CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2323, 3 December 1914, Page 6

CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND

: ; : ;NOT| INCREASING ■-.-;■ .• :: ADbRESS BY CHIEF JUSTICE : The Chief Justice of New Zealand ' (Sir-Robert Stout), iii his address to tho Grand Jury at Nelson on Monday, made the following remarks concern-i ing crime in.Now Zealand :— . "lam glad that lam again able to ; Congratulate your district' on the absence of serious orhno and of the few ■ .cases of crime in your midst. When I :-?met you -in.March I pointed: put that ■■■- crime ill New. Zealand was .-gradually decreasing relatively, to our population,/ . which, is increasing, and that there was . •especially no increase iii juvenile crime. i I am able to say , thnt thefemarks that ■: I made in March; can bo repeated. I -: ! :'mention the matter :again- because I ■find that some of biir citizens keep on ■.repeating that crime is increasing; amongst us. It is .a pity that they do not take the trouble to;, read the offi- . trial papers, that; contain the- statistics ;,.of our oriminals. Crime fluctuates from /•year to year, but if ; we take a,series |;of. years and examine the .figures we l.will find good ground for congratulaitipu on the decrease of crime. ■■:;__ "You are no.doubt aware that-many "in;our community -.dp", not seem to know. btha't.there are.th/ree reports: published ~ T 'annually by the Government, which' give .accurate details'of our crime and our .. jcriminals; ■ namely, , , the Prisons Departvment, and of the Police Department and |of the Government Statistician. If you '■examine the report for the year 1913 of , the Uiider-Secretary of Justice on .our prisons you will-find at , Page 2 a- copy !of the report of the Inspector,of Pris-, It , contains : actable showing the , ; iiumber of; prisoners actually in prison , ion December 31 every .fifth year, be-/ .{ginning in 1881 and ending in 1011, also i the numbers in 1912 and 1913. I shall J quote the figures of the number per '10,000 of our population;- They arc:— ,1881, 13.77: 1886, 10.60; 1891, 8.42; ,1896, 7.70; 1901, 9.05; 1906, 9.80:1911, '8.51; 1912, 8.22; 1913, 8.47. ' :. ■,■'■■ "Wo also find in this : repprfc the figures referring to serious crime. The Inspector.of Prisons' Report says: /The 'decrease '.in..' the number of serious ferimes as. evidenced', by .the.length of the sentences: imposed, whicli was remarked..upon: irilast year's report still' '.continues.':,- He.'gives ■ the following figures amongst others:' Thototal number of prisoners Teceived in gaol having sentences of three months or. over ■f.was'.in'l9o6, 1152; 1907, 1129; 1908, -1085;' 1909; 1152;' 1910,' 895; -1911, 783; 1912, 652; 1913; 711 Vlf .we' were '■ to -take at'per.-ten. thousand of "our population. . the' number would: be, in.;. 1906,12.67; 1913, 6,55, or • a .'fall. within, seven years; of ■■■nearly one;;Lalfi: ;■; ; . ;;7 : ''\ ' .'.;;'- '.-,; ■;_:■■ .; : ; "There has been an increase,in pris- : oners found, guilty': of minon offences. The figures are: 1911, 3116; 1912, 3313; 1913; 3555. This would b> , at-'the rate par ten thousand,' m> 1911, 30.38; 1912, 31.49; 1913, 32,77. /\ : v ; ~.; v ■ .' 'Another test is the. number of- die-, iiuct prispners-7 i (some'.are received more than once in a. year)—received into (jaol peiv year.'V The will be found ill .the. Government Statistician's .report oh Law arid .Crime. 'The figures.are: 1909, 3159; 1910,',3242; 1911, 2877: 1912, "3023 ■: 1913,- 3229.. If we take the .first : and ~last. years: of these fiveyears,- according to the population, that is,.'the, numbers' per. ten /thousand, of. our people, the .figures would'he: 1909, 32.50; 1913, 30.20. " ' . ■ ■ "In juvenile crime, taking all prisoners sent to gaol/whpther. more'.than, once in- the year. , or; twenty years of age, there "has been a decrease during tho. last year. ; In 1912, the number of males was 124} in 1903, 109. In 1912 the number-of females was 5, : and in 1913, 10.;. pei ten thousand /were taken. the '.' fall would seem to be, greater • than the 'numbers ■ quoted, show.- '•'.' ' 'V ;■'■.

"I may.now; refer.to the third report,, that bf.y.the ■. Commissioner of Police., I have hitherto dealt only, with: persons sentenced -to, imprisonment, but "tha Vis not always the; test of the criminality of the State or district. It may. be that the police.are .ineffective, or that" ■Magistrates do not punish when they should,, or that juries sometimes acquit : when ..they-., should, find Aa. -verdict of : guilty.. , I have/iherefpre taken .another .test.;,.,lt is what'crime:.has been reported to . the ■ polico. . The Commissioner of .Police , -in.his-'last annual report, says:— '■... ' ...;.' ..;■:■ ..; .;: . '"The, criminal statistics (Appendix !A) deal all offences reported to the -police' during the ended December. 31 last,, and:; sliow an aggregate.decrease of 566 ■ on the figures of 1912: Tho, propprtionof offences to the population, was 2.24' per' cent., against 2.35 the-previous.year; , ■■■ "Of serious crime, reported the number, of.cases was: in 1912, 617; in 1913, 614. ; -Thorp- is this note : in the report: 'During the last ten years the number of serious crime's-'as above described , (that is,. arson, . assault arid Tebbery;V burglary, ; breaking- into : shops, dwellings, ete., forgery and uttering, murder,, murder attempted, rape, receiving stolen property, shooting with intent) has varied from, 520 to 759, the present .'total • being. slightly, below- the average.' ■ '."■. • '.-..-. ' .... . "If, • however, , the average per ten thousand of r.he population were taken, the decrease would not, be so slight. Tho average given was on the assumption that , the population had not increased. Tliere was during the last year unfortunately an . increase ■ in indecent and sexual offences, mainly in indecent assaults, where the increase was 30. : ' "I have, referred you to\ three official reports.-:-..-If they are carefully considered .you will:'see that whatever else is happening in New Zealand, crime is not increasing, and for this we should take mucK. comfort, for if there is no regard for human lifts,-and no regard for the rights of .others, 1 and no regard for liuman liberty in any nation,, that nation is on the down grade." . ..•-