Unofficial Policemen And Two Thieves

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 21, 17 November 1948, Page 5

Unofficial Policemen And Two Thieves

THE “BLUE LOOK”

Two commercial travellers who often pass through Whakatane have pleasant memories of their last stayin the town. They were big'men and according to all reports had the appearance of policemen, whether they liked it or not. Anyway on this night the “blue look” came in handy. Let us call them Smith and Jackson, adding the usual let-out clause that any similarity to the name of any person living or dead is pure coincidence. ' It was a Thursday night. Both men were walking down the Strand when they noticed a couple of figures poking round in the back of a car. Said Smith, “I bet those two are up to something.” He walked over to the car and noticed that the two had been taking tools from the box. He tapped one 'of them on the shoulder. “You better stop that.” “All right sergeant,” came the reply. “Fair cop.” The astonished “sergeant” Smith was taken back for a moment, then he called “detective” Jackson over. Not knowing what to do then, the two “policemen” walked their two “prisoners” down the street. They had no idea where the police Station was, but obviously could not admit it, so they kept walking and listened to the confessions of the “captured.” They were amazed at, the list of thefts the two men had committed. It apeared they had robbed half the cars in the town and one or two shops and garages. They had almost enough, loot to start a business. Later it transpired that the car they had been robbing belonged to another traveller, so the “policemen” took them back to the hotel where he was staying and there, “everything was put right,” to use the words of the “sergeant,” and justice was administered. What form the administering of the justice took and what actually happened is not quite clear. Facts become a bit hazy at this point and nobody seems to have any idea what happened to the two thieves. What is clear however, is that no charge of theft was ever reported. No one seems to have lost anything and, as far as the real police in Whakatane are concerned they don’t know anything about it at all.