Arizona republican., 1890-05-26
MORE POLICEMEN. The City Marshal Wants Additional Help. What Are the Needs of the
 City9 Mr. Blankenship Has Too Much Work for His Present FOrce--TO Ask the Council for Help.

Phoenix needs a larger police force.
 That is the opinioRof City Marshal Blankenship upon the question, and the city marshal is in position to know.
 Under the present arrangement, Mar shal Blankenship has but one assistant and that one is on duty at night. It is practical impossibility for one man to thoroughly police so large town as Phoenix, and the result is that, in order to do the work effectually, the city mar shal must be up during the greater part of the night and on duty also in the day time. Besides his work of policing the city, the marshal is also assessor and tax collector, license collector, pound- master, street commissioner and health officer. With all these duties to perform, it follows rationally, as Mir. Blankenship himself says, that he can not police the town as it should be done. He must attend to the street work, for instance, in the day time-and he must also very shortly commence making the assessment and then remain in his office all day to collect taxes. As there Is but one of him, he cannot stay in his office receiving money and be out experimenting street work at the same time.
 "I would be content" the city mar shal said in conversing with a reporter for TIE REPUBLICAN upon this topic yesterday, with one more man. Then l could have the work divided up be- tween the three so that no one man would have more than he could do, and would be left freer from the cares of public work. This man could be secured at a cost to the city of s75 per month. and the added security that would be given citi- zens would be worth more than that to the city. What the city really should have is man for each ward Then regular patrol could be established and the city would be well guarded at all times. Such force would easily keep suspicious characters under constant surveillance, thus preventing very great deal of mischief, and could also preserve order amongst those who are naturally inclined to be turbulent. However, l could pretty etiectually police the city with another man."
 The city council meets one week from tonight and the matter of increasing the police force will probably be brought to the attention oi that body.
 It is certainly an affair in which every good citizen is interested.
 To be sure there are very few cities of the size of PhGnix-certainly none in the west--that have so little of the awless element in proportion to the population. Crimes of serious nature do occur here. as witness the Chinese murder the other night, but their occurrence is ex- ceedingly rare, while as to the lesser offenses-such as burglary and grand larceny and arson-their commission is extremely infrequent. Street fights and brawls, too, very rarely take place.
 There are here, however, a num- Der of persons who are given to the commission of petty offenses, and these persons, Mar shal Blankenship says, he finds it neces- sary to keep under constant surveil- lance.
 With regular police patrol this watch would be taken from the Mar shal's shoulders, while at the same time it would be made much more effective by reason of the increased force on guard.