The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-12-23
POLICE FORCE
NEEDS RAKING
Supreme Council at Versailles
Might Be Able to Bring
Peace in Department.
THIEVES HAVE "SNAp"
Crooks Burglarize Town Because
Force Too Small and Mem
bers Don't Cooperate.
(BY LUCKY BALDWIN,

Inc supreme council at Versailles
and all the assistants which the "bie
four" gathered there, were unable TO
bring peace to the world but thew
might succeed in adjudicatiny the in
department where Chief Ellis cap
tains ieutenants and patrolmen. each
for himself for personal glory or po
litical ends.
And while the department is thus
weakened by internal ieaIousv IN
"hich each tries to capture some
minor offender, impound pig. or
aiming higher, discover, ferret out.
and otherwise detect the william who
purioined the Kohinoor, and thus ont
shine his colleagues, thieves have what
they must jovially term a snap, burg
laring the town.
houses are entered, strong boxes
opened or carried away. hiding places
are ransacked, grocery stores are rob-
ped, and sneak thieves operate on the
streets and highways.
Probably most of the robberies are
reported TO the police department.
l
the last three weeks carried stories of
at least 20 thefts of VARYING degrees
OF magnitude and in onIv three or-
iour cases have arrests been made or
CONVICTIONS obtained. 1t is true thar
most automobile thieves are caught. if
being somewhat difficult for a thief to
stow an automobile in a sufficient
~ nconspicuous place to escape
notice
The sheriff's department is handi-
| capped by lack of cooperation with
the ponce department, and has, appar-
entity been unable to attain as much
success as the police The trouble
, seems TO be traceabIe to two major
causes. First, in the department il
Seir' lack of cooperativeness common
interest in the public cause The de-
partment members from Chief to pa
troIman, appear to be distrustfuI of
each other, and inefficiency results.
Forces Too Small.
Ihe second cause is the inadeouacv
OF the force There are not more than
SIN patroiInen on any watch, to guard
city of thirty thousand or nore
people. East Hill. North Hin and
west Hill seldom see an officer of the
police department except on street
car The patrolmen are assigned
mostly to beats in the business dis
trict and the residential sections must
guard themselves
1t is true that robberies and thieyarx-
would exist no matter how large
force the city had. Robberies take
pace IN every city. But the number
Is decreased in direct ratio with the
efficiency and size of the department
! A clever man, with sufficient nerve
can commit burglary in any city. no
| matter how well policed But it is an
axiom OF criminal investigation that
no man can create a false series of
events and doyetail that series of
/ events into the natural sequence so
cleverly that the joint cannot be OBJ
served.
| 1t is not the size of the police force
winch deters men from committing
| crimes, IS is the fear of getting
caught" which holds them back. And
/ just so, long as the police fail to cap
ture those responsible for the present
wave of burglaries in Pensa cola. Just
so long will robberies continue
In the meantime the banks have
| failed in their duty by not having edu-
Gated their depositors to a knowledge
of the proper uses of banking houses
Banks are public property, public
| benefactors, in a way, and they should
conduct campaigns of educat tion TO
| teach depositors that the proper place
| for valuables of all kinds at all times
/ is in the vaults of a bank.
| And until the police department
catches up with the present crime
wave, householders must prote
themselves. Get bulldogs, watch-dogs,
any kind of dogs SO long as they are
paradoxes which both bark and bite.
In addition to this first line of de-
tense load up the old fowling piece
and the good old service automatic
/ and standby for intruders and prowl-
ers.