"CAT" BURGLAR ARRIVES

NZ Truth, Issue 1228, 13 June 1929, Page 1

"CAT" BURGLAR ARRIVES

New Type of Criminal Emerges To Harass Police DIFFICULT THIEVES TO DETECT

> (From. "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative). A hold-up by armed highwaymen m a car, a masked man's intrusion into a lonely dwelling, the prpwlings of a mysteriously illusive intruder and accounts of brutal assaults on women at ni^ht m suburban streets, have put a scare into Auckland residents during the past few months. V- '

""PHE "cat" burglar now makes his' *•• presence felt m the city, and the cry goes up for his apprehension. He has been at work. . . . Prowling through the dark alley ways . . . seeking a- drain pipe. . ■.■ . Up and up he goes. A frail .window-sash creaks open, and he is inside, to caiu'y out his pilfering high above the head of the policeman on beat; secure behind bolted doors from the eyes of the nightwatchman. . There is no sign of his forced entry. ■The policeman and nightwatchman inspe'et the oUtside and the inner doors, m turn, and each is satisfied. And, safe from prying eyes, m si room on the top floor of a' b"ig; dark building, the "cat" burglar is busy at work. He has plenty

of time, and the tread of the feet of custodians worries him not at all. 'He may ransack the place at will without fear of disturbance— and he knows it. ' He was a cool customer who raided city premises one night recently, staging an athletic feat that would have done credit to a circUs trapeze artist.. It would be hard, indeed, to imagine ; some of the more stalwart of the city constables following the "cat" up the pipes at the rear of the a.m.p. buildings. . But up he went, and some of his , daring feats put a steeplejack to shame. Clinging to a narrow ledge that runs aroundva large glass ceiling, the nocturnal thief took the risk of

crashing through the huge skylight into tea-rooms below. But he must be handed the honors for daring, and, on his recent performance, nothing seems impossible for him to achieve. . ... ' If the' day of the "cat" burglar has arrived m Auckland, premises previously considered safe from intrusion now come within reach of the marauder. What can the police do about it? More' than ever is it necessary to strengthen the force that" watches over the city by night.. The elusive burglar who scales the sides of city buildings is no easy thief to catch. As he. works behind closed ; doors, he is a tough proposition for the police, for he can be apprehended only when entering or leaving a ;building he has marked for his game any night. ' .

.' Auckland, with its present system of street -patr.ol, >vould appear to be a "cat" ■■ burglar's picnic ground. It is not the fault of the policeman on beat that so many city and suburban burglaries go undetected, for m number they are inadequate for the job. The police had little chance. of detecting the suspicious movements of the athletic rob-, ber who invaded the city premises m question. ;•'- The ■offices- had -been visited and ransacked before the police knew anything about It:' ■ *: ' More police 'm the .hightp" pati'dl means • more protection; for the citizen, and it appears, by ■ these latest exploits, that the city business man will need it. •