CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND

Hokitika Guardian, 3 September 1924, Page 4

CRIME IN NEW ZEALAND

INTERESTING FIGURES. AVEI.f.IXTON. Sent. I. The general figures regarding olfonees in New Zealand were recently published in the Police Commi-iniier's report. hut additional detail., including pariotilars of divnree eases and birthplaie of persons arrested for olieiu-eit appear in the Governmeiit Statistician's report on the Justice statistics for IfITT. Crime omoog-t .New Zealand hum is less than aiming the rest of The 'Dominion’s picpiilation. This is proved by the fact that out of 7TTI persons emvieled in magistrate’s courts alter arrest .Ti ll were New Zealand horn, showing a percentage nf -IS to the total, whereas the percentage of New- Zealand-horn in the Dominion's pnnul lilon is 7-1. including, of course, many children. The pisitioii is quite as favouiagle if the proportion of New Zealand-born males over TO among converted persons, -1.5 per coiiD. is contrasted with the number of New Zea-land-hot n males in the whole population. which is ~>7 .per cent. Ihe same results are obtained on examination ol drunkenness convictions. (Time among women in New Zealand is not extensive, savs the Statistician. Of T7.RH sinninary coin ictions in liiagistrates’ courts only TDI.S or o. IT per'" cent, were of females, and a large proportion ol the olfences were ot a minor character, such as sixty cases of Sunday trading. -IT I I.reaches of bylaws, 111 of the Impounding Act, and 1 -_>7 ( ,f the Licensing Act. The number of female prisoners actually sent to gaol in I!)■_>:! was IT9. and the daily average in pri-on is between - 1 1 and r>t.

Juvenile ofi'eiider- in the year under review numbered 1 1 ('- rejuetiou oi ITo on the iirevotu- year. I belt was clmrecil in ,51)7 eases, unit the other leading offence was wilful damage to property. —IT eliarges.

An inereas'.' of only TT in the number "of petitions for dissolution of marriage. totalling fitly, warrants the assumption that divorce figures have become almost stationary alter the lug rise from 389 in 1918 to 7(19 in 19TI. Of last year’s petitions TIT were tiled by husbands and 3.14 by wives, and no fewer than 110 petitions were filed within live years of marriage. Counting only eases where a decree nisi with or without a decree absolute was granted, the number ol divorces \tafil)T. Failure to comply with an order for the restitution of conjugal rights having again been made a ground of divorce, these eases have again become prominent, increasing from four petitions in 1020 to 77 last year. Civil business dealt with in the courts is extensive. Magistrate s court--handled (ID.05!) cases, involving £I.TTO.100. while _tho Supreme Court tried 41T civil claims, recording judgment for >£300,605. Tt is stated that only 00 per cent, of plaints entered in the magistrates’ courts reached the position of being tried by a magistrate.