TAXICABS AS AN AID TO CRIME.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 13679, 13 May 1912, Page 8

TAXICABS AS AN AID TO CRIME.

HOW THE MODERN CRIMINAL WORKS. No one knows bettor than the London colice what a boon and a blessing the taxi- I ; ab has been to the modern criminal (says i writer in a London weekly.) No longer loos the robber or burglar have to depend i ipou his ficetness of foot or the railway i .rain to get away from the scene of his lepredations; it is so easy to hire a taxi , vith a driver who, of course, is “in the iwim,’’ and move from place to place. As i matter of fact, there are bands of taxi•ab thieves who defy the,efforts of Scut- , and Yard to capture them. , A common method of this type of eriiniml is as follows:—One man undertakes to ommit a street robbery, and as he looks or his prey one of his companions winds ip the taxi-cab while another pretends to i ead a newspaper. As soon as a coup is 'fleeted, one man throws open the cab loor, another obstructs any man who tries o stop the thief, and then all jump into ’ he vehicle and ride away at top speed. . ■o quickly do they act that it is almost mpossible for the police to obtain a des- f ■Option of these criminals. | HURGLARY made easy. j Quite recently a well known London ! •ity man was walking from the station o hi- house in the suburbs, when sudienly, although in the daylight, lie was i iiisDcd by a couple of men who, after ! elieving him of his money, watch and ■liain, tic pin. and rings, bolted for a axi-cpb which was waiting a short way iff, and were well away before the astonshed victim had time to give the alarm. ] I'he criminal, however, who makes a peeiality of country-house burglaries finds he taxi-cab even more useful. As a wellr.own detective explained to the writer ‘ ■eccntly, there are one or two prosperous ■rimmals gangs who can afford special mo- ‘ ;or-cars to carry themselves ami their 'hinder away from the place they have iTokcn into. tint the majority of the pang rely on the taxi, tiie driver, oi ( •nurse, being one of the gang. Their nethod is simple and invariably success- , ul.. The taxi drives up to within a short , listance of the house, where it is care- j hilly hidden in some secluded spot and ett in charge of the driver while the lumbers of the gang proceed on foot in , lie house it is ini ended to rob. ’ A DARING FOUR. Prior to the advent of motor ears they j ivould, of course, have been obliged to ; make their escape on tool, or go to the , learcsl railway station and there await a j rain—always a dangerous proceeding, as i liey would probably be noticed by the ( ailway officials and arrested immediately hey left the train at their destination. S T ow, however, they merely commit a burglary, Jump into a taxi, and are away aid hidden long before the police are able 0 get on their I rack. There are laxi-eab thieves, however, who liy at higher game. For instance, it was inly a uw days ago in New York that .lireo men robbed two bank messengers of 45.000, and escaped under t lie eyes of the unsuspecting police, by means of a taxi, in broad daylight. The messengers were carrving the money from the bank in a hired taxi, and during a slop in the traffic three men jumped on to the cab, and while two o) them entered from opposite ■ides a third clambered on to the seat next the driver, pressed a revolver against him, and told him lie would shoot if he did not do exactly as ho was commanded, i'he driver was cowed and did as lie was told. Meanwhile the two thieves inside 1 lie cab rendered the messengers unconscious with iifc-pioservcrs, and after securing the bags containing the money jumped off', but not before they had threatened to shoot the driver unless the taxi-cab immediately started. As the vehicle was moving off the robliers jumped into a large motor ear. apparently waiting for them, which sped off. The driver of the taxicab continued on his way until lie found a policeman, but although an immediate alarm was given no trace of the bandits could be found. A NEW I'ORM OF OUTRAGE. Another form of outrage has been lately attempted by taxi-cab thieves both in New York and Rafis. A short time ago a lady, after visiting a theatre in the French capital, hailed a taxi-cab and gave the driver a certain address. After she had been in tDo cab for a minute or two she noticed a peculiar smell and became exceedingly drowsy. She attempted to stop the cab, r.T the driver took no notice of her calls, and soon she became unconscious iliroe.gh inhaling a powerful drug with which the inside of the cab had been sprinkled. When she awoke again she found herself on a seat in a deserted part of Varis robbed of her money and jewels. Ultimately she was able to attract (lie attention of a gendarme, wim i nailed her to reach her homo. ALARMING NEW YORK FIGURES. A somewhat similar outrage was recently perpetrated by a taxi-cab driver and two accomplices in the heart of New York. A young married lady was discovered lying unconscious on the roadside in Central I’ark, with a serious wound in her head. This lady had spout the greater part of the night by the bedside of a sick friend, whom she left at four o'clock in the morning to take a taxi-cab home. Blie noticed iu a few minutes that the cab instead of taking the proper direction, entered Central Park. She called the attention of the driver to his error and -lowed up. A second later, however, two men entered the cab, seized the lady

IV flic throat, and robbed her of lie; jewels and money.Uw cries caused tin assailants to de-isl, and while the cal ..as going at a rapid rate they flung hei into the roadway, themselves escapin' hi the cab. It is satisfactory to note that flu police were successful ju running these as uidants to earth, and securing for then i well-merited term of imprisonment. Regarding taxi-cabs and crime, a start ing statement was recently made by fin New York Commissioner of Police. Ac orcliug to investigation, he says, then ire fully 200 ex-convicts acting as taxi •ah drivers iu New York City, a fact, ol ■aui'se, which accounts very largely fe; ae crimes that have been committed. II s eslunated that within three week, 'iglitecu assaults and robberies —involvin', ■ousidorably over £1(1(1,(100, and iu twi -•ascs the lives of two men—were commit - with the aid of taxi-cabs.