New-York tribune., 1919-02-12
By Arthur Woods
Former Police Commissioner Of New
York City

Former Police Commissioner OF NeW
York City
The essential basis of all good police
work is the character and physical
power of the individual men. They
must be strong of body, stout of soul
sturdy, two-hsted specimens, knowing
how to hold themselves in restraint
even under severe provocation,, yet
prompt and powerful to act with force
and uncompromising vigor when only
that will maintain order and protect
the law abiding.
Every one is familiar with the figure
of the policeman on post. Funda-
mentally he represents law, protection,
order. He is there on behalf of the
regular, orderly life of the neighbor-
hood, to prevent any one from being
disorderly, and to catch any person, If
he can, who tries to break the law or
who interferes with the rights of those
who obey it. A person with crime in
lis mind will hardly try to commit it in
sight of the policeman, and, other
things being equal, he will get just as
far from the policeman as he can be-
fore doing anything wrong.
Personality Has Power
| suppose it depends upon the in
dividual officer and the individual thief
on their personal characteristics and
temperaments, as to Just how far away
and now strongly the officers presence
restrains the thief from committing
crime. But however short distance
the influence goes, and however weakly
it operates, it is restraining and pre-
ventive. Conceivably, if there n were
an alert, capable patrolman on each
city block, no crime would be COM
mitted in our streets. Such police
pervasiveness would be a fairly sure
preventive of street hold-ups, of pocket
picking, unless the crowd should be
large enough to give friendly shelter;
of highway robbery, stealing from
trucks and delivery or express wagons
and other forms of crime that are
done in the open.
Adequate policing of the streets can
not, however, be expected to prevent
all sorts Of crime. The patrolman, tC
be sure, can properly be held respon
sible if a hold-up man knocks dowr
and robs a citizen in the street; this
= the sort of crime which should bs
prevented by the regular patrollins
force. Or if store is broken into b!
burglar working from the street, the
patrolman assigned to that post mus
be held to have been lax in the per
formance of duty On the other hand
ba 70
rom a fire escape which leads VI
from the back yard, the patrollins
force is, TO say the least, far less re
sponsible for the crime than if tn,
house had been broken into from tn
uniformed patrolmen DO no
patrol back yards. Still further, if tn
crime is committed by a dishones
servant, is what is commonly calle
IAN inside job it is variety o
crime still less preventable by tn
conventional methods OF patrol.
The regular uniformed patrol is al
ways supplemented by detectiv
force. which also exerts a preventiv
influence, although detective work
primarily for the purpose of detectin
the criminal who has already com
mitted crime This detective pre-
ventive work adds strength to tn
preventive efforts of the uniforme
force.
Lazy Detectives Scored
Good detective work always keer
The criminal from taking chances thf
ne would take without an uneas
thought in cities where the men i
plain clothes were lazy or incompeter
or were willing to come TO q gentle
mems agreement with him. If a picl
pocket feels that there are lot {
innocent looking detectives prowlin
around who know the ways of tn