NEARLY 400 PENS TAKEN

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29233, 17 June 1960, Page 14

NEARLY 400 PENS TAKEN

Post Office Losses In Seven Days

An average of 50 ball-point pens a day have disappeared from post offices in the Christchurch district in the first seven working days of motor re-registration, making a total of 358 missing pens in that time. Giving this information yesterday, a Post Office spokesman said that there were 55 post offices in the Christchurch postal district, which took in the area from Akaroa to Springfield and from Rakaia to Kaikoura. The analysis shows a considerable ‘ variation of pen thefts in the area. In Christchurch central office, for example, the loss of 45 pens took place for 11,000 issues of re-registration labels but in some places there has been a pen taken for every five to -ix persons re-registering. Losses in some of the suburban post offices were reported as heavy. Mentioned in this category were the following: Sydenham 32. Lyttelton 32, Linwood 30, St. Albans 27, Addington 24. Sumner 20. On the other hand up to the date surveyed. Methven, Mayfield, and had suffered no losses, Kaiapoi had lost only four and Ashburton, which is the biggest country post office in the Christchurch district had lost only two.

Asked if the authorities might regard the losses as sufficiently high to discontinue the convenience. the officer said there was no information from headquarters in Wellington about stopping the supply of pens. “I know the department wanted to give the pen service a good trial and was hoping the public would co-operate by leaving them on the desks.” he added.

The fact that the pens would stain clothes or handbags since they had neither protective caps nor retractable points did not seem to have prevented their removal, he said.