report in person less frequently, usually at periods ranging from two weeks to a month. At the end of a year of "probation "the prisoner's conduct is reported by the probation officer to the court, and if it has been satisfactory, sentence is then suspended indefinitely, and probationary oversight ceases. Thus there may be three stages in the treatment of the offender released under suspended sentence in this court: First; the period of "parole," during which a report is made by the probation officer at the end of each month, the offender being required to report to the probation officer once every week or ten days. Second; the period of "probation," during which the offender reports to the probation officer less frequently, and the probation officer, unless the probationer does badly, reports to the court only at the end of the year. Third; the period of indefinite suspension of sentence, under which there is no probationary oversight. If, in the judgment of the court, the circumstances justify it, the second stage, or both the first and the second stages, are omitted. The statistics of offenders over 16 years of age either placed on probation, or investigated with a view to the possibility of probation, during the year 1905, are as follows, as submitted by the chief probation officer: In the Court of General Sessions, boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, the general agent of the New York Prison Association acts as a probation officer for such of the judges as use the probation system. There are no police probation officers in this court, and no probation officers receiving salaries from public funds. The judges of the court vary greatly as to the extent to which they use probation. Judge Foster appears to have made much greater use of the system than his colleagues. The general agent of the Prison Association visits the Tombs prison from time to time and investigates such cases as seem to him likely to be proper subjects for release on probation. From a third to a fifth of the cases investigated are so released, the proba tionary period being from three to six months. During this term probationers are expected to report once a week at the office of the New York Prison Association. The frequency of these reports is left to the discretion of the probation officer. In the County Court of Kings county in Brooklyn, and also in the Court of Special Sessions in Brooklyn, there has been considerable use, both before and since the enactment of the Probation Law of 1901, of suspended sentence, and, in effect, of the probation system. A county official, under the title of county detective, has, in effect, been assigned to probation work for the past nine years. During these nine years, ending December 31, 1904, 1,184 cases were released on suspended sentence under his care. He visits them at least once a month in their homes for a period of six months, and thereafter less frequently. He does not consider that having the prisoners call upon him is of any value. He helps the prisoners find employment, secures clothing for them, and advises and counsels them. They are considered to be formally under his oversight for the maximum term for which they might have been committed, but he aims to maintain friendly relations indefinitely. A year is the minimum period at which he thinks it possible to form judgment of the results of probation, and he does not consider it safe to form a final judgment within three or four years. Of the 1,184 prisoners placed under his care during these nine years, 191 were rearrested and sentenced. In 107 cases, what are termed "extraordinary results " were secured, meaning by extraordinary results, that the probationers had done exceedingly well in every particular for a period of several years. Satisfactory results" have been secured in 532 cases; i. e., the offenders have not been rearrested and have done "as well as they could." On December 31, 1904, 354 persons remained under observation, of whom 21 have subsequently been rearrested and sentenced. 66 In the County Court in Rochester, presided over by Hon. Arthur E. Sutherland, the probation system has been developed to a considerable degree. Mr. Alfred J. Masters, whose title is parole officer of the County Court, but who receives a salary as a court attendant, has in effect been a county probation officer. May 16, 1901, to August, 1905, 143 persons were released under his probationary oversight. These persons were accounted for on August 19, 1905, as follows: Still under observation and doing well... Died.. Left the city... No recent record... Rearrested and committed.... 60 2 25 19 37 More recently a member of this Commission, Mrs. W. W. Armstrong, has acted as a volunteer probation officer for a consider. able number of female offenders. In Broome county probation work has received considerable attention, primarily through the efforts of Mr. H. Clay Preston, then superintendent of the Broome County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, and now superintendent of the similar society in Brooklyn. Since January 1, 1902, 47 persons have been placed on probation. The court does not limit the period of probation except in rare instances, contemplating continued oversight until the end of the maximum term for which the defendant might have been imprisoned. The superintendent of the Broome County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children acts as a probation officer for adults as well as for juvenile offenders. Probationers are required to report every three months. Of 47 cases placed on probation, in only two cases has the suspension been revoked and the offenders committed. So far as this Commission has been able to ascertain, no considerable amount of probation work for adults has been carried on, other than as above described, although the counties of St. Lawrence, Wayne, Oswego and Westchester have appointed probation officers. Sheriff Caldwell, of St. Lawrence county, voluntarily accepted the appointment of probation officer, and his devotion to this work and personal interest in the cases submitted to him have produced excellent results. In Wayne county a deputy sheriff is the probation officer. In Oswego county a private citizen is the probation officer. In Westchester county a number of volunteers have been appointed, as well as the sheriff of the county; and the chiefs of police of Yonkers, Port Chester and Tarrytown. The cities of Rensselaer, Ogdensburg, Hornellsville, Hudson, Newburgh, Middletown, Poughkeepsie, Mount Vernon, Cohoes and Geneva have also appointed probation officers. The appointees, as a rule, are chiefs of police. In most cases they are appointed both for adults and for children. Many of these appointments have been made very recently. The reports required, under the provisions of the probation law of 1901, to be made to the Secretary of State, are incomplete. They indicate, however, that the practice of releasing under suspended sentence obtains, to a considerable extent, in all parts of the State. The figures for the year 1904 indicate that 860 persons were released under suspended sentence in These figures would be vastly increased courts of record alone. if the returns included reports from the lower courts. There are no doubt individual instances in which the court requests some person of discretion to "take an interest in " an offender released under suspended sentence, but, as a rule, they are without subsequent oversight, and the court is without |