WAVE OF BURGLARY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 80, 21 August 1912, Page 8

WAVE OF BURGLARY.

REMARKS BY MR. JUSTICE COOPER. Auckland, August 19. The heavy list of charges set down for hearing at the Supreme Court criminal sessions led His Honor Mr. Justice Cooper, in his address to the Grand Jury to-day, to make some observations anent the increase in crime generally in the Dominion. There were, said His Honor, a considerable number of cases for investigation, but not perhaps quite so many as there had been at the previous sessions in Auckland. They were quite numerous enough, however, to justify His Honor in expressing regret at the amount of serious crime in the district. There were in all some 24 charges against 23 persons, and since he had arrived here His Honor had in addition sentenced some twelve to thirteen persons who had pleaded guilty. This state of affairs was much to be regretted in so flourishing and prosperous a district as Auckland and surrounding country. As he had observed before, however, the district was a very extensive one, extending from the Nortli Cape to Hamilton, and the population was very large. In addition, there was a. considerable floating population in Auckland. The proportion of crime 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. He regretted that there seemed to be a wave of a particular class of crime passing l over the community. It commenced in Australia, and appearod to be extending over here. He referred to the outbreak of burglaries that had taken place. This outbreak was not peculiar to Auckland, but extended throughout the Dominion. At the same time they could congratulate themselves that this class of offence was not so prevalent as it was in Australia. Whether or not they might look upon it as an exodus of the criminal class from Australia to New Zealand it was difficult to say, but the fact remained that this, "l!ii»s of crime 'had reached over to New Zealand. His Honor added that in addi- < tion to prisoners he had already sentenced for burglary, there were still four charges of a similar nature to be heard.