MAJOR WAVE DENIED

Chronicle (Levin), 8 March 1946, Page 8

MAJOR WAVE DENIED

— Press Association

— s SAFEBLOWING IN WELLINGTON

By Telegraph-

WELLINGTON, March 7. The Oommissioner of Police (Mr. J. Gummings), commenting to-day on further reports of burglaries in Wellington, said that these might give rise to an linpression that a major wave of safeblowing and other breaking and entering crimes existed -in AVellinlJ,'on.' There liad been a number of such offences in Wellington, lie said, but thev were placed in their true perspecLive when it was known that they had occurred over a period of mont'hs. In a number of cases the culprits had been caught aud dealt with by the Oourts. "Hometimes when a nian appears before the Court on breaking and entering cha.rges, only the major crimes are preferred against him and the oihers are mentioned when he is sentenced, " said Mr, Cummings. He also 'pointed out that children are sometimes responsible for such offences, and when they are dealt with by the Children 's Court no publicity was given to the fact, giving rise to the false impression that crimes comniitted and publieised at ,tlie time remained unsolved. Mr. Cuminjngs stated a few days ago that there had been only a slight iucreass in nlajor crime in New Zealand — an inerease which he attributed to •the aftermath of .the war, exactly similar to the eo.ndhtions that prevailed after the 1914-18 yar.