JUVENILE CRIME

Evening Post, Issue 11, 13 July 1936, Page 5

JUVENILE CRIME

BECOMING MORE

SERIOUS

POSITION iN BRITAIN

Juvenile crime in London, in spite of all attempts to deal with it, is, becoming more serious, says the "Daily Telegraph."

Two-fifths of the persons arrested for indictable crimes last year were under 21 years of age.

This is stated in the report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for 1935—the first made by Sir Philip Game, who took over the office from Viscount Trenchard in December.

Arguing in favour of taking the fingerprints of juvenile offenders, the report quotes the case of a boy of 15, "who is known to have committed more than forty thefts and to have stolen property to the value of about £ 1300 in the space of five months."

This boy always refused his fingerprints, as he was entitled to do, so the/Magistrates had no idea what sort of person they were dealing with, until his last arrest, when he consented. The police were then able to connect him with eight other housebreakings, at which he had left prints. On learning this he.confessed to a further sixteen: Among the hov:ses he had entered for theft was his parents', after he had run away from home.

Of 18,106 persons taken into custody for indictable crimes in 1935, 4838 were under 17, and a further 2519 were aged from 17 to 20.

DEMORALISING RAIDS. Of those under 17, move than fourfifths were arrested for shopbreaking, stealing bicycles, stealing from vehicles or automatic machines, shoplifting, and miscellaneous simple- larcenies. These offenders included only 173 girls. . .

The highest figures for crimes of this description occurred at the ages of 12 to 15, the age' of 13 being the "peak"; after 15 there is a substantial drop. More than half the number of persons arrested for shopbreaking were under 17 • years 01d—832 out; of a total of 1642 arrests—and there were 104 arrests of persons under 17 for burglary and housebreaking.

Property stolen by persons under 17 was valued at £9000, and £44,000 worth was stolen by persons between 17 and 20.

Sir Philip states that the young offenders work to a large extent in "gangs." .Only one-third of the juvenile offences xmder 17 were' "solo" efforts.

Sir Philip refers to the difficulty of dealing with badly-conducted or bogus clubs, and "bottle parties."

"At the best," he says, "bottle parties are a way of getting round the law and at the worst an infringement of the letter as well as the .spirit, in a manner which is difficult to prove in a court."

Police raids on doubtful clubs, Sir Philip states, -are costly-an time and money, and the duty is demoralising to the officers 'engaged on it. Under the existing law it was: not possible for the police to do more than "put a check on the most .flagrant infringements, and he agreed with Lord Mersey that legislation is essential.

"A proper system of registration of clubs is the first essential, but I doubt if this will produce the desired result unless the police are given some right of entry on suspicion, however strictly it may be safeguarded."

PUBLIC BLAMED. Thirty-five thousand cases of infringement of the.speed limit—which became operative in March, 1935—by drivers of private cars and cabs were reported by the police up to December 31. On this Sir Philip comments: "Unfortunately the police efforts to enforce the general speed limit have not been supported by some of the Courts as well as might have been expected."

Dealing with opportunities for crime. Sir Philip said the public can do far more to protect themselves. He adds: "It is the clear duty of every citizen to take trouble not to give easy opportunities for crime by laxity in the protection of his possessions. "Although cases of almost incredible carelessness with jewellery and other easily stealable articles occur from time to time, a large proportion of the thefts which go to swell the crime figures, and keep the police, the Courts, and the prisons busy, arise from the easily-entered house, flat, or shop and the unattended and unlocked motor-car or bicycle." Other interesting facts and figures include the following:— The use of wireless led to the arrest of 2672 persons in a year. The number of policemen punished was 304—the lowest for many years. Twenty-nine were dismissed and 13 required to resign. During 1935 23 persons over the age of one year were murdered—the same number as in the year before. Ten of these offences were committed by seven persons who committed suicide, in only two cases was no arrest made Of those arrested four, were sentenced t0 death and one was acquitted. £1068 2001UC' °f Properly stolen was

Stolen cars numbered 3835. There were 6641 prosecutions relating to pedestrian crossings, and 18,023 cautions.

Arrests for drunkenness (18,590) represented an. increase of 1236.