Babies as Shop-lifters.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXII, Issue XII, 19 March 1904, Page 26

Babies as Shop-lifters.

A -hop lifter at live years of rg? pio-nii-o -• mething in the war of criminality in later life. A German woman has been caught making u-c of her little girl in this way. The <*hild was so small says the detective who discovered her, that she could hardly put her little taco over the edge of the counter. Yet I never in my lit? saw a more adept thief. We caught her stealing silk remnantTh -e remnants, a- almo-t everyone

knows, are rolled up in balls, and generally eontain eir ugii to make a ulouse or a skirt, ami are sold at redueed prices. 1 lie one's mother would indicate to her what she would want, and would gradually work it to the edge of the counter. I’he child would pull it over the edge quickly, and as she was small she could not be seen by the salesman when she took it from the floor and slipped it under her coat. When we arrested Her they had secured seven of these packages of remnants. When we took the pair to the reeep-iion-room to be searched we unearthed

nearly every depart n*. nt in the establishment handkerchief, gloves, pocket-books, jewellery—in fact, everything except articles (hat had to be carried away on a dray. This child was so well trained that she knew when the detectives were watching her. She was looking around all the time. watching for somebody who might be intently looking at her. and she would tip her mother if she found that they were under observation. This child was really smarter than her mother. The same detective tells of a case that from the mother’s handbag articles from

came under his notice in which a baby of two. carried in arms, was used a> a shoplifter. She would say to her, “Dolly, pick that up tor mamma,” and the little thing was so cute that she would look around to see if anybody was observing her before she picked it up. Gloves, handkerchiefs, and any’ small article would be picked up by the baby and handed to the mother, who placed it quickly* on her arm and sat the baby on it. A ten-year-old girl, who accompanied the woman, was carefully trained to do the watching, and whenever there was an appearance of observation she would tug her mother’s coat.