More Valueless Cheques

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31003, 8 March 1966, Page 10

More Valueless Cheques

Forty-six cases of fraud, 36 of them involving the cashing of valueless cheques, were reported to the Christchurch police last month.

“‘Cheek that Cheque’ must be the slogan of shopkeepers,” the Christchurch crime prevention officer (DetectiveSergeant E. J. Stackhouse) commented yesterday. “Burglaries, thefts and unlawful talking of vehicles last month were substantially less than the numbers reported in January. But only 20 cases of fraud were reported in January compared with 46 last month.” Familiar Pattern Fraud cases reported last month followed a distressingly familiar pattern, Mr Stackhouse said. In one case, a shopkeeper had cashed a cheque for £l7 without selling any article. Groceries worth £3 had been solid to a man who cashed a cheque for £3O. When the cheque “bounced,” the grocer had lost the groceries and £27 in cash. A valueless cheque for £42 had been used to obtain a canteen of cutlery and £29 10s in Change; groceries worth £1 and change of £l4 had been obtained in another instance, and meals worth 13s 6d and £l5 6s 6d in change in yet another case. “Small wonder that Police Department records show Christchurch represents green pastures for false pretences offenders,” Mr Stackhouse : said.

“Shopkeepers and staff should check the identity of persons they do not know who want to pay by cheque. A detective-sergeant in Wellington was asked to identify himself in a bank. He produced his New Zealand Police identity card. He was then asked to produce his driver’s licence—a check that he was, in fact, the person named on the identity card. “Persons should be asked to write their name and address on the back of cheques. They can be asked to give the name of a person on the telephone to establish identity if they have no documentary proof. Exact Price “Finally, shopkeepers should surely ask for a cheque to be paid out for the exact price of an article if they do not know the customer, or have no knowledge of the customer.” In at least one suburb of Christchurch, shopkeepers had reached an agreement not to accept cheques from unknown customers during peak periods of shopping, Mr Stackhouse said. “Frequently, detectives inquiring into complaints by shopkeepers about valueless cheques are told that the shopkeeper did not want to lose a sale by declining to accept a Cheque. If all .shopkeepers adopted standard precautions in accepting cheques, there would be no fear of losing sales to rival establishments. “The standard reply is that ‘cheques are legal tender.’ The answer, of course, ' is

that a valueless cheque it not.” The drop of 23 fewer unlawful takings of vehicles last month compared with January was most encouraging, Mr Stackhouse said, but the fact that 12 of the vehicles were unlocked and five had ignition keys left in as well as being unlocked was not nearly so pleasing. Thefts reported dropped from 228 in January to 168 last month; burglaries were 73 last month compared with 87 in January. Only 27 bouses were burgled last month, compared with 38 in January. “However, once again, a high proportion of houses burgled had doors or windows left open or unsecured. “The drop in crime figures last months can be directly attributed, in part, to the large number of offenders arrested last year—about 280. “We are hopeful that the fact that householders and car owners are becoming more security-minded is also playing a part. The number of householders still inquiring about the holiday service indicates a continuing interest in commonsense precautions to protect property. “The holiday service will continue, but persons wishing to take advantage of it must call at the Central Police Station,” Mr Stackhouse concluded.