Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-12-25
THIEVES "SW|PE" 1O3 CARS
IN PAST ELEVEN MONTHS
but Police Department Restores All
But Ten to Their
Owners.
JOY RIDERS CHIEF OFFENDERS
Detective Department Prepares III.
tereSting Report OH Scope Of Its
Work During Year Now COmin.
to Close.

Automobile thieves made off with lo2
machines during the past eleven
months. according to the annual report
which Captain r. J. McMahon. chief OF
the detective bureau Of the Richmon1
Police Department. is NOW preparing to
file with Major Louis Werner. chief
OF police. or the stolen ears. the local
force has recovered All except ten. this
being the first year tiaj the detective
bureau has failed to have clean sheet
in locating missing automobiles
Many of the automobiles reported
stolen were recovered in the city or
suburbs. having bccn taken for joy
riding purposes and abandoned after
short time. Others were stolen out
right the numbers fled or chisel!ed of
III" engine and the machines otherwise
disguised. The report shows that eN-
Guiding December. 100 automobile.
were stolen, as follows: January. eight;
February. eight. March. four; April.
ten; May. eight: juno, eighteen; July.
nine: August five: September, i've:
October twelve, and November. twelve
Automobiles have been recovered In,
ohio. Maryland. Delaware and North
Carolina. a. we'll as throughout Vir-
ginia.
The report which Captain Mcmahon
is preparing VIII cover the entire year
u will deal only with the work Of the
DIGESTIVE bureau. composed OF Captain
McMahon and six detectivcs-Wiltshir
WHY. Bailey. Kcilam, Smith and
Bryant. After being approved by
Major Werner, Il VIII be forwarded
to Mayor Ainslic.
WORK OF DEPARTMENT
TAKES HIGH RANK
While the number OF detectives. in
the Richmond department is perhaps
SMALLER than that Of any city In it's
class. that ia. from cities having from
100000 10 100000 populations the ~
port viii show that the work OF this
department takes second rank TO none
The filing system. Bcrtillion records
rogucs and criminal galleries and
finger print records arc kept by w 4.
Tolcr.
Il want to claim for them that they
ar" second 10 none in the country"
said Captain Mcmahon. "They are
cumplc-~ in every detail"
The local dctectiv" bureau. consid-
e"ing tn" number OF mon upon the
st~oets. handles mass Of criminal
lp.invss. IT handles every report Of
impy: innce. rohberics Of s95 or less. all
!"loi les. murders aud assaults sui-l
cid"s, deaths where there is suspicion
as tu the cause OF death. acts Of v!o-
l"ncc. hospital reports. pawnshop re-
ports and reports 81 junk and second
hand dealers All "f these reports
must hc turned III daily. From them
IN" detective bureau makes up a daily
bulletin for the Information OF tho de-
I:.r'ri"ut
MOST uf' STOLEN IEWELRY
RETURNED TO OWNEIlr
Captain McMahons report will show
that large percentage az tho stolen
goods reported during the past year
has been returned TO tho owners
Especially 81 this true Of stolen Jew.
elry. In no case OF a jeweiry robbery
Of amy magnitude have the detectives
failed 10 find tho ajor part OF the
goods stolcr. There have been - num-
Der Of large r"bbcrics OF this nature
duiinS tn" past twelve months Thou.
sands OF dollars worth Of materials.
such as clothing. junk. etc. was also
recovered.
Richmond has about tho smallest
detective force Of any city Of its size
in the country. Norfolk, which is con-
sidcrahly smaller. has eleven: Atlanta.
seventeen. and Birmingham. twenty