Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-09-01
CRIMINALS IN OLD ENGLAND
Statistics Just Issued Show Serious
Rise-Drastic Reform Needed,
According to Appearances.

Gus government departments all
point to the increased wealth of
England and the increased trade
which it has done; and yet, simul-
taneously with this growth of
prosperity land inconsistency,
one would think, there is an un-
doubted and serious increased in
crime, an increase recently re-
ferred to by, Sir Ralph Littler.
The social reformer may ex-
plain this away as he likes, but
seeing that crime is largely due to
poverty and want in the case Of
the first offender, and that the fire.
quent temperance of the ''habit-
ual criminal" is to some extent
evidence of the failure of our most
expensive machinery for the pun
ishment and diminution of crime,
the English taxpayer is naturally
alarmed when he finds that even
the great prosperity which the
government departments depict
can be accompanied by a great and
an increasing amount of crime.
Yet the fact remains that dur
ing this year, and, indeed, during
the last four years, there has been
steady upward movement in
criminal activity. Previous to
1900 the crime statistics had been
steadily improving, and the fig
ures for crimes dealt with at the
assizes and quarter sessions,
where all the more serious indict-
able offenses are tried, decreased
continuously.
But in the last four years these
figures have as continuously in
creased, and increased at a much
more rapid rate than they had
previously decreased. In these
four years, in fact, the figures for
serious ofenses run thus-1O, 149.
10,797, 1882, and to-day, Ii, 1872.
The increase, too, is even more
marked when we come to the
worst offenses. In the last year,
for example, more persons we're
sentenced to death than in any
previous year for which we have Il
record. The annual average of
death sentences for the five wears
1Ssse3,- was 24.6, and for the five
years 1e3S 1902 it was 27.4; but
:. the las, -.cccrded year tie num-
Ger of death sentences rose to the
unprecedented total of Al.
Now, if the indictable or more
serious offenses tried at these
courts of summary jurisdiction are
added to the 1882 cases at the
assizes and quarter sessions there
is a total for the last year
amounting to 5S,444 serious of
enses, which contrasts unfavor-
ably with the. 81 ,06S Of the pre-
sy:ous year, and still worse with
t'}es preceding years, which ac-
counted for $4,000, 53,62S and
5a.494 offenses, respectively.
The next point Of interest to the
tGDlic is the class of crime which
Is increasing, and here it is found
that while acts of violence 10 the
psssoa and assaults generally
have decreased, the last for i'll
gotten wealth and other persons S
property IS increasing.
But there is more behind the
isures, for it is now well-ascer
tanned fact that the number of
charges tried is small in proper
$50 ,ne nu---er OF oIelse.;
eec.-nitted. Roughly, only one
third of the total of offenders
against property Z apprehend-
ed. Thus, out of 3,6s5 cases of
holsebreaking, known to the po-
lice only 891 persons were appre-
hended, and of these only 90 were
summarily convicted. Out of
total of 1920 offenses against
property with violence only 3,69l
persons were apprehended in con-
nection with those offenses. This
discloses very serious state of
things, which the British police
authorities would do we'll to ex-
anime. It clearly calls for dras-