A third defect in the Buffalo probation system is the absence of a full report to the court and the discharge of the probationer at the termination of the period of probation.

It may well be that if at the end of each probation period, the probation officer had reported fully to the judge the circumstances, surroundings and conduct of each child, he would have adopted a somewhat more drastic policy in connection with confirmed offenders. If a judge is to exercise increasing wisdom and discrimination in the application of the probation system, it is essential that he should be informed of the results of his previous selection of offenders for probationary treatment.

In Rochester there is a combination of paid service provided by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and volunteer service rendered by the managers of that society, clergymen and others. From our examination of the judge of the juvenile court and of the agent of the society, we gain an impression that here too the volunteer work has many elements of value but is not entirely satisfactorily organized; that it is not easy to be sure that, the volunteer worker understands all that the court expects him to do and that he actually carries out the wishes of the court. The agent of the society here, as elsewhere, admits that his other duties, previously assumed, are so extensive and engrossing that it is not possible for him to carry on the probation work in all respects as he believes it should be carried on.

In Syracuse too the overworked salaried agent of the Humane Society finds himself unequal to the work previously assumed and to the additional work involved in the adoption of the probation system. As this report goes to press we are informed that provision is being made for at least one salaried probation

officer for children in the Juvenile Court of Syracuse. We believe this to be in line with the inevitable and logical development of probation work.

In Utica there is so-called probation without a probation officer. Truant officers exercise some supervision over truants on probation (as they do elsewhere), but as there are only two truant officers for this city of 63,000 people, they are naturally unable to add any considerable amount of probation work to their other duties. The action of the judge in releasing a considerable number of offenders under suspended sentence is commendable, but its effectiveness would, in our opinion, be very greatly increased if probationary oversight were available for those so released.

In Schenectady the agent of the Humane Society is the only probation officer. To a greater extent than is the case with any other representative of these societies engaged in probation work, he emphasizes his personal acquaintance with the boys and relies upon his personal influence as an important factor. The work in Schenectady seems to us to realize more nearly the proper standards of probation work than in most other cities of this State. The visitation at the boys' home is not as frequent as the agent would like to have it, the court records are not as complete as they should be, and in our opinion the term of probation might profitably be extended somewhat.

In Albany and Troy the probation work is carried on by agents of the Mohawk and Hudson River Humane Society, is admittedly somewhat tentative, but seems to us to be proceeding in the right directions. Friendly relations between the probation officer and the probationer are emphasized. Failure to observe the terms of probation is not allowed to pass unnoticed; visitation of the home

is recognized as an essential factor. Here, as elsewhere, however, the agents of this society, by reason of the large amount of work of various sorts devolved upon them, are admittedly unable to visit the probationers in their homes, except occasionally, and hence are not able to form effective personal relations with them. The term of probation is, as a rule, somewhat longer than in most other cities. A larger amount of paid service, supplemented by volunteer aid and a longer period of probationary oversight, are desirable.

SOME GENERAL DEFICIENCIES.

(a) Too indiscriminate use.

While the probation system is of undoubted value and in our opinion is capable of much wider acceptance and more extended use than at present, in common with other human institutions it is not free from dangers. These dangers arise in the main from a disposition to regard the newest thing in social advance as a panacea, and consequently to apply it without due discrimination. Probation is a valuable institution; but it is not in all cases, even of juvenile offenders, a proper substitute for commitment. To fail to place the offender under a vigorous corrective discipline when such course is clearly indicated by the circumstances of the offense and the previous character and present disposition of the offender, is an evil only less serious than to imprison the offender when the circumstances would justify his release upon probation.

(b) Attenuated probation.

The probation system may easily become so attenuated as to be of little value If the probation officer has an excessively large

number of persons under his care and consequently does not keep informed in regard to their conduct and habits, if he fails to visit them at their homes or places of employment and relies solely upon their occasional visits to him, or even, as in some cases, on written reports or information that may reach him accidentally, it is evident that probation has lost its meaning, and that we cannot expect it to effect any change in the point of view or habits of the offender. The returns from the probation system in the form of actual improvement or reformation in the habits and character of the offenders will be in strict proportion to the amount of intelligence, energy, thought, time, care, personal influence, and moral suasion put into the probation work by those who administer it.

The probationary oversight of juvenile offenders should include full knowledge of all the important factors in the child's life affecting his conduct. It should certainly include full knowledge of his home surroundings; of the training received in the home; of his attendance at school and his aptitude shown in his school work; of his forms of recreation; of his religious training. It should also include that which is very frequently overlooked but is, nevertheless, of the highest importance-a careful physical examination of the child by a competent physician. Such an examination will often bring to light defect of the senses, or other abnormal physical conditions easily susceptible of remedy, which have a marked bearing, if not a determining effect, upon the child's conduct.

(c) Too short a period of probation.

it is self-evident that a period of one, two or three months is far too short to accomplish permanent results in

changing the habits, attitude, environment and character of an offender. In fact, he would naturally require comparatively little observation during this period, for the shock of the arrest, trial and conviction is still fresh in his mind, and he is little likely to repeat at once the offense which brings in its train these undesirable consequences. It is when the shock of these things has passed and they become less distinct and less constantly in mind, and when the force of old temptations is renewed, that the offender requires the guidance, counsel, moral support, confidence and aid of a wise and discreet friend such as the probation officer ought to be. We are strongly of the opinion that the minimum term of probation should be longer and the average term considerably longer than is now usually the case and that only in this manner will the real difficulties, as well as the real possibilities, of the system be discovered. The present system ascertains practically only the conduct of the offender during a short period after his conviction. It withdraws the steadying influence of probationary oversight just at a time when it is most needed. In Massachusetts and in New Jersey experience leads to the belief that for adults the minimum period of oversight should be one year. In Indianapolis and elsewhere the same is found true in regard to juvenile offenders.

(d) No penalty for unsatisfactory behavior on probation.

In many cases probation is little more than a suspended sentence, with the incidental advantage of oversight and admonition on the part of the probation officer, but without any recourse to severer measures if these admonitions are not heeded. If the ' probation officer allows a probationer to disregard his instructions with impunity, or if the judge fails to support the probation