§ Dr. D. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the number of murders of children under the age of 12, excluding cases of infanticide, known to the police in each of the past twenty-five years, and in the present year to date, respectively.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI regret that the information asked for is not available for 1945 or earlier, and could be provided for later years only with considerable labour. The numbers of murders of children aged one and under 14 years known to the police in England and Wales in the years 1946 to 1958, adjusted by the removal of any cases ultimately dealt with as a lesser offence, are given in the following table.
Of the cases dealt with as manslaughter, there were 6 in 1957 (4 male and 2 female) and 4 in 1958 (1 male and 3 female) which were found to be manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility under Section 2 of the Homicide Act, 1957. All the 1958 figures are provisional.
MURDERS OF PERSONS AGED ONE YEAR AND UNDER 14 YEARS OF AGE (EXCLUDING CASES ULTIMATELY DEALT WITH AS MANSLAUGHTER OR OTHER LESSER OFFENCE) Year Total Male Female 1946 32 14 18 1947 39 17 22 1948 38 23 15 1949 30 11 19 1950 29 11 18 1951 31 12 19 1952 43 25 18 1953 39 17 22 1954 42 17 25 1955 49 27 22 1956 38 19 19 1957 43 14 29 1958 28 14 14