Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1916-06-09
CERMANY'S POLICE
Science, System and Patience In
Hunting Criminals.
HANDLING A HOMICIDE CASE.

How the "Murder Board" Works TO
Solve a Mystery and the Resources
at Its Commando Clever Swindler
Who Worked a Daring Game.
Criminal investigation In Germany
follows the national policy of an ex-
IRENE Capitalization. Every phase of
detective work is undertaken by q spe-
cialist along a particular line. An Inc
v%estigation is not carried out by a gen.
eral purpose constable. as at Scotland
Yard. 1t is conducted by an officer ac-
companied by a corps of experts. The
murder board is an original German
idea. A homicide mystery is investi-
gated by one of the murder boards
from the detective center. This board
will consist of a photographer, a sur
geon. a chemist, experts on blood stains
and finger prints, som one having ex-
perience in taking molds of footprints,
marks of burglar tools, and so forth.
These murder boards, commissions or
squads are always available under the
German system. Each of these squads
10 S1iCA u SllSlt 1lALlliiAi golCly "
work out. 1t cannot be put on a Sec
ond mystery until the first is either
solved or abandoned.
The advantage of such a system is at
once apparent. 1t means that a thor 4
ough, minute, scientific examination
will be made at the theater of a crime 4
and that each succeeding step will be /
comprehensive.
The German idea is that a mystery |
should be examined from the center /
out. 1t is an ever widening circle, and
If the investigation moves outward al /
ways in an increasing arc a solution In
the end is inevitable. The thing is
merely q question of scientific eXami- /
nation. Every resource of science Is |
brought to the aid of q criminal inves-
tigation through the great laboratories
In Berlin and other German cities de-
voted to the uses Of the detective de-
partments of the imperial police.
The whole postal system is at the
service of the German police. They
have the right to open and examine
anything passing through the post
which may seem to them to be impor-
tant to their criminal investigation de-
partment. They are able to do this so
c~leyerly that the average person does
not discover that his letter has been
tempered with. However, when the
police wish to know whether n of
their letters has been opened a number
Of devices are resorted to which will
at once indicate any effort to disturb
the envelope. Among these is the de-
vice of putting a certain chemical in
TIE gun epY a Anxelape-f ian II Hue
an envelope is subjected to the least
heat in an effort to steam 1t open q
stain will appear along the line Of the
gum border.
1t must be remembered that the Ger
nan police have one great advantage
over Scotland Yard or any American
detective center. A complete record of
everybody is always available In the
German empire. If one changes his
place of residence or travels from one)
point to another his departure and ar
rival must be registered with the POI
neS.~A& 3,>-~
1t is not to be concluded, however,
that all dangerous crooks are by this
means excluded. Some of the most dar5
ing and ingenious sharpers of which
we have any knowledge have carried
out their fraudulent devices In spite
of the elaborate protective system.
A famous international cracksman2
one night looted the office of a BUST
ness house in a German village. Hid
A-n4nAnI % Moi a. Ax-4Ior1 4 -I-
of money in cash, but he got instead
small sum and a sight draft on a bank
ing house In a neighboring city for.
some 5000 marks. The ordinary cracks4
man would have gone no further. Id
would have known the robbery would
be discovered in the morning and the
banking house telegraphed to stop pay
ment on the draft.
But the German swindler was a per-
son of greater ~esources. He disguised
himself az a police commissioner, went|
In he night to the residence of thel
owner of the business house, awak-l
ened him, told him that his office had
been robbed and inquired what the
robbers could have taken. The man
gave the sum of money on hand. The
false commissioner inquired If there
We're any papers. The man replied that
there was a draft for 5000 marks and
gave the address of the banking house
on which 1t was drawn. The swindler
called for a sheet of paper and wrote
out a telegram to the chief of police In
the city in which the banking house
was situated directing him to advise
he bankers to stop payment on the
draft and to take the proper precau-
tons to arrest anybody who presented
1t for payment He read the telegram
over to the man. He then directed the
tradesman to say nothing about the
robbery until the police authorities
could Law their hands on the sWfndler