Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-27
MILITARY LINEUP
| OF POLICE FORCE
| ORDERED IN EFFECT
Six Precincts Merged, With
Three inspection Districts
Covering Whole City.
HIGHER OFFICIALS
TO TRY MINOR CASES
Gen. Crosby Takes Napoleon and
Army as Basis for idea in
Reorganization Plan.

The District Commissioners today
adopted an order reorganizing the Po-
lice Department by merging six pre-
cincts into three, setting up three in
spection districts and giving the new
district inspectors as well as the assistant
tive and Trafic Bureaus authority to
try offenders as summary court officers
for certain offenses.
The order becomes effective July
next, simultaneously with the order re-
Gently adopted compelling the retire
ment Of all officers who have reached
their sixty-fourth birthday.
Promotion List Asked for.
No personnel changes are made in
the order adopted today, but the major
and superintendent of police is directed
to submit recommendations for promo
lions indicated as necessary TO carry
out the provisions Of the order.
! Under the new order the first pre-
cinct is merged with the sixth; the
| second precinct is merged with the
| eighth, and the fourth precinct Is
merged with the fifth.
| The first new inspection district
covers the territory in the present first,
| precincts District headquarters for
this district will be established in the
existing second precinct station house.
Headquarters ut 18th Station.
The second new inspection district
will include the present seventh,
twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth pre-
cincts. District headquarters for this
district will be established in the exist
| ing fourteenth precinct station house.
Inspection district No. will include
the present fourth, NTH, ninth,
eleventh and harbor precincts. DIS
trict headquarters for this district win
be established at the existing fourth
| precinct station house.
Summary Courts Set Up.
The section relating to the Summary
| Court officers reads as follows:
THE assistant superintendent COM
handing the Detective and Traf1c Bu-
| reaus. respectively, and the inspectors
| commanding the inspection districts
| aforesaid are hereby vested with au-
thority as Summary Court oficers, and
| as such shall have power to try all
cases Of infractions of discipline where
in the penalty provided for conviction
/ AOE1 A1Ot A4ldAG 0AdAA6ADJAy -
| dation for removal from the service:
| provided, however, that the precinct
commanders shall continue to be vested
with authority to dispose of minor cases
! of violations of the rules of the de-
partment"
This latter power of the precinct
commanders dates back to an order
| issued by the Commissioners last June
20.
Will Change Telephones.
The order also directs the electrical
department Immediately to arrange for
the transfer of patrol boxes and tele-
phone lines made essential by the new
order and to have the work completed
by June rs.
Napoleon and the army gave Com
missioner Crosby his ideas for the plan
Of reorganization of the police depart
ment.
A military man himself, having re-
tired about a year ago as Chief OF
Cavalry to become the police and flre
commissioner of the District, Gen.
Crosby believes that a military form Of
organization will increase the efficiency
Of the police department. His whole
scheme Is based on the military prin-
not depend SO much on the rank and
file as on supervision.
Cites Napoleon's Idea.
Napoleon said that no man ought to
command more than five units" said
the commissioner But Maj. Pratt, as
superintendent Of police, now com-
mandS IA precincts in addition to other
divisions of his department"
The new plan of Organization will be
modelled somewhat after a peace time
military regiment. Maj. Pratt will COM
pare with the colonel Inspector William
s. Shelby, assistant superintendent, will
have a rank similar to that Of the lieu
tenant colonel.
The existing II precincts will be d.
vided into three platoonS with an in
spector at the head of each platoon.
The inspectors will correspond to majors
in regiment.
Four precincts will constitute q pla-
toon, and the number of precincts will
be reduced to IL by the consolidation
of the first with the sixth, the second
with the eighth and the fourth with
the fifth. The main vice squad will
make up the twelfth unit.
Each VIII Have STAFF.
Such an organization, Commissioner
Crosby pointed out, vii release enough
captains, lieutenants and sergeants to
provide each inspector with a staff. The
inspector in charge of each platoon of
precincts will establish headquarters in |
one of the station houses in his domain, |
CONTINUED on Page 2. Column 81