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Show EXPERIMENT WITH CLEVELAND POLICEMEN SUCCESSFUL. Decrease of 65 Per Cent. In Arreitti Under Plan Tried by Chief Kohler Based on Common Com-mon Sense. Cleveland. After inoro than eight iDonths' trial of tho new Golden llule j.olicy of making arrests In Cleveland. Chief of l'ollco Kohlcr'has pronounced 1 unqualtflcclly n success, nnd accordingly accord-ingly has Blven Ula l'Olleoracn Btlll greater power of discretion. The number num-ber of arrests In Cleveland In eight months of this yenr has shown a do crease of moro than C5 per cent, over the sflmo period last year, whllo, at the Bamo time, no greater number of terlous crimes than usual havo been reported, desplto tho largo number of jlrst offenders allowed to go who, under un-der tho old regime, would have been arrested. However, Chief Kohler says that there nro still too many arrests, ind bo Is urging that further enro bo exercised In keeping tho number down. Other cltfe orb preparing to follow tho same course Tho Golden Ilulo policy, which Chief Kohler put Into effect last January, provided that policemen should use Judgment nnd common sense In dealing deal-ing with offenses which aro morely a violation of city ordlnancos and pun-Unable pun-Unable by a small lino. They wore told to tako Into consideration the Intent In-tent to violate a law or an ordinance, And also tho question of maliciousness on the part of tho offender. They were Instructed to .warn a drunken man and send him homo, rather than drag him to Jail on his first offense, and that two men lighting, If for the first time, should bo separated, reasoned rea-soned with, and not arrested. Old offenders, of-fenders, those Intentionally violating tho law, or thoso committing felonies should bo oh soverely dealt with 08 ever. A iccord Is kept of tho cases of alt persons released or oven warned, The object of tho new plan was to dlsposo of trivial misdemeanors without with-out arrest and prevent tho humiliation and dlsgrnco of persons who through thoughtlessness, passion or temper or ' In a spirit of frolic or mlschlovousncss violated tho law. Likewise. It Is in- CHIEF 'fPOLIGt KOHIX& tended to prevent tho humiliation and disgrace of near relatives of such offenders. of-fenders. It was thought, too, that It would lessen tho work of tho police department and tho attaches of tho rollce courts. How well the plan has succeeded In reducing the number of arrests Is shown In tho following tablo, which covers tho period from tho tlmo It was put Into effect to September 1: AUIIEST8 IN 1907, AHHK8TH IN ISO. January MM January Hit February 4,217 February K3 March ....2.711 March 9.19 Anrll !. April 907 May 2.731 May SSS June 2.503 Juno 8S2 July 2.900 July 1,010 August 2.893 August 1.015 The assertion was mado at the first that tho Golden Itulo policy placed a dangerous discretionary powor In the hands of tho police. This has not proved truo. In his bulletin to the police on July 1 Chlof Kohler said: "The members of this department have accomplished results ovgjjjilbe-yond ovgjjjilbe-yond my expectations In, tlrS'tommon sense policy, which must bo gratifying to you as well as myself, and I am suro It Ib to the geporal community. With your long nnd varied experience In police matters, I know that you aro competent to Judgo. The last six months havo showu that your Judgment Judg-ment Is good, and you havo accomplished accom-plished the results expected by mo In our first Instructions." The poljce thcmsolvcs are much Interested In-terested la and are In heart accord with the new plan. Some of them say that they tried to cxorclso Judgmen. In making arrestB for Intoxication under, un-der, the old regime, but. did so on their own responsibility, whllb now they are supported by official Indorsement. Now no person Is arrested for Intoxication on his first offense unless It be noccs-Wry noccs-Wry for his protection or for tho protection pro-tection of another, or unless ho Is disturbing dis-turbing tho peace and quiet of tho city. |