TREATMENT OF CRIME.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 113, 16 May 1933, Page 6

TREATMENT OF CRIME.

A DISTURBING COMPARISON. (To the Editor.) The letter of May 10 of N. M. Puelimond (Howard League) makes it quite clear that proportionately to populations, "crime" in New Zealand is from 250 to 300 per cent as great as in England. The figures quoted aro from prison reports. How does it come about ■that New Zealand is made to appear as such a "crime" infested country? I offer all the possible reasons I car. think of. (I) That the proportion of criminals in New Zealand is really two and a half to three times as great as in England; (2) that New Zealand laws are prone to "create" crimes out of little or nothing; (3) that our courts arc unduly active in convicting a-ecused persons; (4) that our courts aro unduly severe in awarding imprisonment as a punishment; (5) that our Borstal Institutions and provisions regarding reformative detention, and habitual criminals, havo failed in part or in whole. I find it impossible to believe that No. 1 above is the case. I feel that New Zealanders aro mucli on a> par with the English as to criminal tendency or the reverse. I would expect, however, that English returns -would compare unfavourably with those of New Zealand for the simple reason that a large floating population of world's criminals is perpetually passing through England, and some of them, at least, are bound to be caught there, thus raising the English figures. I cannot, therefore, be. persuaded that New Zealanders are really more criminally minded than Englishmen. How then do these terrible, returns come into being? How is it that so many New Zealanders aro made to appear as criminals? Common sense demands that I look for the answer in one or more of categories 2, 3, 4 and 5 above. This is a very disturbing thought, and I shall ibe very glad if someone will correct my conclusions if they are wrong. I fear that few of the public are aware of the provisions and actual working of the law as to "reformative detention" and "habitual criminals." Fewer still car© until someone connected with them as caught up in the State machine. If the public is at -all concerned about these grave matters, it would do well to r&flecrt on the numbers of highly punitive laws made in support of questionable or empty conventions and political convenience. KATA.