§ 13. Mr. HUTCHISONasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the report of the Commissioner of Prisons for 1933, which suggests that Borstal sentences would have been more appropriate for many of 1864 the 2,253 youths between 16 and 21 sentenced to imprisonment in the period under review, any steps have been taken to ensure that the policy recommended is more extensively adopted by magistrates?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Sir John Gilmour)In the circular letter on the treatment of young offenders which was sent to all Courts of Summary Jurisdiction on the 20th July, 1928, attention was called to the desirability of Borstal sentences for youths who are developing criminal habits and need training, and I hope that due note will be taken of the comment in the Report of the Prison Commissioners to which my hon. Friend refers; but the appropriate sentence in any individual case is a matter for the discretion of the Court, with which I have no power to interfere.