Arizona republican., 1913-01-10
THIRD DEGREE
 BY CHIEF MOORE
klcim's Play Provokcs Comment From Head of Phoenix Police Depart ment as Well as Story of His Own Method
Bv A. ]. MOORE Chief Of the Phoenix Police
 Department


 If it were question. of d record to be made rather than a conscience tu be obcyed. the method of eliciting al confession from one accused of a crime as presented in The Third De gree" might be employed successfully Effective though the third degree may be in so many gases, it never insures the reliability of a confession and is quite apt to bring about admission of guilt from perfectly innocent party. around whom there may be but the fiinsieSt weave of circumstantial evi- dence. Physical suffering or mental torture is borne by human being to Just d certain point, that certain point being gauged by the personal makeup of tho individual.
 Tt iS my opinion that a confession tn anything under the sun can be se- cured from almost any individual. whether he be innocent or guilty. if the treatment alleged to have at one time been in vogue in the metropoIi- tan police departments. and commonly understood as the third degree is en- ployed It is altogether likely that 1 not prepared to say they do not exist now. But that they insure the sue cessful handling of cases. does not i'm press me. I am of the opinion that conviction in the face of forced con fession is quite as apt to bring pun ishment to an innocent party as to q guilty one. Particularly so is this apt to be in the case of weddings dope fiends or those more or less mentally deficient
 "I cannot criticize The Third De gree as play It was a production that held my interest from the start to the finish. am glad I was there. ] am glad too. of having the oppor- tunitH to express my personal views The acting seemed good to me and the lines apropos. There were q num- Der of very tense situations all of which l presume emanated from the authors brain. although I have been informed that the Jefferies episode built around an actual case with which the police of New York had to do.
 As for myself I would rather a dozen guilty men went unpunished than to feel the consciousness that was the instrument of bringing an in nocent man 10 prison. I am not seeking. as head of the Phoenix po- iice- --. q ---1reGord To-. conyicti0ns. Rather ] am seeking to show that it is pos siblc to maintain order in a city Ike PFoeniN without resort to harsh meth ods and unjust accusations
 T have a third degree method It is simple. When 1 find d local boy or man in my custody charged with an offense. l do not endeavor to bully confession out of him. I first en- deavor to gather enough evidence u warrant the belief that he is probably guilty. Then I work as far as possi- ble upon his finer sepsibi tiles often secure the evidence I require bv d humane third degree: that is by first appealing to the suspect upon family connections, and this failing, by isola- tion and perhaps solitary confinement
 Often l let d man severely alone for anywhere from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. It gives him time to think over what he has done and what is before him. I instruct my of ficcrs to ignore him. l visit him often and inquire of him if he is ready to tell me the truth. If at the end of reasonable time he fails to come through and I have but slight evil dence against him. l am forced to the conclusion that I am very likely un- justly suspecting him.
 As for the 'hypnotism' suggested in The Third Degree I haven't much faith in that. It might work upon one decidedly weak or thoroughly worn out. but even then I would at once face the position of thinking D r. haps I had confession from an in nocent man. have never done it. l won't permit my men to do it and l would rather step down and out of office than be accused justly of such practice.
 The Third Degree is a wonderful play and the company that put it on at the Elks theater is good. There were perhaps rough spots, but of these l do not feel myself entirely competent to judge In conclusion I wish to say that kindness will work more real wonders than brutal or harsh