Crime in War-Time
It is among the graver social evils of war that moral standards are loosened by the separation of members of families and the uprooting of the population, and also by the increased incentives to crime. These facts are reflected in the report for 1944 issued by Sir Philip Game, Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis—though it will be remembered that a Police report shows a part only, and not the whole, of the picture. The social consequences of war conditions are seen to be cumulative. The number of indictable crimes in 1943 was actually smaller than in 1938, but in 1944 was far higher, exceeding that of 1943 by 13.8 per cent., and that of 1938 by 8.9 per cent. Though there was an increase in crimes attributable to looting, the main increase seems to have been due to the growing demand for articles in general use, whose scarcity and high price prompted shop-breaking, thefts from vehicles and other kinds of stealing. In the sphere of juvenile delinquency, the opinion is expressed that deserters and evaders of the call-up have been responsible for a good deal of the crime. One of the muse distressing social consequences of the war is the growth of professional prostitution among young girls and the promiscuous association with service-men of girls who are adrift from their homes or parents. Here the powers of the police and the police-women are limited. The latter can give advice, and in some cases detain for inquiry, and girls may be sent to a remand home or approved school ; but action can only be taken when offences have already been committed. No one has yet found a way of conducting total war without irreparable damage to a large number of the very young.
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