INCREASE IN CRIME AS A RESULT OF THE DEPRESSION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXIV, Issue 925, 21 November 1933, Page 8

INCREASE IN CRIME AS A RESULT OF THE DEPRESSION.

Striking Comment Made in Report Presented to N.Z. Parliament To-day. (“Star” Parliamentary Reporter.) WELLINGTON, November 21. Striking comment on the effect of the present economic situation upon crime is contained in the annual report of the Con-troller-General of Prisons, Mr B. L. Dallard, in his annual report which was presented to the House of Representatives to-day. In stating that although the total number of persons received into prison I'tist year was less than in the preceding year (the term “total number” including those who have been in gaol on more than one occasion during the year) the number of distinct prisoners received under conviction shows a slight increase. The Controller-General describes this as more or less symptomatic of the times.

** JT IS a world-wide phenomenon that during times of depression, crime, particularly in respect of offences against property, tends to increase,” he states.

“ Unemployment disorganises the individual. If he is an unstable type of personality, he is apt to take a short-run course and indulge in crime. If, on the other hand, he is a strong type of personality, he rebels against 'the existing social order. Unemployment leads to demoralisation.” Increased Ratio. The daily average number of prisoners in custody during the year was 1669.17, as compared with 1634.39 for the previous years. The ratio of prisoners to each 10,000 of the population was 22.29 last year, as compared with 22.17 for the preceding year, 19.19 for 1930, 17.62 for 1929, and 17.37 for 1928. Although there has been a steady increase for the past few years, the position is still favourable when compared with the average for the five years before the war when the ratio was 30.52 per 10,000 of population. Last year's figures were also inflated by the inclusion of 102 persons who were arrested in connection with the Auckland and Wellington riots and 39 persons arres'ted in connection with the Christchurch Tramway strike, and unemployed disturbances at Dunedin and Huntly. An analysis of the receptions on a nationality basis shows that the proportion of New Zealand-born offenders (excluding Maoris) increased by 9.1 per cent over the 1931 figures, while those of British and foreign extraction remained almost static. Maori Problem. The number of Maori prisoners received during 1932 showed an increase of 16.6 per cent oyer the previous year, representing an increase of 100 per cent on the number received during 1928. “ This growth of crime among the younger Maoris, particularly in the North Auckland districts, is a disquieting feature,” states tfie report. “ Probation has proved to be largely futile, as this form of treatment is regarded by the natives as the equivalent to ‘ getting off,’ and when on probation any constructive supervision is difficult to apply, as these offenders laze around the pas under conditions of indiscipline and idleness which in no way conduce to the development of any sense of social responsibility in their reformation.” Two significant facts emerge from a studV of the criminal statistics, states the report. First, a large number of those sentenced to Borstal or reformative detention have previously been dealt with in the Children’s Courts, or have been placed on probation, or sentenced to short terms by the higher Courts without success, and, secondly, only a very small percentage of those released 'after a term of Borstal or reformative detention again' appear before the Courts. This makes it clear that the system of Borstal or reformative detention is a deterrent, a reformative and an effective form of protection to society. A steady decline in the net cost per head of prisoners is shown in the last four years, the cost last' year being £B2 16s per head, as against £BS 11s 7d in 1929-30. Value of Probation. Only 10 per cent of offenders released on probation by the Courts after conviction failed to comply with the terms of their release last year. During the year, 2212 cases were dealt with, an excess over the previous year of 167. The total was made up of 001 new admissions and 1309 who

were .on the register »t the beginning of the year. These figures, together with other aspects of the probation system, lead the Chief Probation Officer, Mr B. L, Dallard, to classify the results as highly satisfactory . His annual report was presented to Parliament to-day. Since the inception of the probation scheme, the sum of £54,903, representing restitution moneys and Court costs, has been recovered. Last year, £2639 was collected, the amount of reparation exceeding that of the previous year by £2lO. Mr Dallard describes this as quite an achievement, considering the circumstances in which the majority of probationers were placed, and says it is evidence not only of the salutary effects of probation, but also of the patient persistence of the Probation Officeis. “ Although the cash aspect is secondary to the human consideration, this is a positive feature of probation as compared with imprisonment,” he says, “ where the victim receives nothing and the offender becomes a charge on the community.” ’The Scientific Method. The difficulties of determining as to the most appropriate form of sentence are touched on by the Chief Probation Officer, who states that the Court must have regard to the protection of society, to the deterrence of others, and to -the disciplining and ultimate rehabilitation of the offender. “It is essential, in the interests of the commonweal, to vindicate the law, to do justice to the individual, and to satisfy that vague but insistent force called public opinion. In this regard, leniency is as equally repugnant to the standards of a healthy community sense of justice as undue severity. A departure from these standards either gives rise to a clamorous demand for vindictive punishment, or, on the other hand, brings the processes of the law into disrespect. “ Probation should not be a matter of mercy or clemency,” he adds, “ but is regarded in all enlightened countries as a practical and scientific method of treatment determined upon only after a careful evaluation of the whole of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the personality of the offender, the nature and quality of the offence, and the likelihood of his satisfactory response to probationary supervision. The rationale is that if the ends of justice can be served by extramural methods, and an offender can be placed under constructive surveillance, on conditions that enable him to support his family, and possiblv make reparation to his victims, the adoption of such a course is more appropriate than imprisonment.” Striet Enforcement. In granting probation, it is most desirable that the conditions should be strictly enforced, continues the report, for perfunctory probation is regarded as worse than none at all. Dealing with the 371 cases released from prison on probation by the Prisons Board, the Chief Probation Officer states that none of these was recommitted for breaches of conditions of license, but 37, including fourteen habitual criminals, had their licenses cancelled for further offences. Of the 1169 prisoners (excluding habituals) who have been released from prison on pro. bation in the last five years, only 97, or 8.3 per cent, have been returned to prison fo»- breaches of their licenses or for other offences while on probation, and only 26 per cent have been convicted subsequent to discharge.