The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-09-28
DOGS TO AID POLICE
SECRET TESTS BEING MADE BY
NEW YORK OFFICIALS.
European System May Be Adopted
Animals viii Be Used in Trail
ing Criminals Through Crowd.
ed Streets.

New k.-Bloodhounds are to be
introduced in New York City to run
down criminals.
Experiments have been made by of.
ficers connected with the department
here In various upstate villages and
cities. They have been so successful
that, under orders from Commissioner
Bingham, a large number of trained
dogs will be brought to this city and
installed in the station houses, to be
rushed out to scenes of crime and put
on the scent.
The suggestion that these man hunt
ers would greatly strengthen the po-
lice department came from Fourth
Deputy Commissioner of Police Arthur
Woods, who for the last year has been
studying the police conditions in the
continental cities of Europe.
Mr.. Woods told his chief that the
dogs had proved most effective in trac.
ing criminals, especially in the outly.
ing districts of Paris, but that a dog
with an especially good nose could
follow the tracks of man through
out the crowded streets of a city, If
conditions of weather permitted, when
the footsteps were hours old.
The recent crimes against women
and children, when so many assaults
and murders we're committed decided
Commissioner Bingham to experiment
with the hounds. 1t has been found
that a well-trained dog could follow
man in the open or country dis.
tricts many hours after the man had
passed, but an experiment was made
in a thickly populated city, in which
a hunted man crossed and recrossed
his own tracks through streets hun.
dreds of persons were walking con.
stantly.
Four hours later the dog was un-
leashed. The dog was young, but we'll
trained He took the scent quickly
and followed the man to his hiding
place in cellar OF a cabin
81 cannot tell what city this expert
ment was tried in," said Mr. Woods,
'for we want the trials of the dogs to
continue in secret for the present We
do not want our experiments ham.
pered in any way. | will say, however,
that up to this time the experiments
have been more successful than we
believed possible"
The plan of Commissioners Bingham
is to have at least 100 dogs in New
York police department In station
houses in the criminal districts two
dogs will be kept constantly and in
the other houses one dog will be suf
| ficient
Dogs will be kept in every borough
| ready for action the moment a crime
has been reported when the criminal
has escaped In the outlying districts
except in cases where the criminal
takes a vehicle TO cover his tracks
or where there is a path of water,
which will wipe out the traces, it is
believed that the dogs can hunt down
a man in short time.
In the densely populated city, where
street cars and trains afford oppor.
tunities for man to cover his tracks
from the dogs, the dogs will be used
in Identifying suspects. For instance
Il suspect will be lined up with many
i other men, just as is the case now
when an Identification is to be at.
| tempted The dog will be made to
| smell garment or some article touch
ed by the suspect, and his training will
| be such that he will make straight for
the guilty man.
Great care will be employed in
teaching the dogs. In the south, whore
| bloodhounds are frequently used in
tracking criminals, many Of the dogs
are ferocious when they come upon
their man, and in most instances
| the fugitive Is compelled to climb q
tree or seek some other refuge to keep
from being torn to pieces.
The best trained dogs, however, will
\ not attack the man the are tracking.
They will simply keep at his heels,
uttering fierce growls and deep barks
l'and howls until he is joined by men
in pursuit.
Commissioner Bingham is expected
to begin buying hounds at once, and
then after thorough training they will
be assigned to the station houses.
Except when the dogs are tracking
criminal or are being exercised they
will be kept in leash. Trainers will
be selected from among the men in
the department whose duties will he
to see that every dog is in perfect con,
dition,