Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-07-28
THE " COPS"
NONE DIE AND FEW RESIGN.

| NONE DIE AND FEW RESIGN.
" A Policeman's Lot 10 Not A Happy Oue.,.
Tie frequency with which the public
are reminded of instances of police disci.
pllne is due not to any special lack of
morale in the local force so much A to the
determination Of Mayor MacGonigle and
the chief to enforce the regulations .swith-
out fear, favor or affection" This has
been the rule, and it is to be carried
out "regardless." A correspondent.
however, whose attention has been at
tracted by what he deems the tendency of
persons to become demOralized by service
on the police force, writes us strongly ar
guing that the system of tweEty-four
hours continuous service-or as they term
it, "onc day off and one day on''-is
largely responsible for this, that the off,
GERS cannot endure such an unwonted
stretch Of work without resort to relaxa-
tlOn or stimulants, which tends to infringe
the rules necessary to their proper disci-
pine and the writer urges an abandon
ment of the present system and a substi-
tuition Of twelve-hOur terms by which the
shifts of policemen would change off twice
day instead of only every twenty-fOur
| hours as ut present.
| Upon inquiry at headquarters we find
| that the eighteen policemen are all now
divided into two ''shifts'' of nine each,
from as many wards, who 90 on duty every
alternate morning at : o'clock. Between
and II a. H., the officer is expected to
make the rounds of his ward and report at
the latter hour. Then, taking in his din
mel, he makes another round and reports at
p. M, and including tho supper time
another by p. m. From Z to 0 every
evening certain number Of the officers
arc withdrawn from special ward service
for attendance to the corners Of Centre
Square. At 0 p. m. they all sally out !;
and during the night they are expected to
patrol their wards and report from time to
time at the station house, where tho chief
keeps his vigil. The patrOlnen of the 9Th,
9TH, Sth and 9th, the outside and largest,
wards, report at II p. m., u. m. and 4
a. m. The officers Of the I'd. 4th and 5th
wards report ut 10 p. m., 12 midnight, 2
4. m. and 1 i. III. The officers of tho list
and sd are KEEP: moving all the time to
get over their wards and report every hour
from 9p. III. to Il. m. At 4 o'clock all
the force go off duty and from q. m. until
a. M. none arc on duty, it being sup
posed that the carly stir of the citizens be-
tween those hours is ample protection
against wrong dOers. Iu fact, therefore,
the term OF service is 81 hours ON and %
hours of, out of every 48.
1t happens. too, that of the officers on
duty eaci, one alternately takes, during the
day, two hours at the station house in
charge there, and five hours at the mayors
office, the central police station, to be
ready for any emergency, and while this
occurs, or at times Of f''cOrner duty, "the pres
ence and guard of the officers thus assigned
are withdrawn from their respective
wards. In the opinion Of the chief, and
other experienced officers, this is a defect
in the system which could only be RENE
tenant to take charge Of the station house
during the day. and sargeant. to be sta
toned at the mayors office. With regard
to the length of the turn, the policemen
generally prefer the present system to the
twelve.lOur turns. In Philadelphia the
force is divided into three shifts, each of
which takes hours Oh and 12 of, giving
them hours duty out of every cOnsecu-
tive IS, an average of in 81. Our police
men say they can stand 81 hours cOntinu-
GUS service, and prefer to have u long
period following. for rest or to attend to
civil and detective business that IL hours
off duty would be too short for satisfac-
tiOn, and that the present arrangement is
better than shorter turns aud more fro
qucnt reliefs.
An experienced and intelligent member
of the force, who has been conspicuous
for faithful service, upon being interro-
gated as to the labor aud pay Of the police
men, says that the duties of the police,
like those Of many other public positions,
depend largely Oh the faithfulness which
Tho incumbent brings to the discharge of
them If he attends closely it will occupy
al his time and ho will earn his salary. If
he neglects his business he can shirk duty
md his detection or escape from detection
may be 4 matter of accident. The diligent
policeman keeps moving around his ward
snd doesn't cOnfinc his vigilance simply to
hours of strict duty. The big wards arc,
,f course, spread over too much ground
or man to get over the whole of them,
,ut on the other hand there is more
reQuent disorder, more demand for
oOlice and more valuable property,
subject to attack, in the inside
wards. On tho whole our informant
kinks police duty not specially hard
work, great relief to tho force being
heir exemption from turning out the
amps, which is really no part Of the Off
ers' work and should never again be i'm
'Osed upon them. The great aim of all
'Olice effort, however, and the purpose of
very officer should be to prevent rather
han to detect and punish crime, and the
'Oliceman who brings the lawless clement
# his ward into subiection and keeps
hem subdued is u much better public
that, no who Lnc h,,c:poCo nc