Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1903-07-31
AIDS FOR DETECTIVES
Marks Which the Ingenuity Of
Criminals Cannot Conceal.
Handsome Prices Are Paid by Male
factors for Effective Dlsg.;Ises
Told by a New York
Detective.

81 can easily spot pickpocket i. a
tives, who has been attached TO the
detective bureau at police headquar-
tiers for the last Is years. in converse
ton with n reporter the other day.
reports the New York Times. at is
not necessary that know my man by
sight first before can spot him. A
thief as rule, you know, has a habit
of CHANGING frequently over his shout
der in furtive manner to see that he
Is not being watched, and it is by that
habit that thief has often betrayed
his occupation TO me.
Frequently l have had TO track and
identify men whom / have never seen,
my only means of identification being
a photograph taken years ago. This is
usually very difficult to accomplish,
radically to change his appearance. Ii
Is possible for man to pose as sailor,
farmer, a Bowery tough. or a pastor
within, say, "a hours. Many criminals
make speciality of DISCUSSES, and
assure you they can alter their appear
ance to a remarkable degree.
"Disguises, however, no matter how
cleverly got up, do not always con
ceal a mans identity. There are, for
instance, the color and expression of
the eyes. These cannot possibly be al
tered, and they have been one OF my
most frequent aids in identifying flu
gitive criminals. Another identifica-
ton mark. although not an infallible
one, but one, nevertheless, by which
i have on several occasions detected
criminal when other means failed
me, are the cheekbones. Like the
color of the eyes, they cannot he
changed.
Descriptions as TO the weight and
circumference of wanted man fire.
quently prove faulty. and therefore
unreliable as aids to detection. This
is especially so where man has
evaded the detectives for any length
of time, for IT is possible that dur
ing his evasion the criminal may have
lost a great deal OF weight and corpu
lency, while, on the other hand. spare
man may have gained In avoirdupois
and bulk. In such cases, however. ]
have in one or two instances cstah.
ished the identity OF the man | was
after by his ears. AS n rule. the worst
criminals have oddly shaped ears. and
no matter how cleverly they may dis
guise themselves. they can seldom
succeed in concealing their tell.
tale ear-marIs from the detective who
has already made their acquaintance.
THE eyebrows also afford another
means OF personal identity, because
they are invariably distinctive and
characte ristic TO the trained detective
About three years ago captured one
of the cleverest crooks, man who
has served many terms I'm Sing Sing.
by the peculiar slant OF his eyebrows.
At the time 1 arrested him he was
wearing n wig and a flowing black
false beard. The disguise might cas-
lily have deceived the casual observer.
but TO me there was one thing lacking
TO make il complete. lie had forgot
ten 10 alter his eyebrows. and they
alone gave me the clew to his identity
"Clever criminals. after making
perhaps a rich haul somewhere will
pay literally for effective DISCUSSES. a
few facial artists in New York city
could tell you of the handsome prices
they are frequently paid for make.
ups."