LAW AND ORDER
141
Crime. Over-population and economic distress continue to be the main causes of the high crime figures. The Colony nevertheless enjoys a remarkably healthy state of law and order.
422,811 reports were made to the Police, a decrease of 45,615 compared with the previous year. 158,093 reports disclosed no criminal offence and were mainly requests from the public for police assistance or advice. The balance of 264,718 included 23,265 reports of serious offences (27,876 in 1954), of which 12,567 (54%) resulted in arrest and prosecution. The remaining 241,453 were miscellaneous offences, of which 213,908 were prosecuted before the courts, convictions being registered in 203,853 cases. The figures for the various classifications of offences are given in Appendix XIII.
Decreases in serious crime are revealed in murder, serious assaults, burglary, housebreaking, larceny from the person, and several other offences. Armed robberies increased.
Members of the public continued to assist the Police, and were responsible for the arrest of 705 people perpetrating serious crime. 13 letters of appreciation and monetary awards were presented to members of the public for outstanding services to the community.
The comparative figures for traffic accidents are follows:
1951 1952 1953 1954 1955
as
Fatal Serious
Slight
104 106
490 466 448
72 101
139
621
735
3,745
7,156
2,328 2,698 3,124 3,397
Damage only... 3,937 4,787 4,892 5,119
6,859 8,057 8,536 9,238 11,775
The number of fatal accidents increased by 38, those involving serious injury by 114. The largest increase was in the damage only category, which increased by 2,037 cases. These increases, however, must be seen in relation to the increase in the number of motorists and vehicles.
The number of drivers in the past two years has increased by 16,133, the total now being 49,366. The number of learners' licences issued in the same period was 56,971. The number of vehicles on the roads in the same period increased by 5,004. From these figures it can be seen that the average
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