The most prevalent crimes during this period
were larceny,’ assault, being drunk and
disorderly, and selling spirits to Indians.
Murder, felony,'® horse stealing and stabbings
were also committed.

Fines wete a common punishment. For
example, the court record book of Fort Hope
shows the types of dispositions made.
Drunkenness, a common offence, was usually
handled with a fine of one dollar. A person who
was particularly “boisterous” and “incapable”
was fined double. Imprisonment was imposed
on offenders who could not pay fines.

There was little accountability in terms of the
administration and operation of gaols and
lockups. Select committees and committees of
inquiry, composed of members of the
Legislative Assembly, formed to inspect the
government’s operations. These committees
sometimes inspected gaols at New Westminster
and Victoria, but did not investigate lockups.

Grand juries, composed of judges and members
of the general public, investigated complaints
regarding road conditions, gaols and
government buildings. They tended to be more
critical and outspoken in their reports on the
gaols than committees appointed by the
government. Their reports were published in
the newspapers, which often created pressure
for change.

Judge Begbie inspected gaols and lockups
where assizes were held. In general, however,
checks on the operations of gaols and lockups

occurred infrequently during the colonial
period. There was little contact between
personnel of different facilities and no uniform
system of rules and regulations.

Gaols and lockups in mining and frontier
communities were notorious for their lack of
security. Most facilities were hastily built along
the gold rush route without the permanency
necessary for even moderate security. Not only
did the cells lack security, they were also
unsanitary and unpleasant.

Judge Begbie gave the following report:

At Fort Yale and Douglas there are gaols;
but they are unfit for confining even one of
the lower order of animals—mere dark
cells—open to the weather, unfurnished,
without any means of warmth, and as
insecure as they are inhuman. That at Fort
Yale has been recently improved, in one
very important particular, by having a small
palisaded enclosure, etc. But it is still very
insecure—in particular the state of the
fireplace in the outer room is such, being a
large open place, with a chimney aperture
about 2 feet square at the top and about 10
feet high, that an active prisoner might
dash up it in an instant,!7

Given the rudimentary construction, it was not
unusual for prisoners to escape by burrowing
under the floor or climbing up the chimney.
Escapes were common even in prisons with
sturdy construction. To prevent escapes, Judge

15 Larceny, a common law crime of stealing, was replaced by theft. It does not appear in the Criminal Code of

Canada, R.S.C. 1970, C-34.

16 Felony is a term used to distinguish more serious offences from lesser offences or misdemeanours. This term
ceased to be used with the proclamation of the Criminal Code of Canada in 1892. Instead, serious crimes are
punishable by indictment and less serious offences by summary conviction.

17 Source unknown.

Era of Colonial Rule (1849-1870)

Il