Evening star., 1924-10-31
UNIFORMED POLICE
WIDELY FAVORED
Fifty-Three Cities Have No
Traffic Officers in Plain
Clothes, Says A. A. A.

in enforcing traffic laws; three use
plain clothes officers and f1ve attire
their traffic officers In both uniforms
and plain clothes, the American Au-
tomobfle Association announce d today
upon receipt of responses to question
naires recently sent to traffic heads of
81 cities. with view to determining
the best policy In enforcing traffic
regulations, the relative merits of
using traffic officers in uniforms and
plain clothes and similar questions.
Ernest N. Smith. general manager
of the association. declared the prin-
cipal reasons advanced by the police
chiefs against the plain clothes prac-
tice and in favor of uniformed OFF,
GERS were that the uniform has a
better moral and psychological effect
upon the motorist; that the uniform
is protection to the officer as well
as the motorist: that the uniform re-
ceives more attention. and that bet
ter discipline Is maintained: that the
uniform prevents speeding and elm
mates disputes and suspicion. and
that plain clothes officers tend to
encourage spec ding. as motorists are
often in doubt as to whether they are
being pursued by officers or by ban
dts, especially at night"
Cities Experiences shown.
The SO cities using only uniformed
police. Mr.. Smith continued. include
New York. Chicago. Philadelphia,
Cleveland, Boston, Baltimore Pitts
burgh, st. Louis, San Francisco. Los
Angeles. Detroit and other metropoli-
tan centers where the traffic prob
lens are more difficult and where the
best available traffic authorities are
presumably in control" Twenty-one
of these cities, Mr.. Smith added. had
at one time tried plain clothes me n
and abandoned the system"
The cities using plain clothes Of
ficers are. the general manager con-
tinued. Cincinnati. Ohio: Jackson.
system is in force in Altoona. Pa;
Houston, Tex; St. Cloud. Mimi; Wa
terbury. Conn, and Wilmington, N. c..
The association, which has launched
movement here to abolish the prac-
tice of attiring some of Washington s
traffic officers in plain clothes, gave
the following reason for making the
inquiry:
Gets Opinion of Experts.
TT was realized that no amount of
theorizing could be as authoritative
as the opinions of professional ex-
perts, who had for years made an
in'Nnsive study of the problems based
OIL ctual tests Of various systems of
enforce ment and control under all
conditions, and that the consensus Of
such opinion would be the final
Judgment Of the highest court in the
United States
The association quoted the letter
received from the chief of police of
Columbus. Ohio, in regard to plain
clothes traffic officers:
We believe" the letter said, that
the presence of our men in uniform
riding over the streets. has the prop
er deterrent effect If We can thus
speeding by the presence of
officers on the streets, 1t is far more
efficacious than sporadic attempts at
law enforcement. We believe that
crime prevention is equally as i'm
portant as law enforcement. All our
motor cycle officers are in full uni
form. We abandoned civilian dress
for motor cycle officers. both as mat
ter of protection to our men and as
protective measure for motorists.
1--WE have thus prevented motorists
being made the victims of shake
down men in outlying sections of the
CITY,"
Report From New York.
New York's commissioner wrote:
1--WE consider 1t dangerous to police
men and unfair to motorists to allow
men to patrol in plain clothes. We
formed policeman produces a more
general effect"
I'VE abandoned the practice of
putting officers in plain Clothes.
wrote the Salt Lake City chief. "as
the uniform has a very deterrent ef-
feet, and also such officers can be
called whenever there Is any trou-
ble.'
TT is dangerous for the cops to be
mistaken for stick-up men," wrote
Ohio, while St Louis
insists on the uniform because the
present police administration believes
in an ounce OF prevention rather enan
a pound of cure"
Chicago police are uniformed, "as
there is then no question as to their
identity or the purpose for which
they are on the road" and Bridge
mort. Conn, wrote: Putting men in
plain clothes Is simply setting
trap. and while IT might swell the
court records, do not think the pol
icy of detecting ia nearly as good as
trying to prevent violation Oh tne
law"
Policy Toward SpeederS.
With regard to other trafnc PROD
lens, the association said:
..rhe plan of making special drives
against speeders once or twice a year
was favored by Is, with "A opposed TO
the policy. Twenty-Five voted IN Ia
vor of stationing men at various
points, while several expressed the
opinion that the best results are ac-
Cd CvCIR
officers with no particular stations.
Others indicated that their cities are
divided into sections with motor
cycle officer in each section.
with respect to proper speed lin
it's in suburbs, main residence Sec
tions and downtown sections, five
cities voted in favor of a maximum
speed limit of IS miles an hour in
suburban districts. One chief would
permit the motorist to travel 40 miles
an hour, while seven chiefs voted In
favor of 30 miles an hour. A speed
Of Is miles an hour is favored by 10
police chiefs and 20 miles an hour by
"a chiefs, while four chiefs would
make the maximum speed in the sub
urbs Is miles an hour. An average
of these opinions would give a sub
urban speed of "a miles.
THE speed recommended for resi-
Dental districts varied from Is to 80
miles an hour, the majority being in
favor Of 80 miles an hour. For the
downtown district the speed recon-
mended varied from 10 to 20 miles an
hour, the large majority favoring Is.
The majority of the police chiefs
favored the use of motor cycle off,
GERS to check speeding. Many favor
ed revocation of licenses, while some
would make the penalties for speed
more severe and would in
clude q Jail sentence. Cooperation
with the courts and stationing off,
GERS at certain street intersections are