THE DETECTIVE BUREAU
The main spoke in the wheel at the Central Office is the Detective
Bureau. Less than sixty years ago this branch of the service was
organized as a separate and independent Bureau.
Sergeant Lefferts was one of the earliest commanders of the Detective
Squad. This was in 1857, and he held it for one year. Headquarters was
then on Broome Street. After Lefferts, Captain George W. Walling,
afterwards Superintendent, commanded the City Hall Precinct. He took
charge of the Detective Bureau and held it from 1858-60. Then Chief John
Young took charge of the Bureau from 1860-67. He was assisted by
Sergeant Lefferts. After him came Capt. Jas. J. Kelso, who held it for
three years. He was followed by Capt. James Irving, who was in charge
from 1870-75. After him came Captain Kealy who held it for four years.
In 1880 Inspector Byrnes took charge of the Detective Bureau and held it
twelve years. This was longer than any other man. During this period he
completely reorganized it, putting it on a more scientific basis. Byrnes
was followed by Captain McClusky, Steven O’Brian and Titus, each of whom
held it in turns. In 1901, when Commissioner Greene was made head of the
Police Department by Mayor Low, Inspector Brooks and Captain Langan were
jointly in charge of the Detective Bureau, but the former held it only a
few months.
In an interview with a well known Inspector, who is one of the best of
our city detective experts, I asked him what were his methods in
detecting crime. He replied, “I have no methods but hard work. Each case
must be a law to itself. We have no cast iron rules for discovering
crime.” Then the Inspector went on to say, “When a crime has been
committed we consider first of all the underlying motives. If it is a
burglary or a ‘hold up,’ it is more than likely it was done for plunder.
If a murder, it was doubtless done for revenge. If it is a case of much
importance we put a couple of good men upon it. Follow up the clues,
search the pawnshops, watch the haunts of criminals and work on till the
property and crooks are discovered. Careful work always brings good
results.”
“The detective methods in vogue fifteen years ago,” said the Inspector,
“would be useless to-day.” “With the evolution of the criminal there
must needs be a change in the detection of crime. Here is a letter from
a fellow in State Prison,” said the Inspector; “this fellow is willing
to ‘squeal’ on his ‘pals’ who are on the outside, provided he gets his
liberty. Of course we cannot promise him any such luxury, it is the
Governor’s prerogative to pardon, not ours.”
The twentieth century criminal makes a business of crime. A man of this
character made bold to tell me that he had been a thief for nearly forty
years and he meant to be a thief to the day of his death. He refused to
work for a living. Pickpockets and thieves of the lower order make a
business of following circuses, county fairs, picnics, races and
conventions, and they always make a good haul at such places. A few days
before the Dewey Parade in this city, September, 1900, which drew
together from one to two hundred thousand strangers, Captain George W.
McClusky, then Chief of the Detectives, captured nearly four hundred
well known crooks in his dragnet and locked them up till the “show” was
over. In this crowd there were _tramps_, _pickpockets_, _sneak thieves_,
_second story men_, _country thieves_, _professional criminals_ of every
ilk, including the irresponsible thief. They were held in prison for a
few days as suspicious characters. After the crowds left the city they
were discharged. While locked up in the Tombs they were in an ugly mood
and abused every one in sight.
If the direct perpetrators of a crime cannot be found in the ordinary
way, then our modern Sherlock Holmes must fall back upon “clues” and
follow them up to their legitimate end. But if there are no clues, then
the brainy detective must work out a satisfactory solution of the
mystery for himself and solve it. The method of Thomas F. Byrnes, who
had been long and successfully connected with the New York City Police
Department, was to bring the suspected criminal back to the scene of the
crime for sake of the startling effect. If an atrocious homicide had
been committed Chief Byrnes usually took the murderer back to the place
where the deed was done, and then watched him. If a burglary, and the
property found, it would be placed before the suspect and be watched.
Criminals are made of different classes or types. The beginner in crime
is often a petty offender. He steals small sums although never arrested.
The scale is a descending one, rather than ascending. Few men leap over
a moral Niagara all at once; they are going down hill gradually for a
long time before the law gets hold of them. After a few years the man
who was once a greenhorn plans crime like a general who plans a
campaign. It is then that the Department needs an expert Sherlock Holmes
to capture them.
The history of a crime is often full of thrilling experiences and when
unraveled by a keen-minded detective and all the details of the plot
laid bare, the final revelations show it to be the work of a master
mind. The great crimes of the past hundred years were not the work of
ignoramuses but of men capable of commanding an army. They were brainy
criminals.
In the Old World many of the best detectives when searching for
criminals disguise themselves as cabmen, truckmen, and collectors of old
clothing. They also work in factories, foundries, potteries, coal mines,
or indeed, any place where they can secure a clue.
Detective McCleevy, of the Edinburgh Police, became a rag collector in
order to catch a murderer. He went along one thoroughfare for several
days crying, “Rags, rags, rags.” Then he entered a dark alley where the
murderer was hiding, and who offered him a bundle of bloody clothing to
carry away. After this he secured his man.
Some years ago the Pinkertons took a tip from the Old World detectives
and put men in the coal mines of Pennsylvania where they lived with the
miners and finally captured the whole band of Molly Maguires and put
them out of business.
The Scotland Yard detectives of London not only work among various
toilers in their efforts to discover crime, but keep in touch with
30,000 crooks, many of them being ticket-of-leave men. In this way they
know where they can be found when wanted. The movements of those who
continue in crime are watched night and day. When a crime is committed
an old crook is arrested and unless he can prove a clear alibi he must
stand for the job.
But the best and cleverest detectives are said to be the French, if we
may judge from results; and the reason for this is, they keep a
register, not only of all criminals in France, but also of their plans,
aims and movements. A few years ago the National Chief of Police in
France had the names of 20,000 depraved characters who spent their lives
in crime. At that time there was less crime in France than in any other
part of Europe. If the police will keep themselves informed of the
movements of criminals they will know where to find them when wanted.
This is the secret of the best police service.
The present head of the detective Department is Inspector James
McCafferty. He has risen from the ranks and owes his present position to
Commissioner Bingham, who had confidence in him by making him chief
detective. Mr. McCafferty calls his Bureau the greatest detective system
in the world. This is certainly not because of the number of insolvable
crimes it has cleared up in the past few years. The fact is hundreds of
murders, hold-ups, atrocious assaults, robberies, burglaries, larcenies
and almost every crime on the calendar remain unsolved. In all
seriousness, the people have a right to ask, what is the matter with the
best paid police force in the world? Why don’t the police arrest the
criminals and put them in jail? That is certainly a fair question.
Some time ago Coroner Julius Harburger passed some scathing remarks on
the Police department. He said he was tired of sitting in his office and
waiting for the police to arrest murderers now at large. Then he cited
the case of Elsie Sigel, Samuel Bersin, Joseph Pogano, the unidentified
woman of Thirteenth Street, and Joseph Juliano and Michael Millelo, who
were killed by “Jack” Vigarato, a saloonkeeper of Harlem. He told also
of a woman in whose home on West 110th Street a girl died after an
operation. Reminded that he had recounted only six murders, the Coroner
remarked:
“I can’t think of the other two. They come so fast it’s hard to keep
track of them.”
“But have the police no clues in all those murders?” the Coroner was
asked.
“Clues?” repeated Mr. Harburger, “No, not even a suspicion. They
‘haven’t got anywhere,’ as Inspector McCafferty says.
“While I am about it, I might just as well tell you that there have been
130 murders in the last two years in which the perpetrators have
escaped. Put that down. I say there have been 130 of them. Doesn’t it
seem fine for a city of this size to have a police department that can’t
catch a murderer unless he handcuffs himself and gives himself up?”
Then the Coroner remarked: “In the last twelve months more murders have
been committed in this city and more murderers have escaped than in any
other place on the face of the globe. Let the police explain that, if
they can.”
The Stool Pigeon
An important link between the police and the criminal is found in the
stool pigeon. The old saying that “It takes a thief to catch a thief”
was never truer than in its application to what the ward detective calls
“the stool.” When a uniformed or plain clothes policeman is assigned to
a precinct the first and foremost thing he does is to find out “What he
is up against.” In other words, he sets himself to study carefully the
situation; he finds out who are the thieves, pickpockets and all round
crooks in his bailiwick. Then he seeks out some one of this class he can
trust, and forthwith makes a confidant of him. Indeed, he enters into a
regular agreement with the “stool” of the district or ward that in
return for “inside information” on crookedness he will give him full
protection and even immunity from arrest. The work of the stool pigeon
is to associate with criminals as a sort of spy, so as to find out all
that is worth knowing and even assist them in crime, then report to the
ward detective.
When a burglary has been committed that baffles the police, one or more
stool pigeons are put on the case and are paid for their services. If
they cannot locate the crooks or the gang, perhaps they can tell where
“the goods” may be found and by their help the police are able to
recover wagon loads of “loot,” the accumulation of many robberies. Some
time back in the seventies of last century Thurlow Weed, who exerted a
commanding influence in the counsels of the Republican party second to
none in his day, was riding in a Broadway ‘bus and had his gold watch
stolen. Mr. Weed deeply deplored the loss of his time piece which had
been given to him as a present by some friends. He communicated his loss
to the police. The pawn shops were searched, but it could not be found.
A score of stool pigeons were implored to find it without delay. Then
one of them found the man that stole it and requested him to return it
at once to the police, which he did, after which the police were highly
commended for their smartness.
Some time ago a noted forger and counterfeiter was sent up the River for
five years. He had been doing “crooked” work for some years in this city
and would doubtless never have been detected had it not been for a
“stool pigeon” with whom he had been in prison in former years, whom he
had befriended not long before by giving him meals and lodging when out
of employment. The stool pigeon reported everything to the police and
the old man was caught “red-handed.”
As a rule there is no honor among thieves. One old criminal who is also
a well known “stool pigeon” is in great demand by the police when out of
prison, but he is hardly out before he is back again. He knows the
criminal classes well and is able to furnish the police with first class
information on crookdom. And they in turn see that he is not sent to
State Prison but to the penitentiary for short terms. He has sent so
many men to “do time” by the information with which he has furnished the
police that if they found him in State Prison they would kill him. A
traitor, a spy and a spotter are always detested by criminals. It is
true, stool-pigeon ethics is not of a high order, but what else can the
police do? In resorting to such expedients they simply fight the Devil
with the Devil’s own weapons. Without this a large number of the crimes
that are committed would never be detected.
Ex-Policeman Bissert who had been sent to Sing Sing by Recorder Goff in
November, 1901, was detested by scores of crooks whom he had been
instrumental in sending there. After reaching Sing Sing Bissert became a
marked man. Many of the old time crooks knew him well. When the
Appellate Division decided that he should have a new trial and had
returned him to the Tombs, he made the remark to one of the desk
keepers, that he would rather go to _hell_ than go back to Sing Sing
again, as his life was made miserable all the time he was there. One who
was then serving a sentence afterwards informed me that whenever Bissert
showed himself in the shops, the dining room, or in the yard his
associates took a delight in “jeering” at him and calling him all kinds
of profane names!
[Illustration:
The Newest, Most Modern and best equipped Police Headquarters in the
World. Centre Street, New York City.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------