JUVENILE CRIME

Otago Witness, Issue 3494, 22 February 1921, Page 36

JUVENILE CRIME

A SERIOUS CASE. Three boys, the eldest of whom was barely ■ 13 years old, pleaded guilty m the Juvenile Court on Wednesday afternoon to the theft of £53, the property of Frederick John Carter. The theft was committed on February 4. Chief Detective Bishop said Mr Carter kept a box factory in Ward street. On the day mentioned ho saw, on leaving, that the premises were securely locked up. _ The boys broke into the factory by two windows and got at tire till, and took a roil of and £2 in silver. They cut it up between them, ! spent some, and gave a little away. One of the boys handed back £ll. and another £4. The third did not return any. Two of the boys had been convicted before, one for a minor offence. The juvenile probation officer (Mr Fountain) said the other had reported regularly while under Ins care, but was not under strict enough control at : home. He did not recommend formal coin- | mittal to a home as necessary, and said the i boys all came from good homes. The Magistrate pointed out that the boys j were guilty of a most serious crime. It was | really burglary. The boy who was formerly under the probation officer’s control was con- : victecl and admitted to probation for a term | of five years, and placed under the absolute i control of Mr Fountain. His parents were ordered to repay £l7 13. s 4c!i by instalments of not less than 10s a week. The case against the second boy was adjourned for 12 months, in order to give him a chance to make good, and his parents ordered to repay £G 13s 4d in weekly instalments of 10s, the boy having returned £ll. The third boy was admonished and discharged, his father agreeing to repay immediately his share of the stolen money (£l3 13s Id). Two other boys were charged with the theft of a canary, valued at £1 10s, the property of Frank Withers, of Ravens bourne. One pleaded guilty, and the other not guilty. I The charge against one boy was dismissed. ! In the other case the hearing was adI jourued for six months, during which time j he is to he under the junior probation j officer's control. ———