TRAIN PILFERING

Taranaki Daily News, 4 June 1934, Page 15

TRAIN PILFERING

LOSSES IN AUSTRALIA DETECTIVE’S GOOD WORK. MANY ROBBERS CAUGHT. Sydney, May 24. One of the greatest annoyances to the Australian railway administrations since the depression began has been the large increase in the number of “train jumpers”—tramps who board the goods trains, sometimes merely to “steal” a ride, sometimes with more sinister purposes. The “ride-stealers” are in the majority. Formerly the activities were more or less winked at, but their numbers have so increased, and goods pilfering has become so rife, that the “innocent” ride-stealer is coupled now with the train-thief as “public enemies,” to be ruthlessly suppressed. In this work, the ordinary police are reinforced by a special railway investigation branch. In the first three months of this year the railway detectives brought 72 offenders to book. They broke up many expert gangs of goods train robbers, and they recovered property valued at more than £3OOO. The figures tell a story. They show the need of this special staff of 20, and they show that, despite hundreds of arrests made by these special investigators during the last few years, pilfering from goods trains is still rife. Since February men have been arrested at almost the rate of one a day on charges of stealing goods from trucks. It has meant strenuous work for 20 men. A clever gang operated between Sydney and Katoomba, on the Blue Mountains, recently. It seemed for a time that the robbers would never be caught. They appeared to outwit the railway detectives at every turn. The gang began by raiding trains after they had travelled a few miles from the marshalling yards. Valuable stock dumped on the permanent way was picked up and taken to a depot by a motor-lorry. That went on for. some weeks, and then hauls were dumped further away from Sydney.

After their operations at various points in the country, the robbers began once more to rifle trucks close to the city. It was smart work, but not quite smart enough. The railway detec-' tives got the gang in the end. Complete with billies and swags, two “hoboes” jumped on a truck one night as a goods train was pulling out. The train had not gone far when the “hoboes” suddenly changed into detectives. Climbing over a number of trucks, they came to a van, and men rifling cases and throwing the contents into the scrub by the side of the line were surprised in the act.

Last year, nearly 3000 men were convicted on charges of trespassing on railway property—that is, ■ riding on a goods train without payment—and the railway detectives are satisfied that many of them were potential thieves. Though a detective may know that a man found on a goods train is there for the purpose of stealing, he must have evidence to prove it before he can prefer any charge other than trespassing.