The New York herald., 1921-11-28
Commissioner in Report to
Hylan Takes Pride in
Three Year Record.
ALMIRALL JURY ASSAILED
Department Is Administered
Sincerely and Efficiently,
Says Commissioner.

The annual report of the Police De-
partment for 1920, which has just been
submitted to Mayor Hylan by Police
Commissioner Enright, probably is the
most comprehensive ever issued by the
department. 1t Is a summation of Mr..
Enrights three years of administra-
ton.
Aside from the usual figures, flnan-
cial and otherwise. the report and a
letter prefacing it attack the Almirall
Grand Jury and the newspapers of the
city. The report has 3S4 pages with
an index and is under date of Novem-
Der l. A full page photograph of the
Mayor is the frontispiece.
The Commissioners figures on crimes
of violence for 1920, which he has
quoted many times in public ad-
dresses. indicated a slight decrease
from 1917. There were total Of 3D.
ABS complaints for murder, felonious
assault, robbery, burglary. larceny and
miscellaneous felonies in 1917. accord
ing to his figures. and in 1920 there
were only 49,166. The arrests for 1917
totalled 2S,194 and for 1920 they were
27,52O In 215 murders committed IN
1920 Mr.. Enright says the police made
254 arrests.
For December, 1920, when. he wrote,
the "alleged crime wave" occurred
there were 81 murders. 1919 assaults,
1873 robberies and 621 burglaries. In
December, 1917, the year preceding
his administration, there were 19 muir
ders, 163 assaults, 81 robberies and s25
burglaries.
Mr. Enright, in his letter to the Mayor.
says that "the Almrall Grand Jury de-
scend ed upon this city" toward the mid
die of 1919 and 10y arbitrarily at
tributing a scope of authority to the
ancient writ of subpoena duces tecum
wantonly robbed the files of the Police
Department of records, papers and cor
respondence essential to the transaction
| of its business.
The harm suffered through this seiz-
ure, Mr.. Enright explains, cannot be
estimated He characterizes as out
rageous the fact that the administra-
tion of justice can be hampered and
obstructed on such Illegal and frivolous
| pretexts" There was no justification
for the seizure, he says, and 1t was a
crime against society.
''Press Helps Assaults"
The Almirall Grand Jury without
any authorization, so far as any one
knows, not even that OF precedent" he
| charges. transacted much of its business
in the offices of its foreman. Raymond
F.. Almirall. "a thoroughly illegal and
unwarranted proceeding" He and the
department were "ruthlessly assailed'
by that body with the able assistance
Of part of the press"
Long after they had fruitlessly
probed and dissected every act and angle
Of the present police administration that
| appealed to them" Mr.. Enright con-
| tinues, "the members Of this Extra
ordinary Grand Jury. their counsel, or
some of them, continued to provide the
press of this city with fiamboyant stories
| OF revelations about to be made. detri-
mental to the municipal and police ad-
ministrations. None of them ever mate
r!alzed, and after having resorted to
| aDOul ever IOTlIl OL COeTClOn kuOWIl, anu
many unequivocally Illegal acts besides,
this twentieth century lineal descendant
of the star Chamber and the Inquisi-
ton wilted and vanished"
Mr.. Enright states that every Police
Commissioner "the instant he takes office
becomes q target for multiplicity of
attacks" These come not only from the
press, he says, but from various civic
organizations, professional reformers,
''the citizen or firm nursing n grudge,
professional gamblers" all classes of
thieves, land disappointed Office seek
ers."
ITO the Police Commissioner who
holds office for any length of time" he
continues, 'the various species of attack
begin to assume generic similarity. and
he is able, after n while, to identify the
source of the attack from its salient
characteristics after much the same
manner that a zoologst dlfferentiates
between several species of reptiles and
monkeys.
"Attacks Easy % Identffyo