Show a o aj 1 rl j I Habitual aI Criminals 1 h is launching a p plan to in intern rn i indefinitely J habitual offenders of the law A sPecial cial government committee believes that the only 1 real p prot protection t on that can be pe given society is is t to isolate those who I habitually resort to infractions of the law It recommends the establishment of I special institutions in which to to keep habitual I criminals and d defectives f es until they hey are restored to i normal Moreover Moreover the committee would adopt measures measures' to prevent these people from becoming the parents of children I There Ther can be no doubt but what Sweden is is in in the vanguard of thought on this subject Criminal tendencies are officially recognized as a i disease and hope is held eld out that cures may be effected In the present stage of development I however it would be difficult to determine when the patient had I b been en curd A prisoner undergoing undergoing under under- going treatment for criminal proclivities m might appear to have been restored to normal I In an institution where there is no temptation I it its would be difficult t to provide a test which which determined whether th the individual l had ad actually reached normalcy The only test is to cast th the theman theman e man back ack on society and nd judge by his future conduct conduct conduct con con- duct which only leads us back to o where we were e in ill the beginning The difficulty might be overcome over come if habitual criminals were made permanent t wards of the state enabling the authorities t to o to tr recommit men who failed to stand the test after r II once released as cured This would spare the expense of additional trials and technical acquittals with which the world is afflicted today I IThe The Swedish plan might prove an n interesting i experiment in the light of our own incompetence e I to a growing criminal r I population I |