Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-06
Proposal for Amendments to
Manual Is Renewed by
Maj. Pratt.
PLAN WOULD CUT DOWN
HEARING BOARDS WORK
Precinct Chiefs Would Penalize Of
fcers for Infraction of
Discipline.

Proposed amendments to the police
manual giving precinct captains author
1ty to try and penalize policemen for
minor attractions of discipline which
have been in the files of lie District
Commissioners for more than a year
were renewed today by Maj. Henry G.
Pratt, superintendent of police.
The plan was originally conceived by
Mai Pratt back in September, 1928,
when he was chief of the Detective
Bureau II was subsequently approved
by Edwin B. Hesse, then superintendent
of police. and submitted to the former
board of Commissioners. The Com
missioners, however, pigeonholed the
recommendations.
The amendments would authorize pre-
cinct commanders, upon the written re-
quest of officers accused of miSde-
meanors, to pass upon the cases and
impose penalties. The penalties pre-
scrlbed would be in the form of repri-
mand. imposition of extra hours Of
duty. the forfeiture of leaves OF absence
not to exceed five days in any one case
and the forfeiture of not less than IS
or more than $40 in salary.
Major Would Review Cases.
All such cases would be reviewed by
the major and superintendent, except
those which involved the forfeiture of
pay, and his decision would be final and
conclusive. Cases involving the for
fixture of salary would be reviewed by
the Commissioners, whose decision also
would be final and conclusive. The
major and superintendent, however.
could refer any case passed on by the
captains to the Police Trial Board for
adjudication.
Failure to patrol beats, neglect of duty
and failure to report regularly to the
precinct station, are typical of the
offenses that would be disposed of by
the police captains.
The plan of granting precinct COM
manders authority to punish policemen
was an outgrowth of agitation during
Mai. Hesse's administration for improv-
ing discipline and reducing the work
Of the Police Trial Board. A survey
AT That time showed that the trial board
was handling approximately 400 cases
a year, and that the majority of them
were of a minor nature.
Mai. Pratt believes the plan Is as
practical now as it was when he pro-
posed it in September, 1928, and feels
that the new board of Commissioners
probably will give it thorough consid-
Grafton.
Necessity Pointed Out.
''The necessity for some such method
of administering discipline is apparent
Hesse told the Commissioners when he
submitted Maj. Pratt's recommendations
to them for approval. Preliminary re-
ports of a comprehensive survey now
being conducted by the department of
cases referred to the police trial board
during the last three fiscal years indi-
cate that the majority of these cases so
referred have been for minor attractions
of discipline such as usually occur in
any large group of men operating I'M
der strict rules, and great number of
such cases could have been handled in
the manner set forth had the ma
chinery for such action been set I'D.
ut is believed that under this broad
grant of authority and power, particu-
larry the authority to make needful
rules and regulations for the proper
government of the force, the Commits
sioners may. by the enactment of GER
tain amendments to the manual, make
effective the plan as recommended"