A Burglar Fiction.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 18 September 1914, Page 8

A Burglar Fiction.

EMINENT DETECTIVE SPEAKS

" Scientific burglary absolutely does not exist," is the pronouncement of the former head of the Paris Surete, or detective department, Xavier Guichard, who has just been'interviewed on the subject by Richard Arapu, a leading criminologist. *

M. Guichard, whose name became well known last year in connection with the automobile bandits, says that the conception of the twentieth century burglar, who goes about his work armed with all the resources and the latest discoveries of science, is merely a joke invented by writers of fiction.

"The truth is quite different," he went on. "Take, for instance, the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, which is supposed generally to be used now to melt away the locks of safes. In all my experience as Chief de la Surete I came upon only two cases where this method was used, and one Was of a jeweller who robbed himself for the insurance, and used a blowpipe because he had read about it in novels. The othercase, strangely enough, was in a remote province. As to dynamite, its use is very rare ■ and generally futile, as the explosive, instead of blowing out a lock, jams it harder than ever.

"What people do not realise is that burglars belong to an inferior grade of humanity, and are very seldom if at all intelligent. The majority even do not believe in fingerprint identification, do not take the slightest precaution, and never wear gloves. Yet it is by finger prints that we make the great bulk of arrests. The chance of an error where all ten digits, for instance are represented is one in 4,000,000,000."