TAKING A CAR — THEFT OR CONVERSION?

Chronicle (Levin), 30 April 1947, Page 2

TAKING A CAR — THEFT OR CONVERSION?

AUCKLAND, April 29. ' ' Criticism sometimes'is tuade that it is wrong to call this kind of oifence merely wrojigfuJ conversion, that it is theft and should ho called theft, and that tlie law is ratlior absurd and weak, " said the Ilon. Mr. Justice Callan, in the Supreme Court today, when referring to an indictment of unlawful conversion of a car, in his address to the grand jury. He said the history of the matter | was that some years ago when cars be- ' gan to make their appearance, many , j: people .wanted to ride in them but did not owu or possess one. " This practice i of joyriding began to make itself ap I parent and persons who were caught were charged with fheft. It was not theft unless a j)erson took the property of someone else with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of posses^ion. In tase after case the joyriders escaped punishment when it was shown to be unsafe to convict of trying to deprive a person permanently of a car. There was the scandal of people escaping punislunent beeause it was not theft and the logislature invented this new charge of unlawful conversion. "People who criticise it do so without knowing what led to it, " Mr. Justice Callan said.