The Policeman and His Work
The work of the New York policeman may be briefly summed up as follows: He is an enforcer of the law, a protector of society, a judge and jury to settle scores of cases that must be decided offhand without a moment’s hesitation, a preventor and detector of crime and a suppressor of lawlessness and violence. In his daily duties he removes obstacles to good order, stands for the liberty, peace and security of the citizen and in general looks after the moral welfare of the people.
More than that, the policeman should know the character of every gin-mill in the Precinct, the disorderly houses, the gambling hells, if any, where the crooks hang out, and the suspicious characters, who will need continual watching, to whom he should be a constant terror. All of which means that it will be necessary for him to patrol his post faithfully, otherwise he will not know these things.
The law gives him vast discretionary powers, which on the one hand involves personal liberty and guarantees prompt measures of relief in cases of emergency; yet his work is two-fold—administrative and judicial—to enforce the law and if possible prevent crime.
One of the main reasons why grafting and other abuses continued so long in the New York Police Department is on account of the “pull” that certain ones had. The policeman with a “pull” has been known to neglect his duty in a most shameful manner and when called to account could snap his fingers in the face of his superior. As long as the District Leader is a power at headquarters, all the offending policeman has to do is to “make it right with him” and he in turn sees the man-higher-up of his own party. Sometimes an officer received a “make-believe reprimand” but no more. The hard and fast discipline of the department was only for the man who had no political friends.
The total police appropriations for 1909 is $14,452,028.85 besides $400,000 for pensions, which makes the sum total expended on the Police of Greater New York for the present year $14,852,028.85.
The sum total of the Police work in this city for the past year is as follows:
| Whole number of arrests in Greater New York | 244,822 |
| Convictions | 140,904 |
Of the 104,000 discharges, 84,381 were liberated on the preliminary examination, which clearly shows that they were innocent of the charge or charges preferred against them. These outrages occur all the time in New York but would not be tolerated in Russia or Central Africa. According to Commissioner Bingham’s report in my possession there were 25,209 arrests for felonies, but only 6,099 convictions. This shows that 19,110 crooks got clear. That is to say, the crimes were committed but the crooks slipped away. Any one who will carefully examine the report will see at a glance that by far the larger number of arrests were for minor offences. Push cart peddlers are arrested daily for the crime (?) of standing longer than ten minutes in one place. And a multitude of boys for playing ball on the street, but the unterrified criminal remains at large.
On account of some differences of opinion between Mayor McClellan and Commissioner Bingham over the Duffy case, the Mayor ousted Bingham on the last of June and put in his place Deputy Commissioner Baker of Brooklyn. Commissioner Bingham may have some peculiar ways about him but other than that the common opinion of the best people in every grade of life is that he was a fearless official, and more than that he raised the standard of the police department higher than ever it was before. He was also an absolutely honest man. In this opinion we believe we have some of the best men in the city on our side. And we believe his removal was another example of vicious politics.
CHAPTER XX
THE DETECTIVE BUREAU
The main spoke in the wheel at the Central Office is the Detective Bureau. Less than sixty years ago this branch of the service was organized as a separate and independent Bureau.
Sergeant Lefferts was one of the earliest commanders of the Detective Squad. This was in 1857, and he held it for one year. Headquarters was then on Broome Street. After Lefferts, Captain George W. Walling, afterwards Superintendent, commanded the City Hall Precinct. He took charge of the Detective Bureau and held it from 1858-60. Then Chief John Young took charge of the Bureau from 1860-67. He was assisted by Sergeant Lefferts. After him came Capt. Jas. J. Kelso, who held it for three years. He was followed by Capt. James Irving, who was in charge from 1870-75. After him came Captain Kealy who held it for four years.
In 1880 Inspector Byrnes took charge of the Detective Bureau and held it twelve years. This was longer than any other man. During this period he completely reorganized it, putting it on a more scientific basis. Byrnes was followed by Captain McClusky, Steven O’Brian and Titus, each of whom held it in turns. In 1901, when Commissioner Greene was made head of the Police Department by Mayor Low, Inspector Brooks and Captain Langan were jointly in charge of the Detective Bureau, but the former held it only a few months.
In an interview with a well known Inspector, who is one of the best of our city detective experts, I asked him what were his methods in detecting crime. He replied, “I have no methods but hard work. Each case must be a law to itself. We have no cast iron rules for discovering crime.” Then the Inspector went on to say, “When a crime has been committed we consider first of all the underlying motives. If it is a burglary or a ‘hold up,’ it is more than likely it was done for plunder. If a murder, it was doubtless done for revenge. If it is a case of much importance we put a couple of good men upon it. Follow up the clues, search the pawnshops, watch the haunts of criminals and work on till the property and crooks are discovered. Careful work always brings good results.”
“The detective methods in vogue fifteen years ago,” said the Inspector, “would be useless to-day.” “With the evolution of the criminal there must needs be a change in the detection of crime. Here is a letter from a fellow in State Prison,” said the Inspector; “this fellow is willing to ‘squeal’ on his ‘pals’ who are on the outside, provided he gets his liberty. Of course we cannot promise him any such luxury, it is the Governor’s prerogative to pardon, not ours.”
The twentieth century criminal makes a business of crime. A man of this character made bold to tell me that he had been a thief for nearly forty years and he meant to be a thief to the day of his death. He refused to work for a living. Pickpockets and thieves of the lower order make a business of following circuses, county fairs, picnics, races and conventions, and they always make a good haul at such places. A few days before the Dewey Parade in this city, September, 1900, which drew together from one to two hundred thousand strangers, Captain George W. McClusky, then Chief of the Detectives, captured nearly four hundred well known crooks in his dragnet and locked them up till the “show” was over. In this crowd there were tramps, pickpockets, sneak thieves, second story men, country thieves, professional criminals of every ilk, including the irresponsible thief. They were held in prison for a few days as suspicious characters. After the crowds left the city they were discharged. While locked up in the Tombs they were in an ugly mood and abused every one in sight.
If the direct perpetrators of a crime cannot be found in the ordinary way, then our modern Sherlock Holmes must fall back upon “clues” and follow them up to their legitimate end. But if there are no clues, then the brainy detective must work out a satisfactory solution of the mystery for himself and solve it. The method of Thomas F. Byrnes, who had been long and successfully connected with the New York City Police Department, was to bring the suspected criminal back to the scene of the crime for sake of the startling effect. If an atrocious homicide had been committed Chief Byrnes usually took the murderer back to the place where the deed was done, and then watched him. If a burglary, and the property found, it would be placed before the suspect and be watched.
Criminals are made of different classes or types. The beginner in crime is often a petty offender. He steals small sums although never arrested. The scale is a descending one, rather than ascending. Few men leap over a moral Niagara all at once; they are going down hill gradually for a long time before the law gets hold of them. After a few years the man who was once a greenhorn plans crime like a general who plans a campaign. It is then that the Department needs an expert Sherlock Holmes to capture them.
The history of a crime is often full of thrilling experiences and when unraveled by a keen-minded detective and all the details of the plot laid bare, the final revelations show it to be the work of a master mind. The great crimes of the past hundred years were not the work of ignoramuses but of men capable of commanding an army. They were brainy criminals.
In the Old World many of the best detectives when searching for criminals disguise themselves as cabmen, truckmen, and collectors of old clothing. They also work in factories, foundries, potteries, coal mines, or indeed, any place where they can secure a clue.
Detective McCleevy, of the Edinburgh Police, became a rag collector in order to catch a murderer. He went along one thoroughfare for several days crying, “Rags, rags, rags.” Then he entered a dark alley where the murderer was hiding, and who offered him a bundle of bloody clothing to carry away. After this he secured his man.
Some years ago the Pinkertons took a tip from the Old World detectives and put men in the coal mines of Pennsylvania where they lived with the miners and finally captured the whole band of Molly Maguires and put them out of business.
The Scotland Yard detectives of London not only work among various toilers in their efforts to discover crime, but keep in touch with 30,000 crooks, many of them being ticket-of-leave men. In this way they know where they can be found when wanted. The movements of those who continue in crime are watched night and day. When a crime is committed an old crook is arrested and unless he can prove a clear alibi he must stand for the job.
But the best and cleverest detectives are said to be the French, if we may judge from results; and the reason for this is, they keep a register, not only of all criminals in France, but also of their plans, aims and movements. A few years ago the National Chief of Police in France had the names of 20,000 depraved characters who spent their lives in crime. At that time there was less crime in France than in any other part of Europe. If the police will keep themselves informed of the movements of criminals they will know where to find them when wanted. This is the secret of the best police service.
The present head of the detective Department is Inspector James McCafferty. He has risen from the ranks and owes his present position to Commissioner Bingham, who had confidence in him by making him chief detective. Mr. McCafferty calls his Bureau the greatest detective system in the world. This is certainly not because of the number of insolvable crimes it has cleared up in the past few years. The fact is hundreds of murders, hold-ups, atrocious assaults, robberies, burglaries, larcenies and almost every crime on the calendar remain unsolved. In all seriousness, the people have a right to ask, what is the matter with the best paid police force in the world? Why don’t the police arrest the criminals and put them in jail? That is certainly a fair question.
Some time ago Coroner Julius Harburger passed some scathing remarks on the Police department. He said he was tired of sitting in his office and waiting for the police to arrest murderers now at large. Then he cited the case of Elsie Sigel, Samuel Bersin, Joseph Pogano, the unidentified woman of Thirteenth Street, and Joseph Juliano and Michael Millelo, who were killed by “Jack” Vigarato, a saloonkeeper of Harlem. He told also of a woman in whose home on West 110th Street a girl died after an operation. Reminded that he had recounted only six murders, the Coroner remarked:
“I can’t think of the other two. They come so fast it’s hard to keep track of them.”
“But have the police no clues in all those murders?” the Coroner was asked.
“Clues?” repeated Mr. Harburger, “No, not even a suspicion. They ‘haven’t got anywhere,’ as Inspector McCafferty says.
“While I am about it, I might just as well tell you that there have been 130 murders in the last two years in which the perpetrators have escaped. Put that down. I say there have been 130 of them. Doesn’t it seem fine for a city of this size to have a police department that can’t catch a murderer unless he handcuffs himself and gives himself up?”
Then the Coroner remarked: “In the last twelve months more murders have been committed in this city and more murderers have escaped than in any other place on the face of the globe. Let the police explain that, if they can.”