SHOPLIFTING.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17700, 28 February 1923, Page 6

SHOPLIFTING.

RELATIVES IN COURT.

Extreme poverty was the main excuse volunteered by five closely-re-lated people, who were jointly charged at the Magistrate's Court yesterday with having stolen articles to the value of £6 17s lid from various shops in tho city. They were two married women, Elsie May Chaney, aged 21 years, and Frances Alice Cairns, aged 39 years, two young men aged 22 and 19 years respectively, and a young woman of 23 years, who is engaged to one of the men.

Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., was on the Bench. Mr W. F. Tracy appeared for Mrs Chaney, and the other accused were represented by Mr F. T>. Sargent. The charges were that on February 23rd they stole a pair of lady's shoes, a pair of stockings, one bottle of shampoo, valued at £2 ss, from the Drapery Importing Co.; that on February 23rd they stole a pair of trousers, valued at £1 Gs (3d, the property of' Hallenstein Bros.; and that on the same date they stole one lemnant of damask, two nightdresses, two rubber Soils, eight salt-cellars, and one lady's companion, valued at £3 6s od, the property of "W. Strange and Co. All the accused pleaded guilty, and elected to be dealt with summarily. SenioT-Detective T. Gibson said the five accused were caughfc in the D.I.C. with stolen property. They were searched, and the other articles had been found. Nothing was known against any of them. They were all related. Three lived in Lyttelton, and two in Christchurch. "There is no doubt that the family party went out shopping, and that shop-lifting was one of their designs,'' said Mr fcwrgent. One or both of the elder women, he continued, were the "master minds" of the business. The younger psople. who were kith and )sxn., had been party to the crime. They had only assisted in some small way, and counsel asked that the names might be suppressed from publication, The young people had been influenced by their elders. They had never been beifolro the Court bbfore, and counsel, thought that probation should he extended to them. Shop-lifting was regarded as a serious offence, but the real culprits were the elder women. Mrs Cairns had been very depressed over the whole matter. The Magistrate: Over being found out! Mr Sargent: Yes, over being found out. All the goods have been returned to the owners, and the accused have made full disclosures. Mr Tracy said Mrs Chaney had confessed her share in the business, and had: made no effort at concealment of tho facts of the case. Her reason' for taking the articles was because her husband had not been able to support her. He had had vei-y casual labour indeed, and he could not maintain her. Poverty was no excuse for crime, but the circumstances were out of the ordinary. Mrs Chaney and her husband had beea living with her mother, who was an old woman of 67 years. There was no suggestion that she had displayed any criminal tendencies before. The arrest had given the mother a very severe shock, and medical help had to be summoned. Counsel asked that accused might be given tho benefit^of the Probation Act. Although guilty, it was the first occasion she had offended, and, judging by the effect, it would be the last. Senior-3>etectivo Gibson: She is in poor circumstances. She was so hard up that she did not have a. pair of shoes to come tb Court in. The Magistrate: What I would like to know is, who suggested this business ; ,it looks like an arrangement. Mr Sargent said that Mrs Gaims's husband was also out of work, Tho Magistrate said he would; be very sorry to learn that things were so bad in Christchurch and Lyttelton, and that any people should become so poor that they felt they had no other resource but to steal. He understood that the circumstances did occur, but he had no idea that they might do so in New Zealand They were more applicable to foodstuffs than to drapery. Hfe would bei sorry to hear that poverty had anything to do with thefts of this kind. For instance, what would' shampoo and a lady's companion have to do with poverty? Accused would be remanded for a Week in order that the probation officer might prepare a report. "In the meantime, 111 consider the matter," he said. "I will order tho names of the three younger people not to bci published." Accused were released on bail in their own recognisances of £26 each.