PROSTITUTION, THE POLICE, AND THE LAW
In respect to vice and vice resorts, the police rules require that each police captain must report to the Commissioner all places in his precinct where disorderly, degraded or lawless people congregate, and also give notice in writing to the owner, lessee or occupant, that such room or building is so used, and that such use constitutes a misdemeanor. If the owner, lessee, or occupant does not abate the nuisance, the captain is empowered to obtain a warrant for his arrest and to prosecute him as required by law. In addition, each captain is required to make charges of neglect of duty against any patrolman who fails to discover a serious breach of peace on his post, or fails to arrest any person guilty of such offense. If a house is under suspicion of being disorderly or is so in fact, the officer on the beat is required to restrain acts of disorder, prevent soliciting from windows, doors, or on the streets, and to arrest all persons so doing. He must also carefully observe all other places of suspicious nature, obtain evidence as to the character and ownership of such houses and report the same to his commanding officer.[229]
Between January 1 and August 1, 1912, police captains in Manhattan reported to the department 112 separate places as suspicious or disorderly; against these, they made 542 complaints. Seven complaints were made against one place in the 5th precinct, 46 against 9 places in the 16th precinct, 180 against 35 places in the 23rd. The police activities are tabulated in the following table:[230]
POLICE REPORTS
| Precinct | No. Reports | No. of Places Involved | ||
| 5 | 7 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 8 | 4 | ||
| 12 | 5 | 3 | ||
| 15 | 46 | 9 | ||
| 16 | 9 | 3 | ||
| 18 | 81 | 15 | ||
| 21 | 20 | 6 | ||
| 22 | 34 | 10 | ||
| 23 | 180 | 35 | ||
| 26 | 105 | 15 | ||
| 28 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 36 | 3 | 3 | ||
| 39 | 21 | 3 | ||
| 43 | 18 | 4 | ||
| Totals | 542 | 112 |
The following table distributes the places reported according to the character of the resort and the precinct:
POLICE REPORTS