JUVENILE CRIME
BREAKING AND ENTERING AND ARSON “ONE OF THE WORST CASES FOR TWENTY YEARS” NO LACK OF HOME CONTROL In what was described by the Magistrate. Mr T E. Maunseil as one of the worst cast s of its kind he had had before him for 20 years, a boy of 14 appeared in the Children's Court this morning on 16 charges of breaking and entering, and theft, and one charge of arson. Goods and money to the value of over £33 were stolen and damage to a building set on fire was valued at £442. A number of the crimes were committed in Victoria Avenue, and it was here that the premises of The Valet Service, cleaners and dyers, were set alight.. The offences were committed over a period of three or four months. The thefts included the stealing of a rifle and a shotgun. The boy admitted the offences. Detective Sergeant F. Hay hurst said that this was one of the most serious series of juvenile crimes that had come before the Court. The boy came from a good family and it was difficult to understand the reason for his actions. Besides the damage? by fire much damage had been done by breaking plate glass and window panes There was no lack of control of the boy at home, but lie appeared to have some sort of "kink” when he got outside The Magistrate commented that it was an appalling state of affairs. It might be that the boy had something wrong with him mentally, some sort of twist. He could not treat an offence like this as a minor one. He was favourably disposed to a suggestion made to give the boy a chance, but the offender should go to an institution for a period. The Magistrate committed the youth to the care of an institution to be approved by the Superintendent of the Child Welfare Department. A second boy of 14 who admitted breaking and entering premises in Victoria Avenue and stealing money was admonished and discharged. Another lad of 14 who admitted receiving a rifle from the first boy without a permit was warned of the serious ness of the offence and w as discharged.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19420811.2.73
Bibliographic details
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 11 August 1942, Page 4
Word Count
371JUVENILE CRIME Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 11 August 1942, Page 4
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Nelson Evening Mail. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.