RAILWAY DETECTIVES

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 190, 8 May 1937, Page 6 (Supplement)

RAILWAY DETECTIVES

. j Some Smart Captures ’ i Railway detectives investigated the theft of a passenger's luggage. They suspected a guard, but could obtain no proof. So a suitcase was filled with clothing and a wallet containing ten £1 notes was put in. The case was placed in the luggage van. A watch was kept. The suitease was not put out at its destination. When the train arrived at its next stou the guard was arrested. ' Concealed between the fabric and the handle of his flag were the ten £1 notes. This is a typical example of the thousands of cases which the railway police forces in England tackle every year. These men have no rogues’ gallery, no finger-print, records, but they have a fund of initiative and resource. For instance, the Croat Western Railway has a force of 3GO officers and ■ men whose chief, Mr. G. Stephens, has | solved many difficult cases. > Throe anonymous letters were reI eelved by the general manager of the ' company, wanting hint that an attempt i would be made to wreck the Penzance i express. It: could not be ignored. I A railway detective saw that rhe | three envelopes bore the stamp of a | Manchester sub-post office. He concluded that the writing was I a woman's—a woman of good education. The paper was rough al the lop. and a piece had been torn off. He deduced that the writer customarily bought her notepaper with her address printed on it. With chemicals he removed the gummed flap of an envelope, ami discovered the name of a stationer in the midlands. At the stationer’s shop he obtained a list of all customers supplied with headed notepaper. Then, by devious means, he collected specimens of the writing of each. One of them enabled him to point definitely to the wife of a local doctor as the writer of the letters. It was found that she journeyed once a week to Manchester, where the letters had been poster!. Her threats were the result of delusions. One impudent fellow gave warning of his intended thefts. He sent a postcard to the railway which read:— I am just off Bristol way with a dressing-case from Birkenhead cloakroom. I have player! up Liverpool, Chester, Wigan, Bolton and Preston well, so I think it’s time to clear. I will be in Bristol by the time you get this, giving them a turn. The postcard was sent to Mr. Stephens. He put officers on the alert. The criminal kept his word. He was caught stealing luggage at Bath three days later. Packages sent through Birmingham began to vanish. A hamper of drapery, consigned to Cardiff, had been readdressed to a person in Worcester. Detectives allowed the hamper to go to Worcester and followed it. They made an arrest.