Mr. • Shortt last Saturday to Monday duly carried out
his promised visit to the Borstal. Institute 'at Portland, where several attempts at escape or suicide have taken place lately among the boys. Three more attempts to escape were recorded in the papers of Wednesday. It is hoped that Mr. Shortt will issue a statement as to his experiences. Meanwhile, th6 Report of the Commissioners of Prisons and the Directors of Convict Prisons brings out the fact, com- mented on at length by the Daily Express, that the Borstal Institute for Girls at Aylesbury heads the list of all the prisons in England, convict and other, for punishments such as handcuffing, putting in irons, close confinement and " dietary punishments." The irons which are used consist of a body strap with locking manacles which imprison the arms. A girl so held can scarcely move her arms or hands. • This instrument of punishment alone has been employed in 33 cases during the year 1920-21. The Borstal Institutes, the reader will recall, deal only with boys or girls between the ages of 16 and 21. A further reference to the Report of the Commissioners will be found in our review columns.
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