The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-29
THE CROORSFACEMARKS
HOW A DETEUTIVE KNOWS A
THIEF WHEN He SEES HIM.

Habits ofa Thief and how Their Sign
Show Themselves - Instinct of tn
Omcer Educated to Read an On
written Code and Mark Thief Ami,
q Crowd Before He Plies His Trade.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
"Policel Policel Where's the police
8 ne thief's stole my pocketbookp
A toll, bearded and excited countrymar
yelled out these words in the Grand Gen.
trail depot one morning some months ago.
The alarm created the usual excitement
which follows the announcement OF a rob-
berry in a crowd. Some Of the stream OF
arriving and departing travellers stopped In
their places to hastily ascertain whether or
not their own wallets were safe. Others
crowded around the countryman in eager
curiosity to hear what be had to say. Some
of the cbronically cautious hurried their
steps a trife from the scene Of trouble and
looked back somewhat fearfully at the big
policeman who was
ELBowING HIS WAY
vigorously toward the center of the
crowd.
Any one of the score of people who did
4
had Just ''come cff," for the countryman
had set up his outcry the moment his wallet
was jerked by some mysterious force FROM
his fingers. Now, IN all this confusion OF
hurrying people, how was suspicion 20 be
pointed toward any particular mani
One would say impossible" But one
would be wrong. A plainly dressed man,
with sharp, black eyes, who had been
standing in the door of the restaurant
when the cry of robbery went up, stepped
quietly out of the doorway and turned his
keen eyes in a series of quick glances to
right and left He did not once look ct the
countryman or the little crowd around him.
but in ten seconds he had scanned with
lightning rapidity the face of every person
who was
WALKING AWAY.
A sudden look, as though Of recognition>
and be walked quickly. unhesitatingly 20,
ward rather well-dressed man, who was
carrying a small valise up the stairway. He
overlook him at the top of the stairs and
tapped him on the shoulder.
You are my prisoner" he said.
The thief was found.
How did the detective know him2 That
il a complex question TO answer Natural
instinct OF an order unbiased In human
psychology is what makes the detective
A fox-hound has 1t, and it makes the dog
hunt foxes and find them and catch them
where other dogs would fail impotently or
through lack of effort. If this instinct was
lacking Ia the man he would be no detect
i've. He would not only lack ability
in thief-catching, but would have
no disposition to go into the
business. This instinct which ternpts him
into his distasteful and often perilous call
ing, is developed by experiences and obserya-
ton and constant study until 1t becomes
almost a supernumerary sense. He knows
a w ha i'm 10 10 70, ~,
time. 1t sounds impossible, doesn't iti But
1t has been proved hundreds of times. Phys
iognomy has something to do with it.: a
fund of knowledge Of the
TRICKS AND DEVICES
OF the escaping robber, a quick perception
of tiny details which lead suspicion. a sinner.
sensitiveness to the hints of circumstance.
all go to make up the professional instinct
OF the detective. But the most powerful
element of all, and that which all serve but
to reinforce. is the mysterious sort of ami
mai magnetism which tells deteotive-a
genuine detective-that thief's a thief
The man who was arrested iD the Grand
Central depot was afterward proved 60 be
professional pickpocket. He made bold
front when the detective asked him for a
moments conversation, and became highly
indignant before the cause of his detention
was told. This is the mistake which nearly
every petty thief makes. The country
mans wallet was found on him and
WITNESSES REMEMBERED
having seen the thief walk out Of the crowd
and pick up his valise Just before the cry of
robbery was raised. They would never
had.remembered the circumstance if the
detective had not stopped the thief as he
was escaping.
How do pick out thiefp' said one of
the cleverest detectives at police head
quarters in response to question, "Weu
there's q whole lot of things that helm
man to pick out thief, but it's hard to inst
say in words what they are. Any fly cop-
per will tell you that there is something
charoctersuc about the appearance Of
every thief. And it's only good sense to
believe it. If a man spends his whole time
studying thieves faces, haunts and habits,
he's bound to get the thing down pretty fine
If he has anything Of head on him. /
don't say that you can pick top-notoher-
a CON man or bunco sharp-out of a
crowd, because he's mighty smart man
ana his whole business is to deceive people
py his appearance and manner; but YOU
take plckpocket or sneak and YOU can
GET ON TO HIM
in a crowd near every tina, provided. OF
course. that you've got reason to believe
that there Is such a man in the crowd. and
you're looking for him. There's something
about the eyes particularly that every COM
mon thief / ever saw had Then thew
nearly all rave a dissipatei look. That's
because they're nearly all disslpated. A
thief will run chances of getting ten wears
to get money, and then will 90 and spend
1t like he had million-just throw il a way.
and mostly on women and booze. /
never knew a common thief that
didn't have some bad habit besida
stealing. Half Of 'em hit the pipe or take
drugs in some form; a great many are
'boozers' and most of them are the victims
of some worse depravity. Then imprison-
ment, even for terms not longer than
months. will develop habits in men and
have effects upon their systems which are
bound to leave their signs on their faces
DON'T you see, there are so many simia :
ties in the lives Of crooks that they're ali
bound to look something alike to a man
that studies them, especially when you con-
slider the fact that man VITO is mean
enough to steal has got q
PRETTY MEAN FACE.
to start with. Yes. I've often picked a man
out for crook when couldn't tell wby.
except that he looked like crook to me.
Often I've picked out crooks in a crowd and
watched them until they would turn a
trick, or try TO. and then 'pinched' them.
There's another thing about crooks. They
always try to dress stylish If they've got the
money, and they always make a failure Of
it. Remember, Pm not taIkin' about the