THE MODERN CRIMINAL.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3451, 3 April 1920, Page 5

THE MODERN CRIMINAL.

OPERATIONS IN ‘BRITAIN.

EVERY MAN AN EXPERT THIEF.

What is the most effective way of dealing with the modern Criminal,’ Whose activity is causing so m-uch dis-I quiet, not to ‘say alarm, all over the country, writes a London correspond-l ent? 111 the early. »’scVenties. when‘ London was aiflicted -by an epidemic of crime, a vigorous campaign on tlicl question of the adequacy of sentences 3 .was undertaken by a newspaper, with i salutary results. It has been reckon-‘ ed that there are ‘ in the countryl .some 25,000 habitual criminals, of‘ lwhom from 3000 to -1000 are of the ldangerous class. Obviously‘, upon these llatter, cur:.tivc sentences are not like-l lly to have much effect. In their case lthe malady of crime is chronic. and ‘the longer they 'a're.._..kept under relstraint. the better for them and the Cnninlunity. A census of the pl'eé:cllt. prison population, while it shows the niinber of criminals serving sen-2-awe is comparatively low, roflccts, at the ‘same time, upon this question of light sentences. For cxaniplle, in a ga-)1 that has held upwards of a thousand men there are at present only J.boillT’ 400. Crime in its practice moves with. the times, and a burglar’s outfit gets‘ out‘ of date as rapidly as a surgeon ’s. « A SYNDICATE AT WORK. I The modern touch in the cases of theft, other than those of theft with violence, of which so many have been reported during the last few weeks, has been their most striking featurei At one time, for example, in the days of the Georges, when the highwayman got hanged before he was 25, it wast for jewels and money that the mis-I creant nearly always risked his neck. He also had a love of display. and generallylmanaged to surround himself at least with a suggestion of romance, even when he made his last‘ public 2113- l pearancc, and went to the scafiold in ‘his best clothes. There is nothing of this sort in the thief of today. He-i or, rather, they, for it is reasonable to suppose that some sort of syndicate is just now at...w‘ork, want publicity last of all. The ‘characteristics of their work are preparation‘, rapidity, and a knowledge of-market value. ‘ RINGS WORTH £SOOO STOLEN. l _ The theft of £SOOO -worth of rings} from Messrs 'Aspre,v,._-s in New Bond; Street was not a haphazard affair. Itl was the work of men highly skilledl in their craft, who prepared a meth-I odical plan andlcarried it out. Because they are methodical they make‘ no mistakes, and because they make! no mistakes they are hard to cateh.l The man who acts o-n impulse blund-I ers, alndpcan be secured on account! of his headlong methods. The recentl robbery of jewels from a second floor bedroom in a house in Cavendish Square was a good» example of a welllaid. plan succeeding. The keen’ appreciation of market values is seen in the remarkable and alarming number of cases recently reported, of the theft of cloth, ‘furs, and wearing apparel, things far, more diflicult to‘ identitfy than watches and trinkets; It is the elaborate nature of recent’ thefts and the escape of the‘ thievesl that point to the Working of a ‘gang.l Such a body. is composed of men variously skilled, and it is formed on the principle of specialisation. One member is an adept at lock-pickingi an'- I other has a gift for securing prelim-' inary information, and so forth. Probably the crop of motor-car thefts—al motor ambulance was stolen in Walham Green recently—has a direct bearing on the other crimes that have just been discussed; for a while a man or a couple of ‘men may take a car} to dispose of it, a gang will requirel one as part of their stock—in-trade and I an item as necessary for the removall of themselves and their booty as, in securing the latter, are the jemmyl and the oxy-acetylene outfit. l VIOLEN\CE»NOT INCREASING. } It has been oflicially shown that‘ crimes m;’“VloTe'n'ce are not on the increase. Met-hod lfas changed, and a sensational element has been recently introduced into it, the result no doulbt of war experience. During the war conscription swept a host of miscreants into the army; some of these are known to have kept themselves in i training for their regulation occupa-! tion whenever they got leave. They! took the oppdrfinity of the security‘ given by the uniform of gathering: much information‘ that has later beenl of use to them. But the mode_:r'nsi thief, with all his cunnirfg and sang-l froid, is still singularly short-sightcdl i.n one respect. He is imitative andl prone to repeat his methods. ‘These: are characteristics that help in his detection. What often helps the thief, on thefiother hand ,to secure his Prize, is the singular carelessness of the householder, who leaves doors and Windows nnbolted, and sometimes does not even lock his garage’ door. It is not felt that increase in the sevyerity of sentences should be ma-ae to. ‘apply to firsti ofienders, or indeed”to any prisoner who is" notm-arked’ down las -belonging to the professional criminal class. The man it is desired." to punish heavily, says The Times, is

the hird character, who is derermined not to work so long as he can make: dishonesty pay; to him a short term,‘ in gaol means little, and it is fx-0:11 him that the public needs to be pro« tected; the public are safe ~ illde_edi only so long as he is detained undefl lock and key. V y