Improved Penal Laws Urged by Van Waters

"The public is getting no return on the dollars it pays for crime prevention," Dr. Miriam Van Waters, Superintendent of the Framingham Reformatory for Women, claimed last night in a speech sponsored by the Harvard Chapter of the American Veterans Committee.

Speaking before an audience of 50 people in Littauer Auditorium, Dr. Van Waters urged the adaption of modern scientific methods in penal institutions. New gains in psychiatry and social work she claimed, can be used to help educate prisoners and give them a feeling of self-respect and responsibility.

The speaker urged public participation and interest in the drive to pass two bills now before the legislature. The first bill would reduce petty larceny sentences for women; the second would enable women prisoners to engage in part and full-time work in their communities, thus earning money they could use when eventually released.

Dr. Van Waters was introduced by Franklin N. Flaschner, Counsel to the Friends of the Framingham Reformatory.