These evils may be summarised as follows:—

(1) Uneven administration of justice, as sentences frequently vary from three to twenty-eight days for the same offences, i.e., refusing to perform workhouse task or destroying clothing. The sentence of a stipendiary often differs from that of a local magistrate in the same town.

The great majority of sentences (13,831 out of 16,626 for begging, and 5,198 out of 6,219 for sleeping out) are for less than fourteen and probably for only seven days.

(2) Such short sentences are not deterrent, and are very costly. Two vagrants cost in travelling expenses alone £12 and £16 10s. Hardly any work can be exacted during a short sentence.

The committee recommend that a minimum sentence of one day should be recorded as a conviction for vagrancy. If again convicted the prisoner could be then committed to a labour colony.