Mrs. Patonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many boys, under the age of 17, 16 and 15 years, respectively, have been committed to Wormwood Scrubs prison, from 1st February to 9th March this year; if he will state the courts by which the boys were committed and, in the case of courts which have made more than one such committal, the number of committals; whether he is aware that in at least two of the cases the boys had not been previously in trouble; and whether he will make inquiries whether they had been in a remand home and the grounds on which, in these cases, the boys were certified to be unruly or depraved.
§ Mr. EdeDuring the period referred to, 29 boys under the age of 17 years were remanded to Wormwood Scrubs prison; of these boys four were 14, five were 15 and the remainder 16 years of age. Two of the boys came before more than one court before their cases were disposed of, and there were in all 32 court orders. Of these, three each were made by the County of London Sessions and by the Brentford (Ealing) and Stamford House Juvenile Courts, two each by the Bow Street, Tottenham and Willesden Courts, 465W and by the Chelsea, Dorking, Friends' House and Toynbee Hall Juvenile Courts; and one each by the Central Criminal Court, the Brentford, Guildford, Uxbridge and West London Courts, and by the Dartford, Gore (Wealdstone), Guildford Borough and Penge Juvenile Courts.
As regards the two boys referred to in the last part of the Question, I am informed that they were charged jointly with another boy over the age of 17. The two younger boys had not been previously convicted but the court after considering all the circumstances, decided to remand all three boys to prison, giving a certificate of unruliness in the case of the two younger boys.