§
7.
Sir F. Soskice
Nine of the main tables in this publication have been enlarged to cover murders known to the police up to the end of 1963 and are reproduced below, together with an explanatory note.
Explanatory Note
1. The figures below have been compiled on the same basis as those in the Home Office Research Unit Report "Murder" (H.M.S.O. 1961), and the tables have been numbered to correspond with those in that report, to which page references are given. For purposes of comparison with previous years, convictions of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility have been included in the same way as in the Report.
| 2. |
Table 1 |
(Murder, p. 4). |
|
Table 3 |
(Murder, p. 6). |
|
Table 4 |
(Murder, p. 6). |
|
Table 5 |
(Murder, p. 7). |
The numbers of deaths finally recorded as murder which became known to the police in 1961, 1962 and 1963 showed only variations within the range that might be expected. The numbers of cases of diminished responsibility were unusually high in 1962 and 1963. In 1963 the high figure of 56 cases was balanced by a fall in the number of deaths eventually found not to be murder on some other ground. Although all diminished responsibility cases are included as murder for purposes of com-
242W
parison with earlier years, these will include cases which might have resulted in convictions for other manslaughter but for the availability of this special defence under the Homicide Act, 1957; this defence may now he increasingly used in place of others which would result in a reduction to manslaughter, such as provocation.
3. The number of suspects who committed suicide was unusually high in 1962, but reverted to normal in 1963. In 1960, 1961 and 1962 the number of suspects charged was greater than the associated number of victims, while in previous years the reverse was generally true; but in 1963 there was a return to the previous pattern.
Table 6 (Murder, p. 8).
As before, cases have been classified as "capital" and "non-capital" by the circumstances of the offence; the figures include cases in which the suspect committed suicide or was found to be mentally abnormal and was therefore not convicted of murder. The proportion of "capital" murders was slightly lower than usual in 1962 and 1963, but the fluctuations are no greater than might be expected.
Table 10 (Murder, p. 10).
The figures relate, as before, to convictions for capital murders which became known to the police in the year stated, even if the final conclusion was reached only in a later year. As before, convictions for capital murder have been analysed by type. Murders in the course of furtherance of theft amounted to 4 in 1961, 1 in 1962, and 2 in 1963. There have been similarly low figures in previous years, except for 1960. and no trend is apparent. Murder by shooting provided the usual 1 or 2 cases a year among those convicted. Most murders by shooting are, however, done by those who commit suicide or are mentally abnormal (Murder, paragraph 56).
| 6. |
Table 25 |
(Murder, p. 25). |
|
Table 26 |
(Murder, p. 26). |
There was a continuation of the tendency for diminished responsibility to replace insanity as a defence. The proportion of mentally abnormal offenders was unusually high in 1963, owing to the large number of cases of diminished responsibility. Table 26 shows that both before and after the Homicide Act the proportion of offenders actually convicted of murder remained at 31 per cent.
Table 41 (Murder, p. 38).
The proportion of non-capital murderers with previous convictions was rather higher in recent years than previously, and the proportion of capital murderers with previous convictions was rather lower.
Conclusion
The inclusion of three more years has not materially altered the picture provided by "Murder", except for the increase in verdicts of diminished responsibility, which may possibly be replacing other verdicts of manslaughter. The proportion of capital murders has not changed appreciably.
243W
| TABLE 1 |
| FINALLY ADJUSTED NUMBERS OF MURDERS KNOWN TO THE POLICE, AND NUMBER OF OFFENCES REDUCED TO MANSLAUGHTER BY REASON OF DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY UNDER S. 2 OF THE HOMICIDE ACT 1957 |
| No. of victims |
No. per million of homo population (a) of England and Wales |
|
|
Murder |
s. 2 Manslaughter |
Total |
Murder |
Murder and s. 2 Manslaughter |
| 1931–10 |
annual average |
130 |
— |
130 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
| 1941–50 |
152 |
— |
152 |
* |
* |
| 1951–55 |
137 |
— |
137 |
3.1 |
3.1 |
| 1956 |
… |
150 |
— |
150 |
3.4 |
3.4 |
| 1957 |
… |
151 |
23 |
174 |
3.3 |
3.9 |
| 1958 |
… |
125 |
28 |
153 |
2.8 |
3.4 |
| 1959 |
… |
141 |
20 |
161 |
3.1 |
3.5 |
| 1960 |
… |
135 |
31 |
166 |
3.0 |
3.7 |
| 1961 |
… |
130 |
29 |
159 |
2.8 |
3.4 |
| 1962 |
… |
142 |
37 |
179 |
3.0 |
3.8 |
| 1963 |
… |
133 |
56 |
189 |
2.8 |
4.0 |
| * No figure for home population is available for the war years, since this represents persons actually living in the country at the time. |
| TABLE 3 |
| COMPARISONS BETWEEN DEATHS PROVISIONALLY AND FINALLY RECORDED AS DUE TO MURDER |
|
Deaths provisionally recorded as murder |
Deaths found not to be murder excl. s. 2 cases) |
Deaths found to be manslaughter under s. 2 (diminished responsibility) |
Deaths finally recorded as murder |
|
No. |
Per cent. |
No. |
Per cent. |
No. |
Per cent. |
No. |
Per cent. |
| 1952 |
180 |
100.0 |
39 |
21.7 |
— |
— |
141 |
78.3 |
| 1953 |
174 |
100.0 |
34 |
19.5 |
— |
— |
140 |
80.5 |
| 1954 |
166 |
100.0 |
21 |
12.7 |
— |
— |
145 |
87.3 |
| 1955 |
152 |
100.0 |
19 |
12.5 |
— |
— |
133 |
87.5 |
| 1956 |
179 |
100.0 |
29 |
16.2 |
— |
— |
150 |
83.8 |
| 1957 |
224 |
100.0 |
50 |
22.3 |
23 |
10.3 |
151 |
67.4 |
| 1958 |
184 |
100.0 |
31 |
16.9 |
28 |
15.2 |
125 |
67.9 |
| 1959 |
192 |
100.0 |
31 |
16.2 |
20 |
10.4 |
141 |
73.4 |
| 1960 |
217 |
100.0 |
51 |
23.5 |
31 |
14.3 |
135 |
62.2 |
| 1961 |
214 |
100.0 |
55 |
25.7 |
29 |
13.6 |
130 |
60.7 |
| 1962 |
238 |
100.0 |
59 |
24.8 |
37 |
15.5 |
142 |
59.7 |
| 1963 |
225 |
100.0 |
36 |
16.0 |
56 |
24.9 |
133 |
59.1 |
244W245W
| TABLE 4 |
| COMPARISON BETWEEN DEATHS PROVISIONALLY AND FINALLY RECORDED AS DUE TO MURDER BEFORE AND AFTER THE HOMICIDE ACT 1957 |
|
Before Homicide Act: 1st January, 1952, to 20th March, 1957 |
After Homicide Act: 21st March, 1957, to 31st December, 1963 |
|
No. |
Annual Average |
Percent. |
No. |
Annual Average |
Percent. |
| Deaths provisionally recorded as murder |
888 |
170 |
100 |
1,457 |
215 |
100 |
| Deaths found not to be murder or manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility (s. 2) |
150 |
29 |
16.9 |
305 |
45 |
20.9 |
| Deaths finally recorded as murder or man-slaughter by reason of diminished responsibility (s. 2) Murder |
735 |
140 |
82.8 |
931 |
137 |
63.9 |
| S. 2 Manslaughter |
3 |
1 |
0.3 |
221 |
33 |
15.2 |
| Total |
738 |
141 |
83.1 |
1,152 |
170 |
79.1 |
| TABLE 5 |
| NUMBER OF VICTIMS RELATED TO NUMBERS OF SUSPECTS |
|
Deaths provisionally recorded as murder |
Murders not cleared up |
Death found not to be murder or s. 2 manslaughter |
Murders cleared up (including s. 2 manslaughter) |
| No proceedings taken |
Proceedings taken |
| No. of victims |
No. of victims |
No. of victims |
No. of victims |
No. of suspects who committed suicide |
No. of suspects who died or were detained in mental hospital |
No. of victims |
No. of suspects |
| 1952 |
… |
… |
180 |
8 |
39 |
48 |
36 |
— |
85 |
76 |
| 1953 |
… |
… |
174 |
10 |
34 |
53 |
37 |
2 |
77 |
66 |
| 1954 |
… |
… |
166 |
10 |
21 |
59 |
38 |
1 |
76 |
72 |
| 1955 |
… |
… |
152 |
10 |
19 |
46 |
32 |
1 |
77 |
70 |
| 1956 |
… |
… |
179 |
11 |
29 |
56 |
39 |
— |
83 |
85 |
| 1957 |
… |
… |
224 |
17 |
50 |
54 |
39 |
— |
103 |
95 |
| 1958 |
… |
… |
184 |
15 |
31 |
46 |
38 |
2 |
92 |
89 |
| 1959 |
… |
… |
192 |
11 |
31 |
50 |
35 |
— |
100 |
97 |
| 1960 |
… |
… |
217 |
9 |
51 |
45 |
39 |
— |
112 |
126 |
| 1961 |
… |
… |
214 |
11 |
55 |
42 |
33 |
1 |
106 |
107 |
| 1962 |
… |
… |
238 |
13 |
59 |
58 |
45 |
2 |
108 |
112 |
| 1963 |
… |
… |
225 |
18 |
36 |
47 |
35 |
1 |
124 |
122 |
| Before Homicide Act (1.1.52 to 20.3.57): Annual Average |
170 |
9 |
29 |
52 |
36 |
— |
80 |
74 |
| After Homicide Act (21.3..57 to 31.12.63): Annual Average |
215 |
14 |
45 |
49 |
38 |
— |
107 |
108 |
246W247W
| TABLE 6 |
| MURDERS KNOWN TO THE POLICE TOGETHER WITH OFFENCES REDUCED TO MANSLAUGHTER BY REASON OF DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY |
| ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL OFFENCES |
|
|
|
|
|
Capital |
Non-capital |
Total |
|
|
|
|
|
No. |
Per cent. |
No. |
Per cent. |
No. |
Per cent. |
| 1952 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
17 |
12.1 |
124 |
87.9 |
141 |
100.0 |
| 1953 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
17 |
12.1 |
123 |
87.9 |
140 |
100.0 |
| 1954 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
22 |
15.2 |
123 |
84.8 |
145 |
100.0 |
| 1955 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
15 |
11.3 |
118 |
88.7 |
133 |
100.0 |
| 1956 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
30 |
19.9 |
120 |
80.0 |
150 |
100.0 |
| 1957 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
23 |
13.2 |
151 |
86.8 |
174 |
100.0 |
| 1958 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
19 |
12.4 |
134 |
87.6 |
153 |
100.0 |
| 1959 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
23 |
14.3 |
138 |
85.7 |
161 |
100.0 |
| 1960 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
31 |
18.7 |
135 |
81.3 |
166 |
100.0 |
| 1961 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
20 |
12.6 |
139 |
87.4 |
159 |
100.0 |
| 1962 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
21 |
11.7 |
158 |
88.3 |
179 |
100.0 |
| 1963 |
… |
… |
… |
… |
22 |
11.6 |
167 |
88.4 |
189 |
100.0 |
| Before Homicide Act (1st January, 1952 to 20th March, 1957): Annual Average |
20 |
14.4 |
121 |
85.6 |
141 |
100.0 |
| After Homicide Act (21st March, 1957 to 31st December, 1963): Annual Average |
23 |
13.5 |
147 |
86.5 |
170 |
100.0 |
248W249W
| TABLE 10 |
| CONVICTIONS FOR CAPITAL MURDER AND SIMILAR CONVICTIONS BEFORE THE HOMICIDE ACT |
|
|
|
Convictions for capital murder under the Homicide Act 1957 |
|
|
|
S. 5(a) |
S. 5(b) |
S. 5(c) |
S. 5(d) |
S. 5(e) |
|
|
|
Murder in the course or furtherance of theft |
Murder by shooting |
Murder in the course of resisting arrest |
Murder of policeman in course of duty |
Murder of prison officer in course of duty |
| 1957 |
Executed |
… |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Reprieved |
… |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
H.M.P. |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
4 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
| 1958 |
Executed |
… |
4 |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
|
Reprieved |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
5 |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
| 1959 |
Executed |
… |
2 |
1 |
— |
1 |
— |
|
Reprieved |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
3 |
1 |
— |
1 |
— |
| 1960 |
Executed |
… |
6 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Reprieved: |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
1 |
— |
|
H.M.P. |
… |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
9 |
1 |
— |
1 |
— |
| 1961 |
Executed |
… |
2 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Reprieved |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
H.M.P. |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
4 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
| 1962 |
Executed |
… |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
| 1963 |
Executed |
… |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Reprieved |
… |
— |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
2 |
2 |
— |
— |
— |
|
|
|
Similar Convictions for murder before the Act |
| 1955 |
Executed |
… |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Reprieved |
… |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
| 1956 |
Reprieved |
… |
4 |
5 |
— |
— |
— |
|
H.M.P. |
… |
1 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
5 |
6 |
— |
— |
— |
| 1957 |
Reprieved |
… |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
|
Total |
… |
2 |
1 |
— |
— |
— |
250W251W
| TABLE 25 |
| DISPOSAL OF SUSPECTS IN CASES FINALLY CLASSIFIED AS MURDER OR AS MANSLAUGHTER BY REASON OF DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY |
| Date at which crime became known to Police |
Committed suicide |
Insane |
Convicted of murder and |
Convicted of manslaughter under s. 2 |
Acquitted or discharged |
Other |
Total |
| Executed |
Imprisoned |
H.M.P. * |
| 1955 |
… |
… |
… |
32 |
41 |
9 |
14 |
1 |
— |
5 |
1 |
103 |
| 1956 |
… |
… |
… |
39 |
30 |
— |
31 |
4 |
— |
16 |
4 |
124 |
| 1957 |
… |
… |
… |
39 |
20 |
3 |
32 |
1 |
20 |
16 |
3 |
134 |
| 1958 |
… |
… |
… |
38 |
19 |
5 |
20 |
1 |
27 |
16 |
3 |
129 |
| 1959 |
… |
… |
… |
35 |
25 |
4 |
40 |
1 |
19 |
8 |
— |
132 |
| 1960 |
… |
… |
… |
39 |
22 |
7 |
36 |
3 |
30 |
27 |
1 |
165 |
| 1961 |
… |
… |
… |
33 |
19 |
4 |
34 |
2 |
27 |
21 |
1 |
141 |
| 1962 |
… |
… |
… |
45 |
15 |
2 |
40 |
2 |
33 |
20 |
2 |
159 |
| 1963 |
… |
… |
… |
35 |
12 |
2 |
33 |
1 |
52 |
21 |
2 |
158 |
| Before Homicide Act (1st January, 1955 to 20th March, 1957) |
78 |
73 |
9 |
55 |
5 |
3 |
22 |
6 |
251 |
| After Homicide Act (21st March, 1957 to 31st December, 1963 |
257 |
130 |
27 |
225 |
11 |
205 |
128 |
11 |
994 |
| * Persons under 18 ordered to be detained during Her Majesty's Pleasure. |
| TABLE 26 |
| CATEGORIES OF OFFENDER AND ANNUAL AVERAGES |
| NUMBER OF OFFENDERS |
| Date at which crime became known to police |
Committed suicide |
Insane |
Convicted of manslaughter under s. 2 |
Convicted and sentenced for murder |
Total |
| Before Homicide Act (1.1.55 to 20.3.57): |
|
|
|
|
|
| Number |
78 |
73 |
3 |
69 |
223 |
| Percent |
35.0 |
32.7 |
1.4 |
30.9 |
100.0 |
| Annual Average |
35 |
33 |
(1) |
31 |
100 |
| After Homicide Act(21.3.57to 31.12.63): |
|
|
|
|
|
| Number |
257 |
130 |
205 |
263 |
855 |
| Per cent. |
30.0 |
15.2 |
24.0 |
30.8 |
100.0 |
| Annual Average |
38 |
19 |
30 |
39 |
126 |
252W253W
| TABLE 41 |
| TYPES OF PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS AMONG MEN CONVICTED OF CAPITAL AND NON-CAPITAL MURDER (SINCE THE HOMICIDE ACT, 1957) |
| — |
Capital murder |
Non-capital murder |
| Number |
Per cent. |
Number |
Per cent. |
| Previous offences: |
| Sexual |
… |
… |
1 |
2.5 |
13 |
6.0 |
| Violent. |
… |
… |
6 |
15.0 |
48 |
22.3 |
| Both |
… |
… |
3 |
7.5 |
7 |
3.3 |
| All offences against the person |
… |
… |
10 |
25.0 |
68 |
31.6 |
| Offences against property only |
… |
… |
19 |
47.5 |
62 |
28 8 |
| No previous convictions |
… |
… |
11 |
27.5 |
85 |
39.6 |
| Total |
… |
… |
40 |
100.0 |
215 |
100.0 |