PROBLEM PEQPLE
SIR,—Lord Pakenham; in his recent review of The Story of Ireland. draws attention to the fact that 'per head of the population there are roughly three times as 'many people in prison in this country as in Ireland.' thereby implying that the Irish are more law-abiding than the British. Once more it is demon- strated that statistics can prove anything.
It must be remembered that since the war this country has admitted hundreds of thousands of non- British people. From press reports of crime it would appear that a big pr,OportiOn of crimes of violence arc committed by 'people whose names indicate that their country of origin is not British. High on the list are those' bearing Irish names--not merely Irish sur- names but irish Christian names as well, thus indicat- Wing that they arc not merely of Irish descent. It would appear that these people think that the laws of the hated English do not apply to them.
In a mainly, agricultural country such as Ireland criminal activities are also more difficult to conceal and this, combined with the strict religious control, limits the activities of the criminally minded, who prefer to migrate to lands which offer greater oppor- tunity of reward and escape from retribution.
Is it not time that criminal statistics gave some indication of the country of origin of our criminal population?—Yours faithfully,
!:VAN: saIltimus Acacia, Norbury Crescent, London, SW /6
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