New Britain herald., 1930-09-13
NEW BRITAIN FREE FROM ORGANIZED CRIME, N0C0S CHARACTERS HERE s:. :,, S; a:;:;

vations covering period of 22 years as a police officer. Chief Will liam c. Hart, now in the ninth year as executive head of the departmen: believes his native city of New Brit ain to be far above the average from the standpoint of obedience to law, he said in an interview in which he touched on all phases of police work as it was done in the past and is being done under mod ern conditions. .
 We have not a vicious character in our city, the chief declared 1T mean by that one who is implcat- ed in law violations either on the surface or under cover, day, in and day out. Of course, we have men whose police records are lengthy, and who seem to be utterly unable to keep out of the toi&s,. but on the whole their offenses are not alarm ingly serious.
 Every city has men who drink to excess and become involved in street brawls. Then there are oth- CTS who have considerable domestic difficulty which lands them into the courts frequently, and so on, down the line, but hard, confirmed crim- lnals and bad men have been few in our city's history"
 Organized crime, such as keeps police departments on the qui vive in the larger cities And frequently shows it's head in smaller communi- ties, is unknown in New Britain, ac- cording to Chief Hart. Big gam bling games, operated at enormous profit and known throughout entire sections of the country. do not exist in New Britain, he said, and exam ination of the police records for sev- era1 years discloses fiat the only arrests for gambling were made in ordinary card or "craps" games which had not been in existence for any appreciable length of time.
 Slot machines, which were taken out of nuperous stores in New Brit ain several months ago, precipitat- ing court fights in Hartford and New Haven, gave the local police some trouble for a short time, Chief Hart said, and he was pleased that the issue involved in their opera tion was settled in the courts. The machines are no longer permitted.
 A few years ago, Chief Hart ad- dressed the Exchange club at the Burritt. hotel and took occasion to give expression to the firm convic- tion that the best interests of the country as a whole would be served through modifying the prohibition law. Nothing has happened in the meantime to swerve him from that belief, although, he observed, the situation in New Britain is far from alarming.
 "Undoubtfdly, there are places in New Britain where liquor is sold,'' he said. i've often had complaints from women whose husbands and sons were spending their money for liquor which was not only keeping them poor in pocket but undermin- ing their health, but for the past several months there has been little complaint and I believe, on the whole, that our department has a good record for enforcement of this particular law. Under the business and economic conditions, I doubt very much that persons depending on liquor sales in New Britain are doing enough business to justify the chance they are taking. Fines Of s100( s15O and S2OO and costs, add ed to the cost of rent and other ex- penses incident to the liquor busi- ness can hardly be met when the class of people who ordinarily ire quent so-called joints are without money enough to buy the necessities of life"
 The automobile has made great demands on the police department and in Chief Hart's opinion the To- cal department has been quick to- meet the situation. Modern trat~ ic lights, crosswalk markers, stop and slow signs, boulevard traffic regulations and parking rules have been brought into play. while in creases have been made in the | equipment to permit of additional patrol service. Chief Hart is a firm believer in the advantages Of motorcycle and automobile servic2 in the department, for it not only | makes possible speedy response in emergencies but motorists who are inclined to, be reckless or careless are taught by experience that they | cannot foretell the moment an off cer will come out of side street | and haul them iup short T believe the motorcycle and automobile of fcers prevent a sufficient humber Of accidents and serious violations of | the motor vehicle laws to more than l