Evening star., 1893-10-07
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IN recent years many changes have taken
place In the matter of doing police duty and
the man who seeks an appointment because
ne thlnks he Is going to get an easy job
Will find himself mistaken before he has
worn the shield and carried the baton many
Gays. Most of a policeman's life is spent
DONG street duty or "on reserve in the poIice
station His time Is never his own and his
FAMILY expects him only when he appears at
nome. During celebrations of various kinds,
parades and gatherings the police are In de-
mand, and then they are required to do ex-
ira duty, for which they receive no extra
pay. If an officer wants to go on a picnic
or excursion somewhere outside the limits
OF the District he cannot go without first
obtaining the permission of his superior
ofncers and even when at home in bed he
Is subject to call from the station. Such
calls are often made when there are big
fres or disturbances which threaten riot.
Then when on street duty his life Is in
Danger. he knows not when a call for as
sistance will bring him to face a loaded re-
Volver or gun or murderous knife. In all
sorts OF gatherings he has to take the most
dangerous position and even at fire he is
often compelled to take great risks in efforts
to save life and property A policeman's
hours OF duty are perhaps longer than
those OF any other public servant averaging
seventeen hours a day. This. of course,
includes street duty and reserve duty in the
stations.
beginning His Day on Daty.
The footing of the lieuterant's or SER
geants whistle at am. brings to the rail
In the office of the station line Of officers
ready for street duty. At this appearance,
as we'll as at others. the officer must un-
dergo a rigid inspection. His clothing must
be in condition to make him presentable at
the house Of any citizen as well as on the
street. and his arms must be in good work.
ing order. Going out on this trick of duty
the officer finds the number of pedestrians
on the increase as the day wears on. Usu-
ally there is not much excitement, al
though occasionally fight or robbery or
perhaps an after-breakfast family row in
some place may call him from the street
and break the monotony of the walk around
the beat all the forenoon. AS the hour of l
O'Clock draws near the policeman wends
his way toward the relieving post, which
Is not far from the station. In some pre-
cincts the men have to fall in line and
march long distance. from one relieving
post to another. keeping them out an ex
ira fifteen or twenty minutes. while in
others they are permitted to go in and
give up their work for the time being as
soon the other men leave the building
to take their beats.
On Reserve.
Having done five hours duty. the officer
has five hours ahead o; him for reserve
duty. but during this time he eats his din
ner, and for this purpose he is permitted to
return to his home, unless he lives too far
away. Should nothing happen in the pre-
cnct he can sleep during this time, or
spend the hours in any other way that
suits him. But ne ts obliged to remain at
the station, and be there in event Of a flre
or the commission of some crime which
calls for extra services.
The footing cf the whistle at o'clock re-
lieves him. and he may then so home TO his
family II he has one, or to see his sweet
heart II he is the oossesSor Of such a source
of happiness. At any rate he is a free man
l,,t .t, not
far away from the city for Gear of some
accident which might delay him SO that he
will miss the roll call.
A Night Vigil.
At midnight he is to be seen standing
in line at the station again ready for
another trick of duty. This time he goes
out for six hours. This trick he most dis
likes for it is not only considered the most
dangerous, but it is during the hours when
the streets are comparatively free of pc
destrians. There is nothing to do but
watch for lawbreakers and wait for the
time to come when the signal boxes have
to be used to notify the station that he is
still on duty. 1t is on this trick of duty
that the dangerous burglar usually makes
his appearance. In case of personal en-
counter assistance is an almost unknown
thing because of the few persons who are
on the street. If the particular officer hap
pens not to have a partner he must neces-
sarily go 1t alone. Then. too. when night
are approaching nature asserts itself and
it is often with difficulty that the tired
and weary officer is able to keep on the
move, as the rules of the department re-
quire.
Between o'clock and 4:3O a. m. is the
time in the experience of the officers that
the burglars do most of thei- work. That
they think, Is the case because 1t Is then
that the sleeper sleeps the soundest That
therefore. is the time that the officer is ex-
pected to be on the lookout more than at
other times.
His "Day OR.''
Finally the hour of a. M arrives. and
once more the weary guardian is given
time to rest.
The begins what is known as the
officers "day off, for he has twelve hours
all to himself. not having to report until
O clock in the evening. Then he does six
hours during the earlier part of the night
During this trick the stores are open if his
beat is in a business section, and persons
are going to and fro, that the time does
not drag heavily on his hands. If he gets
into an occasional fight or arrests boys fo-
standing on the street corner it means for
him visit to the Police Court in the morn
ing This trick is not considered tiresome
one in fair weather, that when midnight
arrives and he goes to the station for six
hours reserve duty, he is able to sleep
soundly and get up feeling refreshed.
Dog Watch.
At o'clock he goes out on what is called
the dog watch" The name of this trick
Of duty might imply that the dogs prowl
about at that time in the morning but that
is not the origin of the name. 1t was taken
because of a similar trick Of duty at sea-
Two hours are spent on the street on dog
watch" but seldom the officers called
upon to make arrests in those hours. as
there is very little doing at this time of the
day This begins the officers day on
again and he goes through the same round
again. except that on this day he spends the
morning hours ION reserve" and the after
noon on the street, remaining out until 6
pm Even then he does not go off duty,
hut is again on reserve until midnight
when he goes out on the street again. All
this duty has to be done regardless of
weather or other conditions. In binding
snow storms. rain or wind the officer has to
be out and going.
No Clunce for Rest.
He cannot do now,as was done years ago.
go off to some warm room and sleep until
the sergeant calls or until his partner taps
upon the door. There is night INSPECTOR
and any man who fails to do duty, or 'hoo-
dies" as the officers call it. is sure to
get caught sooner or later. Then again he
has to telephone to the station every hour
and has to answer the calls of the sergeant
as well as to be on the lookout for the
lieutenant Complaints of every description
are handed over to the officer on the beat
and upon these he has to report Soma
citizens complain against his little mista L o.