DAILY OFFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 60, 8 September 1926, Page 11

DAILY OFFENCE

SHOPLIFTING IN AUCKLAND

DRAPERS SUFFER HEAVY LOSSES,

(By Telegraph.) (Speoial to "The Evening Post.") AUCKLAND, This Day. According to prominent draperß, shoplifting in Auckland is responsible for the loss of many thousands of pounds to the drapery establishments every year. Its prevalence is by no means indicated by the number of prosecutions in the Courts. Ninety per cent, of such thefts, said one draper, are not detected, and while ho believes that in the interests of tho public, who must pay for tho loss in the long run, every case detected should be placed in the hands of the police, it is not customary to lay a charge unless there is good reason for believing that the person has been operating more or less systematically. Where tho offender is obviously a person of weak intellect, and has succumbed to a sudden temptation, ho does.not institute criminal proceedings, and in other cases often extends leniency where the circumstances justify it. Punishment and publicity are the only deterrents for the dishonest portion of tho community, and in prosecuting, shopkeepers are not only defending themselves but aro fulfilling a duty to the public and to their staffs. The methods of shop-liftors were outlined to show how difficult detection often is. The theft of a valuable frock; which can be crumpled up into a small space, is sometimes tho work of three women. They will stand close togethor, apparently examining a line of hanging frocks, and the one in the centre is thus given a chanco to conceal the garment in her clothing. The appearance and demeanour of typical shop-lifters are such that assistants have Jio cause for suspicion, and only when they aro caught in the act is it possible to associate dishonesty with them. Bomo years ago the drapers of Auckland proposed a scheme by which the people caught shop-lifting would bo let off provided they submitted to a photograph being taken for circulation among the houses. This idea was not practicable, and each establishment has its own system of defence. Floor-walkers usually have a good deal of information to guide them. It is no uncommon thing for customers to report cases of theft they have seen, and although it is not always possible for the house to expose the offenders, their faces and descriptions are noted, and on future occasions these people are suspected and carefully watched. The Bonding of the recent offenders to prison, instead of giving them the advantage of the Hrst Offenders Act, is said to have had a salutary effect, but shop-lifting continues to be a daily occurrence.