Only Seven Classes of Criminals.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 23 October 1914, Page 2

Only Seven Classes of Criminals.

Shakespeare, in "As. You Like It," ■ enumerated the seven degrees of a li 6,' and now the International Con- | gressu has made a similar classificatitfii'''' xbt'- crirtie&r ''■•'dividing them into 'seve^r distinct groups. :;;■' As Shakespeare makes his charae- f ter-Touchstohe say> the' degrees of a lie are : The retort ; courteous, the q'UipK..|_.-rnodest, / . -the -Feply churlish, the reproof '"'valiant, the countercheck- quarrelsome, the lie. ._-with cir.cu.njstance, and the lie direct. :Criminals fall iuto. the/--..following-groups : Criminals of mood, " criminals "of' emotion," '-criminals-■ -of opportunity, "criminals of habit, . crimU nals^,,...by. Jirofesa-ion, - feebleminded criminals and the criminal insane. ....The criminal of mood""or""of occasYSri'iis the" ''g&b'd^ihaTit -gdhe wrong,'' such as the bank cashier who borrows a little money fpi; a need, ' iea*i'id, being unahle to^ ; pay it back,'— gdes- -frem small.^theft. to .bigger tliel't"iii;'tlr6"" endear Pur to squarehis books again. The criminal of-., eiaipt|pn Is; seen in. the man who shoots his wife's lover or commits an assault in anger. ' ■ ■ ' . ; ■ The!criminal- of habit.' is, usually a product of slow. , growth, frequently having be'en always associated'with' ..criminal classes. -■'■■{: ■ ■ ■■ .- The criminal by profession is characteristically' the nian who thiiiits 7 he has perceivecU-!that;-a' living can be more easily obtained by , crime, than by hard work. The feebleminded criminairis :'esp:e-, cially a,,.product rofi .a civilisation, moving so rapidly that he ' cannot keep up with it, and takes refuge in a vague resentment against society." : " .' -.'■■;•' ;• ..'••■•■. ... Th'e i; insane- cpiminal...class ,cm i braces all those in which the mindcentres are seriously disturbed. Tt is suggested that the punishments of each of these types should not' lie on the same plane. A prison sentence of indeterminate term would leave the question of ■freedom to l)e l ;, o detorniine.'l by. cthe prison physician, much in the same manner as release from a lunatic

asylum is arranged