VALUABLES IN CARS

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 3232, 29 June 1928, Page 2

VALUABLES IN CARS

CAUSES OF PILFERING

PREVALENCE IN SYDNEY

Two strong, though shabbily dressed, men, peering into, stationary motor ears about the streets of Sydney should awaken in the minds of motorists some sense of their carelessness in leaving valuable coats, rugs, attache eases, or other articles in their cars during their absence, says the Sydney Morning Herald.

Of these two particular men motorists need have no fear. They are Plainclothes Constables Arentz and O'Donnoll, whose particular mission is to keep a lookout for the petty thief, who preys upon the carelessness of motorists. The puzzle which should make the motorist decide to take no chances is which is the constable, and which is the thief.

To facilitate their work the two constables resort to all manner of disguise, with a preference for that of the ordinary workman passing through the city on his way to his home. As such they are generally accepted without question by the large host of street loafers who hang about the city corners, looßing for opportunities of easy money, and many an arrest by the two constables has arisen out of a casual

street conversation,

The outstanding feature of the constables' observations is the amazing carelessness of people who leave valuable goods exposed in motor cars. They state that there are a number of petty thieves about the city who have no other source of income than that derived fyoni goods pilfered in this way. Two men who came into their hands some time ago had admitted that this kind of theft had been their sole means of livelihood for 10 years. In that case the constables recovered more than £300 worth of goods that had disappeared from cars.

This particular kind of tliief, the constables state, works very quickly. They are fully aware'of the danger of being caught in possession of goods, and consequently make a quick journey from the sccno of the theft to the nearest pawnshop, where the goods are realised upon. Before they leave the precincts of the pawnshop the pawn ticket is invariably destroyed.

Apart from the actual loss of valuable goods the tendency on the part of the petty thief to take almost anything has caused much dislocation of the businesses of many careless motorists. Attache cases, perhaps because their contents can only be guessed at, have a particular attraction for them, and in a, large number of cases hold business documents. These are- invariably thrown on the nearest fire or otherwise destroyed.

One motorist recently lost in this way a case full of very valuable papers that had been collected over a period of years. The documents were found only 20 minutes after the theft, exposed to a shower of rain under a tree in Hyde Park. Although they were somewhat mutilated by the rain the business man was extremely grateful to have' them returned.