New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-06-14
Scheme to Fight Interna-
tional Thieves Believed
Impracticable.
SENT NO DELEGATES
TO MONACO CONGRESS
No Country, 1t Is Believed, Will
Scrap" Hundreds of Thou
sands of Records.
From The Tribune Correspondent

From The Tribune Correspondent
London. Nav 30.-Scotland Yards views
on the international congress recently
held at Monaco to discuss plans for work
ing against bands of international thieves
who circulate from country to country
are not enthusiastic. NJ. Mouton, head of
The Criminal Investigation Department in
Paris, urged that a central bureau OF
anthropometrical records should be estab-
lished. in which would be recorded de-
scriptions of all criminals who pass
through the hands of police in any coun-
try, and who seemed likely to carry their
operations abroad
For the purpose Of this bureau some
common system of registration and CLASH
hcation would have 70 be adopted, as we'll
as universal language or code or signs,
in which records would be written. Scot
land Yard however, sent no delegate 10
the congress. There was no representa-
tive from the Criminal Record Office,
where the system Of finger prints was in
vented and first applied The Yard seems
TO take the view that the practical diff
culties in the way of establishing CEN
trail European bureau are inseparaole,
even if this universal finger print system
is admitted to be the best method OF
dealing with the evil.
The British authorities hold that 1t IS
now too late to have a uniform system CT
Identification Summed up, the Yaris
objections seem to amount to something
like the following:
Most civilized countries have adopted
the finger print classification invented by
Sir Edward Henry, either in its entirety
or in a modified form. France, Holland
and a few other countries still cling 20
the Bertillon system of anthropometry
Each appears to be satisfied with its own
methods, and it would be as difficult %
persuade any country to scrap" some
hundred records in favor OF a new sys-
tenn as il is to persuade them to drop
their own language and conduct their af-
fairs in Esperanto. All that can be hoped
for is to adopt a common form on which
information of identity can be furnished
by one country TO another; but this re-
form has little bearing on the suggestion
of central bureau.
The efficiency of an identification Office
depends on keeping il within manageable
proportions. IL is not beyond human IN
genuity to work a registry containing
1000 900 or even 100000 records, but the
process OF conducting searches among
numbers so large would be complicated
and costly. II only the travelling ,nief
Is to be sent to the central bureau, how
is one to decide among the thousands Of
criminals who move from town 10 town
In their own country which OF them Is
likely to cross the frontier? In practice
some countries would send far too many
and others far too few.
The bureau would in any case be
swamped with records TO which il would
never be necessary to refer. The number
OF records at new Scotland Yard al
reads exceeds 10000 and II only quar-
ter OF these be sent, and other countries in
proportion, the central bueau would be-
come unmanageable. There is the further
difficulty that the finger prints would have
to be taken twice over. II the interna-
tions criminal is to be kept in hand II
will be by freer interchange OF informa-
ton between the individual forces than
by the expensive and ineffective method
OF establishing an international bureau.
These, then. are the Yards views
However. the prison congress will meet
here in July. 1915. and at that time IL
is probable that the English police off,
Gals may decide TO enter the congress |
There Is no question that until a few
years ago most European police authori-
lies felt they had done their duty TO so
ciety when they had followed the example |
OF the householder who rids his garden !
OF a dead cat by throwing II over the
fence.
England has a number OF these Cont !
mental thieves always in her great capital. !
and IL would probably aid her materially |
IL the finger print system were enlarged
thrcr~h-tt Furo.c..