§ 56. Mr. du Cannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of robbery with violence, involving the theft of money, were known to the police for the year 1958 to the latest convenient date.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI regret that no figures for 1958 are yet available, and the statistics do not in any case enable me to distinguish robberies involving theft of money from other robberies.
§ Mr. du CannIs my right hon. Friend aware of the great public concern there is at the increasing number of attacks upon wages clerks and others who have to handle very large sums of money? Does he not agree that the danger might be mitigated if it were made legal to pay wages by cheque and if penalties for this type of offence were substantially increased, including the re-introduction of some form of corporal punishment?
§ Mr. ButlerI am aware of the anxiety on this score. We see from the newspaper and from our reports that the incidence has been increasing. I am considering further forms of counter-activity to see what we can do about it.