STOLEN MOTOR-CARS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 518, 22 November 1928, Page 1

STOLEN MOTOR-CARS

Thieves Let Off Lightly

IS JUSTICE TOO LENIENT ?

FE leniency with which motor-ear thieves are dealt with in the Police Courts is considered by several Auckland motoring men to be responsible for the alarming increase m this class of crime during the past few months. Men who handle insurance risks on stolen and damaged ears assert that the police have not the eo-operation and goodwill ot the magistrates in tljeir endeavours to convict and punish offenders.

It was shown yesterday in-The Sunthat the destruction of motor-cars in Auckland has reached a figure disproportionately high to the number of cars in use in the city and province, and during the past year thefts of vehicles from parking stands and side streets have numbered heavily among the losses. Among those who believe that the suppression of motor-car thefts lies primarily in the hands of the courts is Mr. G. W. Hutchinson, secretary of the Auckland Automobile Association, who says that the leniency with which the offenders are treated by magistrates merely tends to encourage rather than discourage the ramifications of the thieves. “We had a case recently in which a night-parking caretaker caught a man red-handed stealing a car,” Mr. Hutchinson said. “He was brought up before the court, and his case adjourned for two years upon the payment by him of 10s costs. “We have sent the facts to the Minister of Justice, who agreed that it did not seem quite right.” Greater penalties for motor-car thefts have been sought by the motoring authorities throughout New Zealand, but the Justice Department is diffident about increasing them, because if the term were increased above

three months’ imprisonment, as at present, the cases would be taken to the Supreme Court, and the chances are that a jury would acquit a man upon a doubtful point where a magistrate might feel justified in convicting. .... “I do not agree with this view, Mr. Hutchinson said, when the suggestion was made to him, “because I believe that if a man is guilty he will be dealt with justly by a jury. 1 think it is an impeachment of the jury system for the Justice Department to foster and express this opinion. “However, realising that the penalties are made low to keep them in the lower court, I believe that in every case the maximum should be im posed.” POLICE HANDICAPPED Mr. Hutchinson was not alone in his attitude about the low penalties. An insurance adjuster, whose duty it is to fix the values of motor-cars after they have been destroyed, or in the event of their damage or disappearance, declared that the police have not the goodwill and faith of the magistrates in their efforts to bring offenders to justice. “The police here are terribly handicapped,” one man said, “because they have no fast motor-car or motorcycle in which they may chase motorcar thieves. They do the best with the material at their command, but this handicap is often responsible for them getting on the job too late. “I suggest that this should be the fii-st consideration in any move to reduce motor-car thefts. Even if the insurance companies were obliged to contribute toward the cost of establishing these flying squads it would be a profitable investment. The second thing to be done is for the magistrates to realise that, by failing to deal adequately with offenders, they are destroying the good faith of the police and discouraging them in their endeavours to see justice done.” FLYING SQUADS The policy of the Police Department, as enunciated by the Commissioner, Mr. W. B. Mcllveney, is a conservative one, however. “The time is aproaching, but is not yet, when a motor-transport squad may have to be created to keep the Dominion in pace with other countries,” Mr. Mcllveney said to The Sun’s Wellington man last week, when discussing the pursuit of criminals. The next step in the equipment of the force foreshadowed by the commissioner is the attachment of motors to the detective staff. At present there are police-vans and a motor-car at Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, and at Auckland there are two vans, two motor-cars and two cycles and side-cars. Further equipment, Mr. Mcllveney made clear, would come only' as required by the centres. In the meantime car thefts are increasing daily, and in Auckland, as elsewhere, the annual bill of losses is mounting steadily higher. In many instances suspicion is directed toward the owner himself when insurance money is obtainable upon a destroyed car, but every unapprehended motorthief represents a snapped link in the long chain of justice.