of our agents, the unsuspecting
George came to his fatal rendezvous.

The man from Woolwich Arsenal
handed George the package . . . and
a hand fell on George’s shoulder.

When George and his gang of
fellow-traitors stood in Bow Street
dock two days later extraordinary pre-
cautions were taken to keep Miss X’s
identity secret.

I followed her into the witness-
box to tell how I went with Detec-
tive-Inspector Peel to the flat in
Holland Road, found George’s finger-
prints on the elaborate collection of
photographic apparatus. I also gave
other technical evidence that helped
to link Russia’s master spy irrevocably
with the photographs and_ the
“borrowed” blueprints.

At the Old Bailey, two months
later, I was again present with my
dossier of fingerprint evidence when
George, described as “a revolutionary,
spy and saboteur, got six years. His
two chief accomplices each got terms
of penal serviture.

Miss X, once again driven to court
in a curtained and this time heavily-
guared police car, waited in the
judge’s room. She seemed certain the
accused man would plead guilty and
that she would not be required to give
evidence.

She was right. And as the news was
brought to her in the guarded room,
Miss X smiled, accepted a cigarette.
“So that ends that,” she said, casually.
She picked up her furs, walked to the
waiting police car, and passed out of

my life. 4 +

THE MAYOR refused to marry a
couple who turned up for the cere-
mony at Royan (France) wearing a
Bikini and bathing trunks. They
hauled down two Tricolor flags from
the roof, draped themselves—and so
they were married.

A FEW HOURS after a portable
radio was stolen from a Chippenham
(Wilts) radio dealer, he put up a
poster showing a man running off
with a set. Text read: “This is one
way of getting a 1951-52 radio. Come
inside and choose YOURS.

MOTORISTS convicted of being
drunk in charge in Helsinki (Finland)
are given a pick and made to work on
buildings being put up for next year’s
Olympic Games.

DUNDEE YOUTHS broke into
two shops and stole chocolates and
caramels. Then they broke into a
third and stole indigestion tablets.

TWENTY-FOURTH EDITION

WHAT MAKES CRIMINALS?...

Continued from Page 3

to say that almost all criminals are
victims of weak will-power, or lack of
self-control. Yet there is a moment
when every criminal is conscious that
he is planning, or is going, to break
the law; and his lack of control at that
moment allows him to proceed with
what he knows to be wrong.

Provocation
Provocation is the social side of
crime —the side for which other

people are responsible.

There are constant provocations to
immoral conduct before the eyes of
growing children. When I was in
charge of London’s mental hospitals I
formed the view that gangster films
provoked crimes of violence among
young people; I thought that even
though the film ended with punish-
ment for the wrong-doer, the imma-
ture mind was more impressed by the
violence than by the moral dragged
in at the end. This is highly con-
tentious: there are many arguments
that we all read adventure stories and
“thrillers” in our youth, and did not
become criminals. There are more in-
volved arguments still. Nevertheless,
the impact of such thoughts and pic-
tures on an unstable mind has to be
taken into consideration.

Apart from the good or bad in-
fluence of example and environment,
including entertainment, one must
consider the actual psychological
causes of crime.

It seems certain that every law-
breaker is not the victim of a “crim-
inal mind,” but many minds are
affected by shock, a bad experience
of life, a frustration.

While there is the sex criminal who
is incited by a girl, there are sex
criminals who commit unprovoked
assaults, and unnatural offences. ‘They
are certainly victims of a lack of con-
trol—but they cannot help it. They
genuinely are overpowered by their
instincts, their minds warped, and
their judgment and control over-
shadowed.

Mental Illnesses

In London we saw pathetic crimes
as a result of a mind warped from
physical illness. One was a girl who
had done brilliantly at school and
suffered encephalic lethargica (sleep-
ing sickness). Upon recovery from the
sickness she had lost her will-power
and her sense of right and wrong.
She embarked on a career of crime.
and degradation, until she was

brought to a mental institution for
care and treatment.

Epilepsy, schizophrenia, paranoia
and melancholia are all recognized as
mental illnesses; all are causes of
crime. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a
well-known example of schizophrenia,
or split personality.

And the question which faces our
future treatment of criminals is based
on these considerations. Prevention of
criminality is concerned with seeing
that the influence and environment
of the child are right; but we know
enough of the mind now to realize
that only the apparently impossible
task of healing the minds of
schizophrenics and paranoics can
solve many of the worst of crimes.

Especially does this apply to sex
crimes of the nature where the crim-
inal was not provoked but overcome
by his instincts. If he were a cold and
deliberate planner of the crime, no
punishment would be too severe for
him; but there are many congenital
sex offenders and many sufferers from
mental illness—and their offence is
symptomatic of something inside them
—something that a prison sentence
can’t cure, yet which makes it unde-
sirable for them to be let loose in
society. They demand treatment, not
punishment: and the system which
allows them to be punished for a short
time and then sent back to normal
life is only asking for a repetition of
the crimes they commit. — Spencer

Leeming. > >&

“Bumpsa Daisy”
Tough on Cars

Though the “bumpsa daisy” is
popular in dancing, it’s tough on cars,
warns Clarke Simpkins, director of
B.C. Automobile Association.

“Motorists are bumping thousands
of miles of wear out of their cars
yearly, driving fast across railroad
crossings,” said Mr. Simpkins.

“In a ‘bumpometer’ survey, con-
ducted by AAA in Detroit, at least
half of the rail crossings checked over
a two-week period produced vibra-
tions sufficient to knock 25 miles off
the life expectancy of a car.”

Harry Duker, vice-president of
BCAA reminded motorists, “A few
seconds of caution may mean saving
weeks of cure!” If drivers get the
habit of driving slowly over cross-
ings, they will save repair bills, both
for themselves and their cars! x >¥&

Page Sixty-nine