CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND, 1920.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17844, 27 July 1921, Page 9

CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND, 1920.

(Published by Arrangement.)

The population of the Dominion is over one and a quarter millions. One-sixth of this population (205,000) lives in Nolicense areas. If No-license makes no difference, or if, as the liquor people I falsely assert, the No-license districts produce more than their share of crime, we ought to find at least one-sixth of the convictions for crime to come from the No-license areas. Take • arrest' cases only, and convictions for these as shown in the Magistrates' Courts returns for 1920 under the following crime headings:—Sexual; assaults; bnrg-lary, housebreaking, stealing; robbery and stealing from the person; cattle and sheep stealing; theft and other offences against property ;, foruerv. etc.; drunkenness and prohibition orders; other ogences; selling liquor without a license; breaches of revenue acts; offences against carrying out laws and welfare. What we find is this: —Distinct Summary convictions, 1920: Dominion total 11,545. " Wet share " . . . 9.621 "Dry share" .. .. 1,924 Convictions actually recorded: " Wet areas " . . . . 11,112 " Dry areas " . . . . 433 Percentage of recorded convictions on population basis: "Wet areas" . . . . 115.5 " Dry areas " . . . . 22.5 So that the eight No-license areas ha-v----inor separate Courts, produced less than a quarter of their share of these convictions and the " wet" areas produced over 15 per cent, more than their share. There is a fact that tends to show that Nolicense keeps down crime. Prohibition for the whole Dominion will do the same. The only thing more stubborn than a fact is the chap who won't believe it.—N.Z. Alliance Publicity. 5