If we examine the causes that bring these women to prison annually, whether the population be high or low, it appears that nearly two-thirds are committed for Drunkenness or Prostitution. Each succeeding year presents a heavy and monotonous list of women who thieve, keep brothels, neglect, or illtreat their children and offend in various ways against the Vagrancy Laws or Police Regulations. For such offences, the figures of recidivism are appalling--about one in every five committed having incurred over 20 previous convictions--some as many as 100 or 200. The actual percentage of the total receptions annually who have been previously convicted is greater in the case of females than for males, the former ranging between 70 and 75 per cent., and the latter between 50 and 60 per cent, annually. A striking illustration of the high rate of recidivism prevailing among the female population was afforded a few years ago, when an inquiry was instituted as to the numbers of women committed to Holloway Prison for Drunkenness, and their previous convictions for that offence. It showed that during the three years ended 1915, 10,888 committals for Drunkenness were recorded against 1,628 women, who, including the above convictions and those incurred _prior to 1913_, had on their combined records a total of 30,986 convictions. Of these 1,628 individual prisoners:-- 1,092 were received in 1913, incurring in that year 2,768 convictions, 1,045 were received in 1914, incurring in that year 3,931 convictions, 813 were received in 1915, incurring in that year 4,189 convictions. Amongst the 1,628 women was selected a group of 25, who, at the end of 1915, had each received ten or more convictions for this offence. All were stated to have been first offenders in 1913 and 1914. By the end of 1915, these 25 women had amassed a total of 353 convictions. This inquiry showed that in 1915 a falling population committed for Drunkenness was contributing more convictions per annum than formerly, _viz_:--5 per annum in 1915 as compared with 2.6 in 1913. The high rate of recidivism in the Local prison population limits the number of _individual_ women in the community who are sent to prison annually to a comparatively small total. Statistics show that over 32 per cent. of the total committed on conviction in a given year are sent to prison more than once in that period. This rate applied to the total receptions for 1919-20 would show that the whole Female population of prisons for that year was limited to slightly over 8,000 individuals.