Britain: An official handbook > 1959

GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
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ages of 16 and 21 years. For boys in England and Wales there are two borstal
allocation centres, and 15 training borstals, one correction centre and one recall
centre; and there are three training borstals and one recall centre for girls. In
Scotland, there are four borstals for boys and one for girls; and in Northern Ireland,
one for boys and one for girls. The period of the sentence is in effect four years
(three years in Scotland and Northern Ireland); it is divided between training
in a borstal institution and controlled freedom under supervision. In Scotland the
supervision period is for one year from the date of release from the institution or
until the expiration of three years from the date of sentence, whichever is the
shorter. The system of training seeks the all-round development of character and
capacities, and is based on progressive trust demanding increasing personal
decision, responsibility and self-control. There is much freedom of movement, and
many borstals are conducted in open conditions. An initial period of classification
ensures that each boy or girl is sent to the institution best suited to his or her
requirements.
Probation
The probation system is designed to secure the rehabilitation of an offender
while he remains at work or at school in the community under the supervision of
a probation officer, whose duty it is to advise, assist and befriend him. A cardinal
feature of the system is that it relies on the co-operation of the offender. Before
making a probation order, the court must explain its effects to the person concerned
and inform him that if he fails to comply with its requirements he will be liable to
be dealt with for the original offence. A probation order cannot be made without
the consent of the person concerned unless (in England, Wales, and Northern
Ireland only) he is under 14 years of age. The order usually requires the probationer
to keep in regular touch with the probation officer, to be of good behaviour and to
lead an industrious life. It may also require him to live in a specified place, or to
submit to treatment for his mental condition. A probation order is made for not
less than one year and not more then three years.
Every magistrates’ court and superior criminal court must have available the
services of probation officers of both sexes. In 1958, the total numbers were:
1,300 whole-time and 54 part-time probation officers in England and Wales,
14 whole-time and one part-time in Northern Ireland, and 120 whole-time and
34 part-time in Scotland. In London, the appointment of probation officers is the
responsibility of the Home Secretary, and in Northern Ireland of the Ministry of
Home Affairs; elsewhere it is the responsibility of probation committees appointed
by magistrates in England and Wales, and by local authorities in Scotland (except
for certain ex officio members), but all appointments are subject to confirmation
by the Home Secretary and the Secretary of State for Scotland, respectively.
Training facilities in England and Wales are provided by the Home Office on the
advice of the Probation Advisory and Training Board and are made available,
by arrangement, to Northern Ireland officers. In Scotland, training is provided
during the first year of appointment and before the officer is allowed to make
probation work his permanent career.
THE POLICE SERVICE
The police service of Great Britain is organised and controlled on a local basis
under the guidance of those Ministers of the Crown who are responsible for the
maintenance of law and order in their respective countries. In England and Wales,
the responsible Minister is the Home Secretary; in Scotland, the Secretary of State