Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1889-09-26
POINTS FOR DETECTIVES
Inspector Byrnes Claims That q Thief
Cares His Marks on Him.

inspector Byrnes Claims That q THIEF
Cares His Marks on Him.
''Come round 10 the house and take
dinner with me-" said Chief Inspector
Byrnes to me one day not very long
ago. There's always an extra plate
on the table and you'll be more than
welcome"
The inspector lives in an unpreten-
tious, but handsome brown stone resi-
dence on West Ninth street He has q
charming family, consisting Of wife
and several daughters, and no happier
household exists in the city. After an
admirably-served dinner, over which
Mrs Byrnes, a refined. pleasant-faced
lady, presided with charming courtesy,
the inspector lighted his cigar. and in
the conversation which followed told
me many interesting facts concerning
his calling. mainly in answer to my
questions, and among other things the
following:
"How is It." said !. shat reputable
women, sometimes women of wealth
and position. are sometimes arrested
by private detectives for stealing
goods OF trifiing value from dry-goods
houses and other storesP Is it not a
fact that an honest man or woman can
always, or nearly always, be distin-
guished from the well-dressed, accom-
plished thief"
The inspector pulled vigorously on
his cigar a moment, and after he had
blown the blue rings away, said with
considerable elaboration:
Yes, believe the last to be true.
1t undoubtedly is true. Many of the
arrests to which you refer are entirely
unwarranted. A detective who can
not distinguish the difference between
a lady who, by sheer inadvertence,
absence of mind, or carelessness, has
appropriated an article (and
have known of such cases) and a
woman who makes it her business
to steal-well, such detective does
not possess the proper qualifications
for his work. But rarely is there an
excuse for it at all. There Is always
something that distinguishes the thief
|
hard sometimes to say just what that
| something is, but it is always there,
and the detective, and even the Ordi-
nary police officer. should be able to
detect it. l suppose the quality to
which l refer is, in its essence, the
self-consciousness of innocence, which
the Almighty has intended for the pro-
lection of the guiltless.
I'm the first place." continued Mr..
Byrnes, 1.-The conscious thief Is invari-
ably furtive in his or her glance and
more or less nervous in movement.
Accomplished thieves, especially wom-
en-. are able TO assume veneering, so
to speak, of innocence, but it Is
moral impossibility for them to sue
cessfully counterfeit It for any length
of time if put to any proper test
FTake thief in a crowd" the de-
tective continued. warming to his SUBJ
ject: che invariably gives himself
away to the experienced eye. An
honest man plunges along the street
and doesn't care much whether he
runs into somebody else or not, so
long as he does not get hurt himself
or hurt the other man-prOvi ded he is
polite and cOnsiderate, Of course. He
swings along, his eyes straight ahead,
bent on getting to his destination as
soon as possible, If he is in a hurry.
If he is not, and wants to take things
easy, he doesn't care how long he
stops on q corner or how sharply the
officer across the way may be cycling
him. He is conscious of no wrong
doing or wrong intent, and he shows it.
ION the other hand, the crook is
in constant fear of apprehension, and
to save his life he can't help showing
it. Even when he is not out for bust
ness he manifests by his furtive air,
his glancing, suspicious eye, his gem
eral mapner of being watched and
under surveillance that his conscience
is not clear and that he fears that he
may be bounced upon at any moment
by the officers of the law. Of course
it takes some experience to detect the
visible signs of crook, but they are
nearly always there to be read by the
observant eye, and every cempeten'
police officer should have such an eye.
"a thief never crowds his wa.
boldly into crowd. He never pushes
and struggles to get q good position
from which to view q street parade
for instance. OF course, two or tire
thieves may crowd and jostle in stree
car. but they always get of the ca
mighty quick"
mo, tell you," concluded the ii
spector, "a genuine thief can not hid
his colors. If you only know where I
look for them. IN. 7. Star.