“YARD” BAFFLED

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 226, 20 June 1936, Page 22

“YARD” BAFFLED

A woman crook, so clever and elusive that she h so far unknown and unclassified in any criminal record, is causing some concern to Scotland Yard and Home Counties police forces. Several robberies recently have borne signs indicating they were the work of a woman. But fingerprints found had no. duplicates filed at Scotland Yard. In a Belgravia house raid a stylish-ly-dressed woman, young and of good appearance, was seen to enter the residence by the servants’ quarters. Little notice was taken of her, for it was assumed she was a bona-fide visitor.

Shortly after, however, it was discovered that a jewel box had been raided and the choicest gems taken. Inquiries revealed that the woman, after leaving the servants’ entrance, rejoined an older woman waiting some distance down the street. In another raid. 25 miles from London, a woman’s small-sized glove was found. No one in the household owned a glove of that kind or wore such a small size. There was, of course, the possibility that the glove had been deliberately left behind by men to mis-

“Mysterious Black Cloud”

lead the police. Not many months ago women crooks were causing a lot of trouble iu London by raids which displayed amazing effrontery and daring. In one case a woman calmly raided a West End house, visited a number of rooms, removed jewellery, and even went into a room where the titled occupier of the premises was resting. The intruder also interrupted the servants at tea, but apologised for intruding and left hurriedly. A few months ago a woman accomplice of country house thieves was being sought in the Home Counties. Stylishly dressed and with beautifullykept grey hair, she was believed to be chauffeuse of a big car used by the raiders.

Most of London’s cleverest women crooks are in goal. One recently sent crooks are in jail. One recently sent to prison had 31 offences to her record in a year. Another was a receiver of stolen property, while yet another was described by the police as the keeper of a thieves’ kitchen in the East End of London. and one of the cleverest lockpickers in the criminal world.