Evening star., 1934-05-13
MOVES TO SET UP
CRIME INSTITUTE
Justice Unit Would Train
Federal, State and
Municipal Police.
BY REX COLLIER.

Definite steps for establishment
here of a National Institute of Grim
inology for training of Federal. State
and municipal police, for technical re-
search in crime detection and for pro-
motion of law observance and en-
forcement have been taken by the
Department of Justice.
The institute, to be operated under
the supervision of Attorney General
Cummings, is proposed as the admin
1strationS response to demands for
so-called American Scotland Yard or
nationalized police force.
On its faculty and research staff
would be outstanding experts in GRIM
inal law, crime statistics, scientific
crime detection and related subjects
and in its student body would be
picked men of the Nations law en-
forcement agencies, sent here for spe-
cial training in ballistics, fingerprint
identification, moulage, ultraviolet
ray analyses, microscopy and va
riety of other technical phases Of in
vesugative and police work.
Present School Nucleus.
The chronological university prob
ably would be built around the JUS
tice Departments present training
school for special agents of the Divi-
sion of Investigation, its crime re-
search laboratory and its crime sta
tiStics bureau
A step in the direction of the ma
tional police school already has been
taken. Several specially qualified
members of the Police Departments
of two or three cities have been
granted special permission recently
to take the training course given to
Justice agents entering the Federal
service A member of the Washington
police force was included in this group
of outsiders.
The training and research center is
Attorney General Cummings proposal
for bringing about closer co-ordina-
tion of Federal, State and municipal
law enforcement bodies.
Cummings first suggested such an
institute several months ago, and
since that time he has given consider
able thought to it. Plans in some
detail have been prepared. How the
institution will be created and
financed has not been disclosed, but
apparently little if any additional
legislation would be necessary to au-
thorize its establishment. A merger
and amplif1cation of present training
and research activities of the Depart
ment of Justice probably could be
effected by order of the Attorney
General or the President.
Functions ThreefOld.
The Attorney General in a radio
address last night referred briefly to
the plans for the institute and said
its functions will be threefold First,
to collect and analyZe crime statistics,
reports and other data relating to law
enforcement; second. to conduct a
campaign of education designed to
improve administration of criminal
justice and prevent delinquency and
crime, and third, to train police ana
detectives along scientific lines.
Cummings also disclosed plans for
an enlarged. motorized and heavily
armed force of criminal chaserS.
equipped with a score Of armored
automobiles, 200 fast cars, ITO two
way radio sets and an ar4nal Of
automatic rifles, machine guns and
ammunition.
Pointing out that the Justice De-
partment's investigation division has
q force of but 4l9 agents, although
its field covers more than $500 000
square miles and 125,000,O00 people,
Cummings said he is asking the Budg-
ct Bureau to approve a proposed
appropriation for 270 men.
Legislation Creates Need.
The added force and equipment will
be urgently needed as a result of new
legislation which will give the division
greatly increased responsibilities, in
cluding that of catching bank rob-
bers as well as kidnaperS, eXtortion-
lists and gangs of rowing criminals.
Under. the program of expansion,
most of the field Offices of the divi-
sion would be furnished with an
armored car, several light bat fast
cars fitted with short-wave sending
and receiving radios, and an aSSort-
ment of monitor automatic rifles and
Thompson submachine guns.
The division now has no armored
cars and limited number of second
hand automobiles commandeered from
bootleggers. There are no radios. So
pressed have the divisions men been
for weapons that an exhibit of cap
tured gangster machine guns and
rifles in the Justice Building recently
was dismantled and the exhibits dis
tributed to agents engaged in the
Dillinger hunt.