"CONVERSION" OF CARS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 143, 19 June 1934, Page 6

"CONVERSION" OF CARS.

Not merely motorists, but the public generally, ( will concede the .justice of the Automobile Association's claim for the imposition "of a * heavier penalty for the "conversion" of motor vehicles. Supporting evidence adduced in the circular issued by the Association on the subject is incontrovertible; the reasons given in the circular for the Soyernment's refusal to act, on ttie other hand, appear to be almost trivial. While the Government objections, on the inadequate grounds that juries will be loth to convict, and that cases offenders are irresponsible youths who are not criminals, vehicles continue to be "converted" at the average rate of one a day, and the score of damages continues to mount up. There is also "the danger to life; and it is partly because the thieves are so often, as the Government says, "irresponsible youths," that this risk is so great. The conclusion drawn by the circular in comparing the penalty imposed for the recent theft of an. aeroplane from Auckland with the maximum which could have been imposed for car "conversion" is just. Between the two thefts there is no difference in principle; there is but little difference in the type of person committing them. The only difference, in fact, appears to be in the penalty. All this, however, does not alter the fact that motorists themselves are not free from blame. A surprising number do not protect their cars in any way. That, of course, does not free the Government from the responsibility of dealing adequately* with what is virtually theft.