HC Deb 21 January 1948 vol 446 cc201-3
42 Mr. Sorensen

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why returns for corporal punishment of civilian prisoners in West and East African prisons between 1941 and 1945 show an increase in Kenya and Gold Coast and only a smell decrease in Nigeria and Uganda despite the activities of the Treatment of Offenders Sub-Committee; generally for what offences this punishment was inflicted both in those colonies and in Northern Rhodesia, to what extent offences have fluctuated between 1941 and 1945; what consideration the sub-committee have given to the total abolition of this type of punishment; and what was the average number of strokes inflicted and the highest number respectively.

Mr. Rees-Williams

The reply is long, and I am circulating the information in the OFFICIAL REPORT. Much consideration has been and is being given to the matter, and some substantial improvements have been made as a result of my right hon. Friend's despatch to Colonial Governors in October, 1946. My right hon. Friend will continue his efforts.

Mr. Sorensen

Does not the variation indicate that much more has to be done in order drastically to reduce the number of punishments of this medieval character?

Mr. Rees-Williams

My right hon. Friend is giving this matter his personal attention, and, as my hon. Friend will see from the reply, we have gone into it fully. The difficulty has been a considerable decrease in the number of prison officials available during the war, many of them having been on war service, and also" the increase in the number of persons actually in prison.

Following is the reply:

The situation referred to in the first part of the Question must be judged in relation to the increase in the number of persons in prison and to the absence of regular prison staff on war service. The following table shows the percentage of corporal punishments to male prison population in the territories concerned.

— 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945
Northern Rhodesia 2.1 3.4 6.0 3.5 1.7
Kenya 0.023 0.019 0.023 0.020 0.036
Uganda 0.37 0.35 0.29 0.12 0.28
Nigeria 0.37 0.28 0.56 0.50 0.55
Gold Coast 0.052 0.026 0.09 0.53 0.15

In 1945, the offences punished in this way were: assaulting a warder, fighting and using threatening language, refusing to obey a lawful order and repeated serious offences against prison discipline.

The total prison offences in the five Territories range from 4,271 in 1941 to 5,884 in 1945. The average number of strokes was 6.7, all with the cane. The highest number of strokes was 24 (once in Uganda and once in the Gold Coast). The next highest was 12.

In October, 1946, on the advice of the Treatment of Offenders Sub-Committee, I addressed a despatch to Colonial Governors urging them to reduce further the use of corporal punishment in their Territories with a view to its eventual abolition.