Evening star., 1935-02-03
FEDERAL SLEUTHS
MAY USE RADIO
Justice Department May
Turn to Short Wave in
War on Crime.
BY MARTIN CODEL.

officially called the Bureau Of
L Investigation, Department Of
Justice, may turn to short
wave radio as its newest ally
in combating gangsters and organ
ized crime
Used with phenomenal success by
local and State police departments
for the transmission Of intelligence
to aid in the apprehension Of GRIM
inalS, short-waVe radio may become
the connecting link between Federal
police headquarters in Washington
and the branch Offices scattered
throughout the country. Already, it
is learned, the department is plan
ming installation of a short-wave sta
tion in Washington. with studio space
already provided in its new build
ing here, apparently for the use Of
j. Edgar Hoover, chief Of the Bureau
Of Investigation.
While little data could be obtained
officially, it was indicated that the
Federal police are considering adapta-
ton Of a radio network with which
to maintain secret communication
with branch offices. Presumably, this
would be a code radio system, with
the communications handled in
cipher, so as to prevent wire tap
ping" by ganster cliques.
Police Use Radio.
In some 200 cities and towns the
records of the Federal Communica-
tions Commission show local police
departments use radio in communi-
eating with scout cars When crime
is committed and word is given head
quarters, orders are flashed over the
radio and the patrol cars closest to
the scene speed to the scene. The
success attained in this method Of
police dispatching has resulted in
widespread use Of the system, and
provisions have been made by the
commission for a sufficient number
of radio channels to accommodate
every city and town in the country
of more than 10000 population with
radio facilities.
In one quarter, 1t was pointed out,
that the Department Of Justice may
turn to another ultra modern form
of radio to expedite its operations.
Facsimile, or still picture" transmits
sion, 1t was said. conceivably could be
used, and might revolutionize the
J field of intelligence transmission in
| crime work. 1t is possible, accord
| ing to radio technicians, to transmit
by facsimile exact lkenesses Of tan
gible objects. Photographs Of Grim
inals, their fingerprints and card rec
| ords contained in the bureaus files
the most complete in the country
could be reproduced at distant points
via facsimile. The transmission is
accomplished at the rate Of about an
inch a minute.
Ultimately, under such a system,
every police department in the country
might be placed in the advantageous
position of calling upon the depart
| ment in Washington for data regard
ing criminal suspects and have the
authentic information from the OFF,
cial records in their hands with re-
markable speed.
Weather Maps Dispatched.
Facsimile transmission is now en-
ployed commercially in transoceanic
and in ship-to-shore service by the
Radio Corporation of America and for
military purposes by the Army and
Navy. Weather maps. with all the in
tricate curves showing points Of low
and high intensity, are dispatched by
this means. The receiving apparatus
is relatively simple and mass produc-
tion costs would be low, according to
engineers. They look to the day in
the not distant future when facsimile
receivers will be adjuncts to ordinary
receiving sets, with news bulletins, car
toons and other printed matter or art
transmitted into the home as new
type Of radio service.
The almost miraculous progress Of
radio in police crime detection and
criminal apprehension work, however,
has not been without its complications.
Any one with an all-wave receiver can
tune in the police broadcasts, and
this has become quite fad through
out the country. But there is law
which specifies that no person shall
divulge the contents, substance or
effect of these messages without au-
thority. For willful violation the law
carries penalty Of $4,000 fine or
imprisonment of not more than two
years, or both.
Because of the constantly increas-
ing number of short-wave listeners
who intercept these police communi-
cations, the Federal Communications
Commission has sounded a warning
about the law and the penalties pre-
scribed. Reports, it said, indicate that
the public is increasingly intercepting
police and other short-wave communi-
cations. Cautioning against illegal
use of this information, the F. c. c.
continued with a caution that i'm
proper use of interceptive short wave
is violation of law subject to severe
penalties and urged radio dealers to
furnish purchasers of short-wave sets
with excerpts from the communica-
tions act concerning the secrecy of
radio messages.