St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-18
A POLICE FORCE.

The murder of JAMES r. HARRIS, a
prominent business man Of Minneapolis,
should be sufficiently shocking to cause
the business element of that city to
make serious consideration of why
the place is oyerrun with burglars,
footpads, confidence men, and all sorts
of crooked people. The fault must lie
at the door of the police department.
The policy of appointing as chief of
police man who has no police expe-
rience is unwiSe: yet it has been pur-
sued by almost every mayor the city has
had. 1t matters not how brainy and
shrewd a man may be, if he has had no
police experience he cannot fill proper
ly the position of chief. And a man
who has had years OF police experience
in city cannot go to new city and do
as we'll as though he had had his training
there. Almost nine-tenths of the crime
in a large city is committed by local
crooks; and when outside crooks raid
city, they are nearly always aided by
local ones. The chief of police should
know every local crook, his his
tory, haunts and methods. If he
is thus Informed, he is in posi-
ton to keep an eye on all the
local criminals and to know when
outside shady characters are in the
city. 1t is asserted by able detectives and
police officials that, when a professional
crook decides to visit another place.
he almost invariably has one or more
acquaintance of his color there, whom
he informs by letter of his coming.
Criminals pride themselves on having
an extensive acquaintanceship in differ
ent cities. The best chiefs of police
know personally nearly all the local
criminals, and very commonly induce
some of them to reveal things which
lead to the apprehension Of guilty par
ties. Very often such chiefs learn of
the intended visits or the presence of
outside dangerous characters through
local confidants, and are thus enabled
to take the parties into custody and drive
them out of Town before they have had
an opportunity to commit crime. While
JOHN CLARKswas chief of police of st.
Paul. it was a very difficult matter for
an outside crook to enter the place with
out falling into custody on his arrival,
and it was very seldom that one was not
caught before he had an opportunity to
do anything. The crooked fraternity of
almost every city in the country learned
that this was very dangerous place to
visit, and generally gave us wide
berth.
SELECTING chief outside city'S force
has demoraIiZing influence upon the
men who have served long in the Ca
paclty of policemen. When the police
men discover that there is no hope for
promotion, they are very likely to lose
heart to some extent. The policy of the
st. Paul fire department is to make pro-
motions in the force, instead Of choos-
ing outsiders, and the good effects of
the practice are very noticeable.
A police force may be composed of
excellent patrolmen, lieutenants and
captains, but unless the head is a COM
petent man it cannot do the most effect
i've work. Chief SMITH, of Minneapolis,
was no doubt an able business man, and
has enough natural ability to be good
chief of police; but he has not had the
experience, and without that he cannot
be fully competent to hold the place.