§ Mr. Lovat-Fraserasked the Home Secretary whether finger-printing is resorted to in the case of children before or after guilt has been proved; how many juvenile delinquents have had their fingerprints taken since the beginning of the year; and how many parents have refused to assent to the finger-prints of their children being taken since the beginning of the year?
§ Sir S. HoareWhere finger-prints are taken by the police they are normally taken before trial in the case of both juveniles and adults charged with criminal offences, if no objection is raised by the person concerned or, in the case of a juvenile offender, by his parents, it it is possible to communicate with them. If the person whose finger-prints have been taken has not been previously convicted of crime and is found not guilty, the prints are, of course, destroyed. I regret that the information asked for in the latter part of the question is not available.