Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-02-03
DILL WILL AID
IN CRIME WAVE
Motor Vehicle Head Plans to
Have Office Open at All
Times Conference is Held
specIal correspondent.

TRENTON, e 3-For the ben
80 Of the police department of the
sees, Motor Vehicle Commissioner
Dll is planning to have his Office at
the state house per day and night,
so hat the owner of any licensed
car may be as~certained at any hour
of the twenty-four. This was one
of the feature announcements in
connection with the meeting here
of the Crime Wave Conference Com
mittee. MIR. Dill said a clerk will
be on duty in his department al all
hours just as soon as the complete
list of 1921 registrations is made
up, and then any police official may
obtain any information as to auto
offenders and criminals by calling
he Office here day or night.
The committee organized for its
work by selecting Prosecutor Het-
field of Union. chairman. and Sher'
if Kinsley of Bergen, secretary.
Those who attended the meeting in
addition to the officers chosen were:
Chief of Camden Police Ravenor.
Chief O'Connell of New Brunswick.
Sheriff Hayes. Warren: Sheriff By
al Morris; City Commissioner
Brennan, Newark; Prosecutor Gas
XIII. Atlantic: Chief of Police Mui-
cahy of Elizabeth, Chief Treacey of
Paterson, Prosecutor Sexton of Mon
mouth, and Prosecutor Plummer OF
Ocean. Several of those named by
Commissioner Dill on the commit
tee, including Sheriff Madigan of
Hudson county and Chief McFeeley,
Hoboken, were absent.
Commissioner Dill recommended
that the Motor Vehicle Law be
amended to include the law which
authorizes Jail sentences for driving
whitn nfnxfnafa lie - axfCtu nf
present county judges are barred
from considering the evidence in
such cases where the defendant iap-
peals from his conviction in a lower
court. All the judge can do is to
pass upon the technical features of
the proceedings. which, when found
defective, save the offender from his
merited Jail sentence many times.
Mr.. Dill said the change IN the law
would permit a review by the county
Judge of the evidence and would COR
rect the present situation, which
permits offenders to escape their jail
penalties.
"The frequency with which auto
mobile drivers convicted of operat-
ing motor vehicles while under the
influence of intoxicating liquors are
released from Jail Immediately after
sentence" declared Commissioner
Dill in a statement today, "compels
the Motor Vehicle Department to
urge the enactment of legislation
which will write into the motor We
hicle act a provision permitting
prosecution for intoxicated driving
to come under the motor vehicle act.
instead of the disorderly persons act,
as at present. If the change in the
law which this department proposes
is adopted. appeals to the court of
common pleas cdn be had de novo.
That is to say, all of the evidence
which brought about the conviction
of the defendant in the court below
can be reviewed by the common
pleas judge, and thus the guilt or
innocence of the accused can be
firmly established.
Under the disorderly persons act
an appeal de ovo is impossible and
liberation OF the many intoxicated
drivers is brought about by the fact
that the committing magistrate
made a mistake in the execution of
his papers. Some of the most flag
rant cases of intoxicated driving that
it would be possible to conjecture
have gone unpublished because the
trial Judge made an error in the
proceedings and the lawyer for the
defendant. taking advantage of this
error, Immediately prevented the in
generation of the defendant by TAX
ing an appeal and subsequently set
ting aside the Judgment on technical
grounds, and l firmly believe h a If
all the facts were presented to the
common pleas court that few of our
Judges would reverse, and the prac-
tice of making a mockery OF the
penalty of thirty days to six months
in the county Jail for intoxicated
driving would Immediately ease.
II am glad to know that the pros
ecutors, sheriffs n chiefs of police
In attendance at the conference here
yesterday unanimously supported
my views"
A committee consisting of Prose-
cutor PlumIner, Chief Treacey. Com
missioner Brennan and Sheri1s
Hayes and Kinsley RAJ named to
investigate ways and means for CO.
ordinating all the police functions In
the city and county governments In
the state. All the suggestions along
this line will likely be drafted into
bills and considered at another meet
ing of the committee on Feb. II and
then submitted to the legislature.
Prosecutor Hetfield outlined what
is being done along the lines of CO.
ordination in Union county. An IN
dependent telephone system is main
tanned by the different municipalities
and certain rings are TOT
the use in calling h various police
departments. Each municipality is
bearing its proportionate share of
this cost.
Chief Ravenor of Camden had
nothing 10 report as to special ar
rangements in Camden county. In
to a question of MI. Dill,
the chief, stated that the prosecutor
does not maintain a special motor
patrol on the White Horse Pike <
eept on Sundays in h summer.
Commissioner Brennan reported
that Newark is maintaining a fleet
of motorcycles and machines for use
at night. Chief Muicahy reported
thai Elizabeth a been very fortu-
nate to date in escaping much OF
the crime wave. AS an instance he
reported that there have been only
five automobiles stolen from the
streets there in the past few years.
Chief Treacey said Paterson has
all the latest and most modern de-