The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-24
RECOMMENDS BUILDING
OF FOUR SUbSTATIONS
Superintendent Kruger Presents
Plans to Board of Works for
His Pet Scheme.
WILL INCREASE FORCE,

a detailed plan for police substations was
submitted to the Board of Public Works at
its meeting yesterday morning in letter
from Superintendent of Police Kruger. The
report has been expected by the board
which did not take any definite action on it.
further than to approve IL and order 1t filed.
While there are no funds now on hand
available for the establishment of substa-
tions IL is probable that the board will go
into further investigation Of the matter,
probably visiting other cities with view to
examining substations in them, and will
then ask the Council for appropriation
for the purpose of establishing those rec
commended by Superintendent Kruger.
In his letter to the board Superintendent
Kruger called attention to the fact that,
while the city should have one patrolman
to every 1000 inhabitants, it now has only
one patrolman to every 400 inhabitants,
estimating the city's population at 2l5.Ooo.
He stated that. on the basis Of the city's
actual needs it should have sixty-four more
patrolmen and more patrol wagons.
To solve the question of supplying proper
police protection the superintendent recon-
mended the establishment Of four substa-
tions, one to be located at the corner of
California and Washington streets. the sec
ond at Fountain square, the third at or near
the Observation-Disclosures railroad station
and the fourth near the corner of Fifteenth
street and Senate avenue.
Each station should have patrol wagon
room. roll call room. an Operators table
and a room for bicyclemen. These Substa-
tons should, the superintendent recon-
mended, be used detention points for
prisoners and assembling places for all pa
trolmen within their jurisdiction. Here the
police officers would be required to report
for roll call and they would be under tho
control of the respective lieutenants in
charge of the stations. People arrested for
misdemeanors would be confined over night
in the substation and would be taken the
next morning to the central station for
trial in Police Court. All felony cases would
be taken directly to the central station.
An added advantage for the new order of
things would be that then the city would
never be without police protection for the
shortest time. Under present conditions, at
every roll call IL Is necessary for each off,
Ger TO desert his beat for from an hour and
a half to two hours. leaving his district
without any police protection whatever.
The equipment OF each station would con-
sist of two horses, one-horse wagon, four
wagon men, two lieutenants, two operators,
four bicyclemen and a janitor, making q to-
tai for the four stations of fifty-two men,
eight horses and five wagons Gncluding an
extra one for general purposes. The total
annual expense of working equipment and
men would be, according to Superintendent
Kruger's estimate, about $4,000. 1t would
not be necessary, stated the superintendent
for the city to build its stations immediate
~, but 1T would be possible in each instance
he thought, TO rent a building that could be
arranged so as to be suitable to the city's
uses. For instance, he recommended the
use OF 4 part OF the public market house
near Fountain square as the second sub
station.