New-York tribune., 1902-09-07
POLICE DISCIPLINE.

The latest batch of transfers in the Police De-
partment "for the good of the service will
doubtless serve useful purpose. Transfers Of
captains commonly do this TO q certain extent
They break up the system furnish new
brooms which for little time will sweep pre-
cincts clean, remedy specific abuses such as
police partisanship in primary contests. and in
a very slight degree keep the rank and file Of
the force expectant and keyed up to their work.
Yet transfers. frequent and wholesale, neces-
sary as they may he at times, are after all only
q nzakeshift for discipline. They do not touch
the real evils Of lax police methods. That can
only be done by q military sternness in en-
forcing the rules of the department As long
as policemen think they can do more or less as
they please and get off with reprimands or petty
fines for various offences, the Commissioner will
never establish that mastery of a demoralized
force so essential to its reformation and the
honest performance of its duty.
Nobody who has observed the police can have
failed TO note the continuance to most IN
fortunate degree Of that laxness of discipline
among the rank and file which prevailed under
the Tammany rule. The people of New-York
expected that. whatever else happened, a mill
tary promptness and faithfulness in the per-
Torrance of routine duty would be enforced by
Commissioner Partridge. They realized fully
the difficulty of trapping corrupt captains. they
understood the embarrassment caused BIZ the
conflict of popular habits and rigid laws. They
did not look TO see every Illegal sale OF liquor
stopped But they did look to see the patrol
men toned up and made TO toe the mark They
did ask that the lounging loafers in uniform
should patrol their beats, instead Of spending
the evenings with their lady friends in dark
doorways and areas. holding social gather
ings on the sidewalks. In this they have been
disappointed. and. unfortunately for the repu-
tation of the Police Department il is just along
these lines that the average citizen comes In
contact with the police and forms his opinion
OF their discipline. He does not know whether
or not the captains are doing their duty. he does
not see the working OF graft" but he does note
the outward conduct of the policemen whom
he passes in the street: and when he finds them
openly conteuptuous Of department rules he is
likely TO jump 70 the conclusion that they are
pretty badly managed and believe all he hears
about their misconduct In other matters.
Such discipline viii never be enforced by
trif1ing fines and don't do IL agains' There is
q great deal Of talk about the difficulty of prov
ing charges against notoriously unworthy men.
It is OF course true that the courts will renstate
a man dismissed for bribery II the bribery is not
proved as In a court Of law. But there is moth
fng to prevent the imposition of the most severe
penalties for derelictions which are clearly
proved. We are by no means certain that every
charge Of wiIful dsobedence TO department
rules should not be a breaking charge. Filming
q man days pay for deserting his post In
search OF sleep society is childs play. He
ought TO be dismissed from the force. and no
c"urt would ever reinstate him II the fact on