RETURNS OF OFFENCES, 1884.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 3251, 26 February 1885, Page 8

RETURNS OF OFFENCES, 1884.

By kind permission of Inspector Brobam, officer m charge of the police of the Timaru district, we are enabled to publish the following statistics relating to the work of his department for the year 1884. The police district, we may mention, is bounded on the south by the Waitangi river, and on the north by the Rakaia viver ; the return of offencos therofore includes all cases dealt with at the police stations and Courts at Timaru, Waimate* Temuka, . Geraldine, Ashburton and Rakaia. The following table shows the number of offences reported during 1883 and 1884, the number of persons apprehended, and the results of the enquiries respecting them : — 1883. 1884. Number of offences reported ... 1902 2171 Number of persons apprehended or summoned 1861 2121 Committed for trial 33 33 Summarily convicted ... ... 1647 1826 Discharged 181 262 Of the 2121 persons apprehended or summoned, 2016 were males and 105 females. The 33 committed for trial were all males, and strange to say, correspond exactly with the return for the previous year. Of those summarily convicted 1732 were males and 94 were females, and 251 males and 11 females were discharged. The following is a list of the moat common and, of tho graver offences, showing (under a) the number of offences reported, and (under b) the number of persons either summarily convicted or committed for trial m respect of each class : — a , b Arson 8 0 Assaults, common ... ... 66 44 Assaults, of graver character ... 22 18 Breaches of special laws — Destitute Persons Relief Act 8 3 Dog Registration Act .„ 137 110 Municipal By-laws 242 208 Protection of Animals Act ... 17 8 Public Works Act 25 22 Shipping and Seamen's Act.., 6 5 Registration of Births Act ... 1 1 Breaches of the peace 24 21 Contempt of Court, etc. ... 8 5 Cruelty to animals 14 14 Drunk and disorderly 805 792 Embezzlement ... ... ... 2 2 False pretences ... ... ... 13 11 Larcenies, common 94 46 Do., from dwellings 20 8 Do., from the person ... 8 6 Do., as bailee 4 3 Lunacy 31 26 Do., from drink ... ... 7 ■ 1 Malicious injury to property ... 30 30 Neglected and criminal children 18 17 Obscene language ... ... 46 38 Obstructing and resisting tho Police ...: 48 45 Rape 1 1 Vagrancy ... 128 98 Wife desertion ... ... ... 6 2 Most of the figures ahow an increase on thoso of the previous year, but it is generally for minor offences, breaohes of special laws particularly. The number of coses of drunkenness shows a decrease of 34 on thoso of the previous year, and m those of lunacy there is also a substantial decrease.