CRIME IN SYDNEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20721, 14 November 1930, Page 9

CRIME IN SYDNEY.

YOUTHFUL BANDITS. VIGOROUS: POLICE ACTION. A statement regarding the steps IhaH i are being taken to suppress youthful ■ criminals in Sydney -was mado recently, by tho New South Wales Commissioner of J Police, Mr. Childs. ( i " Recent acts of banditry have been j. committed by irresponsible young men. influenced by cheap literature and probably some pictures," said Mr. Childs, t "Steps are being taken by the police to j prevent the development of a dangerous new criminal type. Tho public are in- , 3 vited to assist the police with informs* ' tion, and may accept my assurance that u 3 their identity will not bo disclosed." Tho commissioner £aid that additional; 1 wireless patrols, able to receive and trans;-... 5 mit messages, were patrolling the city • 1 and suburbs day and night. Other steps ' being taken could not be disclosed with*/. 3 out destroying their effectiveness ' " The use of the revolver in some re«i cent robberies," Mr. Childs said, "may : lead the public to believe that our social - conditions are developing a criminal classas distinct from the old-time burglars - and garrotters for which, at one time*. Sydney was somewhat notorious. That - is not tho case. Some young men sus : .„ pected of banditry have been arrested and are awaiting trial, whilo a number of . suspects have been allowed their frea : ■ dom because of insufficient'evidence of ; r identification. : "An examination of these men, their; ■ mode of living, and their antecedents convinces me that those responsible for re- - cent acts of banditry are an emotional s class of young man, who look upon tha - i use of a revolver and tho commission of . some audacious hold-up as a praiseworthy exploit. To them it is n bravo thing - , to menace an attondant of a garage or • , to bail up tho proprietor of a ham and beef shop and rush away with a few shil-. j , lings or a few pounds. They are suffer* ing from mental distortion, and are not so , much the creation of our present economic - . and social conditions as they aro a product of the mock heroics of some enter- ' tainments and of literature of tho 'thriller*-- ! type. > # " The criminal who is prepared to carry - 1 a revolver, who is prepared to wound or murder to achieve his purpose or effect *. his escape, and who belongs to tho permanent criminal world, would fiever rundertake somo of the robberies that hava been committed recently. The habitualcriminal is a tradesman in crime. Ha'. weighs tho risk of a crime against the- • possible profit. Ho knows the risk of being detected. He knows the punishment... for even carrying a revolver. Tho r&al 'l 'crook' thinks twico before using a guit : . to get a pound or two at a garage or » . small shop." .