CURB ON BURGLARY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22623, 28 April 1948, Page 6

CURB ON BURGLARY

JURY’S PROPOSAL BAN AGAINST THIEVES OWNING OR USING CARS (P.A.) AUCKLAND. April 28. A suggestion that the law should be amended to enable certain types of burglars to be prohibited from owning or using motor cars, was made by Mr Justice Fair in his address to the Grand Jury in the Supreme Court. He pointed out that in a large number of major offences of breaking and entering recently, criminals had been assisted by the use of motor cars. Cars were often used for taking persons even hundreds of miles from their homes and they also facilitated the removal of safes and enabled criminals to steal away quietly from their own neighbourhood, said His Honour. Thus the use of motor cars increased the range of burglaries and facilitated their operation in every way. \ Gisborne Burglary Recalled Recently, one of three persons who stole a safe from an hotel near Gisborne was proved to have come in his own car from Auckland and to have returned here immediately after receiving his share in the profits. He was a man with previous convictions, yet he owned a motor car and was using it in this way. As the law stood there was no power to prohibit such a man from owning a motor car and obtaining a license unless he committed against the driving regulations. The court had from time do time drawn attention to the desirability of amending the law so that an habitual offender might be disqualified from owning a car or driving one. Suggestion to Jury His Honour invited the jury to take that matter into consideration and, if it decided that it was proper to make such a recommendation then that recommendation would do doubt carry considerable weight. Following this suggestion the Grand Jury later recommended that, in view of the serious increase in crimes facilitated by the use of motor -cars and carried out by convicted criminals, representations be made to the proper authorities with a view to having legislation enacted to prohibit persons convicted of theft or receiving on more than two occasions from driving, owning or riding in motor cars except in cases where special permits are granted by the Police Department. His Honour said that would ensure that the matter received full attention.