The Dartmoor Report •
The clear and able report made by Mr. du Parcq, K.C., on the riot in Dartmoor Prison on January 24th, has shown; as was anticipated, that the disturbance was not due to a bad syStem of prison administration but rather to a failure of the personal element in a moment of difficulty. The convicts had no real grievance, but a few desperadoes took advantage of a Governor whom they thought to be weak and sentimental. The riot might have been averted if the Governor had not apologized to theni the day before for the defective cooking of their porridge, and if he had not, on the Sunday,: allowed them, to assemble as usual on parade. Mr. du Pareq throws - grave doubts on the suitability of the old prison at
remote Princetown as a place of detention under modern conditions. The staff dislike the loneliness of their life on the moor, and some of them, it is feared, are not loyal: Moreover, some modern criminals, of the motor bandit type, are daring enough to plan escapes with the help of their confederates outside, and Mr. du Pareq evidently believes that the isolation of the place is in their favour. The Home Secretary gave it to be understood, in his statement in the House on Monday, that the possibility- of closing Dartmoor Prison will be fully considered, and that the worst inmates may be sent elsewhere. But it is well to emphasize the fact that Mr. du Pareq has exonerated the prison adminiitration in the main. The prisoners are treated humanely, and the balance between undue severity and needless leniency is on the whole maintained.
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