Mischief During Talk By Probation Officer

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30156, 13 June 1963, Page 12

Mischief During Talk By Probation Officer

While a probation officer was giving an evening talk to parents of the Macfarlane Park Kindergarten in Shirley on the necessity of ensuring 'that children were correctly brought up. peculiar things were going on outside the lecture room. The probation officer's car was broken into. Another car was interfered with. Ignition keys were stolen from a third car parked outside the community centre. About 101 b of bananas were stolen from a box in an alleyway in the adjacent Acheson avenue shopping centre. One car was later found to be plastered inside and out with half-eaten bananas.

This happened last Thursday, and the police are pursuing inquiries, with some vigour, because it is felt that the probation service was let down on this occasion.

The probation officer concerned feels that the incidents were an uncalled for. but nevertheless practical, dem-

onstration of some of the points he made to parents in his talk.

On Friday night, a fish shop in the same centre was broken into and £7 stolen. Four parked cars were interfered with on the same evening. and tools worth £B. a camera, and a £ 1 note stolen from them.

The police suspect that offenders on both occasions were juveniles—the first time when a talk on juvenile delinquency was being given The police, however, hate not dismissed the possibility that the offender was an adult with a dislike of talks on juvenile crime prevention. The probation officer is a former policeman.