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" and 28th September 1877.
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I have the honor to be,
My Lord,
Your Lordship's cunt Obedient Duruble Servant
Abgespennery.
12822
13386
HABITUAL CRIMINALS.
The Singapore Council is at present legis- lating with regard to habitual criminals, and as the same subject is one of some interest here, it may be useful to note what our neighbours are doing in regard to it. A bill has been intro- duced entitled "The Prevention of Crimes Bill."! This bill, says the Straits Times, would appear to have been founded upon the following para- graphs from the Police Commission Report of of August last year-
"With an improved Force thore should be no great difficulty in providing that in each district a record of oriminals should be kept. It would naturally be a great help if the known bad cha- racters in each division ware registered by the Police, as is done elsewhere. At present little or no help is given by the Police in proving pre- vious convictions, and they are not taught to exercise a surveillance over convicted offenders with a view to detecting and suppressing crims. and to assisting the magistrate in dealing with such cases where they are brought up for the second or more times.
"Reference to the gaol returns shows, how- ever, that cases of previous conviction require more severe treatment than they at present re- ceive. In February last the following informa- tion was supplied to us. Out of the total number of prisoners, which was 798, 271 had been pre- viously convicted, and the number of convictions in each case was as follows:--
PRION KES. CONVICTIONS.
101
f
26
20
12
9
8
PRISONERS.
CONVIOSTONS.
6
10
11
12
18 27
"The Police are not, of course, responsible for this state of affairs, but it indicates the ad- visability of the Police keeping themselves au courant with such cases, which can only be done by keeping up registers of the criminal classes at the different stations,”
The objects and reasons of the Bill are ex- plained with his usual lucidity by the Attorney. General as follows:-
The criminal returns from the several Sottle- ments show that there are large numbers of persons who are habitual offenders, and who are no sooner released from one term of imprison- ment than they are arrested and found guilty of another offence of the same class, generally speaking theft and house-breaking.
"Of late these cases bave been dealt with under section 75 of the Penal Code, which pro vides long terms of imprisonment for offences after previous convictions, under chapter XII. and XVII, of the Penal Code (offences against coin and stamps and offences against property), so that, when a fresh charge is made, the ao. oused are committed for trial in the Supreme
Court, where they are sentenced in accordance with the provisions of section 75.
"There are, however, other mesus which can be adopted, in accordance with recent legislation, with habitual offenders, and some of the provi- sions of the English Act 34 and 35 Victoria, chapter 112, (the Procedure of Crimes Act, 1871), are now proposed to be enacted in this Bill.
"The operation of the Bill is confined to per- sons convicted of crime, which word is, by section 20, interpreted to mean an offence punishable by penal servitude or rigorous imprisonment for not less than two years. The English definition includes felonies and some of the statutory mis- demeanors relating to property, coin, &c. By the second paragraph of section 1 the Governor, however, may prescribe the class or classes of prisoners to be dealt with under the Ordinance; so as to exclude some, who would come under the definition, but, as to whom, from the nature of the offence, it would not be necessary to have them included.”-
The Bill is not a very long one, consisting of twenty-one clauses, nor is it very intricate in its provisions. The first eight sections enact that a Register of Criminals is to be kept at each Settlement, and that each criminal is to be photographed by the Prison authorities, copies of which are to be registered and sent to the Police, with a description of his person, so as to facilitate his identification and recognition as an old offender. Five sections provide for the special punishment of habitual criminals, their summary arrest under suspicious circumstances and their surveillance by the Police after the expiry of their sentences. Two sections deal with the harbouring of reputed thieves and the re-set of stolen goods by lodging-house-keepers, taverns, brothels, &c. Three sectious provide for the summary search for the stolen property by the Police under certain circumstances and the punishment of receivers. The remaining three sections deal with interpretation and title. "Crime" is defined in the Bill as any offence punishable by penal servitude or rigorous im-- prisonment for not less than two years, the im- prisontuent not being by way of alternative punishment for non-payment of fine.
In Hongkong, when there are previons con- victions against a prisoner, they are now, we believe, almost invariably proved sad the sue- cess of the present system of dealing with old offenders has been amply demonstrated. The example of Singapore, however, might perhaps be followed with advantage in defining "orimes" for which previons convictions are to be proved. In Hongkong the most paltry offences against order morely, such, for instance, as causing an obstraction or hawking without a licence, are charged against prisoners as previous convic- tions, a course which must necessarily be rather embarrassing tban useful, since such convictions do not necessarily prove a man to be a hardened vriminal.