Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1900-02-23
POLICE or VARIOUS PLACES.
Their Numerical Strength and Cost
The Test Of Efficiency.


There are s.4eo New York policemen.
a larger number than the force of any
other city in the country. says the sun.
and a larger number by several hun
dred than the various divisions of the
Greater New York had collectively be-
fore consolidation. There are $500 po-
Iicemsn in the city of Paris. the pro-
portion Of police to inhabitants being
larger than II is in the city of London.
There are e0000 policemen in Great
Britain. or these. England has 1882.
Scotland. 4.744 Ireland. 1876; Wales.
1,2S3: the Isle OF Man. 81 Liverpool
has 1895: Glasgow, 1890; Dublin. l.zs5.
and Manchester. LOIS
The number of policemen in the city
of London in 16.443 according TO the
last official report, but the police dis
trict of London includes a large
amount of outlying rural and subur-
ban territory with population OF Lon
don proper which is 400. 900. The Lon
don police district covers an area IL
miles by Is. with 1000 miles of streets
or roads and the duty of patrolling
these accounts very largely for the ex-
tensive membership of the force when
COMPARED with that of most American
cities.
Chicago has $3.50 policemen and the
average number of arrests in a year
amounts to 5000. though during the
period of the Worlds Fair ii was con-
siderably higher. Boston has 100 poo
licemen; Baltimore, 800: st. Louis.
LOO: Philadelphia. $500; Cincinnati.
SEQ: Cleveland. $50: Detroit. $50; WASH
ington. 600: San Francisco. 80: Pitts
burg. 500 and New Orleans. go.
Among foreign cities Paris stands
first in the number of policemen COM
pared with the population; and Paler-
mo. Italy, stands lowest with tho
smallest and least expensive police
force Capital cities. as rule, require
more police protection than other Cit
les even OF a larger population. for as
the number of transients In city In
creases, the demand for police service
advances and the expenses OF main
tenance increase correspondingly. Tho
test OF efficiency in a police department
is not the number of men engaged. but
their capacity for making arrests or
the right persons at the right time, and
under conditions which will be most
favorable to their discharge IL innocent
or their conviction IL guilty. recent
report of the Chicago Chief OF Police
showed the number of arrests in that
city for the crime of homicide to have
been 125 within the period covered. or
those arrested, 3 were executed. 20 were
sentenced to terms OF Imprisonment,
9 were sent to the reformatory at Pom
tiac. II were acquitted and 46 cases
were still pending at the time of the
report.
In New York the number of arrests
In a year for felony amounts to about
1000 by the detective bureau. and the
number of convictions from such ar
rests is about 400. The number of ar
rests for homicide in a year-homicide
or 'murder-.is about 400, and the pro-
portion of convictions is much larger
than il is in the city of Chicago. which
expends for its Police Department in
year about one-third OF the sum paid
by New York.
The expense of the Philadelphia Po-
lice Department is So. 900 year, ana
the expense of the Boston Police De
partment is 81, $4,000 or one-half the
expense of the Philadelphia depart
ment The present population or Bos-
ton is estimated at $4,000. and that or
philadelphia, 400, 900. Relatively, there
fore. the Boston Police Department Is
the more expensive of the two, and this
apparent discrepancy is due to the fact
that the number of transient visitors to
Boston is considerably larger than the
number into Philadelphia. regarded us
ualiy as a home city," the duties OF
the Police Department of which are
chiefly in the line of maintaining or
der. The expense of the New York Po-
lice Department for 1900 is $l2.0OO.OOO.
approximately. of which $lo7o0.OOO Is
for police salaries. 100000 for supplies
and the balance for rentals and con-
tingencies.