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Show MCHING THE CROOKS, Keeping Track of Habitual Wrong Doers. THE SAN FRiNSISCO AND BOSTON METHOD A Perfect Encyclopedia of Oriminal Information. In-formation. This enlightened metropolis boasu a sys tern of cni;i;;ial record far more coiiipi-.tt than is jKwsesstid by any other city in the new world, with tho possible exception of San Francisco. Modem experts in such matters mat-ters assert that the true secret of effective police supervision lies in the recognition of the habitual olTeuder against the luw as an individual. It is the duty of an effective police po-lice to maintain, so far as is possible, a personal per-sonal acquaintance with professional wrong doers, who in this manner only can bo kept satisfactorily under surveillance. This object ob-ject Is accomplished m many European countries by the preservation of elaborate memoranda concerning every man or woman who has been convicted of a serious offense. Aud even hi far oil Cathay the wicked are identified by the imprint of their thumbs preserved in India ink upon the police blotters. blot-ters. No system of that kind exists in this country, coun-try, save only in the two cities mentioned. Elsewhere, as in tuo cao in the national metropolis, me-tropolis, it is usual to depend altogether for tho identification of criminals upon tho personal per-sonal recollections of olllcers, supplemented by such photographs as are obtainable. The ; most valued men on tho force, therefore, are i those who enjoy the most extended acquaint-i acquaint-i ance with the history and physical idiosyncrasies idiosyn-crasies of individual jail birds. Their experience, expe-rience, however, is of no permanent benefit to tho department which employs them, since regarding this knowledge as their stock in trade they will never communicate it to their juniors and successors in tho business. Thus no progress is made in the efficiency of tho service. THE BOSTON METHOD. On tho big books at headquarters in Pem-bcrton Pem-bcrton square aro written tho name, description descrip-tion and history of every well known crook in the United States. Already the record is surprisingly comprehensive, and every day it is becoming more complete. Whenever any- 1 body is seuteiiced to prison for crime in this , or any other state tho fact is duly entered, together with a descriptive biography of the person, at the Boston office. In this manuer a perfect encyclopedia of criminal information informa-tion is being compiled. Suppose, for instance, that Mr. "Sheeny Mike" is arrested here for burglary. He denies de-nies that photograph No. 1007 in the rogues' gallery is his; whereupon tho inspector looks in an indexed voluuio for No. 1007, under which is found a full description, corresponding correspond-ing in every detail with the prisoner's physical phys-ical peculiarities, even to a birth mark and subsequently acquired near. To this is added a reference to No, 10.15 in the state prison book. Turning to the latter, it is seen that Sheeny has been at various times an inmate of different state prisons. Not only the date of his fientenco is given in each case, but the namo of the judge who administered it and tho very number of the mittimus paper. Tacked on ut tho end la other reference to the house of correction book in which he is traced through successive terms of incarceration in reformatory institutions of this sort. At each point whatever tho alias ho assumes references point back to the fatal number 10J7, which establishes his Identity. FinaUy, in an envelope marked 1007, is found a package pack-age of newspaper clippings, embodying sketches of the picturesque episodes in Mr. S. Mike's career. All this mass of information Is placed in the hands of the district attorney, to whom it 1a ot! material assistance in securing Sheeny's conviction, and the sentence of the kil ter gentleman is recorded as usual upon tho books. Not oven yet, however, is thi3 luckless individual free from tho tyranny of the record system. "When the first of the month arrives during which he is to be re-leesed re-leesed f.-om durance vile, a bulletin is sent out to local stations and to other cities notifying noti-fying the police everywhere that he is loose. Iu this manner his opportunities for earning a livelihood are reduced to a minimum, and beforo long ho is apt to And himself ogain in the toils. Even though ho commits no offense, ho is likely at any moment to be "snaked in" on suspicion, and everything conceivable is done to render existence as wretched for bun as possible. IIARD OS THE WICKED. Thus is the climato of Boston rendered unhealthy un-healthy for tho iniquitous. At once, upon his arrival in town, tho suspicious character is welcomed by an invitation to call upon Chief Inspector Hauscom. Under the chap-eronago chap-eronago of a lynx eyed patrolman, he pays a visit to police headquarters, where he undergoes examination. If he is unknown, and his account of himself Is not perfectly satisfactory, he is kept under the strictest watch until ho leaves thocity. If recognized, he is confronted with his record and advised to got out as soon as possible. For tho purpose pur-pose of identifying such objectionable persons per-sons experienced officers aro kept constantly on tho watch as is the case in all cities at railway stations, hotels and places of amusement. amuse-ment. Tho whole system hangs upon tho recognition recogni-tion of tho criminal as an indiWduak From his first offense ho is followed by tho over watchful gone of tho guardian in blue broadcloth broad-cloth and brass buttons through tho successive succes-sive stages of his development as a full fledged antagonist of social order. Whenever When-ever ho turns up in his professional character ho is promptly pounced upon and locked up. In short, everything is done to mako his occupation oc-cupation as unprofitable as possible. It is really Eurprising that this effective method of suppressing crime should not havo been already adopted throughout the country. As usual, tho metropolis of intellectual culture is ahoad. Frequently it happens that a criminal objects ob-jects to having his photograph taken. In fact, bo absolutely declines to pose, and, when forced into the chair, tries his best to embarrass tho artist by distorting his visage with grotesque grimaces. But th's obstinacy is of not tho slightest avail. Six men, if necessary, hold his head ln position beforo an instantaneous camera, and tho result though scarcely beautiful is invariably a satisfactory satisfac-tory likeness. All negatives are carefully preserved, eo that duplicates may be obtained ob-tained at any time for sending away. Boston Bos-ton Cor. Globe-Democrat. |
