The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-02-14
POLICE INEFFICIENT,
COMMITTEE FINDS
Citizens League Investigators
Say Crime Has Increased
Greatly in Year.
URGE CHIEF FROM RANKS

Nine recommendation az to how tho
Police Department should be run are
made IN 2 report forwarded to the
Mayor by tho committee on remedial
measures Of the Citizens Protective
League. appointed At mass meeting at
Cooper Union, December 90. 1914
There is no direct censurc Of the
present administration. but the tenor
Of the report Is that tho service is not
efficient The report ia signed by Leon
Sanders, Frank Moss. Peter J. Brady.
the Rev. q r Van Dc Water. the Rev
william 2 Farrell, the Rev. Or. ~
rereira Mendes. Mra John Sherwm
Crosby. Frank L. Frugone and VI j.
Koran.
The committee believes that members
OF the police force should he employed
TO do police duty. that the police pre-
cinct should ne made tho unit Of ad-
ministration that captains should have
more power. because the captain and his
men, working in a fixed. small district
should soon know all the professional
vlolstors Of the law working or living
in that district and the character Of all
saloons that captains should have the
power to designate plain clothes men.
as this would give an incentive to alert
police work by patrolmen who aspire
10 such duty
Plain clothes men were abolished be
cause of the DANCE of grating The
committee says on this subject The
Police Commissioner who has not the
ability to prevent grating except at the
cost Of the efficiency Of the force is not
the right man for the place
The next advice is that branch de-
tective bureaus. operated AZ a cost of
$4,000 year be abolished. because
they are more than any other thing
responsible for the present inefiiciency
of the detective force" The committees
argument Is that the branch bureaus
take detectives out of communication
with the citizens they serve and with
patromen.
The committee recommends the rns-
toratiOn OF the pawnshop squad and SAYS
that the general indifference Of the force
toward burglaries is mark of inehi-
Client administrator and i'm great meas
ure responsible for the Increased num-
her Of burslaries during uhe past four
months" The report continues:
THE professional criminals have come
TO know that If they single out victims
who are insured they need have no fear
OF police activity. Heads Of burglary in
surance companies declare that not over
10 per cent. of insured property stolen
is ever recovered"
The report says that the efficiency of
the police in homicide cases has de-
creased so per cent in year II adj
vocates the creation OF a uniformed chief
Of police, selected from the ranks. who
will have charge OF the actual police
wn-k. although not 81 tho business raa-
tupes of the department.
The sixth point is that adequate SUI
pervision of private detective agencies
would prevent tho employment in quasi
official character of men known to be
gangsters and gunner.
The seventh comment is: That tho
failure of the present police admnis-
tration to make substantial compliance
with the recommendations of the AL
dermatic committee for the enlarge
ment of the police force is ineXcusable
These recommendations were Endorsed
by tho present Mayor In his campaign
speeches, and were, therefore, part OF
his pledge to the people,
The committee recommends that TO
the department be given again the duty
of regulating saloons, and it urges the
Police Magistrates to enforce vigor-
ously the vagrancy laws in order to
keep men OF bad character on the
streets.