MOTOR-CAR THIEVES.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1917, Page 7

MOTOR-CAR THIEVES.

WHAT HAPPENS IN NEW YORK. 40 PER CENT NEVER RECOVERED. Of the large number of cars stolen every year in New York city, only CO or 70 per cent, are recovered. The practice of stealing automobiles has become so common, says the New York "Evening Post," that some action must be taken to aid the police in recovering lost machines. Just what the action should be will have to be determined by the methods used by the miscreants in covering their traces. According to J. D. Porter, of the King Car Corporation, the police departments and detectives are not keeping pace with those who have actually commercialised the stealing of cars. To illustrate what is meant, consider the method used by the thieves in one of the large cities, where automobilestealing has been going on very extensively. Just outside the limits of this city a house was burned down. The barn, however, was left standing, but had been abandoned by the owner. It stood in a rather low spot near a wood, and, consequently was not conspicuous to pass-ers-by. By some means, the auto thieves had gained possesion of this barn, and had entirely refitted the inside bo that an auto could bo completely changed as far as any ordinary identification marks were concerned. The outward appearance was left unchanged to avoid suspicion or possible inspection. The men employed here were experts in their line When a stolen ear w'as brought in, identification numbers were either taken off with hammer and chisel, or melted off by the acetylene process, and new numbers of the same size put on in their places. Lamps were changed; top, windshield, speedometer, and all ex'tra equiqment such as bumpers, extra tyres, shock absorbers, and so on, were removed; the paint was taken off, and the entire car made a different colour. Then the car was taken to the city to be sold, and there was little chance of its being identified by the owner or any one else.

CHANGING IDENTITY OF CARS. In another of our large cities there was a very similar means of changing the identity of stolen cars. But in most cases the cars were completely disassembled and the parts were sold separately. This means of procedure was a little more complicated, but far more remunerative, else they would not have taken the extra trouble. But the most brazen method of all is that used by the automobile stealing syndicate, And by ■the way, the fact that a syndicate of this nature is allowed to exist and become wealthy, shows without further comment the critical need of immediate action of helping the police departments and detective agencies so they may become better equipped for such an overwhelming problem.

To go back to tho method mentioned above the syndicate sends agents around to the various dealers of second-hand cars to keep in touch with the kind of cars wanted by the customers. Say one dealer doesn't happen to have one, but says that he will look out for one. Then along comes the syndicate's agent, inquiring as to what cars the dealer is in need of. -He just had a call for a 1916 model, and would like to get one for his customer. So the agent tells him he has just what he wants, and will bring it around. He then goes to the head of the syndicate and reports the order for the above-mentioned car. The chief issues orders at once to go and get that car. So a couple of men, or perhaps three men and women get into'a car owned by the syndicate, and bearing a private license, and drive around until they locate a model car they are after. They follow it until its owner drives up to a curb and disappears inside of a building. Then one of their number gets out, steps into the man's car, and drives away. The rest drive their machine into the vacated space, and then go into a store near by and wait for the owner of the stolen car to appear. When he comes they come out and get into their machine. Naturally he asks them if they had seen bis car'standing there when'they drove up. Of course they "had not." Their game was to keep him in conversation as long as possible so as to give the thief plenty of time to get away before the police were notified. Then they would suggest to the man that inasmuch as that space was vacant when they drove up, perhaps some.one had stolen the.car, and he had better report the theft to the Police

Department. He thanks them, and never suspects that t.hev are the thieves of his ear. By the time the police have his report, the stolen car is safely undergoing the. necessary changes to escape identity. It. is taken'to the dealer wanting the car and sold. Now, just how is the Police Department to be aided in. recovering lost or stolen cars when it is going on in such a wholesale manner? There are numerous locking devices in the market to-day, devices for checking the flow of gasolene to the carburetter; devices ■ for "locking the control levers, etc; yet none of these is sufficient to keep the thieves from working around them. Therefore some other means must be employed.

DETAILED IDENTIFICATION. Detailed identification offers a possibility. By this is meant identification of every part of the car. Every motor car manufacturer has a system of marking the various parts that enter into the assembly of his car. Usually a system of numbers is used, and every part has its number. If the police and detectives could he taught motor-car design so that they might heeome familiar with the places where the identification numbers may he found on the various parts of different makes of cars, a hurried examination of a suspected car might reveal its identity, even though the car had undergone a complete transformation as described above, because in nearly every case of such a transformation there would be most likely one or more of the manufacturer's numbers that would be overlooked in renumbering or that would simply be painted over. One such number would serve as sufficient identification to return the car to its J owner.