2

H.—l6

The principal increases were— Burglary, breaking into shops, dwellings, &c. 40 Gaming offences ... ... ... 67 Deserting and failing to provide for wives Neglected and criminal children ... ... 49 and children ... ... .51 Theft undescribed ... ... ... 167 Disobeying orders on board ships ... 42 Trespass ... ... ... ... 88 False pretences ... ... ... 67 i The percentage of arrests or summonses resulting from all offences reported during the year under review is 9487, the figures of the preceding year being 95-23; the average percentage for the last five years was 94-49. Serious Crimes. From the following return of serious crimes it will be observed that the only noticeable increase is in the number of burglaries (40) and forgeries (29), but as the returns for the last ten years show that the annual number of burglary cases varied from 314 to 458 and the forgery cases from 71 to 113, the present figures (397 burglaries and 112 forgeries) are not exceptional. The number of arrests shown for such offences appears figuratively small, but it frequently occurs that one person commits a series of offences, a number of which are not brought home to him, hence the apparent discrepancy. The following is a return of the number of serious crimes as compared with the preceding year:—

The number of indecent and sexual offences shows a decrease of 30 as compared with the preceding year, the number being 347 in 1904 and 318 in 1905, a prosecution being instituted in 306 cases. Drunkenness. There has been a considerable decrease (908) in the total number of persons dealt with under this heading as compared with the preceding year. The average annual increase for the previous five years was b65, so that, although the numbers vary considerably from year to year, this year's decrease seems satisfactory, and may, I think, be principally attributed to the passing of " The Licensing Act Amendment Act, 1904," and the activity of police in carrying it out, and partly to the discontinuance of licenses to railway refreshment-rooms. ' From the following table it will be observed that 3859 per cent, of the males and 64-21 petcent, of the females had previous convictions recorded against them, and 9-61 per cent, of the males were not permanent residents in the colony.

Return showing the Number of Persons charged with Drunkenness daring the Year 1905, and the Number of Previous Convictions against them, so far as known.

The number charged with drunkenness in 1904 was 9,615 (8,660 males and 955 females), whereas in 1905 the number was 8,707 (7,905 males and 802 females).

1904. 1905. Crimes. Number of i dumber of all Offences , ° fl !, n ° eB m . . , which Arrests re P° rted - , resulted. I I Number of ' dumber of all Offences °? e " c f ln f reported. whloh £ rr , ests L rosulted. irson assault and robbery ... burglary (breaking into shops and dwellings) forgery and uttering lurder 29 53 357 83 3 2 10 44 1 22 47 219 76 3 2 10 40 1 16 45 397 112 5 1 11 40 5 14 34 241 97 5 1 11 36 5 „ attempted tape ieceivirig stolen property ihooting with intent 582 420 632 444

Not Pre- : One Pre- Two Pre- Three Pre- Four Pie- Five viously vious Con-1 vious Con- vious Con- vious Con- vious Convicted, viciion. | victions. victions. victions. victi . ! I L Pre- J Over Five Con-1 Previous oils. : Convict'ns. TotalB. Ojci HI?* *|8SJ District. M. F. M. F. | M. P. M. | F. j M. F. M. I F. M. F. : M. P. Auckland Napier Wanganui Wellington Greymouth Christchurch Dunedin Invercargill 975 548 676 1,424 189 569 357 116 50 15 37 127 11 36 9 2 289 136 97 291 32 208 43 41 20 11 10 53 3 20 8 2 127 84 14 72 ! 13 42 ; 2 177 18 8 i 2 101 15 31 8 27 j 3 542 ! 75 60 4 49 43 3 . 16 20 I .. 7 83 j 15 15 9 1 I 2 100 ( 10 106 25 I 4 20 13 1 7 353 i 38 ' 222 4 1 1 1 6 8 1 31 24 5 17 2 120 45 10 2 133 4 ; 74 .. ! 21 5 58 1 .. 155 15 83 1 20 80 4 2 5 91 40 4 I 1,621174 913 51 868 52 2,063 223 i 243 18 1,359178 604 92 234, 14 7,905 802 213 18 8 238 29 130 105 19 4,854 287 1,140 22 254 27 540 226 760 j