Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-09-27
INADEQUATE GUARD
LEAVES CITY EASY
PREY TO ROBBERS
Only 545 Patr0lmen for New
ark's $4,000 In
habitants.


Ing the territory that the patrolmen
are obliged to travel. The police COM
missioners will at their next meeting
give serious consideration to both sub
jects. The chief of police very bluntly
says that there are not enough police
men to properly protect the property.
and each of the six captains Is COM
planning that the posts are too large.
All argue that the police department
should increase as the city progresses
New Jerseys metropolis has, accord
ing 10 the new census, 34s, 900 popula-
ton. The police force numbers 5S1 men,
OF which but 345 do patrol duty. or an
1000 inhabitants.
Repeatedly requests for an enlarged
force has been made to the Police
Board. The subject was thoroughly
discussed at the captains conference
late yesterday afternoon, n all six
of the captains agreed that their pre-
that they could redistrict the posts,
making many of them smaller.
Residential Sections Neglected.
The business sections of the city are
in fairly good shape so far as police
protection is concerned, but patrolmen
cannot do justice to the residential
districts, because they are compelled
to cover entirely too much ground.
The First Precinct, in which the re-
markable months series of burg1aries
took place. has posts that are ride
ulously large. This precinct, which is
in charge of Captain Ryan, Is second
In Importance to no police precinct In
any city in the United States. 1t takes
In the busy -Four Corners" as well
as the wealthy Lincoln Park section,
where the burglars reigned. It is esti-
mated that the thieves oarted off more
than $4,000 worth OF booty.
J Reasons for the selection CT the Lin
coin Park section as a good site for
burglars to operate are many. Police
Chief Corbitt today explained a few
of them to an EVENING STAR re-
porter.
Because of it's accessibility for New
York thieves, II being convenient to
the South street station Of the Penn
sylvnnia railroad.
Because of the great possibilities of
securing negotiable ~pIunder in that
aristocratic neighbOrhood.
Because of the large posts that the
pntrOlmen are obliged to cover, and the
fact that so many of the houses are
vacant during h vacation period.
Because the graft looked SO easy
that the burglars kept operating till
they were apprehended.
What the Police Have to Cover.
There are 345 posts In the six pre-
cincts of Newark. The posts are d.
xyi11I tn@o fo,,r -hlP4a NIt,. -t-LA -Llek
is from 8 p. m. to 8 a. M, the dog
watch from 8 to 8 a. M. the morning
post s a. m. to l p. m, and the after
noon post from 1 to 9 p. M. There are
22S men on patrol duty during the
night shift. thirty on the dog-watch. or
daybreak period; thirty in the morning
and fifty-seven in the afternoon. These
figures. of course, are exclusive of the
traffic squad and other details. Dark
ness sets over the city early nights
now and to patrol a city as large as
Newark from dawn till 8 o'clock with
only fifty-seven men Is regarded as
bad police business. Right here let 1t
be known that all Lincoln Park and
South Broad street burglaries were
committed between the hours of 7 and
9 o'clock p. m, when in the whole First
precinct there were but eleven patrol
men on duty.
Captain Ryan's precinct runs from
New street south to the city limits
and from High street east to the Penn
sylvania railroad. Until the establish
ing of the Sixth precinct it ran away
out Clinton yer
Only Eleven Men for Entire First.
There are 1877 men in the First pre-
cinct, but only sixty-seven of them are
doing regular patrol duty, forty-four
on the night posts, six on dog-watch.
Elk on the morning post and eleven on
the afternoon post. Similar conditions
prevail In the other vepolice precincts.
A better idea of the amount of terri
tory that a patrolman is obliged to
cover can be had by those who know
the Typographical layout of the four
following afternoon posts in the First
precinct:
No. broad, Market, Washington
and Kinney streets.
No. BROAD, Market, Washington
and New streets.
No. 3-Broad, Market, Centre and
Mulberry streets.
No. ABroad, Market. Chestnut and
MulD6TTy StltetS.
Here are eight Of the so-called wealthy
night posts in the precinct: No, l.,
| Broad, Pennington, East Kinney and
Mulberry streets; No. 2, Broad, Pen
nington, Thomas and Railroad ave-
nue.; No. 3, Broad, Wright, Astor and
| Clinton avenue; No. 4. Lincoln Park.
Broad, Parkhurst and Clinton avenue;
No. 8, Broad, Parkhurst, Astor and
| Clinton avenue; No. s, Clinton avenue,
Washington, High and Crawford; No.
7, Clinton avenue, Washington. Broad
and Kinney; No. 8. Broad, Thomas,
Wright and Railroad avenue
Speaking of the big posts that his
men are obliged to patrol. Captain Ryan
said:
Think of only two men oatrolling
Frelinghuysen venue, from Peddie
street south to the city line. The posts
in all the precincts are entirely toe
large. 1t would require more men on
the force to make them smaller, but we
should have the force enlarged at once.
During the vacation season and when
policemen are on the sick list the cap
tains are compelled to double up.
Last night in eight instances / was
two posts. The only suggestion thai
/ nave to max concerning the present
burglary outbreak in my precinct is
that when people go away and close
their houses they leave the keys with
the police. The police do not have &C
cess to the real of the houses and can