The Sun. — 1868-10-21 (London, England)

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 21, 1868.  CRIMES OF WOMEN.  The criminal statistics of England and Wales for the year ending at Michaelmas, 1867, show that 3,867 women were committed for trial charged with indictable offences, and 15,542 men—one woman to every four men. In England and Wales 139 persons were committed for trial for murder in the year, and as many as 53, considerably more than a third, were women. Seven women were sentenced to death in the year -four servants, a charwoman, a needlewoman, and a factory worker—all for the murder of their offspring. No woman was executed in the year ; the capital sentences were all commuted to penal servitude. Eleven women were committed for trial for attempts to murder, 55 for wounding with intent to maim, 29 for manslaughter, 18 for arson, 112 for burglary and breaking into shops, 36 for robbery, 2,731 for larceny, 287 of these last being servants ; 203 women were committed for trial for fraud, 10 for perjury, 35 for keeping disorderly houses. Women seem to have their luck before the law ; 72 per cent. of the men apprehended for indictable offences were committed for trial, but only 58 per cent. of the women ; 73 per cent. of the proceeded against summarily were convicted, but only 61 per cent. of the women. From the returns relating to the less serious offences distinguishing between men and women ..n the convictions, of the 335,359 persons summarily convicted before magistrates in England and Wales in the year, 55,163, nearly a sixth, were females ; 15,217 were convicted of drunkenness, one woman for every four men so convicted ; 10,930 of the summary convictions of women were for assaults, 185 of them aggravated assaults on women or children ; 7,172 were for stealing ; 5,223 women were convicted as prostitutes, 26 as incorrigible rogues, 51 for cruelty to animals, 439 for unlawful pledging, 158 for deserting or neglecting to support children, 570 for using short weights or measures. 35,084 females were sent to county and borough prisons in the year, many of them more than once, and therefore counting more than once. 14,348 were there in that year not for the first time ; 2,565 had been there above ten times. The return shews, in the case of females, 44.8 per cent. recommitments ; in the case of males only 36'2 per cent., and the result was that the female commitments were more than a fourth of the whole number. 20,087 of the women in county and borough prisons were under sentence of hard labour, but one-fourth of these sentences were not carried into effect. The daily average number of women in county and borough gaols in the year was 3,746; in convict prisons, 1,031. 256 girls were committed to reformatory schools and :-,21 to industrial schools ; 307 women were under detention in prisons for criminal lunatics. The number of women out of prison returned by the police as belonging to the criminal classes in England and Wales in 1867 is 47,393—a number 478 fewer than in the preceding year ; 5,445 were known thieves, 655 receivers of stolen goods, 5,753 suspected persons, 9,921 vagrants and tramps, 25,679 prostitutes. Any one who examines in detail the returns for the great towns may doubt if this last number can be received as sufficient. Jt was mentioned recently that the returns do not imply that the prisons were filled chiefl from these " criminal classes." Of the whole number of 96,932 females apprehended for indictable offences, or proceeded against summarily, as many as 55,657 were not known to the police as bad characters. The female population of England and Wales, of all ages, was estimated at about 11,032,000