The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-12
THEPATROLMENOF
PHILADELPHIA Go
TO SERVICE SCHOOL
Cops Are Taught Scientific
Way of Maintaining
Law and Order
EFFICIENCY is
WHAT COUNTS NOW
OFFICERS Attend Glasses Using Black
boards, Charts and BOOks-Ses-
sion Opens With Drill
Under Army Officer

School is dismissed down at Tenth
and Greenwich streets at about the
hour the public schools dismiss their
youngsters, says the Philadelphia Pub
lie Ledger. So, if you see a little past
in the afternoon the policeman who 5
been patroling your beat for years
vending his homeward way, his poclx-
cts bulging with books a lunch box
under his arm, coming to himself or
to brother blueeoat what teacher
said,' YOU needn't be surprised He
has been 10 school. He is well on the
way TO becoming an efficient member
of the Philadelphia force.
Until about six months ago whom
Director of Public Safety Porter SET
whifling the wheels of Philadelnhia's :
Training School for Police Service. tba
city's policemen did not realize tho
there was a scientific, a correct wav
of doing those things that make for
law and order which. in their own nm
scientific way and with practically no
instruction, they had been doing nos
slbly for many years. Things are
changed since the establishment of the
police school, Efficiency counts.
Inc police school is much like other
schools. 1t has it's blackboards. covered
with chalk sketches-sketches. NOT of
trees and animals and maps of Asia
Minor, howeYer-but sketches of cor
tam sections of Philadelphia; sketches
| OIL street corners crowded with ira ffi..
that must be handled according to cor.
tam methods. as scientific and exact q :
any ever set forth in Il university geom-
etry or trigonometry textbook. There
are charts upon the walls of the nolico
school Its classrooms are filled witt,
the wide armed chairs typical of col
lego lprt1Ira nd
tablishments
COntentment Is Taught
There are those who have somatir,as
believed that a policeman's life was IN
easy life. Those who really know nevar
nave mad such an Impression 1t is 4rue
that there are certain beats upon which
nothing ever happens. Such beats some
.,nhes discourage the man who patrols $
them. lie becomes convinced that no is
not earning his salary; he longs for ey-
cltement; he wants to make an arrest
ne does not realize the fact that some
thing surely would happen there were
he not upon his beat. One of the les
sens the police school teaches is con
tentment to the hitherto discontented
bluecoat. 1t teaches him his true value
IN the big scheme of preserving order
in big municipality.
Until now policemen year after wear
nave gone on, meeting at odd times
with situations in which they did moi
know now TO act. 1t was not their fault
that such was the case. They had
never been taught how they should act
Perhaps they acted wrongly and We're
feprlmanded. The chances were that
no matter in what way they acted. thcv
We're open to criticism. either from tha
outside or worse. self-criticism Thev
would be willing to resign the next
uay' Ihere was no way of acquiring .
knowledge other than by experience.
FOR example, they seldom understood
statutory law, ordinances or police de-
partment regulations. Some of them had
to be sure, manuals, but these had not
Deer revised for more than 10 years. II
Was running risk to act upon them
Things are changed. Manuals are edited
up to the minute now. In the police
school the scholars are taught their place
III law ordinance and department regula-
tons. They are not, as some think.
taught geography, arithmetic and SPELL
ing. What they are taught is the right
way of doing the right thing at the right
time.
School Begins at s A. M.
The poiieeman's school day begins at
IN the morning. 1t begins with drill in
the Third Regiment arrloly, where Of
fcer Crofut-Maj. Henry Crofut of the
ariny-now drillma ster of the police de-
partment puts the police through a
strenuous hours work. After this the
men-tEere are 45 of them in each DAYS
class-report at the police school, From
until 4 in the afternoon, excepting a
iuhcheon recess, they are instructed in
the art of police service Even at 4 their
days work is not done. There are hours
al night work to be done at home. They