Glacier County chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1931-1940, 1939-08-11
BUTTE'S POLICE
IN FRONT RANK
DEPARTMENT RATES WELL, TIP
AMONG BEST IN WHOLE
COUNTRY

Installation Of Short Wave Radio,
Fingerprint and Photographic De-
partments Enables Officials to Keep
Operations Of Criminals In Check.
Hand in hand with the advance
ment of any community marches
the development of its police meth
DDS and equipment. Constant work
on the part of Butte's police Off
GERS and executives has enabled
the force to keep in the front rank
Of law enforcement organizations
throughout the country. Keeping
watch over struggling mining
city and its often boisterous citi-
zens is not haphazard iob-a
situation Butte realized years ago, with
the result that today the Butte city
hall houses one Of the most up-to-date
west.
At the time of its inception, Butte,s
shortwave, two-way radio communica-
ton system sometimes was considered
q useless expense. That was in March.
1888, before it had proved its ines
umable worth in crime prevention and
detection.
Daily since that time the 5o-watt
station has aided in stopping a crime
or trapping the offender much more
rapidly than was possible before it was
installed. Numerous instances have
been cited in which Mining city resi-
ment to report breakins being attempt
ed in the neighborhood. Patrol cars
were dispatched and the burglars
caught almost Immediately.
Aids Fast Work
=, quick action on the part of the DO
lice, with the aid of radio equipment,
recently made possible the capture OF
Eoff. who later confessed robbins
Harold BuO Snow, Butte service sta.
ton attendant. The arrest was made
81 minutes after Night Chief Jack
Duggan learned Of the crime. without
snortwave radio police possibly would
pair. who announced their Intention
Of abandoning the getaway car and
hopping a freight train" near Deer
Lodge, where Sheriff Fred Walton
captured them after receiving a de-
ScI,ipsion ~. OF the auto from a Butte
Nearly al officers have qualified for
their radio operators licenses. In
charge of radio equipment for the
Butte force is William Whipple, for
Q number OF years connected with air
plane lines as q radio operator before
Joining the police ranks more than a
year ago in Butte. Whipple has re-
ceived postal cards from as far east
as Baltimore. Md, telling of hearing
Butte police broadcasts with remark
the set is about 20 miles, it is said.
Fingerprint Department
Also responsible for many important
arrests is the police fingerprint de-
partment, under the direction of James
p; Mooney. Prisoners often charged
with petty offenses have been found,
wanted in other states for major
crimes. Records of many thousands of
criminals are kept in Washington,
-. q, by the Federal Bureau of Inves-
LEGATION. Prints of Butte city prisoners
to learn their complete criminal record.
another step was taken by Butte
police when the department recently
installed photography equipment, COM
plete with developing tanks and a dark
room. The camera and reflectors were
Questionable prisoners, who may have
been involved in other crimes or who
may be habitual offenders. At present
the only Photographic record of prison.
ers Is sent from nearby state peniten-
tiaries, including Montana,s, and from
Washington, D. G. Police feel that
these pictures are inadequate in view Of
the number of CT iminals who are never
"mugged"
Files Are Kept
Files OF prisoners pictures, together
with their fingerprint records and ali
other available information concern
ing the type of crime in which they
specialize, are filed under the Offenders
name. Keeping these records is ia
clltated by enclosing all material in
a., pocket on the name card. Hence
all records can be taken from the fill
ing cabinets at once, without necessi-
Eating search through other files.
Mooney also IS in charge of this work.
Chief OF Police William H. Breen
has installed Butte's latest labor
saving crime prevention device-an
adaptation of the chain-letter fad with
the use Of telephones instead of mes
sages.
The setup, involving about 432 bust
ness houses within the city, is aimed
at preventing the spread of bogus
check artists and other fraudulent en-
terprizes which attempt to "gyp" bust
ness men and women. Fourteen key
establishments are designated. These
business men are requested to call
police If check artist tries to work"
any one of them.
Officers Get Busy
Officers get busy on dual telephone