A WAVE OF BURGLARY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1523, 20 August 1912, Page 6

A WAVE OF BURGLARY.

IfEMAHKS BY MR. JUSTICE COOPER. (By Telegraph— Pices Association.) Auckland, August 19. Tho heavy list of charges set down for hem-ing at tho Supremo Court criminal o sessions led his Honour Mr. Justice j Cooper, in his address to tho Grand Jury i to-day, to oimko somo observations niumt i Ihc increase in crime generally in tlio Do- 1 minion. There were, said his Honour, a f considerable number of cases for investiga- 1 lion, but not perhaps quite so many us i there had been at tho previous sessions in f Auckland. They were quite numerous i enough, however, to justify his Honour in 1 expressing regret at tho amount of serious l crime in the district. There were in all f somo 21 charges against 23 persons, and since, he hadiarrived here his Honour had ' in addition sentenced some twelve to < thirteen persons who had pleaded guilty. ' This state, of affairs was much to bo to- ' gretted in so flourishing and prosperous a ' district as Auckland and surrounding country. As he had observed More, how- ' over, the district was a very extensive one, I extending from the North Capo to Hainil- ! ton, and the population was very large. ' In addition, there was a considerable float- ; ing population in Auckland. Tho proportion of crimo was greater in Auckland than in other districts. The list of cases that came, before. Sir Joshua Williams at the Dunedin Supreme Court, for instance, only comprised three, cases. Ho regretted that there seemed to bo a wave of a particular class of crime passing over tho community. It ooinmenced in Australia, and appeared to be extending over here. Ho referred to tho outbreak of burglaries that had taken place. This outbreak was not peculiar to Auckland, but extended throughout the Dominion. At tho samo time they could congratulate themselves that this class of oflenco was not bo prevalent as it was in Australia. Whether or not they might look upon it os an exodus of tho criminal class from Australia to New Zealand it was difficult to say, but tho fact remained that this class of crime had reached over to New Zealand. • His Honour added that in addition to prisoners ho had already sentenced for burglary, there wore still four charges of a, similar nature to bq heard.