POSITION IN AMERICA.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18164, 31 October 1930, Page 6

POSITION IN AMERICA.

In connection with the foregoing it is interesting to note that Mr Roy Calvert, a well-known authority on crime, has recently devoted ■ some attention to crime in America, and in an article in the Spectator he' summarises his conclusions/ He deals "with the statement that there are annually about 12,000 murders in America, and points out- that this is an exaggeration, as the total includes all kinds of homicides, and a very large percentage would In a British community be classed' as manslaughter of various degrees. At the same time Mr Calvert Insists that crimes of violence are far more prevalent In the United States than In England, for instance; and he has gone to some pains to examine the ( reasons for the American position. In the first place, among the causes jhe puts the mixed character of the [ American population. In the juvenile | courts of Chicago, 64 per cent, of the boys and 57 per cent, of the girls dealt with are born of foreign parents. Then, aga'in, while the coloured population of Chicago is only 5 per cent, of the total it contributes over 25 per cent, of the victims of homicide. These are significant figures. In the next place, as a cause of crime prevalence Mr Calvert puts the double factor of extreme severity of punishment and uncertainty of conviction. He quotes the maxim that it is the certainty of punishment that acts as a deterrent, not the degree of severity. A burglar may be sent to gaol in the United Slates for five years, whereas in England the penalty may be imprisonment for not mqre than six months; but' the chances of detection and conviction are far greater in England, and consequently crimes of the sort are fewer. The chance of a murderer escapihg in England is relatively small; in America the chance is greater. One effect of the longep punishments, inJ cidentally, is the overcrowding of the j gaols, and another is the unwillingj ness of juries to convict. The uncerI tainly of conviction undoubtedly is j one reason for the prevalence of j murder for robbery in America. Other j factors operating are the ease with I which firearms are obtained —though the importance of this item may be exaggerated—and the warfare arising out of bootlegging, which has no 1 counterpart in other countries. Mr Calvert’s suggestions to America, are that greater care should be taken with juvenile offenders, that the police methods should be • reformed, and that the administration of justice should be rendered more efficient. It is of interest, however, to note that he regards America- as being well in advance of most countries in the application of science to the treatment of crime and criminals.