Evening star., 1941-07-25
ext Of Subcommittee recommendations for Police Improvement

criminal act with heavy penalties
would have a decided tendency to
decrease crime. Many States now
have such statutes.
We recommend that the Com
missioners be directed to collaborate
with the United States attorney for
the District of Columbia in the
preparation of such bill.
Compulsory Retirement.
Your committee believes that in
the interest of effective administra-
tion and efficiency that there should
be a compulsory retirement provi-
sion prepared as an amendment to
the existing law. Attention is in
vited to the act OF Congress ap-
proved October IA, 1910, by the
Seventy-sixth Congress entitled:
AN act to provide for the retire.
ment of certain members of the
Metropolitan Police Department of
the District of Columbia, ="
1t will be observed that under the
authority of this act, metropolitan
policemen who have served 25 years
or more may voluntarily retire
when they reach the age of 55. All
retiring policemen are entitled to
a pension equal to so per cent of
their salary. We propose an amend
ment to this act by adding a new
paragraph to read as follows:
Whenever any member of the
Metropolitan Police Department of
the District of Columbia shall have
reached the age of so years, he shall
be retired in accordance with the
provisions of this act provided,
however, that the Commissioners of
the District of Columbia may. when
in their judgment it is deemed
advisable, extend from year to year
the effective date of such retire
ment until such member has
reached the age of 65."
Your committee recommends
that this suggestion be forwarded
to the Commissioners with direc-
tions to prepare an amendment
that will effectuate the purpose
herein outlined.
Promotions Thrugh Civil Service.
Your committee cannot too
strongly condemn the action of the
Civil Service Commission in its
hasty effort to influence the atti-
tude of all members of the full
committee toward such findings.
II the witnesses, Commissioners or
committeeman were in error about
any material fact, it is quite possible
that the error would have been dis
covered before the report of the COM
mittee was filed. The method pur-
sued by the commission is repre-
hensible, and was plainly intended
to stir up public opinion against this
committees findings, or to influence
the same.
We have no disposition to open the
doors to "favoritism" and influence"
in the Police Department. We do
not think, however, that the door
is closed under the present system.
Reliable testimony before this COM
mittee compels us to the opposite
view.
A few questions are prepared by
a police official, and those questions
are edited by the Civil Service Com
mission. Upon this depends the
prospect of promotion. None of the
civil employees are subject to any
such tests. Young men fresh from
high school and college clearly have
the advantage over seasoned. expert
enced policemen. On some 20 queS-
tions depends rating of so per cent.
The other so per cent is assigned
to the department to make up on
the basis of efficiency.
The committee believes that open
competitive examinations for oriei-
nal appointment are proper, but the
committee is very doubtful about the
Civil Service Commissions interest
or thoroughness in these examina-
tions or Investigations. A report
seems to indicate that the commits
sion merely edits questions prepared
by some police official. II their origi-
nal Investigations were adequate and
thorough, there should be no neces-
sity for 20 questions of the type out
lined after an officer has seen serv-
ice for many years.
We are unanimously in favor of
abolishing this requirement for pro-
motion and we confidently believe
that its abolishment will materially
the Police Department.
We believe that all promotions in the
Police Department should be made
by the Commissioners of the District
of Columbia on recommendation of
the major and the superintendent of
police.
In this connection, however, we
believe that there should continue