The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-02-22
EUROPEAN POLICE SYSTEMS.

the city of New York, was issued yesterday by the Century company, under the tit1es European Police Systens'' The material for MT. Eos dick book was drawn from extend ed personal inquiry and observation in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paris, Lyons, Berlin, Hamburg Ere men, Dresden, Munich, Stuttgart, Go 1ogne, Vienna, Budapest, Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. TO the investigation of the subject and the preparation of the book, MT. Fosdick devoted nearly two years.
 Looking at the results of his studies from the standpoint of American in terests the striking fact disclosed is the uniform integrity of European po- 1icemen. Nowhere in Europe is there any such phenomenon as we in America cali system General cor ruption and favoritism are absolutely unknown.
 ..on the whole says MT Fosdiclk, sfthe police forces of Europe bear an excellent reputation. Scandals are infrequent. With few exceptions, both officers and men have the con hdence of the public. It is only oc- casi ona1ly that one hears of dishon- esty Even suspicious of dishon-f esty are not common. The police are not associated with dishonesty in the public imagination. The citi- zens of a community are confident of the ability of the commissioner both to discover corruption if it ex- ists and to deal with it effectively when found. With a trained com missioner, whose personal character ! is above suspicion, and whose pow CTS of action are large. the public is i satisfied that the integrity of the rank and file will be rigid1y main tained. A European city, therefore, is inclined to take the honesty of it's police force as matter of course. For this state of affairs, there are, in MT F'osdiclz's Judgment, several reasons. First, the head of a Euro pean police force is trained and experienced man, armed with ade- qua,te power. European police ad- ministration is distinct profession It is seldom that a man is chosen from an unrelated line of activity to head a police department. The chief of a departrnent-the president, the commissioner. the director the pre- feet, whatever his title-ls generally a jurist trained in government work.
 ''In the minds of European authori- ties, military experience is not the sine qua non >of police management; of itself it does not constitute a suf- fcient guarantee of effectiveness or intelligence in supervising the com p1ex and extensive affairs of police department. So, too, 8 man who | who has made a record as an efficient engineer, or who has established a l reputation ass physician or health expert, is not necessarily equipped for the task. A police head must be specially trained for his work. Or dinarily, the man whom the Contin- ental authorities select as commis- sionerf has served his apprenticeship I either as an assistant in the same department, or as a commissioner in I a less important City, or as an official in another governmental branch MT. Fosdick emphasizes particular l ly the power of the head of the police l to discipline his men as he sees it ssThe usual attitude of a European city toward it's police cornmissioner is one of trust. When, after careful selection. it chooses man to head it's police force, it endows him with ample powers and expects him to use I them wisely. Only in 8 few of the 1 provincial cities of England, in the nicipalities of Germany, is there any 1 disposition to- tie the hands of the l commissioner, or to prevent his ex- ercisfng free and almost unrestricted
 control over the men who constitute I the uniformed force. Seldom is there I an attempt to surround him with any | ssytem of checks and balances, or tc 1 erect barriers against the possible | abuse of his powers. Thus. in Lon. don. the commissioner is the fna
 and absolute authority on all matter.
 of discipline, and while occasional en deavors are made to secure from tht Home Secretary 8 reversal of the commissioner decisions, such at l tenapts have invariably proved fruit
 less. The commissioner may lev! I fines. make reductions in rank or il rate of pay, or dismiss uniformed
 
 tribunal or other external body, haa power to review his action. This i ! true in nearl yevery large city O
 Europe
 Choose the head of our fore,
 with serupulOusv care; clothe hin
 with full power; make him respon
 sfb1e.' This maxim was repeated b. officials all over Europe. A, com
 missioner who is not free to talk, l direct action when reasonable sus picion falls on particular policemen I cannot be held ultimately responsf
 ible for evil conditions in his sforce Il In so far as the European authori
 ties have recognized this fact-anG
 the recognition has been all but uni versaI-they have placed their finger I upon the main key to the situation. I The second reason for the integrit,
 and efficiency of the European polic'
 department is found in the carefu selection and training of the patrol
 ment MT. F'osdick devotes an en sl tire chapter to discussion of tn, l schools and courses of study bJ I which the uniformed force is trained for it's work. One of the interestinl ] facts pointed out by MT. Fosdiclx il
 this connection is the astonishing1, How salaries which the European DO Il IfceY11en receive. The salary of tn, London constable can never exceed I S436 a year. Indeed, the averag ! maximum wage of European police
 men is $464 a year. Hamburg pay
 the highest salary for her ptarolmen
 which is $666 a year. These Iov
 wages are responsible in part for tn
 willingness of the police in man,
 English and Continental cities to ac 1 cept tips from the public. Even tn 1 7,,ssped TAondon constable is not fro