J.— PSYCHOLOGY. 227 



psychological situation and outlook are different. The prisoner will 

 never be returned to civil life. For the protection of society he must be 

 kept in restraint permanently. But he is a human being, and the moral 

 sense of society will demand that he be treated as such, not merely 

 negatively by the avoidance of inhuman conditions, but positively by the 

 provision of such amelioration of his lot as is possible without sacrificing 

 essential principles. 



Everyone is agreed, I think, as regards these general matters. There 

 will also be general agreement that the stigma of prison life means in 

 itself the very serious modification of the psychological situation in the 

 case of every individual who incurs it, so serious that no psychologist can 

 regard short-term prison sentences with anything but dismay. It must 

 be recognised that it is with respect to prison treatment especially that 

 society, in protecting itself, or attempting to do so, runs the risk of 

 making matters worse instead of better, and the gravest practical problems 

 arise with regard to this type of punishment. Much has been done in 

 recent years to remove acknowledged evils and defects of our prison system. 

 Much may still be done. Nevertheless, I personally, and, I imagine, most 

 psychologists, would look upon any further advance in the directions 

 hitherto pursued with serious misgivings as to psychological results, until 

 we have first attacked more fundamental problems, and reviewed our 

 whole penal system in the light of the psychological knowledge of to-day. 



Let me try to indicate where, in my opinion, the crux of the whole 

 matter lies. I think all will agree that the very first essential is that we 

 should have the requisite knowledge and understanding of the psychological 

 situation with which we are faced, and the psychological effects likely to 

 be produced by the action taken. Society has to decide whether an 

 individual delinquent is to be punished in this way or that way, whether 

 he cannot be reformed but must be placed under restraint for life, or can 

 be reformed during temporary restraint by appropriate treatment, or can 

 be reformed without undergoing prison life, and in each case what can 

 and ought to be aimed at. No general theories concerning the causation 

 of crime, no systems of penal philosophy, not even the best intentions in 

 the world, can take the place of a thorough knowledge and understanding 

 •of the individual case. This is precisely where our whole penal system is 

 at present most defective. Moreover, the defect is one that can be remedied 

 without serious difl&calty in the present state of development of modern 

 science, medical and psychological, but no opportunity is afforded. The 

 first and essential step towards the further reform of our penal system 

 lies in affording this opportunity. This could be done by instituting a 

 ■clinical examination, medical and psychological, of every delinquent 

 before sentence is jjassed, and by taking advantage wherever possible of 

 modern psychological knowledge. The psychological clinic is at present 

 practically non-existent in this country. It is high time this state of 

 matters was remedied. School and law-court both demand its institution. 

 That is the first step. When we have taken that step, we shall be able to 

 take further steps in penal reform, with the advantage of acting with 

 adequate knowledge of what can be done and what we are really doing in 

 each particular case. Until that step is taken, every other change we 

 introduce by way of reform has a hit-or-miss character, which cannot fail 



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