Britain: An official handbook > 1966

LAW AND ORDER
Borstal Institutions
Probation
Research
105
persons discharged from detention centres is undertaken by probation
officers.
The borstal training system consists of different borstals specialising in
different types of young offender, classified according to such criteria as age,
intelligence and criminal sophistication. There are also a few borstals for
special purposes, such as allocation or recall. In England and Wales the
period of detention ranges from six months to two years and is followed
by supervision for two years from the date of release. In Scotland, where
there is no minimum period of detention, the maximum is two years and the
supervision period is for one year from the date of release from the institution.
Sentences in Northern Ireland are for periods not exceeding three years
including the period under supervision; normally release does not take place
until at least nine months of the sentence has expired. The system is essentially
remedial and educational, based on personal training by a carefully selected
staff. Emphasis is placed on vocational training in skilled trades; there is
much freedom of movement and many borstals are open establishments.
An initial period of classification ensures that each young offender is sent to
the institution best suited to his or her requirements.
The probation service is designed to secure the rehabilitation of an offender
while he remains at work or at school under the supervision of a probation
officer, whose duty it is to advise, assist and befriend him. A cardinal feature
of the service is that it relies on the co-operation of the offender. Before
making a probation order, the court must explain its effects and make sure
that the probationer understands that if he fails to comply with the require¬
ments of the order he will be liable to be dealt with for the original offence.
A probation order cannot be made without the consent of the person con¬
cerned 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 than three years.
Every magistrates’ court and superior criminal court must have available the
services of probation officers of both sexes. In England and Wales the appoint¬
ment of probation officers is the responsibility of probation committees com¬
posed of justices and in Scotland of probation committees composed of ex officio
members and members appointed by the local authorities, but first appoint¬
ments are subject to confirmation by the Home Secretary and the Secretary
of State for Scotland respectively. In Northern Ireland the Minister of Home
Affairs himself appoints the probation officers. Training facilities in England
and Wales are provided by the Home Office on the advice of the Advisory
Council for Probation and After-Care and are made available by arrangement
to Northern Ireland officers. In Scotland training is mainly provided during
the first year of appointment and before the officer enters on the duties of
the service.
Research into the causes and prevention of crime and into various methods
of dealing with offenders is increasingly recognised as of vital importance in
dealing with the problems of delinquency. A research unit of the Home Office
carries out a wide programme of research and maintains liaison with academic
organisations. Government grants for criminological research at universities
and other institutions are likely to amount to over £90,000 in 1965-66.