Sign of the times

In the dock at the Central Criminal Court one frequently sees the latest fashions in men's and women's wear (states a writer in the Daily Mail). It is a sign of the times. Twenty years ago the average criminal was illeducated, illmannered, and slovenly in appearance. Today many thieves, men and women, are intelligent, punctilious in behaviour, and dressed in the height of fashion. Recently a notorious West End sharper, confident that the jury would acquit him, ordered his motor car to be ready to take him home. It was a sad blow to his dignity and prestige when someone else ordered Black Maria for him. The modern criminal who infests the West End craves for the best of everything. He dines in the best restaurants, drinks the most expensive wines, and smokes the choicest cigars. His clothes are faultless in material and style. And the women ‘‘crooks’’ are just as fastidious. Parisian gowns cover them; rare jewels adorn them; sparkling eyes and a ready wit carry them anywhere. They all spend money as freely as a war profiteer. One woman — a clever jewel thief — appeared in the dock wearing a dress for which she had paid 70 guineas. Her £300 fur coat had been stolen; otherwise no doubt she would have worn that in court. Thieves have been making enormous profits. Furs, cloth, cigars, and jewels to the value of hundreds of thousands of pounds have been stolen during the present year, and they have been sold again at practically their full market value. Receivers — the people to whom thieves dispose of their booty — willingly pay high prices for all kinds of wearing apparel, because although vast quantities have been recovered by the police, the risk of detection is comparatively small, and there is always a generous return on the money expended.