WORK OF COURTS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 46, 16 October 1931, Page 6

WORK OF COURTS

I l ("Post" Special Commisioner.)

JUSTICE STATISTICS INCREASE IN NUMBER OF CASES LAST YEAR. DEPARTMENT'S REPORT.

| WELLINGTON, Wed. j Interesting figures relating to crime — ' and Gourt matters in New Zealand are contained in the annual report on the justjce statistics for 1930. "'i The report states that during 1930 I tthe gross total of criminal cases in I Magisrates' Courts was 57,790 males being eharged in 54,723 cases i I and females in 3067. The total for' the year was 1664 more than for 1929. I The 57,790 cases dealt with resulted in 47,247 summary convictions, I and in 1102 eommitals to the Supreme i Court for sentence after conviction in ) the Magistrate's Courts. In 592 cases j the accused person was committed to the Supreme Gourt for trial, and in 1415 the Magistrate admonished and _l discharged the offender under a provision enabling him to do so in the case of a trivial offence, without a conviction being recorded. In 2500 I cases the charge was dismissed on the I merits of the case, and in the remaining 4934 cases the accused person was discharged for want of prosecution or want of evidence. The summary convictions for the year represented a rate of 31.66 per 1000 of mean population, as compared with 31.44 per 1000 in 1929. Of the total of 47,247 summary con- | victions, peremptory imprisonment j was imposed in only 3348 cases, in| addition to which the convicted per- j son went to gaol in 841 cases in lieu of paying a fine. * ' Arrests and Summons Cases. Persons eharged in Magistrates' Courts may be brought be-fore the j'jl Gourt either on summons or after ar- | rest, according to the nature of the of- i ! fence and to other circumstances. Of , [b the total of 57,790 cases in 1930, 16,104 were "arrest" and 41,686

"summons" cases. | . Criminal cases in the Supreme Court are of two clases, those in [ which the accused person has pleaded guilty in a Magistrate's Court and has been committed to the Supreme Court for sentence, and those actually tried in the Supreme Court. The figures for 1930 are as follows: — j Indictments and informations, males i 847, females 12, total 859; convictions, 382, 9, 401; sentences in cases of commital for sentence, 1108, 11, 1119; total sentences 1504, 20, 1524. Thirty-eight Maoris were included in the 538 distinct offenders sentenced in the Supreme Court in 1930, and [ 383 others (including 13 women) were born in New Zealand. In 57 ■ case-s the birthplace was England, and in 25 Australia. No fewer than 76 of the offenders were under twenty years of age, 145 were between twenty and twenty-five, 102 between twenty-five and thirty, 107 between thirty and forty, 65 between forty and fifty, 25 between fifty and sixty, and 18 sixty and over.

, There are fourteen prisons and State reformatories and three Borstal institutions in New Zealand, a& well as twenty-five minor prisons and police-gaols. In addition to these there are the police stations, which, under Section 17 of the Statute Law Amendment Act, 1917, may he deemed to be prisons for any period (which must not exceed seven days) during which prisoners are detained there undergoing sentence. At the beginning of the year the various institutions had 1396 persons under detention (males 1325, females 71). During the year 5761 were .received (males 5443, females 318), and 5588 discharged or transferred (males 5284, females 304). At the end of the year 1569 (males 1484, females 85) remained in confinement. The daily average number of prisoners in confinement was 1466 (males 1390, females 76). The 5588 discharges during the year included 1496 transfers of prisoners to other institutions or to the police. Of the balance 9 died during the year, 1 was executed, and 1 committed suicide, while 1 absconded and was not retaken. Prisoners discharged on expiration of sentence numbered 2981, 119 were released on bail or probation, and 414 were set free on the recommendation of the Prisons Board. Debtors discharged during the year numbered 310, and 24 lunatics were transf erred to mental hospitals. The I remaining 232 discharges represented persons who had been in prison on remand or awaiting trial, and who Were known to have been acquitted. Of the 1569 persons in gaol on 31st December, 1930, 46 were on remand or awaiting trial. The. 1523 prisoners undergoing sentence were classified as follows: — Hard labour or simple imprisonment: Under three months 94, three months and under one year 269, one year and over 472; 326; detention as habitual criminals, 54; debtors, 5; total 1523. Included among the prisoners undergoing sentence at 31st December, 1930, were 326 persons (286 males, 40 females) detained in Bostal institutions. Juvenile Offenders. The number of juvenile -cases in

, detention for reformative purposes, : 303; detention in Borstal institutions, 1930 was 3217, as compared with . 3405 in 1929, and 3095 in 1928. A substantial increase in the number of i juvenile cases has been recorded in ( the last three years, this being no doubt due in the main to the Child Welfare Act, 1925, many children being brought up under the provisions enabling Magistrates to commit an indigent, etc., child to the care of the > Child Welfare branch of the Education Department, states the report. j There is, however, a strong probabili- j ty that the figures for the earlier . years were understated through the ; word "juvenile" not always being j entered on the card in summons cases, I where otherwise the age would not | be indicated. Of the 47,247 summary convictions in Magistrates' Courts in 1930 only 3067, or 6.49 per cent., were of females. Drunkenness, including the j issue of prohibition orders, was responsible for 338 convictions; theft,

283; fraud and false pretences, 51; wilful damage, 14; common assault. 6; attempted suicide, 14; offensive conduct or language, 52; vagrancy. 158; and offences against the revenue laws, 21. Drunkenness. Drunkenness is a class of offence to which considerable attention is paid in New Zealand and elsewhere. The number of convictions for drunkenness, including drunkenness with disorderly conduct, drunk in charge oi vehicle or of horse, and habitual drunkenness, during' 1930 totalled j 6072 against males and 258 against j females. n addition, technical eonJ victions were entered in 1452 cases i of applications for the isue of prohibition orders. Divorce Court. During 1930, 839 petitions for dissolution of marriage (including 4 fox nullity) were filed. This number is 4 less than that recorded in 1929, which is the greatest number for any single year, the previous record being 796 in 1921. The number of decrees nisi in 1930 (724) is the greatest number recorded in a single year, being 6 in excess of the previous record in 1929. The number of decrees absolute (620) is 15 less than in 1929, which was a record, the next highest number being 614 in 1926. Of the 839 peitions filed during the year, 391 were filed by husbands and 448 by wives. No fewer than 108 of the petitions were filed within five years of marriage, in 265 cases the marriage has lasted between five and ten years, in 428 cases between ten and thirty years, and in-38 cases thirty years and over. Adultery was the ground speeified in 156 cases. Desertion was the ground in 216 cases, and drunkenness in 15 cases. Separation for not less than three years was responsible 'for 360 petitions, insanity for 12, malformation for 1, unnptural offence for 1, bigamy for 4, and non-compliance with an order for the restitution of conjugal rights for 76. In 728 cases the marriage had been solemnised within New Zealand, and in 111 outside. Civil marriages, the dissolution of which was desired, numbered 261, and represent-

ed 31 per cent. of the total. In 86 per cent, of the cases where decrees absolute were granted in 1930 the wife was under 25 years of age at the date of marriage, and in 54 per cent. of the accesses the wife was five or more years younger than the husband. The average ages at marriage in the 620 cases where decrees ab- ' solute were granted in 1930 were: Husbands 27.5 years and wives 21.7 ! years. The average age of husbands j at date of filing the petition in the j 620 cases referred to was 40.2 years, : and of wives 34.4 years, and the ave1 rage duration of marriage was 12.7 | years. Inquests. The number of bodies on which inquests were held during the year was 1594, including 83 Maoris; 1191 males and 403 females. The total number for the year was 21 more than that for 1929. Eight fire inquests were held during 1930, the verdicts in these, cases being arson 6, and no evidence 2.