H.—l6.

The principal decreases were — Indecent assault .. .. .. 25 Using profane, indecent, or obscene language 87 Arson .. .. .. •. 38 Failing to maintain wives or families .. 288 Breaches of the peace . . . . .. 82 Breaches of prohibition orders .. .. 259 Drunkenness .. .. .. 1,439 Being on licensed premises after closing hours 321 Indecent exposure and grossly indecent acts 96 Suicide, attempted .. .. 22 The increase in cases of theft and burglary can be attributed largely to economic stress with consequent unemployment. The increases in 1930 were : thefts, 1,168 ; burglary, &c, 171 ; and in 1931, thefts, 559 ; burglary, &c, 345. The most noteworthy decrease is in drunkenness. In 1930 there was a decrease from 6,810 to 6,125 and in 1931 from 6,125 to 4,6B7—that is, in two years a decrease of 2,123 prosecutions, or 31 per cent. This increase in sobriety is probably afiected by decreased purchasing-power in conjunction with changing habits of the people. The following return shows the number of offences reported in each police district during the year, the number of cases in which arrests or summonses resulted, and the number in which no prosecution followed : — — ■ ■ :

The percentage of arrests or summonses resulting from offences reported during the year 1931 was 89-03, the figures of the preceding year being 90-53.

Serious Crimes. The following is a return of the number of serious crimes as compared with the previous year : —

The increase in cases of murder from seven in 1930 to thirteen in 1931, although to be noticed with serious regret, should not be regarded as abnormal. There were thirteen cases of murder in the years 1920, 1926, 1927, and over the past thirteen years the average number has been 9-5.

2

Number of Offences Number in which . Number of in which Arrests no Arrests Police District. Offences reported. or Summonses or Summonses resulted. resulted. Whangarei ... ... ... ... 1,164 1,052 112 Auckland ... ... ... ... 8,449 7,384 1,065 Hamilton ... ... ... ... 2,036 1,868 168 Gisborne ... ... ... 1,196 1,124 72 Napier ... ... .. 1,963 1,824 139 New Plymouth ... ... ... ... 1,354 1,283 71 Wanganui ... ... ... ... 1,257 1,189 ' 68 Palmerston North ... ... ... 1,478 1,411 67 Wellington ... ... ... ... 6,345 5,646 699 Nelson ... ... ... ... 972 848 124 Greymouth ... ... ... ... 1,462 1,380 82 Christchurch ... ... ... ... 4,705 3,746 959 Timaru 973 903 70 Dunedin ... ... ... ... 1,881 1,718 163 Invereargill ... ... ... ... 1,445 1,283 162 Totals 36,680 32,659 4,021

1930. j 1931. Crimes. „ , , Number of , T , Number of Number of Qfience3 Number of offencea }n en f e j j which Arrests . which Arrests reported. , temlteā _ reported. Arson ... ... ... ... ... 6b 64 SO 28 Robbery and aggravated robbery ... ... 31 23 21 15 Burglary, breaking into shops, dwellings, &c. ... 1,263 804 1,608 886 Forgery and uttering ... ... ... 208 196 241 231 Murder ... ... ... ... ... 7 7 13 9 Murder, attempted ... ... .. ... 3 2 5 5 Rape ...* 10 10 7 7 Receiving stolen property ... ... ... 142 142 158 158 Wounding with intent ... ... ... 1 1 1 1 Totals ... ... ... ... 1,733 1,249 2,084 1,340