punishable with penal servitude or imprisonment, and either (a) appears to the court to be not less than 12 years of age; or (b) is proved to have been previously convicted of an offence punishable with penal servitude or imprisonment,* the court may, in addition to or in lieu of sentencing him according to law to any punishment, order that he be sent to a certified reformatory school, and be there detained for a period of not less than three and not more than five years, so, however, that the period is such as will, in the opinion of the court, expire at or before the time at which the offender will attain the age of 19 years.† 2. Without prejudice to any other powers of the Power to remand court, the court may direct that the offender be taken to youthful offenders. a prison, or to any other place, not being a prison, which the court thinks fit, and the occupier of which is willing to receive him, and be detained therein for any time not exceeding seven days, or in case of necessity, for a period not exceeding 14 days, or until an order is sooner made for his discharge, or for his being sent to a reformatory school, or otherwise dealt with under this or any other Act; and the person to whom the order is addressed is hereby empowered and required to detain him accordingly, and if the offender escapes, he may be apprehended without warrant, and brought back to the place of detention. With respect to the question of the custody of girls committed to reformatory schools under the Reformatory Schools Act, 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 48), without undergoing preliminary imprisonment, the Secretary of State considers it very desirable that their custody should be entrusted to women. When girls who are to be sent to reformatory schools are committed for preliminary detention in prison they are during imprisonment in the custody of female warders, and when removed to the reformatory they are invariably escorted by a female * An order of detention in an industrial sehool is not a conviction, therefore a child sent to a reformatory in pursuance of section 33 of the Industrial Schools Act, 1866, must now be 12 years of age to make that section of any effect. Young persons may also be committed with their own consent in Glasgow under section 29 of the Local Act (viz.), the Glasgow Delinquency, &c., Act, 1878, App. K (1), see section 31 (note), post, p. 203. Commitment of Offenders. The first two paragraphs of section 14 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1866, required that a youthful offender, before being sent to a reformatory school, should be imprisoned for not less than 10 days. These paragraphs are now by section 4 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1893, repealed; and it is left to the discretion of the court whether to order imprisonment or not, section 1 prescribing that the court may order the offender to be sent to a reformatory school" in addition to or in lieu of sentencing him according to law to any punishment." In section 2 provision is made for the temporary detention of an offender either in a prison or in “ any "other place, not being a prison, which the court thinks "fit, and the occupier of which is willing to receive him," pending the completion of arrangements for his reception in a reformatory school. Section 1 provides also, in further amendment of the provisions of section 14 of the Act of 1866, that no child under 12 years of age shall be sent to a reformatory school unless he has been previously convicted of an offence punishable with penal servitude or imprisonment ; that the minimum period of detention in the school shall be three years; and that no offender shall be detained in the school after reaching the age of 19 years. (Secretary of State's circular, 4. 55,318, November 1st, 1893.) THE REFORMATORY SCHOOLS ACT, 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 48). COMMITMENT of OFFENDERS under SIXTEEN YEARS of AGE to REFORMATORY SCHOOLS. 1. Where a youthful offender, who, in the opinion of the court* before whom he is charged, is less than 16 years of age, is convicted, whether on indictment or by a court of summary jurisdiction,† of an offence *This must be read in connection with the Summary Jurisdiction Rule, 1895, requiring the birthday of the child, &c., to be given in the warrant of committal. For form of warrant, nomination of school, see Summary Jurisdiction Rule, 1895, Appendix A., p. 28. † By section 10 (4), and section 11 (3) of the Summary Jurisdiction Act, 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 49), it is enacted that nothing in these sections shall prejudice the right of the court of summary jurisdiction to send a young person to a reformatory or industrial school. punishable with penal servitude or imprisonment, and either (a) appears to the court to be not less than 12 years of age; or (b) is proved to have been previously convicted of an offence punishable with penal servitude or the court may, in addition to or in lieu of sentencing 2. Without prejudice to any other powers of the Power to remand court, the court may direct that the offender be taken to youthful offenders. a prison, or to any other place, not being a prison, which the court thinks fit, and the occupier of which is willing to receive him, and be detained therein for any time not exceeding seven days, or in case of necessity, for a period not exceeding 14 days, or until an order is sooner made for his discharge, or for his being sent to a reformatory school, or otherwise dealt with under this or any other Act; and the person to whom the order is addressed is hereby empowered and required to detain him accordingly, and if the offender escapes, he may be apprehended without warrant, and brought back to the place of detention. With respect to the question of the custody of girls committed to reformatory schools under the Reformatory Schools Act, 1893 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 48), without undergoing preliminary imprisonment, the Secretary of State considers it very desirable that their custody should be entrusted to women. When girls who are to be sent to reformatory schools are committed for preliminary detention in prison they are during imprisonment in the custody of female warders, and when removed to the reformatory they are invariably escorted by a female * An order of detention in an industrial sehool is not a conviction, therefore a child sent to a reformatory in pursuance of section 33 of the Industrial Schools Act, 1866, must now be 12 years of age to make that section of any effect. † Young persons may also be committed with their own consent in Glasgow under section 29 of the Local Act (viz.), the Glasgow Delinquency, &c., Act, 1878, App. K (1), see section 31 (note), post, p. 203. warder, and the Secretary of State thinks that a similar rule should hold in the case of girls sent direct to a reformatory without previous imprisonment. If they are detained in a workhouse or police station, they should in all cases be under the charge and care of women, and, on removal to the reformatory, the duty of escort should be entrusted to a woman who should be accompanied if necessary by a police constable. (Circular of the Secretary of State, A. 55,318в, June 20th, 1894.) to It is in the discretion (see section 8, ante, p. 4) of the authorities of reformatory schools receive or to refuse cases sent to them, and they very properly require to be satisfied before receiving children that they are medically fit for the discipline and training of the school, and not infrequently also impose other conditions varying in different schools on the admission of cases. Except therefore where there is a standing arrangement with a particular school to receive cases from the court, a sufficient notice of the committal of any offender should be given to the school to which it is proposed to send him, and the authorities should be furnished with a medical certificate of the child's health, and with full information as to his offence and as to his character and antecedents. While the law required a child to be sent to prison before removal to the reformatory, these things were attended to by the visiting committee of the prison, who made application for the admission of boys to the school managers, giving full particulars of sentence, religion, age, circumstances, present and past offences, and physical fitness for reformatory training ; but, now that children can be sent direct to the reformatory, it becomes necessary that the magistrates who commit should select the school and see that all the conditions of admission are fulfilled. It is particularly desirable that they should in each case have before them a medical certificate of the fitness of the child for reformatory school discipline before making the order of committal. Unless this is done the authorities are fully justified in refusing to accept the offender committed to the school, or in applying to the Secretary of State for his immediate release. (See Secretary of State's circular of 22nd August 1894.) * As it has been decided that the cost of the medical certificate should not fall on the Treasury, it becomes necessary for the local committing authority to arrange for the payment. The remainder of section 14 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1866, not repealed by the last-mentioned Act provides that— 14. The particular school to which the youthful offender School to be named is to be sent may be named either at the time of his by the court. sentence being passed, or within seven days thereafter, by the court, justices, or magistrate who sentenced him, or in default thereof at any time before the expiration of his imprisonment by any visiting justice of the prison to which he is committed.* It would appear that in cases of non-committal to prison, a responsibility also now devolves on the magistrate to select a proper place for preliminary detention before removal to the school, and in the cases of girls they should only be detained in a place where they are under the charge of a woman, and that they should be removed thence to the school in charge of a woman. (Secretary of State's circular of the 22nd August 1894.) Isle of Man.-By the Reformatory and Industrial Power to send Manx Schools (Manx Children) Act, 1884, the Government and Channel Islands children to English of the Isle of Man may, with the assent of the Secretary schools. of State and with the approval of the Tynwald Court, contract with reformatory or industrial schools in Great Britain for the reception of Manx children, sentenced to be sent to any such school by justices or a court in the said isle, and when delivered up to the managers of the school to which he is sent, he may thenceforth be dealt with in the same manner and be subject to the Reformatory Schools Act in the same way as if he had been sent by the justices, &c. of the United Kingdom. By the Reformatory and Industrial School (Channel Islands children) Act, 1885, similar powers are conferred on the Channel Islands Government.† THE REFORMATORY SCHOOLS ACT, 1866. 14. In choosing a certified reformatory school, the Religious persuasion court, justices, magistrate, or visiting justice shall en- of youthful offenders. deavour to ascertain the religious persuasion to which It is important to notice that the reformatory to which the offender is to be sent must be named before the completion of the term of imprisonment or the reformatory portion of the sentence lapses. No Treasury grant is allowed to either Manx or Channel Islands children, the cost of conveyance to or from, as well as cost of maintenance, being defrayed by their respective governments. For the text of the Acts, see Appendix M (1), M (2) to the Industrial Schools Acts, post, pp. 241 and 243. Existing reformatory schools are broadly distinguished as Protestant and Roman Catholic, Protestant schools including Church of England and Dissenters. By a circular of February 1888 a closer definition of child's religious persuasion was urged on the magistrates by the Secretary of State. |