The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1906-11-01
DOGS TO AID POLICE.
cRiME-RIDDEN CHICAGO coNslp.
ERlNG THE iDEA..
Believes They Would Drive Out
Hold-Up Men-Cost Five Cents q
Day-SucccSsfully Employed in
Europe.

Inc use OIL uoSs 10 ria SnlcaSO OF n0Iu-,
up men and of the creatures who terrify
and slay helpless women is the sugges-
ton put forth by Capt. p. ID. O'Brien,
head of the city detective bureau. In it
many persons see possible solution of
the puzzling problem, how to get rid of
the desperadoes who are a menace to life
and property in the city. 1t has there
fore met with popular favor and the city
officials are being urged at least to ex-
pertinent with, if not adopt it. The adop-
tion of the plan would serve the double
purpose of affording protection and rid
ding the community of a growing nui-
sance. Besides, Capt. O'Brien believes
it would check graft on the force.
The experience of Client, Antwerp,
Paris and other cities proves that dogs
thus employed would cost the city only
five cents each per day. For the regu
lar night patrolman's work Capt. O'Brien
would have the best Belgian sheep dogs,
Biards and Groennedaels, while St. Ber-
nards would be used as life savers along
the lake and river and in the parks, and
the bloodhoupds would constitute the de-
tective force, to be used in trailing down
criminals after a crime is committed.
Capt. O'Brien's scheme is not theory,
nor does he claim any credit for original
ity in it. He simply has made study of
| the methods of the French, German and
Belgian police dogs, and he believes that,
sooner or later, Chicago will adopt the
system and train dogs to be the compan-
ions and assistants of the night patrolmen
and the night squadron of detectives.
From an experiment attempted by the
! burgomaster of the thief-ridden city of
Ghent the use of dogs was proved success
| full. Thereafter dogs were trained and
| added to the force until now every patrol.
man in the outlying districts of the city,
| or in the dangerous districts, is accczn-
panied by dog, and, the results so as
| founded the police students in Europe
| that the idea has been adopted in dozens
of cities. According to the reports of the
| municipalities of Belgium a trained dog.
accompanied by patrolman, accomplishes
| the work of two ordinary patrolmen-
and he and his master can do the work
and cover the ground thoroughly
| thoroughly than four men alone could
over it.
| Freed of Thieves.
SO successful was the experiment in
| Ghent that, within a few months after
| the addition of dogs to the force, the
| thieves and criminals, after trying des-
perately TO poison or otherwise kill the
police dogs, gave up the efforts. The
| city now is declared to be clearer of crime
than any city of its size in the world, and
| the arrest record shows that, with trained
| dogs, a patrolman can make captures
| which otherwise might cause need for a
| dozen men.
Chicago" said one student of Euro
! pcan police methods, who is enthusiastic
/ in his support of Capt. O'Brien's idea,
"could adopt the Belgian dog police idea
with better effect than any big city in
| the world. The wide spread of the city.
| its great open spaces, the huge territory
which makes it practically impossible for
the present force to cover it thoroughly,
the great railway yards, the docks and
such places should be made safe by the
use of dogs. in Antwerp, where saw
the dogs used, the idea came to me that
dogs would solve .Chicago's police prob
lem better and cheaper than anything
else. We have in Chicago more dogs than
any city in the world, not excepting Con-
stantinople, where they are used as scav-
engers, and most of them are useless and
| dangerous"
Would Keep Ont Crooks.
''The fact that dogs were on the force"
says Capt. O'Brien, would have a big
effect on crooks and criminals of all
kinds. The dogs would be in charge of
ratrolMen and would be taught to catch
criminals or disturbers by the back of
4 hn nd ho1
taught that their only friends are the po-
lice, and that they must always look
upon all others as their enemies. Further
more, they are trained never to touch or
eat any bone meat, or other substance
they find while on their rounds. The
dogs are trained to follow criminals over
streams, fences and all sorts of broken
ground one of the police acting as the
criminal and fleeing before the dog. The
young dogs are trained and broken by the
use of the old ones, and in two months
dog of good breeding and intelligence is
capable officer. The dogs are kept in
kennels, specially prepared, at the rear
of the bureaus of police. Always when
on duty they wear tight tin muzzle, so
fixed that the moment the paihrolman in
charge of them looses the leash the muz-
zle drops off and the dog is ready for ac-
ton.
1T is wonderful to see how intelligent
the dogs become in police duties. They
can tell, seemingly by instinct, a thief
or robber Their intuition is keener often
than that of their masters. There is an
other thins-the dogs keep the patrol
men from lettering on duty, and keep
them moving"
The city authorities, in view of the
inability of the police to deal with Grim
inal conditions here, are considering the
suggestion and it may be adopted.
sleep Disease Puzzle solved.
prnf T. n Navy oc tha univarsitv of