The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-10-20
POLICE IMPROVEMENTS.
An Electric System Adopted
superintendent Smiths Inter-
esting Statistics.

The Police Board met yesterday after
noon and adopted the Gamewel police
electric patrol and signal system. The
contract was awarded to the Gamewell
Company at s12, ,450, that being the lowest
of several bids made. The system will
| render the police department vastly more
efficient than it is. although the city at
present can boast of as fine a police force
| as any in the United States that has not
! yet called electricity into service. Almost
every citizen under the new system can
| do police duty. This system has already
been described at length in the columns
of THE JERSEY CITY NEWS The central
station will be located in the First, Second
and Fourth station houses. Wall boxes
will be SEQ sttered throughout the three
| precincts and one will be placed at each
of the three railroad stations on the out
lying posts. Through these the patrol
man on duty must report hourly. For
each of these boxes five reputable citizens
living near by will be entrus ted with
keys. By turning the key and pulling
down an arm the central station can be
communicated with and the patrol wagon
! and an officer Immediately summoned.
The signal Is given at the stable at the
same time.
At each of the ferries will be placed a
booth with electric appliances that will
give a flash signal to the officer on post,
warning him tnat the officer in charge at
headquarters desires to communicate
with him.
The First and Fourth precinct head
quarters will cover as far as possible the
Third. Fifth. Sixth and Seventh precincts
until more money is appropriated to thor
oughly cover the city.
POLICE STATISTICS.
The report OF Superintendent smith for
ft1erx yfa ,fa,r ,I.cv, nj
yesterdays meeting, shows the total
number Of arrests made were 2,056 OF
this number of prisoners SO were bailed
1,043 discharged. 237 fined. 127 delivered
to other authorities. Eleven hundred
were born in the United States, and 9l7
were foreign born; 354 had trades. and
1702 had not trades; 1891 were white, 65
were colored; 1,004 were males. 252 were
females; 8 of them were under ten years
of age, 4S0 between the ages of ten and
twenty, 900 between the ages OF twenty
and thirty, 403 between the ages of thirty
and forty. 274 between the ages of forty
and fifty, 100 between the ages of fifty
and sixty, 95 between the ages
Of sixty and seventy, and between
the ages of seventy and eighty.
The value of property reported stolen
was 81 0S1. of which 81 or worth was recov-
cred. The total amount of fines collected
81, 153. There were 92 ambulance calls,
and n windows found open. One hun
dred and forty accidents were reported,
43 persons found sick on the streets, III
found sick and injured on the streets and
sent to the City Hospital, and Sc thus
found and sent home. There were six
suicides. 10 sudden deaths, SO persons re-
ported missing rs dead bodies found, of
which 81 Were sent to the morgue. Two
hundred and eighty dead animals were
found in the streets, and 1S0 complaints
sent to the Street Department.
The reports also shows that Detective
Clark made the largest number of arrests
in the detective department, having cap
tured 60 culprits. Patrolman Archibald
of the Second at 3S. Patrolman H. C. Kee-
nan of the Third at SO; Patrolman Her.
man Harmes of the Fourth at 9. PATROL
man Fred Thau of the Fifth at ~. Patrol
man R. Lee of the Sixth at IL. and Patrol
man Daniel Kilburn of the Seventh at "a.
Police Surgeon Nevin reported that
Sergeant Shrope of the Sixth precinct
was entitled through ill-health to be re-
tired on half pay. The matter was re-
ferred to the Committee of the Whole.