SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

Judge G. W. Murray, in the Juvenile Court, has adopted an unique method in bringing about a reformation of delinquent children. He has taken advantage of the powers given him under the statute in regard to the appointment of probation officers, and has vested these powers in seven youths who were brought before the Court on charges of delin-. quency.

In this way Judge Murray hopes to bring about a reform in the character of the youths who appear before him regularly on various charges. The appointments that were made are boys who

have promised the Court to mend their ways, and to be worthy of the powers given them by the Court.

Seven Officers Appointed.

Those who were appointed were:

William Franke, William McBride, Russell West, Ben West, Roy Litteral, James Durning, Lawrence Kessberger.

Unlawful Entry.

Robbery

9

PROBATION AND PROBATION

OFFICERS.

By Miss N. Adler, London, England. Among the smaller Government measures which have recently received the Royal Assent stands the Probation of Offenders Bill now pending in Parliament. Although release under suspension of sentence does not involve a new principle since the passing of the Probation of First Offenders Act in 1887 many thousands of persons have been released on their own recognisances), the new Bill yet marks a decided step forward in the treatment of juvenile and older offenders. For the first time in the history of our constitution, there is placed as a definite duty on an expert body of men and women the obligation to help and befriend young persons and adults who may have committed offenses punishable by imprisonment, provided that the Court regards them as fit subjects for the operation of the Act. Besides the valuable clauses enabling Probation Officers for adults and children to be appointed and specifying their duties, the Bill enumerates the conditions under which an order for probation may be made. Character, antecedents, age, health, or mental condition,, the trivial nature of the offense, the extenuating circumstances under which it was committed are all to be taken into consideration by the court. An order may be made dismissing the charge or discharging the offender conditionally without proceeding to a conviction on his own recognisances. He may be further required to pay damages for injury or compensation for loss. In the case of children or young persons under sixteen years the parents or guardians may be required to pay such costs or damages if it is found that they have conduced to the commission of the offense according to the Youthful Offenders Act, 1901.

The recognisances entered into by an offender under the new Act may contain valuable provisions suited to the circumstances of each individual case. He may be prohibited from associating with thieves and other undesirable persons, or from frequenting undesirable places. He may be compelled to abstain from intoxicating liquor, when the offense was drunkenness or committed under the influence of drink. Other general conditions may be made for securing that the offender shall lead an honest and industrious life. In order to aid persons discharged under such recognisances, and to report to the court regarding their behaviour, Probation Officers may be appointed whose duty it will be to visit or receive reports from the offenders under supervision at stated intervals. When

ever necessary these officers are to advise, assist, and befriend, and even to find employment for the persons placed under their care. Special Probation Officers are to be appointed where circumstances permit, to be called Children's Probation Officers, who, in the absence of any reason to the contrary, are to be placed in charge of young persons under sixteen years of age.

A comparison of probation as against prison treatment shows how much more economical is reform than retributive punishment. The Massachusetts Prison Association give the following figures in their report for 1903:

"The salaries and expenses of lower court Probation Officers in 1902 were about $61,000. The number taken on probation was 7,360. If they had been sent to prison, the average term would have been at least three months. Estimating the bare cost of provisions at one dollar a week, the saving was nearly $100,000. In this estimate all other prison expenses, some of them very large, are ignored, as they are not easily separable."

In New York careful probation has been very successful in the cases not only of youths of about seventeen years of age who have been guilty of trifling offenses, but also in those of lads who had serious convictions recorded against them. It will be at once recognized that to produce satisfactory results of this kind the Probation Officer must be a person of much spiritual and intellectual force. Knowledge of industrial and social conditions seems to be essential, obtained partly through Settlement-training, partly by economic theory. Doubtless the Missionary Societies attached to the various police-courts will volunteer their services. It is doubtful whether they will be able to find sufficient suitably-trained men and women for the purpose. Goodwill alone will not equip a first-rate Probation Officer, and it appears, on the whole, desirable that persons who undertake this work should have secured their experience, not among the hopeless element of our population, but rather among the more stimulating surroundings of clubs and schools and Lads' Brigades.

The foregoing remarks have mainly dealt with probation as it affects the adult and adolescent. We have still, however, to consider an important section of the community-the childrenand here America can teach us much. The pages of the Juvenile Court Record contain practical details and helpful counsel on the treatment of youthful offenders. Three points stand out with marked distinction. The Juvenile Court and the Probation Officer should go hand in hand,