurisdiction.

It is also recommended that the Committee on Delinquency be authorized and directed to choose a Secretary, not a member of the Board of Public Charities, at a salary of $7500 per annum, who shall be the executive officer of the Committee and an expert in the care and treatment of delinquents, and who shall be known as the “Commissioner of Delinquency.”

_Second._--The Commission further recommends that the General Assembly provide by appropriate legislation for the employment of all the able-bodied convicts of the Commonwealth in useful and, so far as possible, in productive labor, and especially, that it vest in the Committee on Delinquency the powers of the Prison Labor Commission and the functions of the Business Agent of such Commission and enlarge such powers and functions as suggested on page 15 of this report.

_Third._--The Commission further recommends the enactment of a law establishing four State Industrial Farms, to receive, care for and provide for the useful employment of the inmates of county prisons and jails and of persons hereafter convicted of any offense punishable by imprisonment in any county jail or prison who have been or shall hereafter be sentenced for a term of thirty days or more.

_Fourth._--The Commission further recommends that the Act of Assembly approved July 17, 1917 (No. 337), providing for the employment, during the continuance of the war, of inmates of county jails at agricultural labor on any county or almshouse farm, be amended so as to continue its operation indefinitely after the conclusion of peace.

_Fifth._--The Commission further recommends that the General Assembly provide for the purchase of a tract of land, of not less than 600 nor more than 1200 acres, to be used for the benefit of the Eastern Penitentiary as a prison farm.

_Sixth._--The Commission further recommends that a law be enacted prohibiting fees or allowances and contracts for furnishing meals to the inmates of county jails or other penal institutions of the Commonwealth.

_Seventh._--The Commission further recommends that the Act approved June 19, 1911, authorizing the courts in the case of a person sentenced to a penitentiary to fix as the minimum term of imprisonment any period less than the maximum prescribed by law for the offense of which such person was convicted, be amended by a provision that the minimum limit of the sentence imposed shall never exceed one-third of the maximum prescribed by the Court.

* * * * *

In the foregoing recommendations the Commission has confined itself to matters requiring legislative action and to such only as seem to it to be essential to a consistent, integrated policy of penal administration. All other matters with respect to which the Commission has given expression to its views are either subsidiary to those on which immediate legislative action is recommended or are such as may be properly referred to the wisdom of the proposed Committee on Delinquency for consideration and action. The greatest abuse of the prevailing prison system--the lack of imagination and of understanding which keeps alive in most of our penal establishments the methods of a severe and repressive discipline--cannot be abolished by legislative decree. The greatest reform of which the system is capable--the awakening in the inmates of the new life which comes from active, responsible participation in the life of the prison community--is equally beyond the reach of legislative action. These will be the fruits of a keener intelligence and of a deeper understanding than have yet, except in a few rare instances, been brought to bear on the problem. But your Commission believes that the plan of penal administration which it has recommended, and which provides for the most thorough-going study and the most intelligent treatment of the individual delinquent which has yet been attempted, will gradually prepare the way for these and other reforms in the penal system of the Commonwealth.

Respectfully submitted,

January 1, 1919.

FLETCHER W. STITES, _Chairman_, ALFRED E. JONES, MARTHA P. FALCONER, LOUIS N. ROBINSON, ALBERT H. VOTAW, _Commissioners_.

GEORGE W. KIRCHWEY, _Counsel to the Commission_.

COMMITTEE ON DELINQUENCY ACT.[1]

SECTION 1. _Be it enacted, etc._, That the Board of Public Charities shall appoint a standing committee of five of its members to be known as the Committee on Delinquency. Such Committee shall be chosen within thirty days after the approval of this Act, and annually thereafter, by a majority vote of all of the members of the Board, and at least one member of such Committee shall be a woman. Vacancies in the membership of the Committee shall be filled in like manner. Within thirty days after their selection, the Committee shall each year elect one of its members as chairman.

The members of the Committee shall serve without compensation but shall receive all of their travelling and other necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.

SECTION 2. The Committee selected under the provisions of this Act shall appoint a secretary, who shall not be a member of the Committee or of the Board of Public Charities. The secretary shall be the executive officer of the Committee and shall be known as the Commissioner of Delinquency. He shall be a person having expert knowledge respecting delinquency, and the care and treatment of delinquents and shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office. He shall be appointed for a term of five years and shall receive a salary of seven thousand, five hundred dollars per annum. The Committee shall have the power to remove the Commissioner at any time for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office, and shall, whenever a vacancy occurs either by death, resignation, or removal from office, appoint a Commissioner to fill the unexpired term.

SECTION 3. Subject to the approval of the Committee on Delinquency, the Commissioner of Delinquency shall appoint a medical director, an educational director, a director of industries, and such other directors, experts, agents, and employees for such terms and at such compensation as shall be fixed by the Committee on Delinquency. The Commissioner with the approval of the Committee shall have the power at any time to remove any director, or any expert, agent, or employee, so appointed.

SECTION 4. The Board of Commissioners of Public Grounds and Buildings shall provide the Committee on Delinquency with suitable rooms in the State Capitol, and elsewhere if necessary,....

SECTION 5. The Committee on Delinquency shall have jurisdiction for the purposes of this act over all institutions within this Commonwealth of a penal, correctional, or reformatory character now existing, or which may hereafter be established including industrial farms, workhouses, and reformatories, and reformatory institutions for minors or women, whether managed by the Commonwealth, or any political sub-division thereof or otherwise; _Provided_, That this act shall not be interpreted to deprive any warden, superintendent, or other officer, or board of inspectors, managers, or trustees, of any such institution of the right to manage its affairs, but every such institution shall make such reports to the Committee on Delinquency as the Committee shall be authorized by this Act to require and shall obey the rules and regulations established, and follow the recommendations made, by the Committee as authorized by this Act.

SECTION 6. The Committee on Delinquency shall have the power and its duty shall be:--

(_a_) To inspect and investigate the condition and management of all institutions within its jurisdiction, and inquire into all complaints against the same, and report thereon with recommendations of appropriate action to the Board of Public Charities, the Governor, the General Assembly, or the courts, as the circumstances may require;

(_b_) To institute, maintain, and supervise a medical service to accomplish the purposes enumerated in this Act;

(_c_) To make recommendations to institutions within its jurisdiction for the improvement of the sanitary and hygienic conditions, the medical and hospital equipment, and the medical service thereof;

(_d_) To transfer inmates of institutions within its jurisdiction to other institutions owned, managed, or controlled by the Commonwealth or any political sub-division thereof, or if suitable arrangements can be made, to other institutions, where such inmates may receive treatment more suitable to their mental and physical condition:....

(_e_) To institute, maintain, and supervise in institutions within its jurisdiction a system of correctional and reformatory education to accomplish the purposes enumerated in this Act;

(_f_) To institute, maintain, and supervise a system for the employment of the inmates of institutions within its jurisdiction as provided in this Act;

(_g_) To prepare and submit to the Board of Public Charities, not later than the first day of December of each even-numbered year, a biennial budget for the committee and such of the institutions within its jurisdiction as are wholly or partly supported by the Commonwealth. Such budget shall set forth the expenditures of the Committee and such institutions during the preceding two years, their estimated financial needs for the succeeding two years, and such other information as the Committee shall deem appropriate.

To enable it to prepare such budget, the Committee shall have the power to require of institutions within its jurisdiction, and such institutions shall prepare and submit, such reports from time to time as the Committee shall deem necessary, but to the extent that reports shall be required by the Committee for the purpose of preparing such budget; institutions within the jurisdiction of the Committee shall not be required to report to the Board of Public Charities; and,

(_h_) To make rules and regulations establishing a uniform system of accounting and bookkeeping in all institutions within its jurisdiction.

SECTION 7. The medical service which the Committee on Delinquency is by this Act required to institute, maintain, and supervise shall include:--

(_a_) The prompt and thorough examination of all the inmates of institutions within its jurisdiction with a view to the proper diagnosis, classification, and treatment of all such persons;

(_b_) The prescription and maintenance of standards in diagnosis and treatment in all institutions within its jurisdiction and the determination of the qualifications of those selected as physicians, psychiatrists, stewards, or nurses, in such institutions;

(_c_) The furnishing of instructions in personal and social hygiene to the inmates of all institutions within its jurisdiction, and of instruction in professional training to such officials, employees, or inmates of such institutions as may be called upon to serve as assistants, nurses, or otherwise, in the medical or hospital departments thereof;

(_d_) The frequent inspection of the institutions within its jurisdiction with respect to their sanitary and hygienic condition, the adequacy of their medical and hospital equipment, and the competency and efficiency of their medical service; and,

(_e_) The installation and supervision of a proper dietary adequate to the maintenance of the health, efficiency, and morale, of the inmates in all institutions within its jurisdiction.

SECTION 8. The system of correctional and reformatory education which the Committee on Delinquency is by this Act required to institute, maintain, and supervise shall include:--

(_a_) The prescription and maintenance of standards of correctional and reformatory education in all institutions within its jurisdiction and the determination of the qualifications of those selected as teachers; and,

(_b_) The education in elementary branches of illiterate and undeveloped inmates of such institutions; the instruction of all inmates of such institutions in the principles, organization, and practice of American government; and the furnishing of a thorough industrial training to any of the inmates of such institutions for whom such training shall be deemed useful and desirable.

SECTION 9. With respect to the labor of the inmates of any institutions within its jurisdiction to which persons are committed for crime or delinquency, the Committee on Delinquency shall have the power and its duty shall be:--

(_a_) To require every such institution to afford to the inmates thereof, who are physically capable, an opportunity to perform useful labor in such institutions;

(_b_) To determine what industries shall be established in such institutions and to regulate and supervise the installation of machinery and equipment therein;

(_c_) To establish rules and regulations for the employment of inmates of such institutions at road-building, quarrying, or crushing stone, agricultural work, land reclamation, or forestry, or other suitable work outside of such institution; and,

(_d_) To establish rules with regard to the number of hours per day during which such inmates shall be employed; Provided, That except in agricultural work such inmates shall not be employed for more than eight hours in any one day.

SECTION 10. With respect to the labor of inmates of such of the institutions within its jurisdiction as are owned or managed and controlled by the Commonwealth or any political sub-division thereof, the committee shall, in addition to the powers and duties enumerated in the preceding section of this act, have the power and its duty shall be:--

(_a_) To maintain a manufacturing fund for the purposes specified in this section. The original manufacturing fund of the committee shall be the manufacturing fund paid to the committee by the Prison Board Commission, as provided in this act, together with any and all sums due and owing to such Commission, and the unexpended balance of any appropriation made for the use of such commission. To such fund there shall be added from time to time such amount or amounts as shall be appropriated by the General Assembly;

All receipts from the sale of the products, manufactured or produced by the labor of the inmates of any such institution, shall be credited to the manufacturing fund and used for the purchase of machinery, equipment, raw materials, and supplies, and for the payment of wages to such inmates;

(_b_) To sell to the Commonwealth or to any political sub-division thereof, or any institution, owned, managed, or controlled by the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, at not more than the prevailing market price the products of the labor of such inmates; _Provided_, That institutions within the jurisdiction of the Committee owned, or managed and controlled by the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof, shall have the privilege of selling directly such of their agricultural products as they do not consume, but every such institution selling agricultural products shall account for and pay to such committee the proceeds of the sale of such products.

Any surplus of the products of the labor of such inmates which cannot be sold to the Commonwealth, etc., shall be sold in the open market, but any such product sold in the open market shall not be sold for less than the prevailing market price.

Should any institution desire to use the products of the labor of its inmates, other than agricultural products, it shall purchase the same from the Committee on Delinquency;

(_c_) From time to time to fix the compensation of such inmates for labor performed by them; _Provided_, That the rate of compensation to such inmates shall be based both upon the pecuniary value of the work performed and on the willingness, industry, and good conduct of the inmate performing the same;

(_d_) To make rules and regulations governing the payment of compensation earned by such inmates. Such rules and regulations may provide for the payment of a part of their compensation to inmates during their term of confinement to be used for such purchases as such rules and regulations shall permit. They shall also provide for the bi-monthly payment of such part of the compensation of such inmates as the committee shall determine to the dependents of such inmates, and for the payment of the unpaid balance of such compensation to such inmates at the time of their discharge, or at periodic intervals on and after their discharge; and,