Review: Sexual Offences
| Published date | 01 July 1957 |
| Date | 01 July 1957 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/002201835702100315 |
Review
SEXUAL OFFENCFS.English Studies in Criminal Science. Macmillan &Co.
Ltd.
Price £33s. od.
This
report of theCambridge Department of Criminal Science can
safely be described as themostthorough and important research of its kind
that
has ever been attempted. Carried
out
in fourteen police districts, the
enquiry deals with the casesofnofewer than 2,178 persons involved or
alleged to be involved in indictable sexual offences, anda further 914 involved
in non-indictable sexual offences.
Directed by
Dr.
Radzinowicz
the
report deals withoffences, offenders
and victims; with methods of treatment; repetition of offences; thelaw and
proposals for its amendment andconcludeswithfive chapters describing
legislation and practice in other countries, written by authorities from those
countries.
No hard andfast conclusionsare attempted; the Department has wisely
adopted the courseof pointing out trends or indications, with ample statistical
evidence supporting the suggestions.
It
is probably with something of a
shock that the reader finds
that
more persons were reconvicted after a prison
sentence or probation than aftera fine or a conditional or absolute discharge;
that
medical reports on convicted persons were only seenin one case infive;
that
9 in10 sentences of imprisonment did notexceed 12 months.
"The
attitude of the courts indealing withsexual offendersmayperhaps be
described as eclectic", writes Dr.Radzinowicz in thePreface,andhe com-
ments
that
though there is a feeling that the traditional punitive measures are
insufficient in themselves to deal withthe problem, not much has been
evolved in theway ofconstructive alternatives. He suggests that the pos-
sibilities of probation combined withmedical treatment have not yet been
fully grasped, although itmay beless effective inthecaseof homosexuals.
At the same time itis shown
that
of those
put
on probation with a condition
for medical or psychological treatment, no fewer than 37
per
cent were re-
convicted of sexual or non-sexual offences.
"It
may
be",
the Report com-
ments,
"that
a new approach to the treatment of someof theseoffendersis
required".
If
this work does nothing else, it emphasisesthepoint that there is no
panacea for the evil
it
is concerned with.Eachcase has tobe dealtwithon
its own merits, regard beinghadnot only to theoffender,
but
to the victim
and society at large.Even though sexual offences comprised (in1954) only
one fifthof all indictable crime,it was nevertheless 252 percenthigher in
that
year than in
1938-an
increase overtwice as great as that in the crimes of
violence of whichso much is written and spoken today.
The
Home Secretary has recently spoken of his intention to have
further research carried out intothe success of probation.
This
book is a
model ofhow such research should be conducted.
The
general reader may
find it rather heavy going,
but
for those concerned with the criminal law no
better book on the subject can berecommended.
288
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