The Mentality Of Criminals

NZ Truth, Issue 935, 27 October 1923, Page 1

The Mentality Of Criminals

Tho Dromoro tragedy, tho murdering of ft child -'by. a lunatic, has revived thn interesting, question of the mentality of criminals. American statistics h!iv»> be«n made to show that 80 per cent, of gaol inmates are of low mentality. while In his book "Human. Efficiency • flnd JLovels of Intelligence." Dr. 11. K. j God4Plft writes : "Every Investigation ofTOloy mentality of criminals, mis- 1 * V >VtemearinntH, , delinquents and other I ''anti- social groups has proved beyond Ij f the possibility of contradiction thiit '■ ' nearly all persons In those classes and ( In some cases till are', of low mentality. ' Moreover, a largo percentage of all tho • croups are of such low montallty as to be nroperly denominated feeble-mind- ■ «<l Following this subject to a logical • • conclusion wo must admit that It la the ; f e ]iotv of low mentality that Is caught And punished for his crimes. Tho tibney-mbuthed crook who salts a mine or Mils a useless tract of swamp land,

who promotes a dud company or runs a' ramp on the stock ' exchange is seldom apprehended. All that we know, is that the feeble-minded land m gaol. That is an established fact.. But they land there m such large numbers that a: color of truth,,is given to the belief of some investigators that low. mentality, is the imam.. cause ,. \ot . crime. "Truth"* does not intend to pursue the question any further just now, but would direct the attention of its readers to a matter which will have to be tackled by- the Government ( of this country sooner or later. The question of feefcle-mindedness and its bearing on crime should be fully reviewed.