The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1882-04-26
The French Police system.

The police of Paris isunder the direc-
ton of a Prefect, who is appointed by
the Minister of the Interior, and who is
required to reside at the Prefecture,
which stands on the Quai de 7 Horloge,
adjoining the Palace of Justice and the
Prison Of the Coneiergerie. He has
under his orders force of nearly seven
thousand policemen in uniform, twenty
one officers of the peace, eighty district
commissioners of police (Co1ansissaires)s
five hundred detectives and q number
of 'age,sts secrets. or private paid inform
ers, known only 20 himself and TO the
two or three principal members of his
staff. This staff consists of the direct
ors, sub-directors and clerks of twelve
sections, each of which stransacts .
special class of business; thus there is
the "a Bureau des Etrangers, - a. Bureau
de La Surete Generate, :. Bureau des
Garnis'' Qor the supervision of -hotals
and lodging -house), and SO on.
For administrative purposes, Paris Is
divided into twenty wards (ogrosdtsse-
nle,sts) and eighty quarters. Each ward
has force of about three hundred and
twenty-five policemen, commanded by
an officer of the peace; and each quarter
police station, managed by q Com
missaire. The officer of the peace Is
the captain of the police corps in his
ward; he wears q silver-laced uniform
and sword, ranks with Captain in the
army, and is always q well-educated
gentleman, of q status much superior to
an English superintendent. He is never
chosen from the ranks, of the police
sergeants, but is generally selected
from what one may call the upper or
gentleman-detectives of the Prefecture,
or else from among the secretaries and
clerks to the directors. His pay
amounts to about two hundred pounds
sterling q year, and he is lodged in the
Marie of his ward, where he is pro-
vided with comfortable suite of apart-
ments with coal and gas free His du-
ties are to superintend the men of his
brigade, to 90 rounds OF inspection In
order to see that they are on their
beats, and on important occasions,
when great crowds have to be kept in
order. or when riots have to be sup
pressed, he takes command of his brig
ade in the streets. Three times q day
he sends reports to the chief of the mu-
nicipal police at the Prefecture concern
| ing all that has occurred within his
ward. In addition to the bfigades In
the twenty wards, there is 81 Brigade
Centrale,' of two hundred and fifty men
and an officer, who, like the A Division
of the London police, form q reserve
available for special duty. s
As the area and population of Paris
are barely equal 70 half those of Lon
don, the seven thousand Partisan po-
licemen form stronger force than the
| ten thousand and odd who guard the
English capital; and we must add to
them the gendarmes and Republican
guards, who, though under the orders
of the Minister of War, may really be
described as mounted police. The
Partisan policeman, who used to be
called sergent de vilte but is now termed
| garoifess de la poi1, has nothing to do
beyond keeping order in the streets. II
is the Republican guards who escort
prisoners in the cellular vans from the
| jails to the law courts, and stand by
them IN the criminal docks; who attend
at theaters, casinos and all places Of
public amusement, and who line the
streets whenever there is any pageant
On the race-courses soldiers are gener-
ally pressed into service to keep the
course clear, and thus policemen are
never diverted from their regular beats
and duties. 1t Is considered so impor-
tant that . policeman should learn ia
know, all the people in the district
! WAcEc 40 - 5babiOLfcQ bndt y A1bn . gOnt
is scarcely ever changed. The average
term of service in the force is fifteen
years, and during that time man viii
have to walk. daily and nightly, the
same set of streets, till he knows the
face Of every man, woman and child In
the locality. BY day each policeman
walks singly; by night they always GO
in pairs. at least in the populous quar-
ters- Their pay begins at ffty-six
pounds . year, and rises gradually 70
eighty pounds.
Eyery ward Of Paris, as above said,
has four quarters. and each quarter has
its police station with Commissaire.,
The Commissaire de Police Is an official
having no equivalent In England. He
is the csistos niorstDs. the censor, the ex1
ecutive magistrate of the distaict where
he resides. He Is not Justice, for he
has no power to pass sentences; but he
has unlimited power as to ordering the
arrest of persons whom he may regard
as suspicious characters; and as arrest
IN France generally involves three days
detention at least, this puts the liberty
OF the subject at the Commissaire' Z
mercy GorphiR Mdgazi,se. a
Little boys and girls are considered
Unnecessary part Of I bridal processicn
now-a-dAyR.