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In these cases it is sometimes well to place the delinquent on unofficial probation. This work, which is usually undertaken by other agencies, is neglected in the smaller cities and in the villages. It is, however, of great importance as it is often the means of preventing a court record and further delinquency.

One woman probation officer, in reporting upon her unofficial cases, says: "It seems impossible for anyone with a conscience, anyone with a bit of sympathy for frail humanity, or anyone with the conviction that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure' to turn a deaf ear to the pleadings of a heart-broken, respectable parent to save my boy before it is too late.'" This same officer reports gratifying results in some of these cases. The following are examples: Young girls have been escorted to their homes late at night by the probation officer; homes have been visited in the evening at the request of parents and young girls have been warned that complaints would be made to the court if they did not obey their parents and stay away from harmful company and keep better hours; cases where husbands and wives were about to separate were settled satisfactorily through the intervention of the probation officer; neighborhood quarrels have been adjusted and the disgrace of publicity in the court avoided.

The Commission believes it is necessary to warn the probation officers against attempting so much unofficial work as to interfere in any way with the officer's regular duties with court cases. The probation officer should not assume the functions of the police nor of the court. He should report all action taken by him to the judge under whom he serves. With these precautions, this work is to be commended as frequently of great value to the community.

PAROLE AND ITS RELATION TO PROBATION

With the growing interest in prison reform, there is evidence of increasing interest in the parole work of the State. Nothing, however, has been done to increase the number of parole officers and extend this work except in the city of New York.

By the Act of 1915, a Parole Commission was created for New York city consisting of three salaried members, the Commissioner of Correction and the Police Commissioner as ex-officio members. The Commission has wide powers to decide the period of parole

for practically all persons committed to the penitentiary and the New York City Reformatory and for a large number of those committed to the workhouse. The Commission also has authority to appoint parole officers so far as their compensation is allowed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and supervises their work. At the beginning of 1916, the Commission had appointed a secretary and seven parole officers and in addition was using the services of volunteers. There will be a great extension in this work shortly under the provision of the act prescribing indeterminate sentences for the majority of the offenders in these institutions. The Parol Commission is seeking the co-operation of the probation officers of the city and has arranged for the interchange of reports and records. The two sets of officers will deal with the same cases in very many instances, most frequently, of course, the parole officers getting the offenders after they have had a chance on probation. The work to be done by the two sets of officers is almost identical in the matter of investigations and constructive work with persons in their care. The objects of probation and parole are practically the same, and the closest co-operation should exist between the two sets of officers.

The situation in regard to parole work in the State at large remains practically the same. The following table shows the number of persons paroled from all State institutions during the year ending September 30, 1915:

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CHART VII

VARIATIONS IN THE NUMBER OF PERSONS ON PAROLE FROM INSTITUTIONS IN THE CARE OF PROBATION OFFICERS AT THE END OF EACH MONTH

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For the care of these paroled persons, children and adults, and the many others remaining on parole from preceding years, only 25 regular parole officers are now employed in the State. These officers moreover act only for their own institutions and so in many instances cover the same areas. Of course, it is necessary for them to depend largely upon the reports of others in regard to the conduct of their charges. In this work they utilize various citizens, including representatives of charitable organizations, chiefs of police, and probation officers. We find that probation officers are everywhere ready to co-operate with the parole officers in supplying information and in some instances taking entire charge of cases. This work has been especially developed in the city of Buffalo where the county probation office has cared for 21 persons discharged from the State prisons during the past year. In the State at large the number of paroled persons in charge of all probation officers as reported monthly to the Commission has been increased till at the end of the year the number of cases was 149. The following chart shows the increase in this work.

The Commission recommends as in the past that probation officers should undertake this work so far as their time and other duties allow. The system of having parole officers travel over large areas, attempting to supervise their cases in many localities, cannot work satisfactorily without a very much larger number of such officers than there is any chance of the State providing in the near future. We believe that the probation officers might with advantage co-operate with the agents of institutions in this work to a still greater degree. If necessary there might be provided additional probation officers to act as parole officers for all persons paroled in certain localities.

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