The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-28

The ranks are these: Constable, ser
geant, inspector analogous TO the New
York police captain): superintendent (aIf~
alogOus to the New York inspectOrl; CHIEF
superintendent analogous to New YORK
SUPPLEMENTARY. Beyond these there are
a commissioner and three assistant COM
missiOners. These. in turn, are subor-
dinate to the home secretary-now Mr..
Asquith-WhO is also known as the sec
rotary Of state. Thus the police OF Lon
don are practically a government lnSti-
tuition, as the home secretary is a queen
The safeguard against favoritism in the
acceptance of men for the force are many.
The candidate is first examined by dis
trict or precinct surgeon and then Dy the
chief surgeon appointed by the nome
secretary. Then he may be put on proba-
ton for fourteen days or longer, during
which time he receives a small wage and
is drilled on the drill ground al Scotland
Yard. residing meanwhile in the candi-
dates barracks. After appointment he is
drafted into some district or precinct IN
which vacancy exists. and must live.
and If he Is married, his family must
live, in that district.
Promotions are made every week, and
their reasons and results are published
in a weekly Police Order. constable
whose work seems to have merited pro-
motion is recommended to a committee
of inspectors for advancement by the
sergeant This committee considers the
case and may prtmote Inc constable
to a sergeantship. In similar way ser
geants are selected by the inspectors
and recommended to the superintendents
spectOrs are recommended by the super
intendents to the commissioner Tor ad-
vancement to Notwithstanding NO
man can hold an important position I'M
less he rises from the ranks 10 It, and none
but men who have risen from the ranks
can pass upon his merits. There is, be-
sides, a promotion board, consisting Of
six superintendent and an assistant com
missioner who must approve every pro-
motion decided upon by any OF the com
mittees before IL can go into effect The
home secretary has summary power OF
removal, but he has no power or appoint
ment man recommended by the queen
/ herself would have to go through this
routine and begin at "A shillings a Week
| before he could attain an important po-
It would not be fair to intimate that
| the constables in London are up to the
| American standard of intelligence and
efficiency in what we consider police
| duty. Much less is expected of them, and
| they have a much less troublesome class
| Of people to deal with. The London pub
| lie, even in the worst quarters of the city,
| has greater fear of the police than the
New York public has. The police is
| government institution, and the same
/ funkeyism which makes an Englishman
| take off his hat before a duke when he
| would keep 1t on before a commoner has
| its good effect in helping the police TO
| maintain discipline in the streets. Con-
/ stables must stop disturbances, prevent
/ thievery by watching property, see to the
| enforcement of street ordinances and ar
rest dtsorderly persons They are scarce
| ly expected to pursue and capture evil
| doors after a crime has been committed,
| however-that IS the work of the detec-
tive department This is not admitted
| here, but it is proven by the fact that
/ constable who distinguishes himself by
! actually arresting a burglar, highway
/ robber, murderer, an important pick
/ pocket or any other serious sinner, is al
| most invariably and very promptly pro
noted. 1t is partly in that way that the
| detective force is recruited, Many men
| are chosen for it, also, out of the 200 or 300
! constables who, during the season :
the months when the royalty and the
| aristocracy are in toWn-are detailed TO
| duty in plain clothes"
Grimes of violence are disappearing
from London. Highway robberiesm,,or
| 'garrOte rObberies," as they are called
| here-amount to only about fifty year,
| for both the city and county, as against
| population in New York Burglaries are
| so scarce as to be almost unknown, and
| even pocket picking is no longer protita-
/ BILE or popular. COunterfeiting is carried
/ on only on a small scale, and the nature
| of the English bank note makes anything
| like our green goods game" impossible.
| But there is a class Of elaborate swind-
| ling constantly going on here which New
| York knows nothing Of, and the White
| chapel district is the resort of hundreds
| of desperate characters who operate most
of the time out of town, and in town
when they can. They bring their stolen
| goods to Whitechapel to be disposed of,
| and carouse away their gains with some
| of the $4,000 depraved women who in
| habit that district alone.
| l passed a whole night with some OF
| the worst of these thieves and cut-throats
| early this week, but shall have to with
| hold It's details for another letter.
| Probably the most dangerous and des-
| perate of London's criminals are to be
\ found about the water front. The only
| really critical episode of all my nights
| wandering came early this morning, when,
| with a retired inspector of police, l in
| vestigated the secret haunts of these pic
| turesque and Villainous characters. That
| nights experience is also worthy of more
| extended description than I can give it
here. In this letter l have merely at
! tempted to show you what Scotland
| Yard is and what the London police and
| detectives are. In subsequent articles /
/ shall endeavor to tel! what this de-
! partment has to do and how its men
| execute their sometimes dangerous
| tasks. Edward Marshall.