A SHORT SKETCH OF THE MOVEMENT OF CRIME—
(A) 1872 to 1914: (B) THE WAR, 1914 to 1918.
The object of this Chapter is (a) to compare the number and character of offences according to recent statistics with statistics obtainable at the time of the London Congress, 1872; and (b) to show the great change that has taken place in the volume of crime due to causes consequent upon conditions of War.
(A) 1872 to 1914.
1. Serious offences (e.g. murder, wounding, sexual offences, burglary and fraud), tried at Assizes and Quarter Sessions, decreased between 1872 and 1913 by nearly a half, relatively to population, as will be seen from the following Table of the number of offences dealt with by the Courts for quinquennial periods 1873 to 1913:—
| Period | Number proceeded against | Ratio per 100,000 of the population |
| 1873-77 | 15,298 | 63·62 |
| 1883-87 | 13,908 | 51·09 |
| 1893-97 | 11,632 | 38·20 |
| 1903-07 | 12,344 | 36·32 |
| 1908-12 | 13,558 | 37·88 |
| 1913 | 12,511 | 33·89 |
2. Less serious offences, which, though triable by Superior Courts, can be dealt with summarily, i.e., principally acts of petty larceny, have increased during the same period, though relatively to population there has been a decrease, as the following Table shows; but it must be remembered that a large proportion of these offences are those committed by children or 'young persons,' coming within the provisions of the Children Act, 1908. Nearly 40 per cent., according to latest figures, belong to this category, and over 60 per cent. of charges were either dismissed or dealt with otherwise than by conviction:—
| Period | Number proceeded against | Ratio per 100,000 of the population |
| 1873-77 | 37,245 | 154·90 |
| 1883-87 | 43,936 | 161·41 |
| 1893-97 | 41,542 | 136·42 |
| 1903-07 | 47,721 | 140·40 |
| 1908-12 | 52,743 | 147·36 |
| 1913 | 50,758 | 137·48 |
3. There is a third category of offences, which, though only triable in Summary Courts, are 'criminal' in character, e.g., assaults, damage, &c. As will be seen from the following Table, there has been, generally speaking, a fall since 1872 of considerably more than a half, the number of offences per 100,000 of population having decreased for the period 1873 to 1913 from 567 to 192.
| Offence. | Quinquennial averages. | Year1913 | ||||
| 1873-77 | 1883-87 | 1893-97 | 1903-07 | 1908-12 | ||
| Assaults, Malicious Damage, Unlawful Possession &c. | 136,390 | 116,836 | 108,298 | 85,193 | 75,212 | 71,124 |
| Ratio per 100,000 of population | 567·22 | 429·22 | 355·64 | 250·65 | 210·14 | 192·65 |