Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1887-08-13 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

WHY 01111. DETECTIVES FAIL.  The "Man about Town," whose interesting coutrihntions form a daily feature of the London e.eho, writes :—I have been wondering why of late our detectives had so frequently failed, both in tracing murder and in discovering theft, when I came across an old member of the FOrce, who gave me the following interesting details :—" Our detectives," he said, " fail for several reasons. One is, that we have not the right chum of men in our ranks; another, that those we have are so readily distinguishable; and • third, that the law, as it stands, is very much in the way of crime detection. I will try to esplain. Crimes are committed by 'all sorts and conditions of men,' all of them having their.peculiar idiosyncracies and modes oi life. Educated men, partially educated people —persons without any education or ell. Now, oat detective force consists in the main of the luidffic class that I have Mentioned, the partially edn• rated men. Why, I can remember, only a little while back, too, when we had only one mau in the whole department who could kpeak French— Inspector Greenhain, and only one (Von Tarnow) who could talk German. I need not tell you that a rough, ignorant man will attempt to escape from the conse..quences of crime in a different way from what one who is better instructed will try. Their modes of escaping from justice will be as different as chalk from cheese. I remember hearing a great general in the army say, at the time when we were looking for Leiroy, 'Why, if the fellow were ohly to black his face, and take a concertina, or tambourine, or banjo in his baud, he could walk all over the country and out of England without anybody saying a word to I him.' And that was is fact; way Lep-0y did not know it. We knew how to cope with him, because he was a man or our own calibre. lett what would have happened if he bad been at all a superior person. The truth is, that wo come all of us too much from one grade. But what can you expect if you make all men entering the detective department wear uniform and march about the streets three months before you employ them on plain clothes work? Besides, look at the ridiculous notion of the arrangement. You dress the man like a policeman so that everybody shall get to know him as a constable first, and then when his features can be easily recognised by those whose business it is to rind out 'budding' detectives. you send- him on secret work. Was anything sillier than that? This brings me to my seemed point: we are so easily distinguishable. l'd give nothing for tho intelligence of a man who cottldnot epot an officer of the force in plain clothes directly no sees him. As most of the men are taken from the force, they have acquired the stolid, solid way in walk tied manner which tells the policeman. /iy the time they have risen sufficiently to dress well they are too well knowu Au the general public to he useful. What we want is a selection from all ranks for the Crunited Investigation Department—gentlerneu, retaed officers, dootors, retired reporters, or other classes of newspaper men, as well as the class we now get." • And whot about different laws" "Well, we ought to be sure teat stolen property shall not be converted till alter at least a day has elapsed since any robbery. Fees a law like that proposed lately, to the effect that receivers of precious metal in any form shall not melt it down for twenty-four hours, and make them expose it as aeon as it is received in their windows, so that the police can ate it. under penaltiy of even peual servitude if they fail to do so, and robberies would be much lees frequent than now. As the law now stands, the thief can run into a score of places , that I personally know and dispose of any metal substance, with the knowledge that it will instantly be sent up a spout to a melting mom up stairs, and be utterly unrecognisable in less than a single minute after he reachee that ' conoter. how can a policeman tree.* property like that ?" " Then you think if the detectives were drawn from several chines instead of practically one, and the law you have described were passed, take@ would materially decrease.' "Yes ' • and I think that in London partMnlarly the pablie would feel the benefit of such a new scheme before six mouths had passed."