WOMEN CRIMINALS AND THE LAW.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3148, 18 December 1922, Page 7

WOMEN CRIMINALS AND THE LAW.

(By H. L. Adam, Author of "Woman and Crime.")

in view of the widespread emancipation of women, it seems high time that we' arrived at some definite notion of the precise degree of their responsibility in cases of criminal: offence. You will not discover the extent of their criminality in official statistics, inasmuch asthese do not probe deeply enough into the criminal atmosphere to obtain the whole truth. They do not, for instance, record those many cases where women are the motive-power or mainspring of criminality in men. Nor do they concern themselves with the subject of sex influence', which plays ai most important part in crime generally. There are plenty of eases where male and female crooks work hand-an-hand where the man only gets captured and subfcequelitly figures in statistics. We know that women form the majority of shoplifters and trade swindlers, and that they figure largely in many kinds of frauds, big and little. But even in such cases as l these they do not for various reasons' get their full statistical benefit.

"When a woman starts upon a criminal career she docs so with the considerable advantage of sex. That is why she isi so successful at certain kinds of frauds where credence has to be obtained for a generally feeble and foolish story. A man will believe the most preposterous story imaginable if well told by a wo'mait, whereas the same story offered him a man would probably immediately arouse his wrathful derision. When a woman aids 1 a male criminal in this way she does not, as a rule, got caught and punished herself. She gets no statistical credit for her confederacy. It wasi sex influence that enabled the notorious Mnic, Humbert to launch her colossal frauds, which she did upon a cock-and-bull story which should have immediately aroused the suspicion of any man gifted with a grain of common sense. The reason why woman's position in relation to crime is still an indulgent one is that chivalry is not yet dead, whatever may be said to the contrary. The situation has therefore become illogical. Chi'valry is consideration ot* the strong for the weak —that is to say, tho physically weak. Crime, however, is not punishable for physical, but for moral reasons. A person is held to be morally responsible for his or her acts, and must therefore pay certa/iii penalties for infractions of the law. When woman suffered under serious social disabilities, to extend towards her a measure of moral chivalry was a reasonable thing. But since she has been raised to a social equality with inair, those disabilities have disappeared, as also has any call for the exercise of moral chivalry on her behalf. Such glaring and invidious distinctions between the sexes as still exist in regard to criminal responsibility are detrimental to the best interests of the State. This is not the place to raise a discussion on the subject or capital punishment generally, hut 1' may say that I should like to see it abolished altogether, and penal servitude substituted for both men and women, which would do away with a good deal of occasionally grim controversy.