The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1894-03-07 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

CRIME IN BIRKENHEAD.  RETURNS BY THE CHIEF CONSTABLE.  The Chief Constable (Major Barker), has just issued his annual return to the members of the Watch Committee, and an usual much interesting information is forthcoming. Owing to the general oompilement of criminal statistics, having been altered- by the •' Police Returns Act, 1892,, the Chief Constable finds it impossible to maculate a reliable, definite comparison, between this and last year's mime but he can state generally that there is a consideraMe reduction in the commission of all climes of crime. For instant* in 1892, 944 persons were proceeded against for drunkenness, 722 were convicted, while in 12:33, 602 persons were proceeded against and 497 convicted. The number of informations laid are fairly representative of the general conformity to law or otherwise of the community, and in this connection it may be stated that in 1892, 1248 police informations were laid, with 1191 convictions against. 4161 laid and 806 cionvictions in 181313. The Chief Constable further supports his opinion that there lean increasing law-abiding spirit in the municipality by pointing out that at the Sensiona held every quarter, at the quarter ending last year there were no persons brought before the Court. One man had been charged with murder but the case had fallen through for want of evidence and one man had been sentenced to seven years penal servitude for manslaughter. During the year 1411 persons had been locked up, being 296 less than last year. No person was locked up when the case could possibly be met by laying an information. Of the 147 members of the force 116 held medallions from the St. John ! Ambulance Association, 10 had been examined and 16 held certificates. They had surgically treated 41 Oases during the year. A requisite establishment of ' litters, bandages, splinta, was kept at all the police stations and at the Birkenhead Docks. The conduct of the men had been satisfactory. Not any man had been dismissed. One had been ordered to resign for misconduct, and two had voluntarily done 80. Two men had died, and onehad been pensioned; 27 men had been rewarded for meritorious services rendered in the execution of their duty. The average height of the force was 5 feet 10f inches. There had been 1433 days on which constables had been abeent from duty on the sick list, 132 days of which were due to men hurt in the execution .of their duty. The state of the Pension Fund was satisfactory. One countable had been pensioned during the past 12 months; one pensioner had died, and the widow of • constable had received • gratuity of £25. There were at present 25 pensioners. The treasurer calculated that the annual expenditure was about £1,507 and the income about £2,264. The gross cost of the police force for the year ending March 25th, 1893, was £11,815 Os. 10d., of which £5,151 Is. Bd., was received from the exchequer oontribution account, whilst the remainder £6,663 17s. 2d.. came from the local rates. The expenditure was by salaries and pay £9,604 (xi. 7d2 travelling and subsistence expenses £43 3a. 10d., clothing and accoutrements, £599 9a. 10d, rents, rates, etc., £122 19s. Id., printing and stationery, £248 13s. sd. ; other miscellaneous charges £1,205 Ba. ld. Taking the population of Birkenhead at 99,857, as returned at the 1691 census, the figures showed that there were 1121 police to every 10,000 inhabitants or of 243 to every £lO,OOO of rateable value. The coot per constable was £lO4 is. 10d., or • fraction over 6d. per £ on rateable value, or 2s. 48. per inhabitant. During the year the police had received reports of 88 losses of money aggregating £76 14s. flid. but only 14 finds amounting to £l5, had been reported to them. Of watches, jewellery, &c., lost, the articles reported numbered 94, and the finds only 26. In minor articles the number of finds largely exceeded the number of articles reported as lost. There had been 175 inquests held and of these 34 were due to accidents, 14 to burns or scalds, eight to suicide, and ten to drowning. There was • great increase over the previous year in the number of doora,. windows, and cellar covers found unsecured at night, the total reaching 1,325. The approximate estimate of houses of all descriptions within the borough ix 19,700, and the number un-inhabited during the past five years is ' as follows : First RaU-ylaar. =dins 31st March.  1 I 111 g I 1 .- 78 93 464 103 &A 88 139 687 1691392 228 175 780 110 1I 193 292 243 1005 02 1642 48 234 1401 SS 2070  Second Helliear. ending 30th September. I. I 6 Et 2 S 172 103 507 1 98 880 164 119 602 103 888 213 169 623 109 1114 231 166 869 KS 1399 332 199 1076 94 1701