Bosses turn to crime

Press, 9 April 1980, Page 15

Bosses turn to crime

.'By

KEN COATES

in Lon-

don

J ...Unemployed . executives i ate turning to burglary to preserve their living standards, according to' the head of a security firm at ' Guildford, Surrey,.' in an iarea known as the stockbroker belt. ■ 'Mr A. J. Smith says an i executive'who has lost his • job • needs a sizeable ins cotne to'keep up appearances or' to put his children through public school. lie says the belief that all' burglars have come from •' deprived backgrounds and from Borstal ! is a mith. Inflation affects alh social classes, and so the motivation to steal can reach almost anyone, ■ he says. ‘ -Burglary is Britain’s fastest growing crime, ‘with 600,000 cases a year,

and the signs are that thieves are becoming more sophisticated. Mr Smith described a case in which two men in dinner suits arrived at a big house and said they were invited to. a party there. They walked off with television sets and radios.

“Today’s thief is a thinker. He knows exactly where to go once inside the house, and if successful, can net.- $90,000 a year, tax-free,” he said. He can then go to the unemployment office and say that unless there is a managing director’s ■ job, he will not work.”

Mr Smith says the “executive burglar” can, if challenged, produce a business card 05 smoothtalk his way out of trouble.