TRUST BETRAYED.

Western Star, 18 October 1938, Page 2

TRUST BETRAYED.

PRISON FOR POLICEMEN

Pathetic scenes were witnessed at the Old Bailey, London, when three Metropolitan police constables were sentenced; —two to penal servitude, and one to imprisonment.. Their wives broke down, and in tearful' interviews afterwards bravely strove to cheer up thei r husbands.

The men and their sentences were: — Berkeley Henry Frederick Weatherbum, aged 36, four years' penal servitude. He - pleaded ■ guilty to three cases of shopbreaking, pavilion breaking and larceny, and asked for 15 other .cases to be taken into consideration. Roland Rufus Smith, aged 39, three years.' penal servitude. Be pleaded guilty to being concerned with Weatherburn in three cases, and asked for eight others to be taken into account. Bernard Emby, aged 29, 15 months* imprisonment. He pleaded guilty to, one case of receiving. • The offences apparently started in May, 1937, when a bunch of keys belonging to the , caretaker of' Sidcup School of Art was lost, stolen, or mislaid. , The keys were found by Weatherburn. ■''.'■•'■

They included rkeleton keys \ which opened shop premises which had l'«n entered... Some of the burglaries took' place, ,w.hen Weatherburn and Smith were on duty together. \ The offences became so'frequent that the police authorities grew alarmed, and a watch was kept on Smith arid Weatherburn. They were seen t 0 enter a house which had been notified as temporarily unoccupied and wer e arrested. Weatherburn, in a statement, dedared: "What profit I have made has been spent on my wife and fori r children. I am buying my house, and have been hard put to it at times.'3

Divisional Detective-In'spector Chapman stated that Weatherburn had four children. His wages were £5 4s a week. Smith, who had three children, earned the same amount. Emby earned just over £5 a week.

Judge Beazley told the men they had pleaded guilty to offenoes the gravity of which it" was impossible to overemphasise. They had betrayed the trust put in thera by a great force.