The West Australian/1911/05/10/Fremantle Prison
FREMANTLE PRISON
ADMINISTRATION AND CONDUCT.
THE RECENT ROYAL COMMISSION.
CAPTAIN PENNEFATHER'S REPORT.
REMOVAL AND RE-ESTABLISHMENT RECOMMENDED.
The report of Captain C. E. de F. Pennefather, Comptroller of Prisons in Queensland, who recently conducted an inquiry as a Royal Commissioner into the administration and conduct of the Fremantle Prison and matters incidental thereto, was made available for publication yesterday by the Colonial Secretary (Mr. J. D. Connolly). Inter alia, the report, which is of a very lengthy and exhaustive character, states:—
A general invitation to appear before the Commission to tender evidence or offer suggestions was extended to the public, and in response Messrs. Angwin, Brown, and Murphy, M.'sL.A., and three ex-officials of the gaol presented an appearance. A deputation representing the Women's Service Guild also waited upon me and submitted their views, more especially in regard to the female prison. In addition a direct invitation was addressed to Messrs. Bolton, Collier, Johnson, Price, Holman, and Troy, M.'sL.A., who had in Parliamentary discussion evinced an interest in matters relating to prison administration, but in none of these cases was the invitation accepted, or indeed even acknowledged. For the purpose of taking evidence the Commission sat on 16 occasions, viz., ten days at Fremantle, five at Perth, and one at Rottnest. The witnesses examined totalled 79, comprised of 55 prison officials, 4 official visitors, 3 members of Parliament, 3 ex-officials, and 14 prisoners. I also had, on different occasions, interviews with the Auditor-General and his officers as well as the Stores Manager, in regard to the prison stores and accounts system, and subsequent to my preliminary visit made a careful inspection of the gaol and other buildings in company with the medical officer and the acting-superintendent.
MALE PRISON.
The construction of the old gaol building does not appeal to one as being adapted to the application of modern prison principles in respect to administration or the supervision and classification of prisoners, although no doubt it served the purpose for which I understand it was originally designed, i.e., as a barracks from which convicts were drafted to different parts of the colony. To somewhat improve the then existing conditions, a new division was erected some few years ago, and in a measure afforded better facilities for classification; but I consider that the amount expended on this structure, viz., about £12,700, excluding the value of prison labour employed and certain fittings removed from elsewhere, could have been much more advantageously devoted to the erection of at least the first portion of a modern prison on some more suitable site. There are certain structural improvements and alterations required, but I doubt whether it is wise to expend more money in patching up and trying to improve a place the design of which is utterly opposed to modern views. I am of opinion that the best course would be to erect an entirely new penal establishment on some suitable site out of town, and in the erection of which prison labour could be utilised to a great extent after sufficient accommodation had been provided for the housing of the men. In addition to the saving thus effected in labour, the sale of the present buildings and site would probably realise a sufficiently large sum to considerably reduce the cost of the new gaol; otherwise the buildings might be put to other use by the Government. The new cells are supposed to be of 600 cubic feet capacity, but I am in formed that through defective ventilation they are more uncomfortable than some of the old cells of only 250 cubic feet capacity.
A good deal of discontent was shown by some of the married officers in regard to the condition of and accommodation afforded in the quarters provided for them by the Government. I inspected the quarters and found nothing to complain of in three of the blocks, but the others were, to put it mildly, far from what they should be in regard to accommodation, cleanliness, sanitation, and decency. These remarks apply more particularly to two of the three blocks. where there are six cottages enclosed in one undivided yard, the sanitary arrangements being all open to view and in common use by men, women, boys and girls. There is practically no privacy or decency, and the effect of such a state of affairs must tend towards immodesty if nothing worse. As to accommodation, in one or two instances there are the husband and wife with families of six or seven children, ranging from infants up to people of both sexes of the ages of 18 and 19 years, all dwelling in one house with only two bedrooms; this speaks for itself. It is hardly necessary for me to add that an officer coming off duty to such a home, where he cannot get much rest or peace, is hardly fitted for his next duty at the prison, and this naturally causes irritation and discontent. The fact that some of the buildings are infested with vermin adds to the discomfort. I need not dwell further on this matter, as I under stand it is receiving attention, and steps are likely to be taken shortly to remedy the existing conditions.
STAFF.
The staff, consisting as it does of 55 members (or including the female prison of 60 members), seems abnormally large, and more than sufficient to control the number of prisoners in the gaol at the time of my first visit, viz., 176 males and 19 females; but it must be admitted that to a great extent the plan of the establishment is accountable for this, and no doubt the same staff could supervise double or treble the present numbers. Even so, I am of opinion that a smaller number of officers should be able to carry out the duties effectively without entailing longer hours. Drill and firearms training should be introduced, so that the officers may present a smart appearance and be encouraged to take a greater interest in their work, and to show respect for themselves as well as their superior officers. Opportunities should also be afforded officers for rifle and revolver practice.
A spirit of dissatisfaction would appear to exist amongst some members of the staff in connection with their pay, promotion, duties, etc. Approved candidates, after passing an educational examination, should be appointed in the first instance for 12 months only as probationary warders, and should be gazetted as such so that they may exercise the powers of warders under the Prisons Act. If found unsuitable at any time within that period their services should immediately be dispensed with. At the end of 12 months, having shown themselves proficient in their drill, possessed of a knowledge of the Prisons Act and regulations, and found to be in all other respects suitable, their appointment would be confirmed. They would then rank as classified officers in, say, the fourth class, and receive a fixed annual salary for a term of four years. After serving these five years and having been found diligent, of good conduct, and their general proficiency confirmed, the officers would be automatically promoted to the third class at an increased fixed salary. After a further term of five years they would under the same conditions pass to the second class, and at the expiration of another period of five years would pass into the first class, with an automatic increase of salary. This scheme might be varied by substituting a proportionate yearly increase in place of a fixed amount every fifth year. From the first class the most suitable men might be selected for promotion to vacancies occurring in the higher ranks. It should, however, be clearly laid down that promotions from rank to rank would not follow as a matter of course, but would depend upon officers proving themselves fitted for it. An officer found guilty of misconduct, or proving in efficient, would be liable to reduction in rank for a certain time. At present a number of officers are not classified, but remain temporary warders at a fixed rate of pay of 7s. 6d. per day for an indefinite term, not being appointed to the permanent staff until a vacancy occurs, which according to the evidence may extend to eight or nine years. This system gives very little encouragement for officers to qualify for higher ranks.
I would suggest that when an officer is deemed careless or negligent in the discharge of his duties, or guilty of an offence of a minor nature which in the opinion of the superintendent is not of sufficiently serious a character to warrant reference to the Comptroller-General, the superintendent should have power to reprimand, caution, or fine the offending officer after giving him full opportunity of defending himself. In such cases the officer should have the right of appeal to the Comptroller-General, who might either confirm, reduce or disallow the penalty, and the Minister might review the decision of the Comptroller-General. If, however, the offence is of a serious nature. the matter should be reported to the Comptroller-General who, if he thought fit, might either himself hear the case or call upon the visiting justice to hold an inquiry, who should forward the evidence, together with his finding, to the Comptroller-General for consideration, who might either deal with the matter himself or make a recommendation to the Colonial Secretary, who should be the final court of appeal.
Complaints were made as to the long hours, especially on the sentry platforms, and also the broken periods. It appears that officers perform ten hours' day duty on the platform under arms, with one hour's interval. These hours seem to be too long for a man to carry arms and be expected to keep constantly on the alert. in regard to broken periods, I learn that an officer may go on duty at 6 a.m. and remain until 9 a.m., then from 12 noon to 2.30 p.m., and from 5 to 8 p.m. This time-table applies for one fortnight. The next fortnight the times of actual duty are 6 to 7.45 a.m., 9 a.m. to 1.15 p.m., and 2.30 to 6 p.m. Under this system, although the actual hours of duty are not excessive, the broken periods are of little use for rest or recreation. The final lockup of prisoners at 7.45 p.m. entails longer hours on certain officers than appears necessary. This is, I understand, due to a considerable extent to the absence of proper sanitary pans. If these were provided there should be no need to let prisoners out between 6 and 7.45 p.m., and the presence of these officers, especially now that the electric light is installed, would not be required after 6 p.m. Complaint was also made that some officers are required to perform gun and guardroom duty while others of the same grade, though of longer service, are exempted: the result being that more work of this nature than is necessary is thrown on the former officer. This does not seem to be right and causes a suspicion of favouritism. I see no reason why all officers of the same grade should not perform the duties in turn.
The question of introducing the eight hours system in the working of the gaol was brought under notice, but I fail to see how it can be put into operation unless additional officers are appointed. The working hours of officers when compared with those in gaols of the other States do not appear to be excessive, but might possibly be reduced by earlier locking-up. As far as practicable the duties of officers below the rank of senior warder should revolve, so that each officer may have a fair opportunity of learning the work in the various branches: an officer proving incompetent might be reduced in rank after being given a fair trial, and failing to become competent his services should be dispensed with. I am of opinion that all rates and taxes on premises belonging to the Government and occupied by officials should be defrayed by the State and not by the individual officers.
WORKSHOPS AND MANUFACTURES.
I find that good work is being done in the various workshops, viz., printing, bootmaking, tailoring, carpentry, blacksmithing, tinsmithing, etc., but, the system of bookkeeping in regard to the consumption of material requires revising. The manner in which the stock-books are kept renders it difficult to ascertain the exact quantity of goods turned out from the material supplied to the various shops. These stock-books are in most instances kept by prisoners, and the trade instructors generally admitted having very little knowledge of account-keeping. This applies more particularly to the bootmaking and tailoring shops. I think the storekeeper should exercise direct control and supervision over the trade instructors, who should be held responsible to him; furthermore, I consider I that the books should be regularly audited by the Audit Department. The practice of charging the gaols vote with the cost of material purchased for manufacture for other departments does not seem to be a good one, as thereby the gaols vote is made to appear higher than it actually is. Receipts should always be given by the departments to which goods are supplied. I find that some of the departments are rather remiss in this direction. In the selection of material for manufacture, I do not favour the present method whereby trade instructors choose and approve the material at the contractors' place of business. This system is obviously not a desirable one. If the Government Stores Manager were the channel through which all material and stores were obtained and through which all manufactured goods for other departments were passed, I think there would be a better check and less risk of loss.
PRISONERS.
The question of remissions is of importance, especially in regard to the power vested in visiting justices to deprive prisoners of certain portions of their remission. I would advocate the adoption of the mark system, which works automatically and under which a prisoner works out his own salvation. No prisoner can lose any re mission under this system unless it is proved that he is guilty of misconduct, and it is not within the power of a warder to grant or deprive a prisoner of any remission. Prisoners employed, on special work or on account of special services are granted special privileges and remissions under regulation 195, besides which "extra-special" remission is granted occasionally in exceptional cases. The question of special remission is always a difficult one, it being impossible to make a hard and fast rule; but no matter how deserving a case may be the system is liable to lead to suspicion of favouritism. The circumstances which appear to warrant such extra special remission should always be set forth in full and submitted for the consideration of the Comptroller-General, who would no doubt make his recommendation to the Minister.
It was brought under notice that prisoners on discharge do not always receive railway fares to the places where they are convicted or arrested; but that in cases where a prisoner had earned, say, £5 or £6 in gaol he was required to purchase his own ticket. Unless there are good reasons to the contrary, railway fares should be issued in all cases, irrespective of the amount a prisoner may possess on leaving the prison, either to the place from which he came or to some other place equi-distant. The prisoner's gratuity should not be interfered with, but the full amount should be at his disposal to enable him to live while looking about for employment, or in making a fresh start. Such money need not necessarily be given to a prisoner at the gate, but arrangements could be made for the payment of the whole or part of it when he reaches his destination, each case being dealt with-on its merits.
A prisoner recently escaped from his cell on the third floor by removing the iron bars and the strong jarrah framework of his cell window. From an inspection I am convinced that this. work must have occupied days, if not weeks, to get through with the tools he had to use; the sounds he must have made should have been audible to the officer in charge of the division had he been on the alert. The implements which were found in the cell after the prisoner's escape must have been introduced by him, and would seem to point to great neglect on the part of the officers responsible for searching him, besides which the operation of cutting through the heavy framework and removing the bars must have extended over a very lengthy period, and great carelessness would seem to have been shown by the officers responsible for searching the cell from day to day. That this prisoner was able to remove leather, thread, and other material from the workshops proves the necessity of closer supervision being exercised in the shops. I strongly advocate that the washing of male prisoners' clothing be taken out of the hands of the female prisoners and that the men do their own washing, a proper laundry being provided for the purpose.
FEMALE PRISON.
At the outset I desire to record my opinion that a female prison should not be within the precincts of a male prison, or that the same hard rules and conditions should appertain. The present prison is badly constructed and badly ventilated generally, and not at all adapted for its purpose. There were only about 20 females in the prison during my visit, most of whom belonged to a certain class; but the conditions of the female prison are everything other than they should be when viewed in the light of modern ideas of prison reform, and certainly not conducive to self-respect or reformation of prisoners. The surroundings are hard and dull, and the unpleasant conditions are accentuated by the nature of the employment, and the unbecoming and slatternly dress of the prisoners. Instead of a being employed to wash the heavy moleskin clothes of male prisoners, which work seems unnecessarily arduous and degrading, the women should be given clean work, such as laundering and similar light work, and should also be taught to use sewing machines in connection with dressmaking, shirtmaking, etc. I feel sure that a very beneficial effect would follow the introduction of a neater and tidier dress, including white caps.
I cannot too strongly emphasise the necessity of keeping all first offenders, especially young, absolutely apart from the old hardened offenders of a certain class, when at wor kand when at leisure; in fact, at all times, even when in hospital. The difficult problem of classification and treatment of female prisoners, more particularly in regard to vagrants, drunkards, and prostitutes, has been met in New South Wales by the initiation of the State Reformatory where there are workrooms and lock and ordinary hospitals, and where the various classes are subjected to a thorough system of a discipline, occupation and other essentials of a reformatory and deterrent character. The Shaftesbury Institute in New South Wales is used as an intermediate home for hopeful cases, which receive special training prior to conditional release. In both these institutions a modified form of physical drill, suitable for females, has been introduced, and in the Shaftesbury Institute gardening is one of the features.
While the number of female inebriates in this State may perhaps not yet warrant the expense of such establishments as are above referred to, the necessity fog an inebriate asylum is apparent, many of the inmates at Fremantle (both male and female) being more fitted for such an institution than a prison.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
The staff appeal board has been brought rather prominently under notice, and upon which I have been invited to offer my views. A specially constituted board of appeal is in my opinion not necessary, and it would prove, I think, a costly and cumbrous method of determining cases. I feel sure that satisfactory results would attend the adoption of some such procedure as is recommended in an earlier portion of this report.
Separate treatment need not necessarily be harsh, but as a deterrent, especially in regard to youthful first offenders and to prevent contamination by association with older offenders, should be enforced. I find that this is not the case at Fremantle. The very prisoners (first offenders) who should be made to feel that prison life is not the pleasant one some people outside think it is, escape separate cellular treatment and are allowed to associate in their occupations with the very worst characters. This applies both to youthful offenders and adults. I admit that under present conditions at Fremantle Prison there are difficulties in the way, and the only solution is a separate prison for youthful offenders such as that at Borstal (England). Although I am aware that there is a divergence of opinion amongst penologists with regard to the efficacy of separate treatment, I believe that its alleged drawbacks are more than counter-balanced by the evils of association. I would recommend that all prisoners on first conviction should serve the-first two months of their sentence in separate treatment, prisoners under second sentence four months, and third or subsequent offenders six months in separate treatment; but if a prisoners after release from such treatment misconducts himself he should be liable to undergo a further period of separate treatment not exceeding one, two, or three months, according to the term of his sentence and as the visiting justice may direct. It is admitted that at present there is not sufficient work for prisoners undergoing separate treatment, but this I understand will be remedied shortly, and it should be as soon as possible. Work such as hatmaking, manufacture of straw enveloped for bottles, and sockmaking might be introduced, and educational facilities in the way of books should be provided. In addition, I think that the hours of confinement might safely be reduced to 18 a day.
As there are a considerable number of prisoners in the Fremantle gaol who come under the designation "habitual criminals," it may not be out of place for me to touch on the question of indeterminate sentences, which is a very important one and deserving of serious consideration. Legislation dealing with the habitual and professional criminal has been adopted in New South Wales and Victoria, I believe, with the object of detaining such prisoners for indefinite periods, and although the law has not been in force very long, its adoption has already been attended with success, especially in regard to its deterrent effects. It has, however, not been long enough in force to allow of its reformatory effects being judged, and much depends on the manner in which it is carried out and the conditions of release when the prisoner is considered fit for it. To explain the objects of the system, I cannot do better than quote from statements made by the Rev. Samuel Barrows, ex-member of the United States Congress, and American representative of the International Prison Congress. He says:—
Let us see, first, what an indeterminate sentence is. Strictly speaking it is quite an indefinite sentence; it is a sentence without a maximum or minimum limit, by which a person is submitted to a penal regime, exactly as a sick man is sent to a hospital until he is absolutely cured. Thanks to the indeterminate sentence the attention of the prisoner is fixed upon the future. The definite sentence tells him: "You have infringed upon the law. You must be imprisoned for five years. Your liberty will be given back to you at the end of those years what ever be the state of your mind." The indeterminate sentence says to him: "You are imprisoned because your violation of the law has proven that you were unworthy of being free. You must remain in prison until your character is modified. When it will have changed and when you have proven that you have become again worthy to be free you will recover your liberty." No Judge can in advance tell at what time the prisoner should be rendered to liberty. This knowledge can only be possessed by those who have the opportunity of putting the individual to proof and of judging of his conduct in various circumstances. The question of his liberation does not depend wholly upon his good conduct and obedience to the rules, but also upon the capacity which he possesses to earn his living by his honest labour, upon the moral value he has acquired, and upon the force of will which he will be capable of displaying once in liberty.
Dealing with this question also, Dr. Andrew Wilson, of London, is of opinion that prison would be curative if the indeterminate sentence were adopted, followed up by wise supervision, but that all hope of success, however, rests in that one word—"wise." Prisoners serving these indeterminate sentences should be detained until they have passed through various grades, and when released stringent conditions should be imposed. Havelock Ellis in his revised edition of "The Criminal," refers to this aspect in the following terms:—
Society must say, in effect, to the individual who violates its social instincts: "So long as you act in a flagrantly anti-social manner I shall exercise pressure on you and restrain, more or less, the exercise of your freedom. I will give you a helping hand because the sooner you begin to act socially the better it will be for both of us. I shall be glad to leave you alone, and the sooner the better; but so long as I see that you are a dangerous person I shall not entirely leave my hold on you." That is the only attitude towards the criminal which is at once safe, reasonable and humane.
It would be advisable to introduce legislation in this State similar to that in Queensland and New South Wales, permitting prisoners sentenced on summary conviction for non-payment of fines if unable at the time of conviction to pay the whole of their fines to pay a portion, and to be relieved of a proportionate part of the imprisonment to which they may have been sentenced. This law has lately been introduced in England, and in Queensland and New South Wales has been found to work well. Besides benefiting the prisoners the State is saved a portion of the cost of the prisoners' support and benefits by the revenue received.
There is no doubt that there' are considerable difficulties in regard to administration at Fremantle Prison, mostly due to its unsuitability from a structural point of view and to the fact that all classes of prisoners—no matter what the nature of their offences or sentences may be, from the drunk serving 24 hours to the lifer, the first offender, the youth, the imbecile, the vagrant and the habitual criminal—are confined in the one establishment, though each really requires different treatment. Although I have recommended various alterations and drawn attention to matters which in my opinion may be improved upon even under existing conditions, the fact remains, and must be recognised that, in order to carry out modern principles of prison reform, Acts, regulations, and ideals are of little use without the means and facilities to do so. I can only reiterate the necessity of erecting a new prison or prisons on some suitable site or sites, where prisoners of different classes may be treated in accordance with present-day ideas. This will entail considerable expenditure, but if the State is to fall into line with other States and countries in its prison system the situation will have to be faced sooner or later.
CONCLUSION.
I may remark that my report is not based wholly upon the evidence brought before me, but to a considerable extent upon my personal observation of the state of affairs at Fremantle Prison and my experience in prison work elsewhere. I desire to express my appreciation of the assistance given and information afforded in furtherance of the objects of the Commission by the officials of the Gaols Department, amongst whom I may mention the Comptroller-General (Mr. Oct. Burt), the chaplains, the medical officer, and the Acting-Superintendent of the Prison (Mr. Webster), who appears to be a very capable officer, holding the respect and confidence of those under his control. It is to be regretted that the serious illness Mr. George, the Superintendent, is suffering prevented his affording more information. I am also indebted to the Auditor-General (Mr. Toopin), the Stores Manager (Mr. Simpson) and the Chief "Hansard" Reporter (Mr. Wigg) and his staff for the assistance which each has rendered me. I also desire to place on record the very efficient manner in which the secretarial duties of the Commission were discharged by Mr. Geo Dibdin, whose services throughout, and particularly in the compilation of this report, were of great assistance to me.