§ 2.44 p.m.
§ LORD MANCROFTMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name o the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government if the statistics so far available are enough to show whether the abolition of corporal punishment has had any effect upon the incidence of crimes of violence.]
§ THE LORD CHANCELLOR (LORD SIMONDS)My Lords, corporal punishment as a judicial penalty was abolished in September, 1948. The only crimes of violence for which it could have been awarded, in the case of persons aged seventeen or over, were offences under Section 23, subsection (1), of the Larceny Act, 1916—that is, robbery with violence, armed robbery and robbery in company with others. The statistics show little variation over the years 1947 to 1950 and do not support the conclusion that the abolition of corporal punishment has had any effect on the incidence of these crimes of violence.