The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-12-24
Major Sylvester Explains
Outbreak Of Crime.
VAST TERRITORY 70 Be COVERED.
Impossible to Patrol Entire Dis
trIet with Limited Number Of
Men Emp3oyod-Some Rec
onam eudationS Made.

gard TO the recent outbreak Of crime IN
the District. He attributes the cause to
the inadequacy of the police force He
makes q. strong plea for additional men
and the general strengthening Of the
force.
Regarding the recent homicides and other
violations of the law in the District, he
calls attention to the fact that the mys-
tery. surrounding most of these cases has
been cleared away and the guilty ones
placed under arrest, with the exception
of one case-that involving the murderous
assault upon Mrs. Ada Gilbert Dennis. at
her home, 1117 K street northwest, on the
morning OF December 10.
Causes of Outbreak in Crime.
Major Sylvester further considers the
causes that made such q series of crime
possible, and suggests remedies for the
existing conditions. Comparisons are
made with TIE showings Of other police
departments in the country, which are
most complimentary to the efficiency OF
the washington ponce 1OECG- HAA1C4 -s1--JO-
syIvester's administration.
The following Is Major SylTester's state
nzcnt on the subject:
Stealing will always prevail here No
murderer has gone unapprehended during
the present administration Of police af-
fairs. while in but one other municipality
approaching the size of the District does
such 4 record stand. One negro killed
another in the country on the extreme
boundary line, a negro child shot another,
8 murderous and mysterious assault oc-
CURED, and a suicide. One Of these af-
fairs remains TO be cleared, and it is the
first mystery which has challenged the
detectives in later years.
Coming all at one time, after months
OF freedom from tragedies, the conditions
alarmed the community.
More Policemen Needed.
The Franklin Square female assault
case was a myth; many subjects, pressed
by creditors, report they have been
robbed, and revenge accounts fer numeT-
Gus assaults The. District should be more
numerousiy policed than any other juris-
dictiaa to keep down disasters. The force
is insufficient numerically now
The District OF Columbia, comprising
about twenty square miles, 1920 acres
of territory, includes the Metropolitan
Police Jurisdiction. The police surYell-
lance is not confined TO the city of Wash
ington and the city OF Georgetown. but
includes a vast outlying area which is
trayersed by various railroad lines, and
within which are located the villages OF
Anaeostia. TenIeytown, BrookIand,
Brightwood, Takoma, Cleveland Park,
Langdon, Garfield, and winthrop Heights,
besides extensive institutions which are
largely populated and which embrace val
uatIe properties Aside from these inter
ests the suburban section is built up with
hundreds OF private resf2ences, with ac-
companying improvements
a Large Police Area.
'The District police area is the fourth
largest in the United States, being ex-
ceeded by that of Greater New York, Chi
cago and Philadelphia. Baltimore has less
than half the area of the District oE CO.
lu-nbia; Boston about half; Cincinnati
less than half; Cleveland corresponds with
Cincinnati; Detroit is about one-third the
size; Louisville about one-fouTth; Mil
waukee one-third and Pittsburg slightly
in excess of one-third, so that. consider
ing area alone the city of Baltimore, to
be equally as well patrolled numerically
as the District would require a force Of
about 285 patroImen. On the other hand.
it numbers nearly one thousand.
Applying the same rule TO other munich
paIities. the District of Columbia, when
compared with Louisville, should have
force Of 975 policemen, with Cincinnati,
1913 with Detroit ], ,100 with Milwaukee
e42. and with Pittsburg force Of at least
1o0e
Territory the Proper Basis.
1T might be urged that questions OF
area should be eliminated in making COM
parisons and that population alone should
be considered. Is 1t not just as important
that the lives and property Of the resi-
dents in the less closely settled portions
of the police territory be guarded as in
the denseIy populated sections? II so, II
is incumbent on the authorities to patrol
the whole area It is immaterial whether
the suburban homes number fifty or one
hundred and the population one hundred
or two hundred, all must be looked after,
ard the more extensive the field in which
the same are located the more guardians
will be required TO give it attention with
in given periods of time, known in police
service as tricks of duty
In a jurisdiction penetrated by inFit-
ing drives, which are patroRized by the
most prominent people in our land and
from abroad. at times, with costly edu
eational edifices, grounds, and parks, it
is at once absurd to say that area is not
an important factor in calculating re-
quirements for its police supervision.
The UnpoIiced Outskirts.
Contiguous to Maryland and Virginia,
ev1Idoers realize the advantage of unpo-
Iiced outskirts
..As to population, the density is not so
much an item as social conditions and
character. Where population is concen-
trated it is less difficult to exercise po-
lice supervision than where it is scat
tered; and in municipalities where the
population is confined to ineztensive dis
tricts. so is the police ferce.