§ 11. Mr. Wootton-Daviesasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to increase the penalties for thefts and 2229 pilfering on all forms of transport, in view of the growth in the numbers of this sort of crime?
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Herbert Morrison)I fully share my hon. Friend's anxiety about this type of offence, which must be regarded, particularly in war-time, as extremely serious and deserving of severe punishment. The existing maximum penalties, which range' from seven years' penal servitude in cases of simple larceny to 14 years for larceny by a servant or from ships or docks or if the stolen article is controlled, cannot, I think, be considered inadequate. The real problem is one of detection, and this has been the subject of consultations between my noble Friend the Minister of War Transport and myself. The action we have taken will, I hope, be effective in securing the conviction and adequate punishment of increasing numbers of offenders.