The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-09-07
POLICE CHIEF
 FINDS WAY
 TO GUT CRIME

New York. Sept. 7-CharIes c. Fitz- morris, Chicago police chief, who has been in New York studying it's police communicative system with the idea in view of further improving Chi cago's "systen," has returned to his post to further decrease crime-al- Chicago in two years from "the lead ing city in crime' to ''the city with the lowest crime record in the United States.''
 Fitzmorris, who little more than two years ago was merely a secretary to the Mayor of Chicago and who just bit later than that was a newspaper reporter, today is given credit in re- port made by the Chicago Crime Com mission for having made the following statement possible for publication: Chicago today has a lower crime record than any other city in the country. Two years ago this city had a crime wave that was greater than that in any other city in the United States.
 That is substantially a quotation from the report made by Edwin W. Sims, president of the Crime Commits sion- And Sims by the way, is a banker-not connected with the Police l department iii any way-while every member of the Crime Commission is a banker or note; men who are sup posed to know the effects of crime.
 Didn't Come From Ranks" I | ranks" but today he is encouraging a system of reward for meritorious peace service by promotion'' believ- | ing that the man interested in his work is the man who will get the best ! results. Fitzmorris learned several i things as a police reporter and in his association with the department in | connection with his work as secre- tary to Mayor Thompson, of Chicago. And here is one of the things he learned:
 Citizens look upon a fireman as a man who saves citizens from the flames and who saves citizens homes while the same citizens look upon a policeman as a man who arrests them !-nothing more.''
 This is the cue that started Fitz- morris on the road to police success success, because crime is greatly on the decrease in Chicago. He started out by teaching his policemen to help citizens in every way possible; to teach these citizens that the police man was not merely on hand ito ar rest them," but to help them. Merit System Installed. To get policeman to adopt this at titude, Fitzm morris installed a system of promotion-that a man was placed automatically in line for promotion when he did service of merit. To pre- vent obstinate policemen, who refused to cooperate in the new movement from hindering the movement by fol lowing the old system, F'itzmorris 1naoe It auConlal1caIly punishable for a policeman who neglected his duty
 Forty-seven railroads center in Chi cago, which has population. of more than 3,O0O,0o0 persons, in addition to a floating tramp influx of 75O a day. This is the same "population'' that Chicago had three years ago when the crime wave was at its height.
 We reward our policemen when ever their acts are meritorious and punish them when they fail to do their duty" Fitzmorris said we made it mandatory that when a po- liceman performed an act of merit he was automatically elevated in rank: we teach them to prevent crime rather than trace it down after it IS com nitted."