Evening journal., 1914-04-08


Of police to act as secretary to the
Board Of Police Commissioners This
is radically wrong from many view
points. No valid reason for II IS evi-
dent His presence before the Board
OF Commissioners at police trials
should be only as prosecuting officer
in the trial Of ranking officers. The
services he now renders the commits
sion as secretary are those which be-
long TO a clerk and should be perform
ed by some person specially appoint
ed or assigned for that purpose. His
attendance at sessions of. the Munich
pal Court Is a duty which should be
performed by a member OF the de-
tcctiye service.
Captains in your department are
filling a position of house sergeant,
entirely beneath the dignity Of the
rank. Police service as IL should be
performed by captain Is not rcquir-
ed OF the position IN your department
"The average age Of the present oc-
cupants Of this position is fifty-seyon
years and six months.
Under the present system orders
from the chief OF police are transmit
ted by the captains to their subordin-
ates. The chief of police Is depen-
dent to a great extent upon the cap
tains TO obtain service from members
OF the force subordinate 10 the cap
tains but there Ia very little done in
this direction by the captains OF po-
lice. The dissension in tho depart
ment tall of II based on trivial mat
ters) might have been eliminated By
the captains had they taken the atti-
tude toward Il which should have been
shown by them. A captain Of police
Is a valuable officer IN police de-
partmcnt, provided he performs the
duties which belong TO the position
"A police captain should be an In
telligent, alert active aud obscrvant
individual; careful as to performance
OF all his duties, his personal appear
ance and efficiency OF his subordin-
atcs. Very little or no effort was
made by the captains OF police to-
ward doing anything except the very
routine duties of their positions, and
these not always IN an effective man
ner.
II was unable TO find any case
against an offending policeman which
was before the police board within
the last three years. based on facts
discovered by police captain and
included I'm a report submitted to. his
superior ohiccr. This. OF course. can
be accounted for by the fact that they
remain In the police station during
their entire tour Of duty and have no
opportunity for studying their subor-
dinates. their manner and method Of
performing police duty. and must de-
pend upon the street scrgeants for in
formation. This In itself should be
evidence OF the faulty condition Of
the system which requires them to
perform their duty almost entirely
indoors. The knowledge of their sub
Ordinatcs is confined 10 reports which
may be submitted by street sergeants
or operators. an extremely limited OBJ
servauon, possibly only during the
brief time their subordlnates are
present at roll call.
"Tho absence OF dignity which was
evident In other branches of the
service was evident IN this branch Of
the service. There appears to be a
woeful lack of sense of RESPONSE
bility which is a very serious defect.
Their duty as TO complaints. and the
abatement OF these complaints in a
satisfactory manner. seems to be sim
ply the passing OF the complaint from
on along the line.
"The branch represented by the
street sergeants is the most important
branch IN the police service. Il has
not been considered in this manner
under the present operation OF the
police system in Wilmington.
"The lack of cooperation which
has been evident IN other branches
OF the service is also very evident
here. Apparently the sergeants do
not realize the importance OF that
strict loyalty and close attention TO
duty which is due every superior Of
fcer. and Is necessary 10 a proper
performance of their own duty in OBJ
tanning efficient service from their
subordlnatcs.
ct required very little inyestiga-
tion TO convince me that the patrol
men. allowing for their vast number
OF duties, their hours OF service and
the arrangement Of the districts, were
not displaying the effort necessary
for effective performance OF duty.
1T Is a very easy matter for a
stranger IN the city for several hours
after midnight 10 walk about carrying
bundle without arousing the sus-
picon OF a sergeant. A stranger may
even accost sergeant several times.
talk In an indefinite manner and not
arouse the suspicion of the sergeant
so much as 10 even question the
stranger.
81 found that policemen could idly
converse with each other and with
citizens. visit and remain in places
on their beats without being reported
by the street sergeants. II was also
evident that policemen could lounge
on corners within sight Of the ser
geants and not be reported.
There Is lack of respect betweeI
the street sergeants aud the patrol
men, the sergeants placing them
selves on the same level as the pa
trolmen, and not maintaining the dig
nifty essential 60 the rank Stree
sergeants view lightly the presenc
of three or more policemen in
group idly talking, and permit DO
llcemen to greet them by slappiu
them on the back.
Their particular duty upon meet
ing a patrolman seems to have bee
to inquire, How are thingsT and I
accept an answer so brief as Every
thing is all right
: Actually there are a patrolme
and police sergeants in the tots
street force. and upon these men ar
depending for protection $4,000 pei
sons. thousands-of of buildings and mi
, lions OF dollars Of property.