'Reports of administration for 1918 of divisions and districts of the occupied territories in Mesopotamia. Volume I' [‎147r] (298/470)

The proper surveillance of ex-convicts who are likely to return to crime is one
of the most important safeguards that the Police have it in their power to apply.
So far the system whereby the Police get intimation from the jail authorities of the
impending release of convicts is not being worked properly, but I hope to enlist
the co-operation of the Superintendent to this end. The same may be said about
arrangements for transferring convicts, before release, to the jail at their old residence,
so that the Police who know them may at once get in touch with them. This is a
system which it might perhaps be worth while to extend to the Police agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. that
is worked by Political Officers of districts, more especially for the control of town
badmashes.
The question of responsibility of Mukhtars in the matter of assisting the Police
with information is an important one. The Mukhtars of Basrah town are inclined
to disclaim responsibility for knowing what is going on and reporting to the Police,
on the score that they have no naturs. With one or two notable exceptions, the
Mukhtars are of negligible value from a Police point of view.
Personally, I am of opinion that the natur system is a necessary one at the
present stage of development, and that its abolition is a mistake.
Crime in the Janub requires special notice. There have been a number of
cases of a serious nature, including murder, and dacoity with and without murder.
This tract is notorious from Turkish times; it is close to Muhammerah territory,
and so easily accessible to gangs from there. More than one organised dacoity,
in which murder was done, was committed in this circle during the year, and these
cases remained untraced. Disciplinary action against the village was, I believe,
taken by the Political Officer in one case. A large proportion of the cases of violent
crime that took place during the year are reported from this (Abul Khasib) Police
Station, and the portion of the Port Police Station area on the opposite bank; but,
except for a river dacoity in November, these were confined to the earlier part of the
year. It is possible that, without knowing it, we may in other cases have laid our
hands on some of the ringleaders. In this connection a valuable capture was made
at Nahr ‘Umar by the C.LD. in the shape of three men armed with revolvers and
daggers, two of whom turned out to be absconders in old dacoity cases. All three
men were tried by a Military Commission and sentenced to five years’ rigorous
imprisonment each; evidence of general bad repute was admitted. One of these
men will be run in in the original dacoity case.
There were two cases of dacoity on booms lying in the river, and also a number
of cases of dacoity and aggravated house-breaking on the islands and mainland on
the left bank, opposite and up and down stream of Bait Na‘mah Hospital. There
is, undoubtedly, still a dangerous criminal population floating about in these parts.
The first step towards controlling this element must be more intimate relations
between the local Police and the Mukhtars and villagers, coupled with a rigid
insistance on the responsibility of the Mukhtars for reporting all matters affecting
crime direct to the Inspector of Police. Up to date there has been, I am afraid,
considerable waste of effort, owing to the Police and the Revenue authorities
conducting separate investigations, instead of collaborating, and the village authorities
have not realised their responsibility to the Police.
As last year, no special measures were taken during the date-packing season.
Only one serious dacoity on a date boom took place; this remains untraced.
Little can be done to deal with this sort of crime till the Police are provided
with better means of communication and patrolling than the tortoise-like helium,
and have more posts up and down the river.
A serious case of house trespass by night with assault was committed early
in July in the Sisters’ Quarters of 40 British General Hospital at Makinah. The
motive was undoubtedly robbery, but two sisters were seriously injured with blows
on the head. The shattered remains of a glass bottle were found on the pillow of
one of them. Only Rs. lo/— in notes was stolen. ^No clue 01 trace was ever found.
The Sisters’ Quarters w r ere in the most exposed part of a very exposed area. Since
the occurrence a more adequate guard and a barbed wore fence ha\e been provided.
Suspicion turned naturally to members of Labour and loiter Corps, especially
those in the Labour Depot just opposite, but all efforts failed to trace the crime.
The swarm of jail-recruited personnel that is scattered all over the Military
Governor’s area is another of the anomalous factors in the situation as regards
crime. It is not so much the regular Jail Corps that are a danger, since the personnel
of these are well known to be criminals and their officers have them under proper
control. But scattered through every kind of unit at the base are convict sweepers,
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