Evening star., 1936-01-19
Special Dispatch to The Star.

BALTIMORE, Md, January 10
One of the major services performed
for Baltimore City by the Baltimore
Criminal Justice Commission has been
the devising Of report form in which
II felonies and major offenses against
law and order are set down. The
numbers of violations Of the law in
each one of the II offenses Is given.
the numbers of arrests in each. the
numbers dismissed by magistrates. the
numbers disposed Of in the Juvenile
Court. the numbers dismissed by the
grand jury, the numbers indicted. the
numbers stetted, the numbers nolle
prosecuted, the numbers found not
guilty, the numbers found guilty, the
numbers pending indictment and trial.
the numbers in which sentences were
suspended or the accused paroled.
This table, issued for each quarter
and for each year, shows at glance
whether crime is increasing or dim
inishing in any period for which 1t is
issued.
But 1t shows much more than that
1t shows what percentages Of crimes
are followed by arrests. 1t shows
whether the police are maintaining
an efficiency once established, whether
the magistrates are indulgent. whether
the States attorney is maintaining his
record for convictions.
Administration Is Gauged.
Establishing a standard for Balti-
more (and incidentally one which
compares favorably with other COM
parable communities, for all the diff
ferences in the methods Of keeping
crime statistics) this table is like an
exact machine in the manner in
which it points needle at any slump
in the administration of criminal
justice. Impersonally, breakdown in
any part of the machinery is pointed
out.
Police, States attorneys. judges. law
yers, business and professional men,
newspaper editors have learned to
watch these reports and are quick to
observe any alarming information sup
piled by the movement of the needle.
Before the establishment of the
Criminal Justice Commission. no such
statistics were kept in unified and
related form The Police Department
kept its statistics as to the numbers
of arrests it made. But it concerned
itself not at all with what happened
in the courts to those 1t had started
on their way to those courts. Some
statistics were kept by the States at
orney. but the records were not Or
ganized and were not ineligible to
the uninitiated
Contractor Is Murdered.
In August. 1922, William B. Norris,
a well-known and substantial con-
tractor, walking along the street with
a young clerk, was shot and killed
by hold-ur gang and $500 pay
roll stolen.
The crime was the latest Of a series
Of pay roll and store robberies. Public
indignation was tremendous. The
killing Of business man downtown in
broad daylight made the population
of the city unanimous in demanding
not merely that the murderers be
caught. but that something definite
be done about a situation which per-
mitted criminals to fiaunt the law
in the manner in which these men
had Haunted it.
The community did not attempt to
fight murder with statistics. The fve
were captured within . few weeks.
-Four were sentenced to life imprison-
ment. The nth, who turned informer,
was sentenced to 10 years in the pen
itentiary on another charge.
A lawyer. who was alleged to have
been in communication with the man
regarded as the actual murderer, was
disbarred and. although he has made
several efforts since to secure REIN
statement to the bar, has failed.
Machinery Is Tightening.
The Judge Of the Supreme Bench Of
Baltimore looked over their own ma
chinery for the trial Of criminals and
tightened up the machinery. They
improved the methods Of selecting
juries for the trial of cases. The
States attorney, Robert F. Leach, jr..
had been vigorous in the prosecution
Of the Norris gang and Herbert r.
O'Conor, his assistant, then well under
30 years Of age. had shown initiative
and vigor.
Mr.. O'Conor was elected States at.
toney Of Baltimore ct about the time
Mr.. Hepbron became the director Of
the commission. His oflice co-operated
and the commission aided In making
IN end Of the old fee system under