The English Convict: A Statistical Study
REVIEWS AND CRITICISM. :Author: Charles Goring, M.D., B.Sc. London: Darling and Son, Ltd., 1913.
This extensive collection and tabulation of statistics, which resulted in a volume of approximately nine hundred pages of ordinary octavo size, was begun under the supervision of Dr Griffiths in 1901. The material, after having passed through several hands, finally came to the notice of Dr Goring about 1904. He assumed the responsibility of this most laborious task through almost a decade and has finally given to us a monumental piece of work in criminal science.
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The thesis maintained in this volume is that there is no physical or mental “criminal type.” The word “criminal” throughout the book is used in the sense of the legal interpretation of that word The criminal is not abnormal, (“qualitatively different”) as has been formerly held, but rather is unusual (“a deviation from the normal”).
Taking up the larger subdivisions to which the book readily lends itself, the introduction is concerned with a review of previous methods in criminal science with special emphasis upon that of the Lombrosian school, together with the author’s angle of attack. Part I consists of the compilation and treatment of an enormous amount of statistics. The author concludes this section with these words: “… there is no such thing as a physical criminal type” (page 173). Part II gives us the following subdivisions: “The physique of criminals,” “Age as an etiological factor in crime,” “The criminal’s vital statistics,” “The mental differentiation of criminals,” “The influence of ‘the force of circumstances on the genesis of crime,” and lastly, “The influence of heredity on the genesis of crime.”
The first subdivision in Part II repeats portions of Part I, in that both are concerned with the criminal’s physique. The conclusion reached is that the criminal is under weight and under size. Upon this conclusion, the author claims, all the criminal type theories since the time of Lombroso have rested. As to the relation of age and crime, in the second division of Part II; the author fails to draw any positive conclusions. However, the tables point to an increased mental propensity toward crime at certain ages, and consequentlj there seems to be a possible and rather definite age-distribution. LInder the heading, ital statistics,” we have an elaborate tabulation and discussion of the health, diseases, mortality, and enumeration of criminals. The general conclusion set forth is that imprisonment has no apparent effect upon the physique or mentality of those thus incarccratcd. Also, that there is a diminution of contagious diseases among criminals; while the mortality from suicide and “major” surgical opera276 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC. tions tends to be larger. And finally, the death-rate from tuberculosis is between one-fourth and one-fifth which compares favorably with the general population. Is there a mental criminal type? The answer to this question is the subject matter of the fourth section of Part II. The author engages in the observation and study of certain mental characteristics such as “temperament,” “temper,” “facility,” “conduct,” “suicidal tendency,” etc. From this interesting study, the conclusion is reached: “… that the one vital mental constitutional factor in the etiology of crime is defective intelligence” (page 2G3). This section is suggestive toward this end,?that there is an ever-increasing demand for accurate psychological research in this special field. The next section is concerned with the relation of environment to crime. The common belief that unfavorable environment is conducive to crime is not well founded because of the fact that there are more fundamental factors influencing the situation. The point in question is only an apparent and not a real cause of crime. The author finds doubtfully significant the “relationship between social inequalities” (adverse environment and force of circumstances) and crime.
In the study on the fertility of criminals, the author makes a very careful investigation, extending through several years, concerning the rate of birth, death, marriage, illegitimacy, and divorce, together with many other minor facts concerning the points in question among criminals and the general population. The conclusion is that the criminal is a descendent of the most prolific stock. Furthermore, his apparent sterility is not to be attributed to physiological conditions, but rather to a psychological misunderstanding. The final section in Part II consists of a study of heredity and crime. The exact statistical method employed here is the “fourfold table” of Dr Karl Pearson. Without further details, I quote the results: “… the criminal diathesis … is inherited at much the same rate as are other physical and mental qualities and pathological conditions in man” (page 368). A secondary conclusion is that “parental contagion” is of trifling importance in comparison with the influence wielded by heredity and mental deficiency.
The positive results of such an enormous task as this book represents may be put briefly: the criminal is lighter in weight and lower in stature and the major part of the etiology of his misfortune can be attributed to two factors,?mental deficiency and heredity, the greater of which is heredity. The constitutional conditions conducive to the committing of crime, arranged in order of decreasing importance are: mental deficiency, alcoholism, sexual profligacy, epilepsy, and defective physique. No individual is predestined to be a criminal because of the wiles of heredity, or paucity of intelligence, but rather because of these misfortunes the individual is more likely to be selected for a criminal career. Because of a lack of intelligence, he is less able to resist temptation, less able to conceal guilt; because of a stunted physique, less able to escape arrest. On the whole, the book is well arranged for reference or careful reading* the data admirably handled; the ideas suggestive and helpful. The volume is to be recommended for systematic study to all who are interested in any phase of criminal science.
M. L. Beaniilobsom, Psychologist, Indiana Reformatory.
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