Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-24
POLITICS HINDER POLICE
BY DESTROYING MORALE
Former Commissioner i'm Gotham Tells
Difficulties Encountered by Force
and Alliance With Crime.

In question or the property in question
go inexperienced is too great. The
police become past masters in apprais-
ing the danger OF "holler" If 1t is
from "squealer" who doesn't show
signs Of being able to stir up a storm.
they will just ride out the Squall. If it
is made by important people or people
who are likely to keep up agitStion and
direct too many eyes TO the Joint part
nerShip methods of politician-police-
crook, then the partnership will have
to yield. Police magistrates are a nee
essary element in these partnerships.
Matters began to improve when
Theodore Roosevelt became a member
of the Bipartisan Police Board. The
difficulties of running any organization
with bipartisan board are all too ap-
parent, yet in spite of all these diff
culties Roosevelts singleness OF pur-
pose and his smashing attack on crime
gave body blow to the system. Since
that time there has been substantial
improvement, various administrations
contributing largely and the ground
not being wholly lost between times.
AS the development goes on, 1t Is
difficult to employ the old methods of
partisanShip between police and GRIM
inals, for there is no longer mutual
advantage. The policeman under the
new system can no longer safely pro-
tect the criminal, and IL this cannot
be done. If the criminal cannot, so to
speak, be financed to thieve under
certain conditions, then there is moth
ing to give the crock in return for
his services as a member of the part
nerShip Of politician. policeman and
crook. The bonds that held this al
lance together have been weakened
and this is one of the reasons why
police work seems not so successful as
1t was In the good old days.
Informants Paid Now.
As the police have been deprived more
and more Of the services of the crooks
in doing their detective work, there
have been interesting developments.
In the first place, gangs of profess
sional thieves, failing to get the pro-
lection to which they we're accustomed
and felt justly entitled, moved to other
cities, and more and more the places
of the professional old-tirners were
taken by young offenders, rather new
in the criminal ranks, who worked ION
their own" Also, the police, deprived
OF their partners, were not able to get
the information about renegadeS from
justice and about stolen property upon
which they had always relied to solve
their cases Why should criminal
give aAy AnIoIulaIlOn 70 the ponce II Tine
police did nothing for him? And in
formation from stool pigeons was the
method by which the police worked.
Without this their work seemed futile.
The only answer was either to use
informantS as well as they could and
pay them for their information instead
of letting them secure their pay for
themselves in their own highly eficient
manner, or to resort to new methods
observation, deduction, scientific meth
DDS Of all kinds.
Graft Total Stupendous.
The period Of transition has been a
difficult one ! remember one occasion
when a couple of our best pickpockets,
men of international reputation. mas
tiers Of their craft, were brought in to
police headquarters. Hearing that they
had been taken into custody, had
them brought into my Office and spoke
to them something like this:
Boys, we have got nothing on you.
and We are going to treat you right as
long as you viii promise to leave town
and not come back while we are on
the job. That being so, I want you
to tell me honestly how much 1t would
be worth to you If you were let loose
in this town and weren't bothered"
Their eyes frightened
IF the bulls would let us alone on
that corner for year 1t would be
worth $4,000 to them. We don't care
about the uniformed men; we can take
our chance with them. The $4,000
would be for protection from the detec-
tives.
If one multiplies that $4,000 by the
number of corners, entrances and other
strategic locations for pickpockets to
work that exist in New York City, one
can readily see something of the
finances of the good old days.
Still Same Old Story.
It is still the same old story There
is no use in blinking the fact or In
trying to fool ourselves that make
shifts viii succeed. A big city cannot
be properly policed unless the policing
of it is made professional affair. By
that mean that the policeman must
be just as free and untrammeled to do
his work as Is surgeon in a hospital.
The conditions must be such that
nothing will appeal to policeman ex-
cept doing his job as well as it can
be done. The rewards that come to
policemen must come to them because
they do their work well and not be-
cause they have friends or influence.
In New York and many other big
cities there is little incentive to do the
job we'll There is little that a COM
missioner can do to reward a man who
tried to do his job well. Promotion,
and this is most important considera-
ton, comes not to those who have
earned it by their work. but to those
who are successful at passing civil
service test. The test does not take
into account the very qualities which
should determine promotion. It does
not test honesty courage, initiative,
leadership. 1t can be passed by the
clever shirker who is skillfully tutored
by a professional coach far more sue
cessfully than it can by the straight
forward, hard working policeman who
is trying to do his duty to the public.