New-York tribune., 1920-12-04
Hylan Advises
Noisy Motors
TO ScareCrooks
Thieves Will Run WhenThev
Hear Side-Car Cycles Car.
rying Police Lieutenants
on Tour of Inspection
Leach Asks for Vehicles
Estimate Board Grants $50.
900 for Proposed Plan
to Increase Efficiency

Slde-car motorcycles, with patrol
man as chauffeur and superv,sing
lieutenant in tho tub" snortine and
popping through the city streets at
Tight are calculated to make enough
noise to frighten away would he
thieves and stick-up men whom the
policemen on post might not other
wise apprehend. according to the
theory advanced by Mayor Hvlan vac
terday when the Board Of Estimate
acted favorably on the request of Act.
ing Police Commissioner John A 1aacb
Tor $4,000 to purchase motorcycles
with side cars for night patrol work.
Instead of the od-fashioned gum
shoed lieutenant making the rounds 70
check up on dercict cops. it is nro-
posed, according to Acting Commits
sloner Leach, to have one of the motor
cycles IN each precinct-there are ,oo
precincts throughout the city-for the
use Of the lieutenant for such work
as we'll as to reach tho scene Of tho
CRIME IN speedler fashion. The Mavor
suggested the added ADVANTAGE Of tbe
motorcycle in frightening away crimi-
nails, when Borough President Curran
declared that You could not "keep them
quiet and that you could hear them
"a mile away"
That's just what we want" said the
mayor, I'VE want q lot of noise. When
the crook hears the approaching motor
hc runs away"
Aid to Efficiency Seen
The Acting Police Commissioner de-
clared that the use of the motorcycles
would increase the efficiency of the
department in running down criminals
He contended, however, that the de-
partment had the presen. situation
well in hand"
we are not III bad condition at all >"
said Mr.. Leach. "Taking our felonies.
taking everything from felony to mur
der, we arc 33 per cent less than 1918,
almost 80, or about 80, per cent less
than 1916, and 25 per cent less than
1910, three pre-war years, and we are
now about II per cent less than 1919,
which was an after-war year, so we
have the situation very wciT In hand
Crime viii never stop in New York,
OF course. Burglaries are almost so
per cent less than 1915, one of the
prc-war years, and not quite as much
less than 1916 or 1917, but if the board
Will assist us from zine to time in
using the facilities that the city has
gwen us to the highest point of eff :
cheney, | think we can render good
service for Ourselves.'
Deputy Commissioner Leach did not
request a $50 600 appropriation for the
motorcycles, but asked for the transfer
of money accrued in the department for
uniforms for surgeons to the account
Tor motor vehicle equipment The
deputy commissioner said he had
brought in the proposition because it
had been called to his attention that
the grand jury had recommended an
increase Of possibly $500 members to
the police force. He said he under
stood the grand jury recommendation
was to have been on the boards calen-
dar yesterday, but found that it was
not. 1t was said that it had been
referred to the board.
"W ell said Mr.. Leach, "realiZing that
it Will not be possible for us to get
1000 more men next year in the pres
cnt condition of the budget, and know
ing full we'll we have 500 new ones, we
thought we would submit proposition
where we could use the force we now
have to better state of efficiency,
making use of what we have, and what
we are going to get right to its highest
point of efficiency. We propose to do
that in this way. and that is the foun-
dntion for this recommend dation or re-
quest made here to-day.
Plan for Supervision
I'VE have supervising lieutenants in
each precinct. These supervising lieu
tenants go about on patrol. which, of
course, you will realize. and espec tally
large precinct means very little
ground covered within a specified time.
We have devised method whereby
we want to get one motorcycle with
side car for each precinct, so that
the supervising lieutenant can patrol
IN motorcycle. We think that not