YEAR OF CRIME.

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1921, Page 4

YEAR OF CRIME.

NO TORY SERIOUS CASES. JUVENILE CHARGES GROWING. Police records for 1920 show that there was a slight increase in crime in New Plymouth during the year, compared with 1919. The number of offences in 1919 was 154, compared with 186 during last year. Inspector Hutton, when interviewed by a Daily News representative on the question of police work during the year, said there had been no crimes -of a really serious nature. The principal classes in which there had been increases were in connection with thefts, drunkenness and breaches of prohibition orders, bjit considering that the population was in the vieftuty of 12,000, the calendar was very ligh£ and showed that the community was an orderly and sober one. Twenty-four cases of theft were reported during the yellr, this being an increase of ten. Twenty-two arrests were made, but many of the cases were of a petjiy nature. Thefts and attempted thefts from dwellings, an offence which !is regarded as seribus, totalled ten. i against 15 last year. Five of the offend* | ers were convicted summarily, and four ■ were committed to the Supreme Court for trial. There was one case of arson. A new law concerning the theft of motor cycles and, bicycles resulted in two charges being brought in the court, and one conviction was entered. In 1920 there were fifteen charges of breaches of the Gaming Act, mainly arising cuit of one incident, and fourteen convictions were entered. Breaches of prohibition’ orders totalled 22, again?/ 2 in 1919. but this increase is attributed to repeated offences on the part of one or two individuals. There were 40 cases of drunkenn’ess—an advance of six over the 1919 period. Referring to thefts from dwellings, Inspector Hutton remarked that these eases are often caused by the act? oi children. He gives a word of warning to people who are in the habit of going out and leaving their houses with windows wide open and, doors unlocked, that they should be more careful Because i householder who has been in the ha bi of leaving the house open has so f*iescaped any intrusion is no guarantee that the immunity will always hold good, and open residences are a temptation to crime .

Juvenile crime was not particularlv heavy during *1920. but during the led three years offences by boys and girls have been on the increase. Last year the number of offences was about on a par with those of 1919.