§ MR. THOMAS B. CURRAN (Donegal, N.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to repeated recent cases of violent personal assault with robbery, committed after nightfall in South London, especially the Borough; and whether he will take immediate steps to strengthen the ordinary or detective police force, which at present appears insufficient?
§ SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEYNo, Sir, my attention has not been called to repeated recent cases of this kind occurring in South London. Not more than seven cases of anything approaching assault, with robbery are known by the police to have occurred since the beginning of the year, and in all of these arrests were made at the time. There appears to me to be no necessity for increasing the strength of the force as suggested.