Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) one who distracts the police and passers-by in the aftermath of a smash-and-grab raid; thus haze v., to distract.

1925

N. Lucas Autobiog. of a Thief 84: My role as a novice was to be a ‘hazer,’ to rush up and render all possible assistance in misleading and misdirecting the police. [Ibid.] 85: I reckon you hazed ’em good and proper.