New Britain herald., 1927-10-08
.DEFACED NUMBERS
 RESTORED BY HEAT
Police Devise New Method to Combat Auto Thieves

i In addition to all the agencies l known heretofore in the business
 of tracking down automobile thieves, i there has been developed the use of , a process that came to public atten- | ton during the recent trial of two
 men who were convicted in superior ! court and sentenced to states pris-
 on. Despite their protestations of in- , rocence. the proof presented in sup 1 port of the allegation that motor numbers on the cars which had | been stolen and recovered, had been | changed, went a considerable way toward convicting them.
 Every automobile turned out Of 1 the many factories engaged in the { industry is numbered in such a way
 as to make possible proper identifi- cation, but it is simple matter. ac- i cordins to the processing experts. ! for thieves 10 file away the num-
 bers and stamp new set in their stead. In a short time the substi- tuted numbers take on the appear ance of the original series, thereby confusing police or others who might be seeking to identify the par ticular machines for the purpose of tracing the thieves or merely re- covering the cars.
 The process which was used sue cessfully in the local cases, however, might well be feared by thieves. IL consists of the use of q chemical and an acctylene torch by which the metal on which the numbers are stamped. is he1ted 10 such a degree that 1t expands, revealing the outline of the original numbers with sufficient clarity 10 prove that they had existed. To witnesses who had not seen it put into use prior to the recent operation, it was a revelation. The old numbers literally popped into view as the metal expanded un- der the heat
 Experts in the use of this process have every confidence in their abil- ity 10 reveal defaced numbers and in all proba bility;- they say, there will be many cases in the criminal courts in which the process will be found to be of invaluable assis- tance to the authorities. It is not. however, an absolutely certain method because it depends on cer- tain conditions for it's successful use yet it has already been proven Of considerable value. It Is one of the many developments of recent years In the equpping Of the authorities with a means necessary for the ap- prehenson Of automobile thieves and it is used by insurance company investigators and police depart, ments.
 In New Britain. the police are not annoyed by the activities of automo- bile thieves to the extent that the crime is prevalent in many other cities and towns in Connecticut. Many cars which have been report d stolen on New Britain s.Seets have been found within 4 hours under circumstances tending to prove that they were borrowed rath- er than taken with intent 10 con- nit theft. Lake street, between Washington and High. where thea ter patrons and shoppers make g practice Of parking their cars at night. has been the scene of more thefts of automobiles in the past year than any other single streets in the city, according to police rec ords. the reason being that there is comparati lively little foot travel there at night and it is no task for thieves 10 drive away without entering the brightly lighted central district. Ii vas on Lake street that some of the automobiles in the recent cases were stolen.