The Washington herald., 1914-01-18
CAPITAL IN need
OF MORE Police
Neglect of Congress Leaves
City One Protector for
459 Persons.
SALARIES VERY SMALL
Men in Department Poorly Paid in
Comparison to Their Work
and Hours.
by J. STUART PRICE.

Washington needs a larger police force
To protect the city population 81. .O6s
in 1910 there are 10 men. OF this num-
Der seventy-five are officers. The rest
6f7. are made up of tllird-class. second
class and first-class privates. with rank
respectively.
The department is commanded by a
major and superintendent. an inspector
and assistant superintendent, three in
spectors. eleven captains, thirteen lieu
tenants. and forty-six sergeants.
The rank and file, that is to say the
men doing street duty, performing desk
duty. and driving patrols, is divided as
follows: Third-class, 4S9; second-class,
100, and first-class, IS.
Dividing 49, the total strength of the
force, into the city's population of 1910.
given at .069, it shows an average of
one man TO protect I59 persons. But wnen
the force is divided into three shifts, Of
eight hours. the average to one man of
course is multiplied by three. or I.377.
In speaking of three shifts the writer
does not mean a policeman works but
eight hours out of every twenty-four.
Every other day he does reserve duty.
This adds six hours more after he COM
pletes his trick of eight hours. The
forty-siN sergeants do the same hours
as the privates, also reserve" The cap
tains and the lieutenants split the day
and night between them
Area of Police Patrol.
There is an area of s9.7 square miles for
the local force to patrol. This includes
the city proper. Georgetown. Anacostia,
Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, Ivy City.
PetwOrth. Brightwood. lexington. Brook
land. and sixty villages and towns.
Maj. Richard Sylvester. superintendent
OF the department, in his last annual re-
In ~ commissioners rod
that he be given more privates. enough
10 increase the present force of 647 to
7lO.
The population of Washington like
other cities, is growing. The police year
ly take the city's census. Last year the
enumera ton showed 3S3. .297, which is 2, ,22s
more than the official census OF 1910 as
taken by the United States government
Yet with a steady growth in population
no provision is made for additional po-
licemen or more pay for the men making
up the force. The police census of 1918
was divided as follows: Whites, 255, 49,
and colored, 1914.
Small Salaries Paid.
The salaries paid members of the force
do not compensate for the hard work
done by the men. First class privates,
the lowest rank) get SIS month. The
SECOND CLASS men get sSu. ana tne tnlrQ
class 500. The sergeants get $3.50 per
annum. lieutenants. 1,320, and captains,
sl.500. The inspectors get l,s0o, the as
sistant superintendent. $500 and the
major and superintendent, $1,000.
Mai. Sylvester in his last report recon-
mended an increase of $500 year in the
pay of captains, $50 more per annum in
the salaries of lieutenants, so more to
the sergeants.
The detective force is another branch
OF the department where better salaries
should be paid. Men engaged in detec-
tive duty at the central Office get but
$40 a month, s1oO in salary and $40 for
expenses. They work long hours and
are a great service to the city in de-
tecting and preventing crime.
There still is another part of the de-
partment. hard-worked, but poorly paid. |
This is the switchboard receiving bu- |
reau." Six men work there, two con-
stantly on duty. A salary of so a month /