At the same time, it recognizes the enor_The English Prison System

medicine in relation to the detection of mental disorder in its

earliest stages. Sir George Newman, in his recent work "An Outline of

the Practice of Preventive Medicine" lays great stress upon this point.

He states: "Here, as elsewhere, we must seek to begin at the beginning.

An understanding of eugenic principles and practice, a new aptitude

and alertness in the physician, a new type of clinic, special hospital

and institution--"early treatment centres"--a system of "voluntary

boarders" in approved homes and institutions, a wider education of

the public in what causes and constitutes mental incapacity, a larger

apprehension of the meaning of self-control--all this is necessary

if we would prevent mental disease. It is obvious that such a policy

raises many questions of science, law and administration. But the

experience of the war and of our colleagues in America (at the Phipps

clinic at Baltimore and the psychiatric hospital at Boston) all points

in one direction, namely, the practicability of establishing suitable

psychiatric clinics in this country for dealing with early cases of

mental and nervous disorder."

In order that the whole-time staff of the prison medical service

should be kept fully acquainted with modern developments in medicine

and surgery, a system of "study-leave" was inaugurated in 1909, whereby

a certain number each year take up a post-graduate course at the

large hospitals. Special leave is allowed for the purpose, and the

Commissioners pay the fees. Each officer chooses his own course of

study, subject to the approval of the Medical Commissioner, due regard

being paid to the special requirements of the prison service.

The nursing of sick prisoners is carried out by officers of the

hospital staff, except in the smaller prisons where, for the present,

outside nurses are engaged. The male officers are selected from

candidates who have had nursing experience in the Royal Army Medical

Corps or in Institutions, and they undergo a course of training in

prison nursing and hospital duties at the invalid convict station at

Parkhurst, Isle of Wight, before appointment to the hospital staff. As

regards the female officers, these have, in the past, been officers

trained in the larger female prison hospitals, but the question

of securing more fully trained nurses for female prisons is now

under consideration. With this object in view, a Voluntary Advisory

Nursing Board has been established consisting, for the most part,

of distinguished members of the medical and nursing professions to

advise the Commissioners in formulating a scheme for a prison nursing

scheme, and the Board will, it is hoped, be a useful auxiliary to the

administration for this purpose in the future.

CHAPTER XVI.

A CRIMINOLOGICAL INQUIRY IN ENGLISH PRISONS.

An attempt has lately been made in this country to apply scientific

method to the study of criminal man. A vast amount of data relating

to the personal condition, social estate, and penal histories of

"convicts" (_i.e._, men sentenced to penal servitude for three

years and upwards) has been co-ordinated and amplified by physical

measurements, by details of personal and family history, and by

description of physical and mental qualities. An examination in respect

of all or some of these points of 3,000 men, taken without selection

from those undergoing penal servitude in English Convict Prisons, has

formed the basis of this inquiry.

Of this large number of sets of observations, which were made by

the Medical Officers of the Convict Prisons, Dr. Goring contributed

considerably more than half, and to him was entrusted the onerous

task of tabulating the material of the whole. With the assistance and

advice of Professor Karl Pearson, Dr. Goring was enabled to carry out

this work which he has achieved with remarkable patience and ability.

The main intention of this investigation at the outset was to obtain

accurate information whereby the many hypotheses advanced by different

schools of criminology, and especially the Italian Schools, might

be confirmed or refuted. But the scope of the work grew, perhaps

inevitably, beyond its original purpose, and now includes not only an

analysis of the physical and mental condition of convicts, but also

many data for speculations on very difficult and contentious questions

as to the relative influence of "heredity," "environment," &c., on the

genesis of 'criminals' generally.

Dr. Goring's complete and elaborate Report, entitled "The English

Convict--a Statistical Study," has been published by the Government

in an official Blue-Book. It appears now as Dr. Goring's own work,

carried out by a special method, and the conclusions arrived at are his

own. I do not propose to attempt to criticise either his method or his

conclusions, being aware that such an attempt would involve discussion

of some matters on which there is much difference of scientific opinion.

This work is, as far as I know, the first essay made in any country to

arrive at results on criminology by the strict application of what is

known as the biometrical method of statistical treatment of recorded

observations. Whatever its merits or demerits may be, it at least marks

an epoch in the history of criminological studies. In the pages which

follow, I endeavour to present in a more simple and popular form, and,

as far as possible, in his own words, an abstract of Dr. Goring's

views, and of the results to which his general inquiry has led him.

Students of Criminology must turn to the original volume itself for a

detailed exposition of the whole case which the author so ably presents.

The postulate of the "Positive" School, with which the name of the

celebrated Professor Lombroso will always be associated, is that crime

or criminality is a morbid or pathological state akin to disease,

or, in other words, an abnormal state, due to certain physical

or mental defects, made manifest by certain stigmata or "_tares

physiologiques_"--the result either of inherited defect or reversion

to atavistic type, or in short, that there is "a criminal type"

_i.e._, a race of beings predestined to criminal acts, against whom

any system of punishment would be futile, as by nature such beings

would not be amenable to the deterrent influences of penal law. This

theory--of which the logical result would be either elimination of the

unfit, or the translation into the province of medicine of all legal

procedure--has failed to command general assent or approval. Like all

half-truths, it is extremely dangerous, for it is, of course, the

fact that morbid conditions are associated, to a certain degree, with

crime, and, like all sensational dogmas, based on untested observation,

it affected the public imagination, prone to believe that the criminal

is a sort of "bogey-man"--the stealthy enemy of peaceful persons, ever

ready to leap in the dark. This uneasy feeling encouraged the idea

that the criminal was a class by himself--an abnormal being, the child

of darkness, without pity and without shame, and with the predatory

instincts of a wild beast. Thus gradually the common belief has taken

root that there is a criminal type, and that it is persons of this

particular brand or species who commit crime, and go to Prison. This

belief is what Dr. Goring calls the great "superstition" of the day,

which stands in the way of Prison reform, which darkens counsel in

dealing with crime, which renders rehabilitation difficult, and which

stifles and discourages the zeal of the philanthropist, to whom the

"criminal" is a man of like passions with himself, and amenable to the

same influences; and not predestined to crime and anti-social conduct,

from which no human effort could save him.

The peculiarity of the Lombrosian doctrine was in the attempt made

by it to "stamp a preconceived idea with the hall-mark of science;

to support an _à priori_ conception of 'abnormality' by an alleged

scientific method of investigation;" but the methods of Lombroso

were scientific only in name. He sought to solve those infinite and

delicate relations which exist in all human or social conditions

by _observation_ alone. He brought much acumen, a great diligence,

and imagination to the examination of the subject, but his field of

observation was limited. If criminality were a morbid state, with signs

comparable to those of disease, observation alone would suffice; but,

in fact, there are no characteristics, physical or mental, peculiar

to criminals, which are not shared by all people. It is common to

speak of poverty, drink, neglect, &c., as the "causes" of crime; but

such a causation can only be established by the statistical method of

averaging large numbers, with the view of proving that the tendency

to anti-social conduct is, in fact, associated with the personal,

economic, and social condition of an individual. "The science of

statistics," says Dr. Goring, "is essentially a science of method;

and, as applied to criminal man, it may be described as a system of

methods whereby comparison, based on a strict anthropometrical survey

of the different sets of individuals, may be effective in providing

legitimate, simple, and intelligible description of the criminal, and

of crime, and of the fundamental inter-relationships of criminality."

The author of the work approaches his inquiry with an open mind

regarding the common _à priori_ belief that all men are morally and

mentally equal, in the absence of definite pathological cause. This

belief is common to all ages. In early days, anti-social conduct was

regarded as a sin against the light, _i.e._, against the teaching of

religion and the word of God. The punishment of crime was, therefore,

an affair for the ecclesiastical tribunals. The distinction between

sin and crime evolved but slowly, and the lay punishments of the

Classical Schools were largely affected by the religious law. Later,

the anti-social man was regarded as a pathological product--the victim

of disease; and it is one of the fashions of to-day to regard him as 'a

social product'--the victim of adverse social environment.

All these conceptions are regarded as due to a fixed conventional

idea that there was a 'normal' man, who led a good life, and an

'abnormal' man who led a bad life, and this misconception is held to

have stood in the way of a scientific view of the nature of criminal

man. "Scientifically," according to Dr. Goring, "we can only divide men

into 'normal' and 'abnormal' when there is some qualitative difference.

'Normal' is the outcome of the natural laws of existence. This becomes

'abnormal' only when supplanted by some pathological process. Normal

never 'merges' into the abnormal, _e.g._, the natural ranges of

vesicular breathing, of normal temperature, of folly, and want of

control, never merge into the morbid ranges of pneumonic breathing,

fevers and madness. The qualities that have to be considered in

relation to crime are not 'abnormal' qualities, but qualities common

to all humanity. Law-breakers are not a special breed of human beings

differing _qualitatively_ from those who keep the law: any difference

there may be between these two human classes is of degree only and

not of kind: and, similarly, law-breaking is not different in quality

from all other forms of anti-social conduct for which men are not

punished, even if they are found out: yet here again there is a vast

range of difference in _degree_. And that is why statistical methods

are necessary for the scientific study of the criminal. For only by

measurement can difference of degree be evaluated; and statistics is

merely a refined instrument for making measurements."

The word 'criminal,' strictly-speaking, only designates the fact that

an individual has been imprisoned: that he has committed a crime. The

object of this inquiry is to determine whether certain constitutional,

as well as environmental, factors play a part in the production of the

criminal act. It is impossible to state dogmatically _à priori_ what

these factors are, or which of them prevail in the determination of

a given act, but it is lawful to assume from the phenomenon of crime

that there is a hypothetical character of some kind, a constitutional

proclivity, either mental, moral or physical, present, to a certain

degree, in all individuals, but so potent in some as to determine for

them the fate of imprisonment.

This hypothetical character which, in the absence of a better term,

Dr. Goring provisionally calls "the criminal diathesis," is described

as a "normal" character, possessed to some extent by all normal people

whose differences are of degree only, and not of kind. It is a highly

complex unanalysable character which, founded upon, and resulting

from, a combination of qualities, some, perhaps inconceivably minute,

is best described as a "make-up" comparable to the domesticated or

wild "make-up" amongst animals, or to the human "make-up" whereby the

sociable being is distinguished from the recluse. Nobody would suppose

the gregarious tendency, or the impulse to lead a solitary existence,

to be a simple primary quality--a so-called unit character--peculiar

to the category it represents; and, similarly, criminality is not a

simple heritable entity--a primary instinct to evil, for instance, as

Lombroso imagined it to be: it is rather a resultant quality springing

from many social and anti-social tendencies, which together form the

criminal or non-criminal "make-up" called the "criminal diathesis."

It is the degree to which a man is thus "made-up" as a criminal or

non-criminal which determines eventually the fate of imprisonment:

consequently, the intensity of criminal diathesis is measured by

conviction or non-conviction, and by frequency of conviction for crime;

and the main object of this inquiry has been to find out the extent to

which this "criminal diathesis," as measured by criminal records, is

associated with environment, training, stock, and with the physical

attributes of the criminal. To this examination, the "biometric"

method, under the guidance of its distinguished exponent Professor Karl

Pearson, has been applied.

Although only those gifted with high mathematical powers could have

originated the minute and abstruse symbolical reasoning at the source

of the methods whereby the inter-relationship of these phenomena have

been measured and calculated, yet the application of these methods,

and of the formulæ which have now been provided, are open to any

intelligent worker who has knowledge of arithmetic and of simple

mathematics, and the computer's zeal for precision and accuracy. If the

results do not command general acceptance, they are fruitful of new

ideas, which, by further elaboration, may possibly furnish more light

on the problem of crime, and may aid in the direction of administrative

methods. At least they furnish an extraordinary example of what

industry, and skill, and research, can accomplish in a domain where

science, in the past, has asserted itself but slightly.

The question of the existence of a criminal type is regarded as

essentially anthropometrical, _i.e._, it can only be solved by the

statistical analysis of a large series of measurements. Anthropometry

has, of course, been used as an instrument by criminologists, but its

strict application demands more than the crude contrast of mean values

which is the most that has been hitherto attempted: in addition to

the means, it insists that probable errors should be also calculated

and recorded; that a measure of the variability of each series of

measurements should be obtained; and that, in every case, effects upon

measurement due to differentiation in age, stature, intelligence,

&c., of the contrasted populations under measurement should be also

estimated and allowed for.

Having, by means of a comparison with regard to thirty-seven

representative physical attributes of criminals, distinguished (1)

by their conviction for different orders of crime, _e.g._, thefts,

assault, arson, sexual offences, and frauds, (2) by their frequency of

reconviction, and (3) by the length of their imprisonment, established

the conclusion that criminals are not physically differentiated

because they are criminals, but because of difference in age, stature,

intelligence, &c., our author proceeds to a comparison between

statistics of criminals, as a class, and of the non-criminal public.

The absence of any comparative data with regard to many of the physical

characters of the law-abiding classes is, of course, fatal to any

precise demonstration, but a comparison of the head-length, -breadth,

-height, -index, and -circumference in convicts is made with similar

statistics of a set of undergraduates of Oxford, Cambridge, and

Aberdeen Universities, and of the London University College Staff,

with the result that prison inmates, as a whole, approximate closer

in head-measurement to the Universities generally than do students of

different Universities conform with each other in this regard, and

that from a knowledge only of an undergraduate's cephalic measurement,

a better judgment could be given as to whether he were studying at an

English or Scottish University, than a prediction could be made whether

he would eventually become a University Professor, or a convicted felon.

Similar comparison with the general Hospital population and with

soldiers (118 non-commissioned officers, and men of the Royal

Engineers) establishes a similar conclusion that, so far as

head-measurements are concerned, the criminal, and the hospital

patient, and the soldier cannot be differentiated.

Next, comparison with some seventeenth century skulls, recently

discovered while excavations were being made in Whitechapel, leads to

the interesting conclusion that there is a close agreement between

correlation values obtained from measurements of English skulls

300 years old, and those calculated from the cephalic-diameters of

English convicts alive to-day. And a detailed comparative analysis of

head-length and -breadth statistics brings against a current theory,

respecting the anomalous conformation of the criminal's head, the

following fact: that amongst 200 criminals, the head of only one will

be genuinely anomalous--a proportion less than has been found amongst

Scottish insane people, and probably much the same as would be found in

any section of the law-abiding healthy community.

Comparison with respect to hair and eye colour, nose conformation,

deafness, left-handedness, tattooing, of such data as are available,

illustrates the absence of any marked peculiarity in the case

of criminals, and, lastly, a comparison of the head-contours of

800 convicts with those of 118 Royal Engineers, according to a

plan invented by Professor Pearson for comparing skull-contours,

demonstrates with great precision that, so far from criminals as

a class being differentiated or stigmatized by low and receding

foreheads, by projecting occiputs, by asymmetry, and by sugar-loaf,

dome-shaped, and other peculiar forms of heads, the agreement between

the contrasted types is so remarkable, and the differences so trifling,

that at least in this respect no ground can be said to exist for

the popular belief that criminal tendency can be inferred from the

shape of a man's head. From all these comparisons, pursued strictly

according to the biometric method of which I have only attempted to

give the outline, Dr. Goring draws his conclusion that "no evidence has

emerged confirming the existence of a physical criminal type, such as

Lombroso and his disciples have described. The data show that physical

differences exist between different kinds of criminals, precisely as

they exist between different kinds of law-abiding people. But, when

allowance is made for a certain range of probable variation, and when

they are reduced to a common standard of age, stature, intelligence,

class, &c., these differences tend entirely to disappear. The results

nowhere confirm the evidence, nor justify the allegations, of criminal

anthropologists. They challenge their evidence at almost every point.

In fact, both with regard to measurements and the presence of physical

anomalies in criminals, the statistics present a startling conformity

with similar statistics of the law-abiding classes. The final

conclusion we are bound to accept until further evidence, in the train

of long series of statistics, may compel us to reject or to modify an

apparent certainty--our inevitable conclusion must be that _there is no

such thing as a physical criminal type_."

But although no physical type peculiar to criminals can be

demonstrated, certain physical differences in criminals have emerged,

and it is in the examination of these differences that Dr. Goring

attempts to establish a theory of criminality more simple and

reasonable than that which refers them to the presence of a definite

criminal type. From a comparison of the stature and weight of the

general population, published in 1882 by the British Association for

the Advancement of Science, he shows that, (apart from differences

due to class differentiation,) in physique, as measured by stature

and weight, criminals, with the exception of those convicted of

fraud, are markedly differentiated from the non-criminal sections

of the community. This physical inferiority, however, must not be

associated with any condition of degeneracy, atavism, or other defect,

mental or physical, originating spontaneously, but all the evidence

points to the truth of the theory that these bodily conditions are

"selective factors" determining, to some extent, conviction for crime.

It may be imagined that as good physique determines occupation, so a

bad physique predisposes to a criminal career. It also facilitates

arrest by the Police, and apprehensions are considerably fewer than

offences committed. It is, too, generally observed that persons of

good physique are less irascible and prone to violence, and the case

of the incendiary would show that a weakly man has recourse to a mean

act from motives of revenge, not being capable of an act requiring

physical force. "Fraudulents," it is true, are not selected for

crime, for they resemble, in weight and stature, the law-abiding

public; but they are an exceptional case, which, while destructive

of a theory of degeneracy, is not necessarily inimical to the theory

that physique selects crime. Dr. Goring does not deny that there is a

possibility that this physical inferiority may tend to become an inbred

characteristic of the criminal classes, the convicted fathers having

sons who inherit their diminutive stature, and thus, in course of time,

an inbred differentiation of the criminal classes might result. That

this may be so is illustrated by statistics, which show that industrial

and reformatory school children are consistently on the average one

inch shorter in stature, and several pounds less in weight, than any

other class of school-children of the same age in the United Kingdom.

Nothing more than this can be conceded to the Lombrosian School. The

only fact at the basis of criminal anthropology is that thieves,

and burglars, and incendiaries (_i.e._, about 90 per cent. of all

criminals) are markedly differentiated from the general population in

stature and body-weight. There is no other scientific foundation than

this for the extravagant doctrines of the "Positive" School.

It is also held by Dr. Goring that there is no such thing as a "mental

criminal type." It is not denied that marked unlikeness of mental

characters exists between criminal groups, as it does between different

sections of the law-abiding community; but the point emphasised is

that this unlikeness is associated not with a differentiation in

criminal tendency, but with the criminal's differentiation in general

intelligence or mental capacity, which, according to the nature of

his crime, varies enormously: _e.g._, the percentage of actual mental

defectives convicted of stack-firing is 53, of rape 16, of stealing 11,

of manslaughter 5, whereas amongst persons convicted of embezzlement,

forgery, and other forms of fraud, the percentage is practically zero.

The recent Commission on the Care and Control of the Feeble-minded,

from an enumeration of defectives in sixteen representative districts

of the British Isles, estimated that ·46 per cent. of the whole

population of England and Wales are mentally defective; a similar

enumeration in prisons, casual wards, shelters, etc., revealed

10·28 per cent. of mental defects. Dr. Goring contends that it is

clear from this that criminals, as well as showing wide differences

amongst themselves, are also, as a class, highly differentiated in

mental capacity from the law-abiding classes. Mental defectives, it

is argued, unlike the insane and pathological imbeciles, are not a

special class of human beings, and they are chiefly distinguished from

other normal persons by their low level of general intelligence. The

term mental deficiency, as applied to convicts, as well as connoting

a mind of inferior capacity, in many cases implies also an unbalanced

mind, _i.e._, a mind whose equilibrium is easily disturbed by the

preponderance of extreme degrees of objectionable and dangerous

qualities, such as impulsiveness, excitability, passionate temper, &c.

These qualities are held to be not "morbid" but "natural," being shared

in some degree by persons of all mental grades. The measure of general

intelligence among criminals bears also a striking relation to their

occupational class. Thus, if we examine, say, 1,000 cases of conviction

for crime, we should find that the percentage of mentally defective

criminals varied from 6 to 35, accordingly as the offender belonged

to the professional, commercial, artizan, or labouring class,--the

actual percentages for all crime in each class being 6, 15, 26, and 35,

respectively. Probably, in the opinion of Dr. Goring, the chief source

of the high relationship between weak-mindedness and crime resides in

the fact that the criminal thing, which we call "criminality," and

which leads to the perpetration of many, if not most, anti-social

offences to-day, is not _inherent wickedness_, but natural stupidity.

The striking characteristic of 90 per cent. of offences is their

incredible stupidity, and, moreover, it is probable that the commonly

alleged causes of crime, such as alcoholism and epilepsy, are not more

than accidental associations with crime, themselves depending upon

the high degree of relationship which is admitted to exist between

defective intelligence and crime.

So far then, the conclusion is that English criminals are selected by a

physical condition and by a mental constitution which are independent

of each other: that the one significant physical association with

criminality is a generally defective physique, and that the one vital,

mental constitutional factor in the etiology of crime is defective

intelligence.

The question of the respective influence of heredity and environment is

next considered by Dr Goring. The family histories of 1,500 convicts

are examined, and two important relations are demonstrated (1) that

the percentage of criminal offspring increases progressively according

to whether neither parents, the mother only, the father only, or both

parents are criminal: (2) that the percentage of criminal offspring

becomes steadily greater as the age of the children increases from

14 to 23. With regard to age, the interesting fact results that the

mean age of criminal enlistment is 22, with a deviation of nine years;

and 14 to 32 may be regarded as the age when the chance of inherited

criminal disposition is most likely to reveal itself--the modal age at

first conviction is about 19.

It appears also that the probabilities of conviction are greatly

increased when a brother has been convicted, and the greatest intensity

of the fraternal, as well as of the paternal association, occurs in

families tainted by the crimes of stealing and burglary, _i.e._, the

taint of habitual and professional criminality. But though the tendency

for crime to recur in families already criminally tainted is an

indisputable statistical fact, it is not in itself a fact of heredity.

It may be due to contagion within the corrupted home into which a

criminal is born. The solution of the question as to which of the two

influences, heredity or contagion, is predominant, cannot be determined

by observation alone--there are numberless instances pointing one way

or the other--it can only be determined by a statistical examination

of family statistics, where the possible influence of each factor has

been eliminated. The high degree of association between criminality

in husband and wife would, at first sight, seem to furnish proof of

the influence of contagion, it being a relation where heredity can

be eliminated, but when it can be shown that every other married

female criminal is the wife of a criminal husband, and that four out

of every five alcoholic wives have alcoholic husbands, the theory

of contagion gives way to a theory of 'associative or selective'

mating among criminals, due to the universal tendency prevailing in

every department of life, of like to mate with like. So again, if we

eliminate contagion, _i.e._, if we examine crimes in the perpetration

of which parental example would not play an important part, such as

arson, damage, or sexual offences, the parental correlation is found to

be greater than in stealing or burglary, when the influence of parental

example would be likely to have most effect. The result arrived at is

that the criminal diathesis, revealed by the tendency to be convicted

and imprisoned for crime, is inherited at much the same rate as are

other physical and mental qualities and pathological conditions in

man, and that the influence of parental contagion is, on the whole,

inconsiderable, relatively to the influence of inheritance, and of

mental defectiveness, which are by far the most significant factors

discovered in the etiology of crime.

Other environmental factors which are commonly alleged as the 'causes'

of crime, _e.g._, illiteracy, alcoholism, poverty, etc., are examined

statistically, so far as the data at the disposal of the author furnish

ground for valid scientific conclusion.

These alleged causes are, in reality, nothing more than the

co-existence of associated phenomena, and until such association is

analysed by statistical methods, causation, in the strict scientific

sense, cannot be demonstrated. Thus, to take a general instance:

poverty and illiteracy are often described as the 'causes' of crime,

but as more than a third of the population of Great Britain belongs

to the class of general labourers, who are presumably both poor and

illiterate, such a statement can mean no more than that there is a

more frequent association of criminal acts with persons living on a

low rather than on a high economic scale. The exact numerical measure

of the association can only be obtained by elaborate statistical

comparison, the data for which are not in existence.

As a matter of fact, a statistical comparison of the penal records

of convicts reveals the startling fact that if there be any relation

between a convict's education and the frequency of his convictions for

crime, it is that those who have received no schooling are the least

frequently convicted, and that the worst penal records are of those

who have passed through reformatory and industrial schools. Again, if

we take alcoholism--it is the fact that deaths from alcoholism are

twice as frequent among prisoners as in the general population (26 per

1,000 as against 12 per 1,000), from which it might be inferred that

alcoholism is specially associated with the committing of crime. But

the incidence of two statistical facts does not, of itself, determine

which of the two is antecedent to the other. Does the alcoholist tend

to become criminal, or the criminal tend to become alcoholic? Or is the

relation of alcoholism to crime due to the fact that both have a common

antecedent in defective intelligence? The employment of the correlative

tables would seem to point conclusively to the fact that this

antecedent is defective intelligence. If a comparison is made of the

mean degrees of intelligence of alcoholic and temperate convicts, it

appears that there is a pronounced differentiation of intelligence in

favour of the latter, and that the mental grade of alcoholic convicts

is lower by a half than that of alcoholics in the general population.

Apart from offences connected with personal violence, where there is

a direct association with inebriety, alcoholism cannot strictly be

regarded as a cause of crime, and the general conclusion would seem

to be that adverse environment is related much more intimately to the

intelligence of convicts than it is to the nature of their crimes, or

to the degree of their recidivism. Again, if we examine the relation

of occupation to criminality, it appears that crime is related much

more closely to the opportunity which a particular occupation offers

than to the economic scale of living which it suggests: thus, sailors,

miners, and labourers are relatively free from association with the

acquisitive offences, for which, from the special facilities afforded

by their occupation, clerks, shop-keepers, and persons engaged in

commerce are disproportionately selected; and this proclivity to fraud

in all its forms is distributed equally through all these classes, the

professional and the upper classes providing nearly their proportional

share of thieves. Four per cent. of persons in the general population

belong to the professional classes: the number of convicted thieves

belonging to this class is three per cent. As ninety-five per cent. of

all offences are of an acquisitive kind, it is difficult to sustain the

point that poverty is a cause of crime.

Dr. Goring is led to the conclusion that there is not any significant

relationship between crime and what are popularly believed to be its

"causes", and that crime is only to a trifling extent the product of

social inequalities or adverse environment, and that there are no

physical, mental, or moral characteristics peculiar to the inmates

of English Prisons: that one of the principal determinants of crime

is "mental defectiveness," and as this is a heritable condition, the

genesis of crime must to this extent be influenced by heredity.

Putting aside the part played by the different circumstances affecting

criminal man, biologically and otherwise, and without subscribing to

the different views and doctrines which, in the opinion of the author,

result from the inquiry, the broad and general truth which appears from

this mass of figures and calculations is that the "criminal" man is,

to a large extent, a "defective" man, either physically or mentally,

or, is unable to acquire the complex characters which are essential

to the average man and so is prone to follow the line of least

resistance. This truth may not be new or startling. It is advanced now

by Dr. Goring as a truth which is scientifically demonstrable and so

commanding respect and possessing a value which would not belong to

statements based on purely empirical observation. This result may be

regarded as modest and even disproportionate to the labour involved,

but it is worthy of attainment, for much is gained everywhere and

especially in the realm of penology, when definite ideas as to the

nature of the problems dealt with are substituted for vague notions,

or even illusions, as to the nature of the criminal: notions which, in

the absence of detached and scientific inquiry, undertaken, as this has

been, from a single-minded desire to search out what is true, may have

their origin in two quite contrary sources, _viz._: an undue pity for

the offender or an undue desire to be revenged on him.

Quite apart from general incapacity to live up to the required social

level which brings them within the meshes of the criminal law, Dr.

Goring even suggests that the physical aptitude of evading the police

may affect statistics, and the fact is that the weaker and not the

stronger man is "run in," although the "criminal diathesis" may be

equally strong in each. In any case his conclusion on this point is

very emphatic, _viz._: that English criminals are selected by their

physical condition, and that the one significant physical association

with criminality is a generally defective physique; and that the

one vital mental constitutional factor in the etiology of crime is

defective intelligence.

This general theory of defectiveness as a general attribute of

criminality may be regarded by some as confirmed by the fact that

persons convicted of crime are mainly drawn from the lowest social

scale; and it is plausible to infer that physical and mental

inferiority is allied to a low economic scale of living. This theory,

however, must not be pressed so far as to affect the liability to

punishment of the offender for his act. Penal law is, through its

prohibitions, the expression of the social standard of life in the

country. Where that standard is high, there must be a residuum of

individuals whose mental and physical state does not enable them to

live up to that standard. They fall below it through constitutional

incapacity, which manifests itself in weakness of will and power of

resistance. This inquiry goes to show that it may be predicated that

with regard to the great mass of offenders coming within the meshes

of the criminal law, this _defectiveness_, in its economic sense,

is a predisposing cause, and has no necessary relation to definite

physical or mental disease. It is a relative term only, relative to a

high standard of social requirement to maintain which the law exists.

Penal law, wisely and humanely administered, as in a highly civilized

State, should apply its sanctions only with regard to the varying

characters and capacities of those who come before the Courts. In

other words, punishment must be individualized. The tendency towards

the individualization of punishment is making marked progress in all

the countries of the world, and nowhere more than in this country. In

addition to the absolute discretion vested in the Courts and Tribunals,

there is a careful classification for purposes of prison treatment, the

object of which is to adapt, as far as practicable, the nature of the

punishment to the character and antecedents of the offender. Although,

therefore, the fact brought out by the inquiry that, on the average,

the English prisoner is defective in physique and mental capacity,

would seem to call in question the whole responsibility of any person

guilty of an anti-social act, yet, if fully and properly understood,

it does not mean more than that in a perfect world where the faculties

of each would be fully and highly developed, the problem of punishment

would not exist; and it would be a cause of rejoicing if the crime

of the country could be demonstrated by statistical methods to be

the result, not of a general perversity pervading all classes, but a

tendency only on the part of persons living on a low economic scale to

fail, on account of physical or mental defectiveness, to conform to the

restraints of the criminal law. I regard this as a fair and reasonable

explanation of crime generally in this country. It is, at least, an

explanation which must fortify and stimulate all those who desire

that there shall be fewer persons suffering from those incapacities

which predispose to crime, or that, where incapacity is obvious and

can be defined, special steps shall be taken not to expose such a

person without care or oversight to the conditions of free life, which

are likely to be not only ruinous to himself, but dangerous to the

community.

It is satisfactory to note that incidentally to its general purpose,

the inquiry (1) confirms the idea to which practical effect has been

given in recent years by the institution of the Borstal system that

the effective way of dealing with crime is to attack those between

the ages of 16 and 21, which is shown to be the probable age for

enlistment in the criminal brigade, (2) it demonstrates by statistical

method that imprisonment does not have the adverse physical and mental

results which are often alleged, (3) it confirms the opinion held of

the necessity for better care being needed for the mental defective,

and (4) it shows that it is by consideration of the individual men and

women who make up the criminal population that the best solution of the

criminal problem is to be found.

Those who agree with the opinion of Dr. Goring that the principal

determinant in crime is mental deficiency will be encouraged by the

passing of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, in the belief that this

important measure constitutes a great step forward in the rational and

scientific treatment of the criminal problem.

However much opinion may differ as to the exact proportion borne

by heredity and environment, respectively, in the formation of the

criminal character, whether any or no predominant part can be ascribed,

as by Dr. Goring, to mental defectiveness, the fact remains and is

known to all those concerned in the administration of prisons and in

the actual treatment of crime, that a considerable number of adult

persons in custody cannot be regarded as fully capable of dealing

with the ordinary affairs of life. The provision, therefore, that has

now been made for the detection and diagnosis of all forms of mental

defectiveness from childhood and early youth justifies a general

hope and belief that if this Act is effectively administered, a

great impression will, in course of time, be made on the figures of

imprisonment; and this hope can be held not only by those who take an

extreme view of the influence of heredity, but by plain men and women,

without scientific training or knowledge, who are now profoundly moved

at the sight of persons of both sexes and of all ages coming to prison

in the expiation of offences which, had they been mentally conscious of

their obligations to society, or adaptable to their social environment

and standard of living, they never would have committed.

CHAPTER XVII.

A SHORT SKETCH OF THE MOVEMENT OF CRIME--

(A) 1872 to 1914: (B) THE WAR, 1914 to 1918.

The object of this Chapter is (a) to compare the number and character

of offences according to recent statistics with statistics obtainable

at the time of the London Congress, 1872; and (b) to show the great

change that has taken place in the volume of crime due to causes

consequent upon conditions of War.

(A) 1872 to 1914.

1. Serious offences (e.g. murder, wounding, sexual offences, burglary

and fraud), tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions, decreased between

1872 and 1913 by nearly a half, relatively to population, as will be

seen from the following Table of the number of offences dealt with by

the Courts for quinquennial periods 1873 to 1913:--

--------+------------------+-------------------

Period | Number |Ratio per 100,000

|proceeded against |of the population.

--------+------------------+-------------------

1873-77 | 15,298 | 63·62

1883-87 | 13,908 | 51·09

1893-97 | 11,632 | 38·20

1903-07 | 12,344 | 36·32

1908-12 | 13,558 | 37·88

1913 | 12,511 | 33·89

--------+------------------+-------------------

2. Less serious offences, which, though triable by Superior Courts,

can be dealt with summarily, i.e., principally acts of petty larceny,

have increased during the same period, though relatively to population

there has been a decrease, as the following Table shows; but it must

be remembered that a large proportion of these offences are those

committed by children or 'young persons,' coming within the provisions

of the Children Act, 1908. Nearly 40 per cent., according to latest

figures, belong to this category, and over 60 per cent. of charges were

either dismissed or dealt with otherwise than by conviction:--

--------+-----------------+------------------

Period | Number |Ratio per 100,000

|proceeded against|of the population

--------+-----------------+------------------

1873-77 | 37,245 | 154·90

1883-87 | 43,936 | 161·41

1893-97 | 41,542 | 136·42

1903-07 | 47,721 | 140·40

1908-12 | 52,743 | 147·36

1913 | 50,758 | 137·48

--------+-----------------+------------------

3. There is a third category of offences, which, though only triable in

Summary Courts, are 'criminal' in character, e.g., assaults, damage,

&c. As will be seen from the following Table, there has been, generally

speaking, a fall since 1872 of considerably more than a half, the

number of offences per 100,000 of population having decreased for the

period 1873 to 1913 from 567 to 192.

--------------------+---------------------------------------+-------

| Quinquennial averages. | Year

Offence. +-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+ 1913

|1873-77|1883-87|1893-97|1903-07|1908-12|

--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

Assaults, Malicious}| | | | | |

Damage, Unlawful }|136,390|116,836|108,298| 85,193| 75,212| 71,124

Possession &c. }| | | | | |

| | | | | |

of population | 567·22| 429·22| 355·64| 250·65| 210·14| 192·65

--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+--------

These three categories include all offences which are strictly

'criminal' in character. The great bulk of offences, which may involve

commitment to Prison, are not strictly 'criminal.' The principal

offences in this category are Drunkenness, Offences against Police

Regulations, Bye-laws, Highways Acts and Education Acts. The following

Table shows that the actual number of these offences rose continuously

from 1873 to 1907. Between the latter date and 1913 there was a fall in

the actual numbers, and relatively to population, the figure for 1913

(1649·99) showing a decrease of no less than 157·51 per 100,000 of the

population, as compared with 1873-7:--

------------------------+---------------------------------------+-------

| Quinquennial Averages. | Year

Offence. +-------+-------+-------+---------------+ 1913

|1873-77|1883-87|1893-97|1903-07|1908-12|

------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

Drunkenness |195,682|180,462|179,496|219,675|188,813|204,038

against | 18,320| 80,566| 64,924| 56,117| 40,763| 44,030

Highway Acts " " | 16,743| 18,847| 30,677| 47,313| 62,405| 76,011

Bye-laws, breach of | 59,393| 62,028| 88,84 |131,600|100,842|106,509

Vagrancy | 15,193| 26,694| 25,228| 34,857| 41,267| 27,523

------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

offences |434,620|496,341|534,844|630,474|578,486|609,166

population |1807·50|1823·39|1756·38|1854·94|1616·25|1649·99

------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

The following Table is interesting in showing the committals to prison

for the last three decades, commencing in 1881--the earliest date from

which the comparison is possible. It will be observed that the Prison

population in 1883 stood as high as 622 per 100,000 of the population

of the country, and that for the year ended 31st March, 1914 it had

fallen to the lowest then recorded, _viz_:--369. The great decrease

that has taken place since 1914, as will be shown subsequently, reduced

the ratio to 70 per 100,000 of the population:--

------+------------+---------------------------+-----------+----------

Year |Convicted of| Convicted of Offences| Total. | Per

ended |Indictable | tried summarily. |Committals |100,000 of

31st | Offences +---------------------------+ on |population

------+------------+-----------+---------------+-----------+----------

1881 | 9,528 | 139,546 | 149,074 | 580

1882 | 10,550 | 150,888 | 161,438 | 621

1883 | 10,069 | 153,645 | 163,714 | 622

1884 | 9,780 | 151,056 | 160,836 | 604

1885 | 9,886 | 150,096 | 159,982 | 594

1886 | 9,617 | 138,015 | 147,632 | 542

1887 | 9,611 | 144,989 | 154,600 | 562

1888 | 9,024 | 138,755 | 147,779 | 531

1889 | 9,198 | 144,765 | 153,963 | 547

1890 | 8,180 | 137,088 | 145,268 | 511

1891 | 7,843 | 132,789 | 140,632 | 490

1892 | 8,302 | 128,958 | 137,260 | 473

1893 | 8,542 | 136,996 | 145,538 | 495

1894 | 8,590 | 147,876 | 156,466 | 526

1895 | 7,991 | 139,836 | 147,827 | 492

1896 | 7,933 | 146,019 | 153,952 | 506

1897 | 7,386 | 140,727 | 148,113 | 482

1898 | 8,004 | 145,961 | 153,965 | 496

1899 | 8,315 | 151,744 | 160,059 | 510

1900 | 7,194 | 146,266 | 153,460 | 483

1901 | 7,091 | 141,509 | 148,600 | 461

1902 | 7,764 | 159,232 | 166,996 | 513

1903 | 8,271 | 168,286 | 176,557 | 535

1904 | 8,640 | 21,730|159,518 | 189,888 | 569

1905 | 8,761 | 21,784|167,396 | 197,941 | 586

1906 | 8,972 | 21,890|164,194 | 195,056 | 571

1907 | 8,966 | 20,272|149,105 | 178,343 | 516

1908 | 9,091 | 20,886|146,625 | 176,602 | 505

1909 | 9,613 | 21,710|153,578 | 184,901 | 523

1910 | 9,500 | 21,381|149,080 | 179,961 | 503

1911 | 9,136 | 18,758|139,801 | 167,695 | 465

1912 | 8,756 | 17,668|132,443 | 158,867 | 439

1913 | 8,781 | 17,102|125,081 | 150,964 | 413

1914 | 7,738 | 15,598|113,088 | 136,424 | 369

------+------------+---------------------------+-----------+----------

For many years past, a marked decrease has taken place in the number

of persons sentenced to penal servitude. In 1872, there was a convict

population of 8,823 males and 1,249 females. This had fallen to 2,568

males and 98 females at the end of 1913-14, representing a decrease

of over 70 per cent. As will be seen from the following Table, the

average length of sentence has also fallen considerably:--

---------------------------+-----------------------------------------

|Sentences of convicts in custody on the

Sentence. |last day of each of the following years--

+--------+--------+--------+--------------

| 1872 | 1891-2| 1902-3| 1913-14

---------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------------

Life | 152 | 268 | 138 | 128

Above 15 years | 101 | 177 | 64 | 38

15 years and over 10 years | 308 | 332 | 166 | 73

10 years and over 5 years | 7,898 | 1,498 | 581 | 343

5 years and over 3 years | 1,613 | 1,726 | 1,141 | 830

3 years | -- | 28 | 819 |1,254

+--------+--------+--------+--------------

Total |10,072 | 4,029 | 2,909 |2,666

---------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------------

The most gratifying feature shown by the comparison of statistics prior

to 1914 is the wonderful decrease in the number of convictions under 21

years of age. These figures can be traced as far back as 1848:--

--------------------+---------------+----------------

Year | Under 12 |12 and Under 16|16 and Under 21

------+------+------+-------+-------+-------+--------

| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F.

1848 | 1,332| 215| 10,537| 1,718| 21,324| 6,307

1856 | 1,674| 316| 10,134| 1,857| 17,655| 7,231

1866 | 1,485| 152| 6,614| 1,105| 18,480| 6,147

1873 | 1,370| 112| 6,692| 1,185| 19,992| 7,033

1876 | 940| 58| 5,292| 848| 20,356| 6,572

1886 | 229| 21| 4,016| 547| 19,813| 5,143

1896 | 59| 1| 1,336| 102| 13,433| 2,924

1906 | 3| --| 999| 30| 15,878| 2,248

1910 | 1| --| 139| 3| 12,236| 1,186

1911 | --| --| 32| 2| 10,380| 1,163

1912 | --| --| 22| 1| 8,265| 938

1913 | --| --| 27| 5| 7,789| 900

1914 | --| --| 12| --| 6,320| 858

------+------+------+-------+-------+-------+--------

It will be seen that the category (16-21) has fallen from 13,433 males

in 1896 to 6,320 in 1913-14. In the 'seventies it represented 1,306 per

100,000 of the population of the country of that particular age, and

since that time the ratio has fallen as shown below:--

1883 1,164 per 100,000 of population 16-21

1893 728 " " "

1903 499 " " "

1914 212 " " "

The following Table is interesting as showing the higher average age

of the prison population in 1913-14 as compared with ten years before

that date, indicating the fact that the supply of younger recruits is

failing:--

----------+-----------------------------------------------

| Age on conviction, and the Proportion Per

| Cent. which each Category bears to the Total.

+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

| Under | 21 to | 30 to | 40 to | 50 to | 60 and

| 21 | 30 | 40 | 50 | 60 | over

----------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

1902-3 | 11·6 | 26·7 | 26·9 | 18·2 | 8·1 | 8·2

1913-14 | 6·1 | 24·8 | 28·8 | 21·3 | 10·0 | 9·0

1902-3 | 4·8 | 25·3 | 35·0 | 22·6 | 7·8 | 4·3

1913-14 | 2·5 | 18·4 | 34·1 | 29·1 | 11·3 | 4·4

----------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

As described in a foregoing Chapter, it was about the time of the

year first-named in the above Table that the Borstal System was

inaugurated, and to its operation (both "Full" and "Modified" Systems)

the decline in the rates of the first two columns is doubtless largely

due. Shortly before the outbreak of War, the Borstal Association

furnished remarkable figures showing that, since the Borstal System

was made statutory in 1909, only 392, out of 1,454 lads, or 27 per

cent., discharged from Borstal Institutions during that period had been

reconvicted. Bearing in mind that all these lads had qualified for

Borstal detention as being "of criminal habits or tendencies," it is

not surprising to find that the successful efforts of the Association,

and of those of Borstal Committees in Local Prisons, are resulting in

a decreasing number not only of the age with which they are directly

concerned, 16-21, but with the following one (21-30), which has

hitherto contributed some 30,000 cases annually.

But while the statistics of 1913 showed a decrease in the volume of

serious crime, and a falling-off both in the total number committed to

prison for these as well as for less serious offences, (and of those so

committed a decreased proportion of young and first offenders) there

remained both in Local and Convict Prisons a large body of reconvicted

men and women. Thus, in Local Prisons, the percentage of reconviction

stood at 61 and 77 for men and women, respectively: while in Convict

Prisons, presumably for more serious offences, the percentage was 87

and 67 respectively. But this high figure, taken in conjunction with

the falling prison population and the decreased number of young and

first offenders shows conclusively that recidivism in both cases is

being localized, and that, in course of time, (if even at this late

stage the many agencies now operating fail to reform) this large body

of men and women will disappear from criminal statistics, leaving a

reduced number to take their place. So far as penal servitude prisoners

are concerned, their number is relatively small. An inquiry made in

1910 into the careers of ex-convicts showed the rate of reconviction

to be about 70 per cent. Since that date the Central Association for

the Aid of Discharged Convicts has been established, and they were

able to report in 1915 concerning nearly 2,800 men, largely Recidivist

convicts, the majority of whom had been at liberty for more than two

years, that only 50 per cent. had been reconvicted.

With regard to petty recidivism in Local Prisons, the number, prior

to the great reduction since 1914, was largely composed of persons of

vagrant habit: many, too, were mentally defective. As an example, it

was found at a particular prison that out of 700 vagrants received in

a year, 236 served from two to seven imprisonments during the year,

and that the total previous convictions of these 236 men amounted to

considerably over 2,000: while 92 reported in one year at another

prison as being of feeble mind had together amassed a total of 1,270

convictions. Although the total of the latter category has diminished,

recent statistics show that the proportion of mentally defective in

the prison population remains about the same. So far as these are

concerned, it had been hoped that when the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913,

was brought fully into operation, the Prisons would have been purged

of this class, who are unfitted for prison discipline; but these hopes

remain to a large extent unfulfilled, chiefly owing to difficulties

arising out of the War in finding accommodation for defective persons.

Should legislation proceed on the lines of the recommendations of the

Vagrancy Committee of 1906, and should restriction on the sale of

intoxicating liquor still be enforced, there is little doubt that the

high rate of petty recidivism in Local Prisons will be permanently

reduced.

(B) THE RESULT OF THE WAR.

The European War broke out in August, 1914, and it is the purpose of

the following pages to show, as far as possible, the effect of the many

changes brought about by the social upheaval consequent upon war-time

conditions and legislation upon the crime of the country.

As will be seen from the following Table, the daily average Local

prison population has fallen enormously since 1913-14--52 per cent.

in the case of males and 40 per cent. in the case of females. But

as regards the number of males committed by _Ordinary Courts_, the

fall in the average population is much greater, for included in the

daily average population shown below is an average probably not far

below 2,000 prisoners committed by Courts Martial, the larger number

of whom were cases of men, who, having failed to obtain from local

tribunals exemption on the ground of conscientious objection under the

Military Service Acts, were ultimately committed to prison for breach

of military discipline. Further, there are also included many cases

charged under the Defence of the Realm &c. Acts. Excluding all these,

the daily average male population in 1918-19 had fallen by over 60 per

cent. of the number at which it stood in the year before the War. A

fall of over one-half is also shown in the male average population of

Convict Prisons:--

--------+------------------------------------------

| Daily Average Population of

+-------------+---------------+------------

|Local Prisons|Convict Prisons| Borstal

| | |Institutions

--------+------+------+-------+-------+-----+------

| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F.

1913-14 |12,116| 2,236| 2,609 | 95 | 841 | 87

1918-19 | 5,751| 1,322| 1,146 | 83 | 566 | 194

--------+------+------+-------+-------+-----+------

This great fall in the prison population is still more strikingly shown

in the Table showing the total committals to prison on conviction by

Ordinary Courts for the years named:--

-------------+--------------------------------------------+----------

| Committals to Prison on Conviction. |Proportion

+----------+----------+--------------+-------+ per

-------------+----------+----------+--------------+-------+----------

1913-14 | 7,738 | 15,598 | 113,088 |136,424| 369

1918-19 | 3,486 | 8,568 | 13,996 | 26,050| 70

+----------+----------+--------------+-------+----------

since 1913-14| 55% | 45% | 88% | 81% | 299

-------------+----------+----------+--------------+-------+----------

This great fall in the numbers committed must, of course, be attributed

to a great extent, to conditions arising out of a state of war: but,

at the same time, it must be borne in mind, as shown above, that a

decrease in grave, as well as in the less serious, forms of crime, had

been proceeding for some years before the war. The general call upon

the manhood of the nation for service with the Forces: the endless

opportunities for employment for those who, in ordinary times, would

probably not be eligible for want of necessary qualifications--to which

must be added the intense spirit of patriotism pervading all classes,

leading men and women to abstain from evil--have, no doubt, been

chiefly responsible for so few persons coming to prison. But the War

alone, or the spirit engendered by the War, cannot be said to have been

the sole cause of this great fall. In the first year of the War, the

Criminal Justice Administration Act, 1914, came into operation, which

provided new facilities for the payment of fines; and, whereas before

the operation of this Act between 75,000 and 100,000 persons had been

committed annually in default, the number so committed in 1918-19 had

fallen to about 5,300 only. This low number is probably to be accounted

for by the high wages prevalent, thus affording means to pay the fines

imposed. As a result of this, the total number of short sentences fell

enormously. Before the War, and the passing of the Act of 1914, there

had been nearly 100,000 sentences annually to two weeks or less, while

in 1918-19, only 4,000 were received for those terms.

As regards the actual offences which have contributed to this decrease

during the War,--amongst grave crime, the offences of Burglary and

Housebreaking showed the greatest fall, _viz_:--57 per cent., the

numbers having been 1,960 in 1913-14, and 840 in 1918-19. Larcenies,

including the less serious cases dealt with summarily, fell from

22,459 in the first-named year to 8,915 in the latter year, or 60 per

cent. (A large increase in the case of Bigamy was noted,--the number

which had averaged about 80 per annum before the War, had risen to

420 in 1918-19). Cases punishable by fine fell greatly, and amongst

these was the offence of Drunkenness: 51,851 persons were received

on conviction in 1913-14 and only 1,670 in 1918-19, a fall of 97 per

cent., the number for the latter year probably representing largely the

cases which were committed without the option of a fine. Assaults also

fell from 8,666 in 1913-14 to 1,269 in 1918-19, or 85 per cent., and

offences against Police Regulations from 8,661 to 889, or 90 per cent.

A striking feature of statistics during the War has been the decreased

proportion of recidivists convicted of _serious_ crime tried on

indictment. In 1913, 3,462 persons, or 34 per cent. of the total

convicted, had incurred six or more previous convictions: in 1918, this

number had fallen to only 786, or 17 per cent. of the whole.

Soon after the outbreak of War, drastic measures were enforced on

the sale of intoxicating liquor. On the 31st August, 1914, the

Intoxicating Liquor (Temporary Restriction) Act, 1914, was passed,

and under its provisions numerous Orders were made by the Licensing

Justices, suspending the sale or consumption of liquor on licensed

premises or clubs. Similar Orders were also made by Naval and Military

Authorities. In June, 1915, the Central Control Board (Liquor Traffic)

was constituted under an Order in Council, which established the

Defence of the Realm (Liquor Control) Regulations 1915, pursuant to

Act of Parliament. Statistics for the offence of Drunkenness showed a

remarkable decrease year by year, as will be seen from the following

Table:--

------------------+----------------------------------------------

|Convictions for Drunkenness in England & Wales

Year +--------------+---------------+---------------

| Males. | Females. | Total

------------------+--------------+---------------+---------------

1913 | 153,112 | 35,765 | 188,877

1914 | 146,517 | 37,311 | 183,828

1915 | 102,600 | 33,211 | 135,811

1916 | 62,946 | 21,245 | 84,191

1917 | 34,103 | 12,307 | 46,410

1918 | 21,853 | 7,222 | 29,075

Decrease per cent | | |

since 1913 | 86 | 79 | 85

------------------+--------------+---------------+---------------

Another remarkable feature of prison statistics during the War was

the practical disappearance of the Vagrant, convicted of Begging and

Sleeping-Out. In the years before the War, as many as 27,000 had been

committed annually for this offence (see chapter XIII), while in

1918-19 only 1,066 were received, and these were said to have been

largely the aged and the mentally or physically weak.

From observation of all the causes leading to the very remarkable

decrease in every category of criminal offences during the War, the

conclusion to be drawn seems to be that when employment is easy and

plentiful, and when, at the same time, there is severe restriction of

the opportunities for spending wages in intoxicating drink, there is

the probability that the records of crime (and by 'crime' is meant

not only grave offences, but the multitude of offences against Police

Regulations, Vagrancy, &c.) would be very low in the community. In past

years, the effect upon crime of prosperity, leading to good wages and

easy employment, seems to have been obscured in criminal statistics

owing to the enormous figures of convictions of Drunkenness, which,

in some recent years, have exceeded 200,000, and have represented

one-third of the whole receptions into prison. The following Table is

interesting as showing the comparison of prison statistics during a

year (1918-19) of plentiful employment with restrictions on the sale

of intoxicating liquor, with a year in which there was acute trade

depression:--

----------------------------------------------------------+-------+-------

|1918-19|1908-09

+-------+-------

Board of Trade percentage of Unemployment | ·08 | 7·8

| |

Daily Average Local Prison population | |

(excluding Military prisoners) | 5,500 | 16,000

| |

Total receptions on convictions |26,050 |184,901

| |

Including | |

| |

Charges for Drunkenness | 1,670 | 62,822

| |

" Begging and Sleeping-Out | 1,066 | 27,387

| |

" Larceny | 8,380 | 24,060

| |

Total Debtors received | 1,830 | 18,996

| |

Number committed in default of fine | 5,264 | 95,686

----------------------------------------------------------+-------+-------

The great fall in the prison population made it possible to close

temporarily, at various dates, a considerable number of the penal

institutions, representing about one-quarter of the total cellular

accommodation of the country. These included the large convict prison

at Dartmoor, which was utilized as a "Work Centre" for the prisoners

known as "Conscientious Objectors," and the Borstal Institution at

Feltham.

So far as crime generally in the country is concerned, a comparison

with the Tables printed on pages 216-8 shows a further great

falling-off, as follows:--

-------------------------------------+------------------------------------

|Number tried or proceeded against.

+-------+-------+--------------------

| 1917 | 1913 |Decrease per cent.

-------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------------------

(a) Serious crime tried on indictment| 5,586| 12,511| 55

| | |

(b) Less serious, though indictable | | |

crime, tried summarily | 57,419| 50,758| 13 (increase)

criminal nature | 52,152| 71,124| 27

(d) Non-indictable offences of a | | |

non-criminal nature |393,606|609,116| 35

-------------------------------------+-------+-------+--------------------

With regard to category (a), serious offences against the person have

fallen since 1913 by 39 per cent; offences against property with

violence (burglary, housebreaking, &c.) by 58 per cent; and offences

against property without violence (larceny, receiving, &c.) by 60 per

cent.

As regards the increase shown under category (b) above, a large

proportion of the charges included are for petty larceny by children

and "young persons." Deducting these from the total, the offences

committed by persons over 16 total to 33,012 and 36,433 for the years

1917 and 1913 respectively, or 9 per cent. decrease.

In category (d) are included 65,386 offences created by war-time

legislation, _viz_: offences against regulations made under the Defence

of the Realm Acts, about 50,500; Aliens Restriction Act, 1914, 13,600;

and National Registration Act, 1,192. If these be excluded, the

decrease shown in the Table above would be about 46 per cent.

* * * * *

Although over two years have elapsed since the cessation of

hostilities, during which time several million men have returned

to civil life, and although during that time there has been much

industrial unrest, and though certain modifications have been allowed

on the severe restrictions placed upon the sale of intoxicating liquor,

referred to above, the ordinary prison population is still 36 per cent.

below that at the time of the outbreak of war, _viz_:--

---------------------+--------+--------+---------------------+------------

Number in Custody on: |Local |Convict |Preventive Detention |Borstal

| Prisons|Prisons |Prisons |Institutions

---------------------+--------+--------+---------------------+------------

4th Aug. 1914 |13,580 | 2,601 | 247 | 925

| | | |

1st March 1921 | 8,535 | 1,305 | 73 | 1213

---------------------+--------+--------+---------------------+------------

The elimination of many thousands of petty offenders from the prison

population, due to the causes enumerated above, has had the effect of

reducing enormously the _volume_ of recidivism to be found in Local

Prisons at the present time, though the _proportion_ who had been

previously convicted remains about the same as formerly. Thus, the

total with _more than three previous convictions_ who were committed

during the first three months of 1920, as compared with a similar

period in 1914, shows a decrease of no less than 73 per cent. in the

case of males and 66 per cent. in the case of females. The actual

figures are as follows:--

-------------------------------+-----------------------------------------

|Receptions on conviction during the first|

| three months of |

| 1914. | 1920. |

+----------+--------+---------------------

| M. | F. | M. | F.

-------------------------------+----------+--------+--------+-------------

Number received | | | |

with 1-3 previous convictions| 6,533 | 1,772 | 2,132 | 685

" 4-5 " " | 1,704 | 845 | 397 | 189

" 6-10 " " | 2,490 | 832 | 513 | 226

" 11-20 " " | 2,243 | 816 | 475 | 257

" over 20 " " | 1,866 | 1,476 | 453 | 583

-------------------------------+----------+--------+--------+-------------

As regards the population in Convict Prisons, the great bulk of whom

are classified as Recidivist, only about 700 are so classified at the

present time, as compared with 2,000 at the beginning of the present

century; while the supply of the Juvenile-Adult sentenced to penal

servitude has almost ceased: in 1901 there were 200 lads 16-21 serving

sentences of penal servitude--to-day there are 9 only.

An examination of statistics for the years following the conclusion

of the Wars of the previous century shows that any increase which

then took place was largely attributable to industrial depression,

and that, on the revival of trade, they fell to their normal level.

If, at the present time, there is a reversion to the former state of

things--unrestricted sale of intoxicating liquor, or should recurring

cycles of acute trade depression result in wide-spread unemployment

and poverty,--it may be expected that the Prisons of the country will

once again be occupied with thousands of tramps and vagrants, and

petty offenders committed for short periods, and that the provisions

of the Criminal Justice Administration Act as to checking committals

in default of payment of fine will be largely nullified. If, on the

other hand, a social system can be devised and maintained which

can facilitate the means of employment, while, at the same time,

maintaining sobriety at its present level, there would incidentally be

found in such measures the solution of the penal problem.

APPENDIX (A)

BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS.

EXTRACT from the PREVENTION OF CRIME ACT, 1908. (8 Edw. 7, cap. 59).

Part I.

Reformation of Young Offenders.

[Sidenote: Power of court to pass sentence of detention in Borstal

Institution.]

(1) Where a person is convicted on indictment of an offence for which

he is liable to be sentenced to penal servitude or imprisonment, and it

appears to the court--

(_a_) that the person is not less than sixteen nor more than

twenty-one years of age; and

(_b_) that, by reason of his criminal habits or tendencies, or

association with persons of bad character, it is expedient that

he should be subject to detention for such term and under such

instruction and discipline as appears most conducive to his

reformation and the repression of crime;

it shall be lawful for the court, in lieu of passing a sentence of

penal servitude or imprisonment, to pass a sentence of detention under

penal discipline in a Borstal Institution for a term of not less

than[2] one year nor more than three years:

Provided that, before passing such a sentence, the court shall consider

any report or representations which may be made to it by or on behalf

of the Prison Commissioners as to the suitability of the case for

treatment in a Borstal Institution, and shall be satisfied that the

character, state of health, and mental condition of the offender, and

the other circumstances of the case, are such that the offender is

likely to profit by such instruction and discipline as aforesaid.

(2) The Secretary of State may by order direct that this section shall

extend to persons apparently under such age not exceeding the age of

twenty-three as may be specified in the order, and upon such an order

being made this section shall, whilst the order is in force, have

effect as if the specified age were substituted for "twenty-one":

Provided that such an order shall not be made until a draft thereof

has lain before each House of Parliament for not less than thirty days

during the session of Parliament, and if either House, before the

expiration of that period, presents an address to His Majesty against

the draft or any part thereof, no further proceedings shall be taken

thereon, but without prejudice to the making of any new draft order.

[Sidenote: Application to reformatory school offences.]

2. Where a youthful offender sentenced to detention in a reformatory

school is convicted under any Act before a court of summary

jurisdiction of the offence of committing a breach of the rules of the

school, or of inciting to such a breach, or of escaping from such a

school, and the court might under that Act sentence the offender to

imprisonment, the court may, in lieu of sentencing him to imprisonment,

sentence him to detention in a Borstal Institution for a term not

less than[3] one year nor more than three years, and in such case the

sentence shall supersede the sentence of detention in a reformatory

school.

[Sidenote: Power to transfer from prison to Borstal Institution.]

3. The Secretary of State may, if satisfied that a person undergoing

penal servitude or imprisoned in consequence of a sentence passed

either before or after the passing of this Act, being within the limits

of age within which persons may be detained in a Borstal Institution,

might with advantage be detained in a Borstal Institution, authorise

the Prison Commissioners to transfer him from prison to a Borstal

Institution, there to serve the whole or any part of the unexpired

residue of his sentence, and whilst detained in, or placed out on

licence from, such an institution, this Part of this Act shall apply to

him as if he had been originally sentenced to detention in a Borstal

Institution.

[Sidenote: Establishment of Borstal Institutions.]

4.--(1) For the purposes of this Part of this Act the Secretary of

State may establish Borstal Institutions, that is to say, places in

which young offenders whilst detained may be given such industrial

training and other instruction, and be subjected to such disciplinary

and moral influences as will conduce to their reformation and the

prevention of crime, and for that purpose may, with the approval of the

Treasury, authorise the Prison Commissioners either to acquire any land

or to erect or acquire any building or to appropriate the whole or any

part of any land or building vested in them or under their control, and

any expenses incurred under this section shall be paid out of moneys

provided by Parliament.

(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations for the rule and

management of any Borstal Institution, and the constitution of a

visiting committee thereof, and for the classification, treatment,

and employment and control of persons sent to it in pursuance of this

Part of this Act, and for their temporary detention until arrangements

can be made for sending them to the institution, and, subject to any

adaptations, alterations, and exceptions made by such regulations, the

Prison Acts, 1865 to 1898 (including the penal provisions thereof), and

the rules thereunder, shall apply in the case of every such institution

as if it were a prison.

[Sidenote: Power to release on Licence]

5.--(1) Subject to regulations by the Secretary of State, the Prison

Commissioners may at any time after the expiration of six months,

or, in the case of a female, three months, from the commencement

of the term of detention, if satisfied that there is a reasonable

probability that the offender will abstain from crime and lead a

useful and industrious life, by licence permit him to be discharged

from the Borstal Institution on condition that he be placed under the

supervision or authority of any society or person named in the licence

who may be willing to take charge of the case.

(2) A licence under this section shall be in force until the term for

which the offender was sentenced to detention has expired, unless

sooner revoked or forfeited.

(3) Subject to regulations by the Secretary of State, a licence under

this section may be revoked at any time by the Prison Commissioners,

and where a licence has been revoked the person to whom the licence

related shall return to the Borstal Institution, and, if he fails to do

so, may be apprehended without warrant and taken to the institution.

(4) If a person absent from a Borstal Institution under such a licence

escapes from the supervision of the society or person in whose charge

he is placed, or commits any breach of the conditions contained in the

licence, he shall be considered thereby to have forfeited the licence.

(5) A court of summary jurisdiction for the place where the Borstal

Institution from which a person has been placed out on licence is

situate or where such a person is found may, on information on oath

that the licence has been forfeited under this section, issue a warrant

for his apprehension, and he shall, on apprehension, be brought before

a court of summary jurisdiction, which, if satisfied that the licence

has been forfeited, may order him to be remitted to the Borstal

Institution, and may commit him to any prison within the jurisdiction

of the court until he can conveniently be removed to the institution.

(6) The time during which a person is absent from a Borstal Institution

under such a licence shall be treated as part of the time of his

detention in the institution: Provided that where that person has

failed to return to the institution on the licence being forfeited or

revoked, the time which elapses after his failure so to return shall be

excluded in computing the time during which he is to be detained in the

institution.

(7) A licence under this section shall be in such form and shall

contain such conditions as may be prescribed by regulations made by the

Secretary of State.

[Sidenote: Supervision after expiration of term of sentence.]

6.--(1) Every person sentenced to detention in a Borstal Institution

shall, on the expiration of the term of his sentence, remain for a

further period of[4]six months under the supervision of the Prison

Commissioners.

(2) The Prison Commissioners may grant to any person under their

supervision a licence in accordance with the last foregoing section,

and may revoke any such licence and recall the person to a Borstal

Institution, and any person so recalled may be detained in a Borstal

Institution for a period not exceeding[5]three months, and may at any

time be again placed out on licence:

Provided that a person shall not be so recalled unless the Prison

Commissioners are of opinion that the recall is necessary for his

protection, and they shall again place him out on licence as soon as

possible[6] and at latest within three months after the recall, and

that a person so recalled shall not in any case be detained after the

expiration of the said period of six months' supervision.

(3) A licence granted to a person before the expiration of his sentence

of detention in a Borstal Institution shall, on his becoming liable

to be under supervision in accordance with this section, continue in

force after the expiration of that term, and may be revoked in manner

provided by the last foregoing section.

(4) The Secretary of State may at any time order that a person under

supervision under this section shall cease to be under such supervision.

[Sidenote: Transfer of incorrigibles, &c. to prison.]

7. Where a person detained in a Borstal Institution is reported to the

Secretary of State by the visiting committee of such institution to be

incorrigible, or to be exercising a bad influence on the other inmates

of the institution, the Secretary of State may commute the unexpired

residue of the term of detention to such term of imprisonment, with or

without hard labour, as the Secretary of State may determine, but in no

case exceeding such unexpired residue.

[Sidenote: Treasury contributions towards expenses of societies

assisting, &c. persons discharged from Borstal Institutions.]

8. Where a society has undertaken the duty of assisting or supervising

persons discharged from a Borstal Institution, either absolutely or

on licence, there may be paid to the society out of money provided by

Parliament towards the expenses of the society incurred in connection

with the persons so discharged such sums on such conditions as the

Secretary of State, with the approval of the Treasury, may recommend.

[Sidenote: Removal from one part of the United Kingdom to another.]

9. Where a person has been sentenced to detention in a Borstal

Institution in one part of the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State,

the Secretary for Scotland or the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as the

case may be, may, as authority under this Act for that part of the

United Kingdom, direct that person to be removed to and detained in a

Borstal Institution in another part of the United Kingdom, with the

consent of the authority under this Act for that other part.

EXTRACT FROM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION ACT, 1914 (4 & 5 Geo.

5, cap. 58).

_Committals to Borstal Institutions._

[Sidenote: Power to send youthful delinquents to Borstal institutions]

10.--(1) Where a person is summarily convicted of any offence for which

the court has power to impose a sentence of imprisonment for one month

or upwards without the option of a fine, and--

(_a_) it appears to the court that the offender is not less than

sixteen nor more than twenty-one years of age; and

(_b_) it is proved that the offender has previously been convicted of

any offence or, that having been previously discharged on probation,

he failed to observe a condition of his recognizance; and

(_c_) it appears to the court that by reason of the offender's

criminal habits or tendencies, or association with persons of bad

character, it is expedient that he should be subject to detention for

such term and under such instruction and discipline as appears most

conducive to his reformation and the repression of crime,

[Sidenote: 8 Edw. 7, c. 59.]

it shall be lawful for the court, in lieu of passing sentence, to

commit the offender to prison until the next quarter sessions, and the

court of quarter sessions shall inquire into the circumstances of the

case, and, if it appears to the court that the offender is of such age

as aforesaid and that for any such reason as aforesaid it is expedient

that the offender should be subject to such detention as aforesaid,

shall pass such sentence of detention in a Borstal institution as is

authorised by Part I. of the Prevention of Crime Act, 1908, as amended

by this Act; otherwise the court shall deal with the case in any way in

which the court of summary jurisdiction might have dealt with it.

(2) A court of summary jurisdiction or court of quarter sessions,

before dealing with any case under this section, shall consider any

report or representations which may be made to it by or on behalf

of the Prison Commissioners as to the suitability of the offender

for such detention as aforesaid, and a court of summary jurisdiction

shall, where necessary, adjourn the case for the purpose of giving an

opportunity for such a report or representations being made.

(3) Where a person is committed to prison under this section, his

treatment in prison shall, so far as practicable, be similar to that in

Borstal institutions, or he may, if the Secretary of State so directs,

be transferred to a Borstal institution.

[Sidenote: 8 Edw. 7 c. 15.]

(4) The Costs in Criminal Cases Act, 1908, shall apply in the case

of a person committed to prison by a court of summary jurisdiction

under this section as if that person were committed for trial for an

indictable offence.

(5) A person sentenced by a court of quarter sessions under this

section to detention in a Borstal institution may appeal against the

sentence to the Court of Criminal Appeal as if he had been convicted on

indictment, and the provisions of the Criminal Appeal Act, 1907, shall

apply accordingly.

[Sidenote: 7 Edw. 7 c. 23.]

(6) This section shall come into operation on the first day of

September nineteen hundred and fifteen.

[Sidenote: Amendment and application of Part I. of the Prevention of

Crime Act, 1908.]

11.--(1) The term for which a person or youthful offender may be

sentenced to detention in a Borstal institution under section one or

section two of the Prevention of Crime Act, 1908, shall not be less

than two years, and accordingly "two years" shall be substituted

for "one year" in subsection (1) of section one and in section two

respectively of that Act.

(2) The period for which a person sentenced to detention in a Borstal

institution is on the expiration of the term of his sentence to remain

under the supervision of the Prison Commissioners shall be one year,

and accordingly "one year" shall be substituted for "six months" in

subsection (1) of section six of the same Act.

(3) The maximum period for which a person so under the supervision of

the Prison Commissioners may on recall to a Borstal institution be

detained in such an institution shall be one year, and he may be so

detained notwithstanding that the period of supervision has expired,

and accordingly "one year" shall be substituted for "three months" in

subsection (2) of section six of that Act.

(4) The provisions of Part I. of the Prevention of Crime Act, 1908, as

so amended, shall apply to persons sentenced to detention in a Borstal

institution under this Act in like manner as they apply to persons

sentenced under that Part of that Act.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 2: Altered to two years (vide Sec. 11 (1), C.J.A. Act, 1914).]

[Footnote 3: Altered to two years (vide Sec. 11 (1), C.J.A. Act, 1914).]

[Footnote 4: Altered to one year, (vide Sec. 11 (2), C.J.A. Act, 1914).]

[Footnote 5: " " one year, (" " 11 (3), " " ").]

[Footnote 6: The passage from "and at latest" to "six months

supervision" repealed by C.J.A. Act, 1914.]

BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS

FOR

MALES AND FEMALES.

Regulations made by the Secretary of State under Section 4 (2) of the

Prevention of Crime Act, 1908.

_Grades_.

1. Persons sentenced to detention under Penal discipline in a Borstal

Institution, or transferred for the purpose of such detention under

Section 3 of the Act, shall be divided into grades, proceeding from the

Ordinary to the Special Grade, where promotion is justified by industry

and good conduct. Failing that, inmates may be degraded or forfeit any

privileges of their Grade, or be reduced to the Penal Class.

2. Promotion will be regulated by the close personal observation of the

inmates, attention being specially paid to their general behaviour,

their amenability to discipline, and their attention to instruction,

both literary and industrial.

3. There will be an ascending scale of privileges enjoyed by inmates as

they pass from one Grade to another.

4. Inmates may be placed in the Penal Class by order of the Governor

if believed by him to be exercising a bad influence, but no inmate

shall be detained in it longer than is necessary in the interests of

himself or others. While in the Penal Class, inmates shall be employed

in separation at work of a hard and laborious nature and wear a special

dress.

5. Promotion in the early stages will be decided by the Governor, on

the report of the party officers. Promotion to the Probationary and

Special Grades will be by the selection of a Board, to be called the

Institution Board (composed of such officers of the Institution as

the Prison Commissioners may select), at their monthly meeting, but

inmates shall not be promoted unless the Board are satisfied that they

deserve it, and they shall not be retained in either Grade, should it

be considered necessary to remove them for any good reason.

Inmates may qualify for the Probationary Grade after passing nine

months in the lower Grades in the case of males, and twelve months in

the case of females.

6. Well-conducted inmates in the Special Grade may be selected by the

Governor for work in places of trust and confidence on the farm or

elsewhere, may be placed on parole, and may perform their work under

such conditions for custody and supervision as he may think fit.

7. Inmates in the Special Grade, in addition to other privileges, will

wear, in addition to a distinctive dress, a good conduct badge for

every three months passed in the Special Grade. For every such badge

they may be allowed a small money payment, which may be devoted to the

purchase of approved objects, or sent to their relations.

8. They may also be specially selected for the duties of monitors,

and will assist in the administration of the Establishment in various

capacities, and will be known as the "Star Special" Grade.

9. The Visiting Committee shall consist of not less than six persons

appointed by the Secretary of State. They shall hold office for such

period not exceeding three years as may be fixed by the Secretary of

State. They may exercise all such powers as are given to the Visiting

Committees by the rules for the Government of Local Prisons made under

the Prison Act, 1898.

10. As soon as any person is sentenced to detention in a Borstal

Institution, arrangements shall be made for his removal thither, and

until such arrangements can be made, he will be specially located and

segregated in the prison of the district whence he was committed,

and be subject to the Prison Rules for offenders sentenced to

imprisonment without hard labour: provided that where, owing to lack

of accommodation in the Borstal Institutions, immediate arrangements

cannot be made for the removal of any person so sentenced to any

Borstal Institution, the Prison Commissioners may temporarily locate

such person in a prison where training similar to that given in Borstal

Institutions is being given to a class of Juvenile-Adult prisoners;

and any person so located shall not be allowed to associate with any

prisoners except members of the Juvenile-Adult class, and shall be

removed to a Borstal Institution as soon as accommodation is available.

11. Gratuities shall be placed to the credit of inmates, and shall be

expended in assisting them on discharge.

12. When the Institution Board, having closely examined into the

character and conduct of an inmate, and being satisfied, after

communication with any society or person interested in the case, that

there is a reasonable probability (1) that he will lead a useful and

industrious life and abstain from crime, and (2) that employment will

be found for him, may at any time, always provided that he has served

not less than six months of his sentence, or three months in the case

of females, submit the case to the Visiting Committee who, if they

think fit, may thereupon recommend to the Prison Commissioners that he

be discharged from the Institution on licence.

13. Special provision will be made for the discharge on licence of each

inmate by arrangement with benevolent societies or persons who may

be willing to assist the case on discharge. Full information will be

afforded, and help given, to such societies or persons with the object

of securing a continuous and well-directed supervision of the case,

both at the moment of discharge and afterwards at the home or place to

which the inmate goes. Every encouragement will be given to preliminary

visitation in the Institution before discharge, in order that the

Society or individual may have a personal knowledge of the inmate, and

be in possession of the views of the authorities of the Institution

concerning him.

14. If the Prison Commissioners are satisfied that an inmate who has

been released on licence has escaped from the supervision of the

Society or person under whose care he has been placed, or has been

guilty of serious and wilful breach of the conditions of his licence,

and that the case cannot be dealt with by admonition and warning, they

may revoke the licence in pursuance of Section 5 (3) of the Act.

15. Inmates whose licences have been revoked under Section 5 (3), or

forfeited under Section 5 (4) of the Act, may be detained in the Penal

Class for such length of time as the Institution Board shall deem

it necessary, having regard to all the circumstances of the case or

they may be placed in the Ordinary Grade, but shall not be promoted

therefrom except with the approval of the Prison Commissioners.

16. The Form of Licence under Section 5 (1) and of Revocation under

Section 5 (3) of the Act shall be in the form of the Schedules appended

hereto.

SCHEDULE A.

PREVENTION OF CRIME ACT, 1908. _No._

(8 Edw. 7. Ch. 59.)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION ACT, 1914.

(4 & 5 Geo. 5, Ch. 58.)

Order for Discharge on Licence from a Borstal Institution.

PRISON COMMISSION,

Home Office, Whitehall,

...... day of ...... 19..

The Prison Commissioners, in pursuance of the powers conferred

upon them by the Prevention of Crime Act, 1908, do by this Licence

permit ......, who at the ...... held at ...... on the ...... of

......, 19.., for the ...... of ...... was convicted of ......

and was sentenced to detention in a Borstal Institution for a term

of ...... years, and is now detained in the Institution at ......,

to be discharged from the said Institution within thirty days from

the date hereof on condition that he places himself under the care,

supervision and authority of the Honorary Director of the Borstal

Association, until the expiration of his sentence on the ...... of

...... 19.., and during the further period of one year for which he

is liable by the said Act to remain under supervision, namely until

the ...... day of ...... 19.., unless the Prison Commissioners sooner

revoke or alter this Licence.

This Licence is granted subject to the conditions endorsed

hereon, upon the breach of any of which it will be liable to be

revoked or forfeited.

_Secretary, Prison Commission._

Conditions.

1. The Licensee shall proceed to 15, Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C.

and shall not without the consent of the Society or person under whose

charge he has been placed, remove from that place or such other place

as may be named by the Society or person.

2. He shall obey such instructions as he may receive with regard to

punctual and regular attendance at employment or otherwise; he shall

report himself periodically, either personally or by letter, if

required to do so; he shall not change his address without permission.

3. He shall abstain from any violation of the law, shall not associate

with persons of bad character, and shall lead a sober and industrious

life to the satisfaction of the Borstal Association.

Attention is directed to the following Provisions of "The Prevention of

Crime Act, 1908."

Section 5. (3) A licence under this section may be revoked at any time

by the Prison Commissioners, and where a licence has been revoked

the person to whom the licence related shall return to the Borstal

Institution, and if he fails to do so may be apprehended without

warrant and taken to the Institution.

(4) If a person absent from a Borstal Institution under such a licence

escapes from the supervision of the Society or person in whose charge

he is placed, or commits any breach of the conditions contained in the

licence, he shall be considered thereby to have forfeited the licence.

(6) The time during which a person is absent from a Borstal Institution

under such a licence shall be treated as part of the time of his

detention in the Institution; provided that where that person has

failed to return to the Institution on the licence being forfeited or

revoked, the time which elapses after his failure so to return shall be

excluded in computing the time during which he is to be detained in the

Institution.

* * * * *

I hereby acknowledge that I am aware of the above-named conditions,

&c., which have been explained to me.

_Inmate._

_Governor._

SCHEDULE B.

PREVENTION OF CRIME ACT, 1908, (8 Edw. 7, Ch. 59.)

CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION ACT, 1914.

(4 & 5 Geo. 5, Ch. 58.)

No.

Order of Revocation of Licence for Discharge

from Borstal Institution.

Whereas by Licence bearing date the ...... day of

...... 19.., you ..... being a person under sentence of detention

in the Borstal Institution, were duly licensed to the care of the Honorary

Director of the Borstal Association, of 15, Buckingham Street,

Strand, in the County of London, for the period of ...... months,

...... days, from ...... the Prison Commissioners do hereby revoke the

said Licence from the date hereof, and require you

the said ...... forthwith to return to the Institution at ......

Given under my hand this ...... day of ...... 19..

_Secretary._

* * * * *

Note.--A person failing to return to a Borstal Institution on

revocation of his Licence may be apprehended without warrant and be

taken to the Institution.

(_See_ Section 5 (3) of the Prevention of Crime Act, 1908.)

MEMORANDUM TO GOVERNORS, MALE BORSTAL INSTITUTIONS.

At the same time, it recognizes the enormous value of preventive