JEWEL ROBBERIES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 140, 16 June 1913, Page 2

JEWEL ROBBERIES.

MODERN THIEVES

DARING AND INGENIOUS

METHODS,

In view of the frequent reports published in cable messages from London recently of daring jewellery thefts, the following aritcle, published in the London Daily Mail, is interesting:—

There is a battle every day in London between the police and the criminal. Every day . someone steals something, for in London there is so

very much that is well worth stealing. The word "theft' 3 stares out at the reader in any newspaper he may,care to open.. ■ ■'■ But great as are the temptations to the thief, the opportunities for carrying out big robberies in London are few, and when the amount of treasure that is carried and housed by its citizens is considered, the robberies must be accounted rare. The modern thief, however, has learnt this: that if he is to be caught and punished for his depredation he might just as well carry it out on a grand scale and steal something worth having. But he has learnt something even more valuable than this—the importance of being up to date in his methods. The old blustering, blundering pistol-to-the-head kind of work has been given up in favor of a system improved and perfected, so far as ingenuity will allow, by the powers of science.

A.MAN OF PERSONALITY

No hint of the nature of his strange profession is given in his genial face. He has studied his profession with as much care as another man studies to become a barrister. A man of more than average personality and a keen observer of men and their ways. 'he lays his plans with a cunning and ingenuity that would, if it had been rightly applied in another walk of life, have carried him very far; he will do nothing until he is assured that ,what he is going, or hopes he is going, to gain is worth the risk he runs. .Given such a. man, . and there are scores of them in London, is it any wonder that the number of jewel robberies, for instance—where the "swag" is usually^ of the most tempting nature—has increased enormously of late years, and is still increasing? More jewels are bought nowadays than ever before, and perhaps as a consequence more are stolen. Add to this the facts that the jewel thief undertakes his task in an ingenious and scientific way, and that the facilities for disposing of the jewels, once he has got them, are better than they ever were before, it is not difficiilt to understand why the number of jewel thieves is added to every year, and the number of jewel robberies is on the increase.

Of course, however, stealthily he works, however cunning he may be, the jewel thief knows that the odds are against him and that the risk of capture is very great. That does not deter him, for his courage,, if he is to be a success in his daring profession, miist be above reproach; and if anything can be said in his favor it is only fair to say that he is courageous. From the following figures it will be seen hoAV large is the number of persons arrested'and tried for robberies. Jewel robberies are included under the general heads of burglary, housebreaking, and robbery, but a very large percentage are jewel robberies pure and simple. In the years 1897-1907 the number was only 1762. In 1911, the last year for which any figures are available, the number was 3773. Out of a total of 97,171 crimes of all kinds known to the police in 1911, 12,284 were robbery and housebreaking. These figures give some idea of the extent of these depredations, although, of course, a number of minor burglaries are included among them.