Criminals Again Turning To Safe-breaking

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31659, 20 April 1968, Page 14

Criminals Again Turning To Safe-breaking

Christchurch criminals were again turning their attention to safe-breaking. Detective Sergeant E. J. Stackhouse, the police crime prevention officer, said yesterday. For quite a while this offence had disappeared from the list of crimes reported each week. Businessmen who thought a fire-resistant cabinet could keep out even an apprentice burglar were living with a sense of false security, he said. Burglar alarms fitted to a building were of no use un-

less they were extended to cover the safe. Alarms, to be effective, had to.be a type activated by any Interference with the safe.

Experienced technicians could make the weakest safe secure by fitting a reputable alarm system. The first step in making a safe secure was to ensure that it could not be moved from the premises. Detective Sergeant Stackhouse said he knew of businessmen who had bought safes at auctions, but these were for sale only because they had been replaced by modern antiblow, maximum securitysafes.

Businessmen had to appreciate that to get quality security it was necessary to pay for it. The experienced criminal was keeping abreast of modern engineering trends. “Possibly he chuckles when he sees some kerosene tin standing in the corner —for that is what many of them are.” Too many businessmen realised after a burglary that they should have done some thing about security. At Christmas and Easter, trading banks offered latenight banking but from reports received not enough advantage was taken of this service. Christchurch had a number of firms offering security services, and businessmen could well acquaint themselves of their services, said Detective Sergeant Stackhouse.