child placed in the care of a probation officer for a period not to exceed three months, and on such conditions as might seem proper. When practicable, the children were to be placed with probation officers of the same religious faith as the child's parents.

Section 707 of the charter of the city of New York as revised in 1901, authorized the placing upon probation of persons convicted of public intoxication or disorderly conduct, for a period not exceeding six months, and also authorized the Court of Special Sessions and the board of city magistrates in each division of the city, to appoint probation officers, assign them to the various courts, and define the duties of such probation officers.

The reference to the Court of Special Sessions in this section was omitted in a revision of this section in 1905 as unnecessary.

Neither the original law providing for a children's court in the city of New York, enacted in 1901, nor the later statute enacted in 1902, under which the children's court was actually organized, contain any reference to the subject of probation. The law under which the juvenile court of Brooklyn was organized, chapter 159, Laws of 1903, provided that the presiding justice of the children's court should have authority to appoint "not more than three discreet persons of good character to serve as probation officers during the pleasure of the court." It further provided that the duties of these probation officers shall be "to make such investigation as may be required by the court; to be present in court in order to represent the interests of the child when the case is heard; to furnish to the court such information and assistance as he may require, and to take charge of any child before and after trial, as may be directed by the court.”

The law providing for the establishment of a juvenile court in Rochester, chapter 543, Laws of 1905, provides that the commissioner of public safety may appoint such number of probation

officers, at a salary fixed by the board of estimate and apportion

ment, as the said board may prescribe, one or more of whom, if so determined by the said board, may be women. The police justice may also appoint additional probation officers to serve without compensation.

STATUTES RELATING TO INDIVIDUALS.

Several statutes have been passed for the purpose of authorizing the payment of salaries to individual probation officers appointed by the Court of Special Sessions in Manhattan; and also for such appointment by the member of the board of city magistrates who did not desire the detail of a police officer for this purpose. Each of these statutes named the individual whose appointment was authorized, and became practically obsolete upon the separation of that individual from the service.

THE PRESENT CONDITIONS OF PROBATION WORK IN NEW YORK.

While chapter 372, Laws of 1901, has provided that justices of courts having original jurisdiction of criminal actions "shall " appoint probation officers, it has been carried into effect in but few of the courts.

As all of this work is of recent establishment and is comparatively little known, it seems best to state somewhat fully the existing practices in different parts of the State before considering their merits and deficiencies. The present administration of probation work in the different parts of this State may be summarized as follows:

(a) Probation for Adults.

In the magistrates' courts, boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, two probation officers have been provided in each court,

a police officer for male offenders, and a female probation officer for women. The police probation officers are regular members of the police force of the city of New York, usually patrolmen, detailed to do probation work by the commissioner of police, at the request of the board of city magistrates. The police officer is the personal choice of a magistrate and accompanies him as the magistrate serves in succession in the different courts. Ordinarily the term of service at a given court is two weeks. During his term of service the magistrate sits each day in the week, including Sunday. As a rule the magistrate is relieved from court attendance for a period of from ten to fifteen days each month. During this time the police probation officer does not attend court, but is expected to visit persons under his probationary care, or to perform such other probation work as may be assigned to him by the magistrate. As the magistrate serves in turn in the eight different magistrates courts in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, and as the police probation officer follows his magistrate, he has or may have, in course of time, probationers under his care from all parts of the city.

One magistrate, Hon. Joseph Pool, has declined to apply for the detail of a police officer and has a civilian performing such service.

The magistrates, fourteen in number (one has been incapacitated for some time), differ greatly as to the number of persons placed by them on probation, as to the class of offenders selected for probationary oversight, and as to the length of the probationary term.

Female probation officers in the magistrates' courts in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx were originally selected by the individual magistrates, and were, as a rule, persons pre

viously selected by charitable or religious societies for missionary work in the police courts. In 1904 a law was enacted (chapter 508, Laws of 1904) permitting the payment of salaries to female probation officers in the city of New York. These officers were thereupon appointed formally by the board of city magistrates, but as the position had not been classified in the exempt class and as no competitive examination had been held, no salaries could be paid under such appointments. The female probation officer is not assigned to a particular magistrate, but to a particular court, and serves that court irrespective of the rotation of the magistrates.

No rules were adopted by the board of city magistrates defining the duties of the probation officers until January, 1906, to take effect on February 1st, and their methods of work have varied greatly. There has been the widest possible variety of practice as to the frequency with which the probation officer reports individual cases to the magistrate, the frequency with which the offender on probation is required to report to the probation officer, the place at which such reports are required to be made, the record kept by the probation officer, and, in fact, in regard to all features of the work.

The rules which took effect on February 1, 1906, provide that a central system for the identification and record of probationers and offenders be established; that all of the probation officers shall meet on the first Monday of each month; that all female probationers shall report on the first Friday evening after they are placed on probation, and all male offenders on the first Monday evening following the date on which they are placed on probation, and shall report thereafter as the magistrate may direct; that a standing committee of the board of magistrates

of three members shall be appointed to see that the rules are enforced; and that a duplicate of the card system shall be installed in five other courts.

The duties of the female probation officers, as stated by one of these officers to the Commission, may be summarized as follows:

The duties of a woman probation officer are to report at the court every morning at nine o'clock, to visit the prison, making inquiry as to the number of women held over night, and questioning them relative to their past history and the cause of their present arrest; and to report the facts to the magistrate at the opening of the court or as the individual cases come up.

The actual supervision over the conduct of the probationer is begun as soon as she is placed under the care of the probation officer. She is told to report either at the court or at the home of the probation officer once a week. It is also the duty of the probation officer to visit the home of the probationer, to find out the conditions of her home surroundings, and if necessary for the betterment of the condition of the charge, to change those surroundings, either by changing the employment or by changing the home of the girl to a better locality.

The probation officer should, from time to time, report to the magistrate the conditions of each case, and make a full report in writing every quarter.

The latest available statistics of the work of the female probation officers of the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, including the work from May 1 to October 1, 1905, are as follows: