STUDENT OF CRIME.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 21, 25 January 1934, Page 7

STUDENT OF CRIME.

BOY BURGLAR'S ARMOURY.

LONDON, January 18,

A book entitled "The Young Person's Complete Guide to Crime," was among the possessions in a room occupied in London by a 15-vear-old Southampton boy, who was placed on probation for two years at Southampton Juvenile Court after conviction on three charges of housebreaking. The boy entered his sister's house, took the keys of the laundry at which she was employed, extracted £37 from its safe, and travelled first-class to London.

His mother did not hear from him for a week. Then she received a mysterious "code" telegram from London, where the boy was later arrested. He was carrying an electric torch, two dummy revolvers, and 24 rounds of ammunition. The detectives then searched his room and found, in addition to the crime book, another dummy pistol, 600 blank cartridges, a box of theatrical make-up, a crystal wireless set, and a collection of keys.

The boy's mother said he had won a secondary school scholarship, but was lazy and untruthful. She thought his lapse had been due to the literature he had smuggled home.