T828.] General Increase of Crime. 363 



son robbed, becomes hopeless : these means of escape ought to be cut 

 off, and might be so with very little difficulty: twenty men cannot 

 watch a wolf in his nightly prowlings : but one is sufficient to catch 

 him as he returns to his den with the prey. 



A force of one hundred additional watchmen, stationed with judg- 

 ment, and compelled to be active, would be sufficient to prevent two- 

 thirds of the street robberies which are now every winter committed in 

 town : a hundred more would effect considerable benefit in the outskirts : 

 but, in these especially in the suburbs on the Surrey side the river - 

 Lambeth, Kennington, Clapham, &c. &c. all residents will bear us 

 out in our opinion, that, for any material change, nothing less than a 

 decided increase in the severity of our police system can be looked to. If 

 any Secretary of State for the Home Department will take the trouble to 

 walk, a-foot, about twelve at night, from Blackfriar's-bridge to Vaux- 

 hall, or Camberwell turnpike, he will be able, we are sure, to satisfy 

 his colleagues of State (if he return alive) that our view of the state 

 of things in these parishes is not exaggerated : and the evil is too 

 widely spread to be cured by any preventive arrangement ; a scheme of 

 " watching," to be effective, must watch half the community. 



In addition to these considerations, it does appear to us absolutely impe- 

 rative that some measures should be adopted, to check that most powerful 

 adjunct to the trade of theft an adjunct without which that trade must 

 speedily stop the business of receiving, and dealing in stolen goods. That 

 the persons and dwellings of regular receivers of stolen goods out of num- 

 ber should be entirely known to the police, and that no course should be 

 taken to destroy, or even to harass them, does seem to be a state of 

 things, the necessity of which must be proved to us before we can 

 admit it.* The number of persons, too, unfortunately, in town, is known 

 to be considerable, who, without carrying on a distinct trade as receivers 

 of stolen goods, are, nevertheless, far from particular as to the fact where 

 property comes from purchased in the course of their business, or out 

 of it provided they can deal advantageously by entering into the bar- 

 gain. If a public prosecutor is appointed, as it is proposed, no mercy 

 ought to be shewn to persons of this latter description ; and every case 

 which bears the semblance of such fraudulent dealing most rigidly 

 investigated ; and it is not clear to us, that, upon a second conviction 

 for receiving or dealing in stolen goods, the party (if those convictions 



* The greatest part of the difficulty in the way of dealing effectually with these 

 " receivers," arises out of the inconvenience of well regulating the emoluments of our 

 police officers. We can hardly give these people a very active interest in the apprehension 

 of offenders, without weakening the value, at the same time, of their testimony in all cases, 

 by the fact that their livelihood is generally concerned in the conviction of the man that 

 they swear against. As the arrangement stands, it is not difficult for a man who makes 

 large gains by the dealing in stolen property, to purchase the forbearance of an officer, who 

 would gain little or nothing probably by molesting him. And the circumstances under 

 which such dealers are commonly detected where they are detected are almost' always 

 such as would lead to a suspicion that some practice like this is going on. When a 

 " receiver" is apprehended, and his house searched, there is invariably a large quantity of 

 stolen property property stolen a long time back discovered ; and the immediate ques- 

 tion is since this man is so perfectly well known to the police, how does it happen that he 

 was not apprehended before ? There is not quite so much activity about our magistrates in 

 .these matters as might be desired. A police magistrate should be answerable, in some 

 degree, for the condition of his district : he does not sit in his office or ought not to sit 

 there merely for the purpose of committing such parties to prison as the vigilance of 

 inferior agents may find it convenient to bring before him. 



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