Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-12-21
Outwittinu the Crooks

In an article that reads like the
most thrilling fiction, Tracing
Crooks Across the Frontier" in Our
World" Wallace V. Mackay tells Of
the new methods which have been
worked out in the, Northwest, for
capturing criminals who have here
tofore evaded arrest by crossing the
border. The man who led this move
ment was Luke S. May, brilliant
young criminologist. A meeting Of
Canadian and American officials was
arranged by Mr.. May which resulted
in the organization of The Northwest
Association of Sheriffs and Police.
Among the most important steps
taken by the association was the es-
Enlistment Of unique identification
system, which might be termed an
international rogues' gallery or clear
ing house for professional crooks.
of a rogues' gallery is worth any
thing at all to the larger cities. why
not have one in every small town and
hamlet? Why not, further have the
summarized criminal information in
every law enforcement department?
suggested May.
MAY gathered, with the help OF
every sheriff, police chief and federal
officer in the Northwest, complete
lists of all criminals coming under
the official notice of any officer in the
territory during the past five-year-
period.
British Columbia alone furnished
more specific criminal information
to the central bureau than any two
American states combined. This is
declared to be due to the effects OF
the more efficient system OF GRIM
inal identification in force in
the Canadian departments for many
years. The benefits of their expert
ence, however, and the ingenuity OF
the American officials have thus been
amalgamated for the common good.
The old Royal Canadian Mounted
Police Injunction. Get your man
and damn the cost has now been re-
vised to read Get your man-the cost
will be SMALL
"The allied officers did not stop at
rejuvenated system of criminal
Identification, though it was estab-
lished as an all year around program
featured by monthly meetings OF
leading officials in different centers.
The association founded a school
which would afford every officer who
so desired an intensive course IN
scientific methods of criminal inves-
tigation, supplemented by the latest
systems and devices that modern
science and invention could afford.
The institution officially sponsored
and known as the Northwest
University of Applied Criminology
is declared to be the first of
it's kind on the North Ameri-
can continent, and certainly Is unique
in that it is controlled and supervised
by the law-enforcement officers
themselves. The city of Portland
appropriated $4,000 for the instruc-
ton of it's officers in this school,
while the cities of Seattle. Spokane
and Vancouver, B. c., and other large
centers have similar proposals under
consideration.
'"Since the new association was or
ganized in the Northwest, the per-
centage of criminals getting away
with crime has decreased forty per
cent; crime has dropped twenty live
percent, according to the most reli-
able estimates, while the officers
themselves have come to realize that
il is really easy to forestall crime IN
many cases and thus save commun-
tiles thousands of dollars monthly"