§ 80. Mr. de Freitasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the increase in the number of convictions for drunkenness of girls under the age of 21 years; and whether he will introduce legislation to require them to be put on probation unless the court is satisfied that there are good reasons for not doing so.
§ Major Lloyd-GeorgeThe provisional figure for convictions of drunkenness of girls under the age of twenty-one years in England and Wales in 1955 is 234. This is thirteen more than in 1954. I have no reason to think that courts do not use probation wherever it is desirable in these cases, and there are strong objections to the wholly exceptional course of fettering the discretion of courts in the manner proposed.