The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-12-22
BIRMINGHAM
WORKING OUT
NEW DETAIL
Likelihood that Policemen
Will Participate In Gen
eral Shift Reasons for
Change.

The abolition of permanent beats
through the tenderloin, regular hi
monthly shake-up i'll the assignment
OF policemen throughout the city.
ano the enforcement of more strict
surveillance over the patrolmen who
90 tho red light district of the city
are part of the program that it Is
SAID the new board OF police commits
sioners Will carry out after the Nsw
Year.
Most important Of all the proposed
steps Of the administration is the.
abolition of the Water street beat
rms step has been decided upon rs
TOR the best interests Of the poihee
department 1t is designed to pre-
the Water street water front from
presumins upon acqu& intance With
the policemen stationed there reyu-
larry. The discovery Of one OF the
uniformed police talking ramiliarly t.
one OF the l1wless females of th,.
tenderloin, by person no less in
authority than Superintendent Birm-
ingham himself. is what has brought
to head the long considered step.
Under the present system of polio
ing the city, the superintendent
makes bi-monthly change of detail.
Under instructions from the board of
ponce commissioners for several
years Superintendent Birmingham has
detailed men permanently to the Wa
ter street beat. SO called. which en-
braces practically all that section
known as the tenderloin. The water
street men do duty in pairs. There
are two day men and an equal num-
Der of night men on this post. With
policemen alternate between days ana
nights.
Before the detective bureau was
enlarged to meet the growing needs
OF the rapidly growing city, it had
been maintained that the work Of
that float through Water street fell
wholly upon the policemen on duty
in that section. Many of the lower
class of criminals, petty thieves and
often burglars We're arrested by the
police who kept track Of the popula-
tioh But it is now maintained that
the Increased size of the detective
bureau gives that branch of the po-
lice department ample opportunity 70
scour the section from day to day.
As for keeping a line upon the
habitues of the tenderloin. the argu-
ment advanced for the abolition of
the present system is that the long
continued detail of policemen to the
section must necessarily result in
their forming acquaintances more CT
less intimate with the people who
are Immediately under their super
vision. The inevitable result is pre-
sumption upon such acquaintance for
fragrant violation of the law.
The same argumeht>is advanced for
the more complete changing of po-
llcemen with the regular detail post
ed every two months. Supt Birm-
ingham's next detail of policemen
will shift practically all men from
one part of the city to another.
There are policemen who have been
on the force for many months who
have been doing duty in practically
the same sections since their appoint
ment There are other poiiceme ell
who have been on the force for many
years who of late have been restrict
ed to certain limits in the territory
they have been covering.
In the making of his details of po-
licemen, Supt. Birmingham has al
ways been amenable to the sugges-
lions of the members Of the police
board. There is no scompulsion about
this feature of the detail, merely |
Supt. Birmingham Willingness to CO.
operate with the wishes of the COM |