The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-10-19
CRIME FOUGHT
LARGELY WITH
IDENTIFICATION
FlngerprintS Among Most
Effective Weapons Police
Employ.

This is the fifth Of a series of
stories on police systems written
by Albert J. Beverage Jr., spe-
cial writer for the Lebanon 1nd.l
Reporter.
The indianapolis Times will
publish a story daily until the
conclusion Of the series. In COM
piling the articles, Mr.. Beveridge,
during the last year. has studied
the operations of a number of
state police setups.
His survey included Indiana,
Massachusetts, New York. New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and the
ROYAL Northwest Mounted.
The stories also are appear
ing in the Lebanon Reporter.
BY ALBERT J. BEVERIDGE JR.
Identification Of a criminal is one
Of the important problems of a po-
lice department. The criminal of
today uses all the advantages of
modern transportation with the re-
suit that he Is able TO extend his
activities over a wide territory. The
professional or experienced criminal
is clever IN hiding his identity and
uses every known artifice to do so.
In one Jurisdiction, if arrested, he
may use one name; in another
another name, usually posing as a
O first offender and relying on the
leniency of the courts. Medicine
and science help him to change his
personal appearance in such a way
that it is almost impossible to
recognize him.
Statistics reveal that a large per-
cent of crime is committed by
habitual criminals. These experienced
men have no scruples and know no
boundaries. Police organizations
have been forced to combat this
menace in order to protect society
and the Identification of these
criminals is of prime Importance.
Every state police department in
the country, and practically every
large metropolitan force, has some
sort of a bureau or department of
criminal Identification. This bureau
has become most valuable and
essential to all forces because
without it the law enforcing
agencies throughout the country
would be pOWerleSS to successfully
apprehend and detain hardened and
experienced criminals.
Work Centralized
The science Of fingerprinting was
the first successful step toward cata-
loguing and classifying those men
with police records. AS is true with
most new undertakings, the estab-
lishment of this measure in a prac-
tical system was not the work of
day or so. Yet gradually, as the
merits and extraordinary influences
of fingerprinting became obvious, it
was necessary to establish a central
clearing house in order to form an
efficient working basis. Such a bu-
reau was established in Washington
and now is operated by the United
States bureau of investigation.
Previously, police departments
had to act individually with the re-
suit that if citizen Of Kansas was
arrested in New York, the police in
the latter state had no way of find
ing out whether a former criminal
record existed against the prisoner.
Today all fingerprints from all
police departments are filed not
only locally but in Washington as
well. with the result that any town,
city or state can check the criminal
record of a suspect by notifying the
federal bureau.
The development of this national
system was on cooperative basis
and only those departments which
recognized the value and Importance
of the fingerprint availed them
selves of this opportunity. To per-