THE WAR AND CRIMINLS.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1917, Page 2

THE WAR AND CRIMINLS.

A CHANCE GIVEN. | THE CHIEF OF SCOTLAND YARD'S CI.D. SAYS THAT THE GOOD INFLUENCE OF THE WAR ON CRIME 'HAS BEEN REMARKABLE. London, Oct. 12. "The uniformly good influence of the war on crime has been extraordinary," says Air. Edward Marshall, in the Observer. "Mr. Basil Thomson, the Chief of Scotland Yard's Criminal Investigation Department, is my authority for saying this. Recently we had a long talk about the matter. "At the time of the outbreak of the war," he said, "London was the gathering place for wanderers from all the highways and the byways of the earth. They at once became of peculiar interest to us at Scotland; Yard, because it was Obvious fjiat among them were eertain to be foiflid most of the enemy-spies with whom we would have to contend. As Spon as possible we established an aliens' registration system, and now we are in close and informed contact with practically every foreign-born person, good, or bad, in the territory of Great Britain." ADVENTURERS IN THE ARMY. "In the early part of the war," said Mr. Thomsoh, "when the Derby scheme wa9 in operation, and enlistment was a purely voluntary -thing, perhaps 2000 definite criminals joined his Majesty's Forces. These were men who had actually .becji listed by the Criminal Records Office. Otherß of the same olass undoubtedly would have joined had it not been for age and physical restrictions. It ia quite fair to assume, that the 2000 represented a 'very large "majority of the men of criminal record who were physically eligible to go to the front. These men were criminals of almost every type, save purely political offenders. "The total v now in the various armies is about 3500. Any man who -will commit a series of. crimes against property must be adventurous. The one thing intolerable to the English, criminal is monotony. We believe that most of these men are induced to crime by the romance of the street, or by bad paren-1 tal control in youth. Most men who become involved in such lives* easily might have been saved by proper environment and training. ■ <■■ A CRIMINAL'S V.C. "Of Criminal Records Office men 187 are reported to'have been killed in action. 257 are reported to have deserted, 2!i have heon discharged for variou.\ reasons. I have no record of the total number wounded. This large group has not been without its heroes. One CR.O. man has been given the Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry. This distinction was won, as might have been expected, through just the sort of daredevil bravery which, under the influence of an ill-trained psychology, is likely to develop into crime. This man's comrades had been cUt up very badly by German machine-gun fire, and the situation was getting worse, He offered to go 'over the top' alone with two bombs, crawl with" ffiem to within throwing distance of the German trench and try to silence the fire from a well-chosen spot. When you hear my bombs go, start fir-' mg for all you're Worth,' he told his comrades. 'But you'l] get it from us too, then/ he was warned. 'Never mind,' he answered, 'Fire for all you're worth.' , "This programme was carried out exactly, and, to. the amazement of his comrades, he not only did his really glorious bit, but returned safely to his own trench for two more bombs. Securing them he disappeared again, onlv to return half an hour later, and roll'into his own trench unwounded and satisfied with the night's work, which, indeed, had been Of great value. His C.R.O. record did not prevent him from showing not only his highest personal bravery, but very marked intelligence. Later he was killed. PRISON POPULATION. "The United Kingdom has a standing prison population of 10,000 to 20,000. Not only did those who chanced to be at large very readily and promptly volunteer, but a large majority of tltosc'discharged from prison during the early days of the war at once offered themselves for military service. "Among the Inmates of our reformatories for boys between the ages of eighteen and tw«irty-one, 800 immediately volunteered. This enabled us to close on>> institution. We permitted the enlistment of such of these iboys as had served a certain proportion of their sentences: They quickly became good soldiers, for they had had military drill as a detail of their TCform-sohool life. "Our experience with most criminals, carefully excepting Mack-mailers and their kind and those guilty.of crimes against decency, is that they are rather above than below the average of physical courage. Probably even the few deserters did hot leave the Colors so much through cowardice as through their hatred of the routine of Army life. CONVICTS AS OFFICERS. "We never tell the military authorities a man's criminal history. It would be manifestly Unfair for us to do so except in the cases of men going into the Royal Army Medical Corps as stretcherbearers, for the stretcher-bearer is likely to have opportunities for thieving from, wounded officers and men. One man of criminal record has secured a commission, It seemed almost certain that the story of 'his past would be learned by the men under him, and that this would affect, unfortunately, his standing with them. As kindly as possible he was dispensed with, the whole matter and the reasons behind, being explained to him with perfect frankness. He agreed as to the necessity of the action, and at once re-enlisted as a private. "In another case two warders were called up from Dartmoor Prison through the working of the enforced enlistment plan. To their horror they discovered that the officer above them was an exeonvict who had served his time under them. The officer, who had proved himself a flrst'Cl&ss man, stayed where he was. They were transferred—and sighed with some relief. AFTER THE WAR. "We at Scotland Yard feel certain that sot only criminals who have served In the Army, but law-abiding men who have been in the trenches, will hate indoor lffe after the war ends. I believe that the average city criminal will he much more likely to reform if he gets some out-of-doors life. Military service ha* forced just that on many, and it is not Impossible that thus scores of old '

habitual criminals will be- transformedinto ■Useful, citiwms. Returningto' their old-time city environment, such men easily might Tevert to their old modes of life. Going to. the land they probably will not. Therefore the war,* for many years after it is over, may affect our criminal problem TavomEly. "I believe the fact that so large a proportion of the male population will have been under military discipline will tend greatly to decrease crime after the war. Even the man who, before the war, had gone wrong or was going wrong will he benefited by his long experience side by side with decent men. In the case of many city-bred boys Army life is offering a first opportunity for honest associates, first chances at decent food. first experiences away from drink, first opportunities to become physically fit. as well as to benefit by any sort of disciplinary training. CRIME AMONG WOMEN. "The war has had no noticeable effect on crime in Britain among females It was .expected !by some that the entrance of women into employment hitherto monopolised by men might have had a bad result, owing to the new freedom which increased incomes offer. But the pessimists were wrong. The women of England have risen to the "situation in every sense of the word. They are using their new independence and their high wages very wisely, on the whole. Of course, we can't tell, now, what will happen after the war, 'but I, for one, am