A COURSE FOR PRUSSIAN PRISON OFFICIALS AND OTHERS By August Plaschke, Ministry Of Justice, Prussia

I am very glad to give to The Delinquent information regarding the course of instruction in penology which for the last ten years has been conducted by the Prussian Ministry of Justice. There are three kinds of prisons under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice:—

1. The local prisons, under the direction of the local magistrate.

2. The county prisons, under the direction of the ranking county district attorney.

3. The large, so-called “special prisons,” of which the “Director” is the executive officer.

We had the experience that the directors of those prisons I have named under 1. above did not always meet the demands that we believed the government had the right to require of them, because they did not possess the necessary means and knowledge. The training of the lower officials in these local institutions was also often faulty. To be sure, there prevailed in general a condition of cleanliness, order and honesty, but the treatment of the prisoner according to the crime and to the individuality of the inmate was often pretty poor.

On the other hand, we came to the conclusion that only those judges could properly and reasonably impose a just sentence who knew and had studied the effect of imprisonment and the administration of a prison sentence upon the prisoner. And so there developed from this idea the requirement that the judge should also be assigned to the office of prison warden. And so, with the introduction of the course on prison administration, we had two aims:—

1. The understanding of the judge should be strengthened as to the effect of imprisonment upon the prisoner, in order that proper sentences should be imposed, not only from the standpoint of the law, but from that of the individual to be imprisoned.

2. It was important to develop prison wardens who would understand the effects of imprisonment and who could therefore administer their office properly. This required a proper training in all the details of prison administration, and the rules and regulations. We were confident that when the warden became conversant with all these matters, if he then had the necessary knowledge and interest, he would also train up in his turn the lesser officials of the prison.

So much for the purposes of the course in prison administration. We carry on the course in the following manner. We issue, around January, not a special, but a general invitation to attend the course. The invitation goes to recently admitted members of the bar, judges, district attorneys, and also to clergymen, physicians and the higher prison officials, who have shown special interest in their work. The invitations are very numerous. But since we can receive at the most only from 24 to 27 persons, in order to do each person justice during the two weeks of the course, only about fifty per cent. of the requests for admission can be considered.

The course is divided into two parts, practical and a scientific. During the forenoon the men in the course work in the prisons, where they are instructed in all the details of the administration. In the afternoon, scientific lectures are held, with following discussion, lasting often four hours or longer. I regard this part of the course as of great value. After the close of the course, during which, by the way, there are inspections of a number of institutions, the participants in the course return to their occupations, with the admonition that they shall pass along the knowledge they have acquired, and especially to give to the lesser officials of the respective prisons from which they have come, the benefit of what they have acquired. In this manner we send out through the Kingdom of Prussia every year a corps of new teachers.

Moreover, we ascertain who among the men that have taken the course has shown special interest, and is inclined to become the warden of a prison, and we send him for several months to one of our best conducted institutions, “in training.” Here he takes up the ordinary duties of the minor officials, up to and including the duties of the director of the institution himself. And if he shows himself well qualified, he is assigned as soon as possible to the position of representative of the warden, or his associate in the case of especially difficult tasks, and in this manner comes to learn the duties of prison warden in a number of institutions. And from this group of men the directors of the prisons are chosen.

As to the subjects of the lectures of the course, I would say that I cannot be very specific, for they change from year to year. The lecturers are both executive and theoretical. Among the teachers I might mention Professors Kahl, von Hippel, and Moehli. Among the subjects are the following:

Prison System and Prison Architecture.

The Mentally Deficient: their responsibility and methods of treatment.

The Treatment of Juveniles.

Organization of the Prison Administration.

If you wish, I shall be very glad to send you the program of the last course.

I can say, with much satisfaction, that we have really succeeded with these courses, and that they have found very favorable mention both in the press and in Parliament. The participants in the course complain sometimes because they are driven so hard, and I confess that the mental strain is considerable. But they nevertheless show great zeal and industry.