Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-21
POLICE OFFICIALS
WANT LARGER FORCE
Heads of Department Point Out Necessity for
More Men to Patrol Residence Districts
City Comparatively Free of Crime

LOS Angeles should and must have
at least 200 more patrolmen," is the
conclusion arrived at by the three
heads of the Los Angeles police de-
partment after discussing the question
late yesterday afternoon. The men
who control the Los Angeles police say
that the city was never as free from
crime as at present. but with the ex-
tremely small force they have to
cover the large territory the criminal
class may at any time start a reign of
crime.
with pride and admiration the pres
ent heads of the depart ment modestly
stated when interviewed yesterday by a
representative of The Herald that
there have been more "yeggs.' tramps,
criminals and high class professional
crooks in the city this winter than ever
beforehand little or no crime has been
committed.
Those i'm charge of the forces of
officers say when questioned that this
extraordinary state of affairs is not due
to their efforts directly but because
there is perfect harmony among the
officers as well as their superiors that
new methods introduced in the depart
ment by the present regime has enabled
the officers Of both departments to
familarize themselves with criminals
and to hard and conscientious work by
the men.
Shows Need of More Men
In a brief interview with Chief of
Police w. H. Aublc regarding the
necessities Of the department and the
results obtained by II small, well regu-
lated force he said:
I'VE need more men. There is no
question about that. This department
has more territory to cover than the
San Francisco department., but look at
the contrast in the number of officers.
San Francisco has about 900 patrol
men and nearly 100 men working as de-
tectives Los Angeles has 16S patrol
men and eighteen detectives.
I'VE need districts, that is to say the
city should be divided into districts
and the officers should work out of sub
stations located in each district. There
should be in addition TO the present
sub-stations station in Vernon, one
in Pico Heights, one in Boyle Heights
and one in the western part of the city.
Will Be Changes in Departments
"I'll tell why no more crime has been
committed There has been more
criminals in the city than ever before
but they have not been permitted to
stay. The city Jail is full of prisoners.
Two hundred day has been the aver
age lately.
1--WE have had large chain gangs.
Some weeks it has averaged ninety
men. This gang is doing most excel
lent work and L am proud to say it is
we'll managed under Capt. Phelps.
mo politics in the department; not
bit of it while am chief. 1 am not
politician and never will be. Merit is
the way men advance and the one thing
that will hold them in the department
under me as chief.
Yes, you may look for more changes
soon. There were a few when | was
made chief, and L think that the
changes themselves have demonstrated
that they were made for the best.
am not at liberty to say what changes
are coming, but there will be some
and soon."
Broadhead Is Modest
Capt. T. II. Broadhead seemed rather
inclined to allow someone else to "sing
the praise" Of his branch-the patrol |
department-but finally consented to |
make few statements. In brief he |
said:
Never in the history of this depart
ment has the city been as free from |
crime as 1t is at present. Taking into
consideration the few police officers,
the territory they are expected to cover
and the population, Los Angeles is ex-
tremely well cared for.
''All cities of the size of Los Angeles
must expect a certain amount of crime.
Yeggs, hOld-up men, bank robbers and |
the like are bound to be successful in
their attempts occasionally. but there !
is much in preventing crime of these |
classes; in ridding the town of the |
men who are likely to commit lawess
acts
But little real hOld-up work has |
been done in the city this year. Many |
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