TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT SIR,—Mr. John Sylvester's interesting but—naturally —inconclusive article
on this more than ever con- troversial subject gives rise to many additional reflections.
When it is asked : 'What kind of possibility of punishment will deter a first offence? What kind of treatment will reform the offender?' there is an obvious corollary: can any treatment, which is really designed for reforming the convicted offender—i.e., a necessarily kind and humane treat- ment, aiming at his own welfare—ever act as a deterrent in the sense of something to scare the potential offender off what he plans to do? The more you think of it, the more obvious it becomes that there is an absolute contradiction in terms when the chief aim of the penal system is said to be `to deter the potential lawbreaker and to reform the convicted offender' (The Treatment of Offenders in Britain, COI, London, 1960).
It is obvious that we are presented with two entirely different problems, which demand en- tirely different measures. One is to equip people in such a way that they do not want to commit offences—which means that a scale Of values must have been created in their minds, instinctively ac- cepted as valid and 'good.' The other is how to deal with those individuals who have, nevertheless, been found actually to commit offences—and on this subject Mr. Sylvester gives some valuable hints.
First, there should be nothing in the structure of our society that breeds, or encourages, offences. Certain aspects of the Welfare State contribute to an attitude which easily leads to crime: for ex- ample: by diminishing respect for private property (the property of others!) in its creed; and by neglecting to instil the attitude that it is 'better to give than to take.' Having' and `getting'—if possible for nothing—are considered as desirable.
Increasingly strict regulations against trivial offences also breed crime, in the sense that all sorts of minor acts, that most people commit at one time or another, from having been simply anti-social, become criminal (parking offences and the like). This and the proliferation of regulations which are felt not only as a hindrance but as unjustified (minor permits) contribute to diminish the respect for law and consequently breed offences.
The conclusion seems to be that what we have to da is not to isolate the phenomenon 'crime,' but to reconsider the whole structure of society and the ideas and ideals we instil and to rewrite our laws.
FRANK ALLAN AN THOMSON 3 Linnegatan, Stockholm
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