Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-07-15
Curb on Arrests

Gnorougn STUDY, nave reported TO the
District Commissioners that arrests
for investigation, as presently practiced
in the District of Columbia, are not
sanctioned by any District statute, and
are in violation of the constitutional
rights of persons thus arrested" Their
conclusion is that "the practice should
stop, and stop Immediately" Com
missioner Tobriner doubtless will issue
an order to this effect, and 1t will, of
course, be obeyed by the Police De-
partment.
Thus, the problem of arrests for
investigation" will be solved. There
simply will be no more such arrests in
this city. A related problem, however,
will remain. If the police can no longer
arrest suspects for investigation and
question them while in custody, will
effective law enforcement be seriously
impaired? To put it another way, will
this new protection of an individuals
rights" be obtained at the price of
undermining the rights" of the public
to be protected against criminals.
Police Chief Murray obviously is
the committee members do not appear
to share his concern, and they argue
their case perSuaSively There is the
further point that Mr.. Tobriner was
careful in selecting the committee
members-Chairman Charles A Horsky,
William B. Bryant and Roger Robb.
Having in mind the recognized compe-
tence Of these men and their past atti-
tudeS on police matters, the fact that
theirs is unanimous report should
inspire public confidence in it.
How useful in police work is an
arrest for investigation? Chief Murray
himself says that in 1861 such arrests
represented less than per cent of the
total arrests made by the police. OF
this relatively small number, 94.3 per
cent of those booked for investigation
were released without charge. Finally,
in great many (perhapS half of the
st-for-investigation cases, the rec
ords indicate that the police could have
made the arrest on the basis of prob
able cause"
Probable cause is an elastic term
Essentially, however, it means that a
lawful arrest can be made if the officer
has reasonable ground to believe" that
the individual committed the crime in
question Once arrested on probable
cause, the suspect must be formally
charged with the criminal offenSe. But
he may be innocent-a fact which might
be established if the police were per-
mitted to question the man before
charging him and check out his story.
Chief Murray argues this point strongly,
contending that in such case an in
nocent individual would have criminal
record more serious than If he had
merely been booked for investigation
and then released. The committee re-
jectS this contention, saying: when
we meaning the lawl permit arrests on
the basis of probable cause we balance
the unfortunate consequences to an in
dividual as to whom there is probable
cauSe-even though he may be innocent
against the consequences to society if
stand trial for the offense of which
there is probable cause to believe that
he is guilty. This balance has been
struck, and the citizen is prepared to pay
the price in individual hardship" This
strikes us as being bit on the SpeciouS
side, and we have yet to meet the first
innocent person who is prepared to
pay" the price of being charged with a
crime rather than being booked for in
veStigation But the point is of secondary
Importance and does not appreciably
detract from the overall force of the
report.
1t is worth noting that there is moth
ing in this report which lends support
to current ridiculous suggestions that
arrests for investigation in Washington
have resulted in police state, the third
degree or extorted confessions. On the
contrary, at one point the report pays
tribute to the integrity" of the Police
Department. The fact remains, however,
that when Mr.. Tobriner's expected
order comes down the police will have
to function without making arrests for
investigation. We hope that they will be
able to continue to function effectively
But this will not be easy. Very few, if
any, criminals will voluntarily accom-
pany policeman to the station house
and willingly confess their crimes
Proper Interrogation, we think, is essen
tial If the Commissioners are going to
ban investigation arrests, as we think
they must then they will have clear
responsibility to assist in devising effec-
tive means by which the police can pro-
tect the public.
Physician of the Year