Until the passage of the new Charter in 1870, the Police Department was
independent of the control of the city officials, and consequently
independent of local political influences. There was a "Metropolitan
Police District," embracing the cities of New York and Brooklyn, and the
counties of New York, Kings, Richmond and Westchester, and a part of
Queen's county, in all a circuit of about thirty miles. The control of
this district was committed to a commission of five citizens, who were
subject to the supervision of the Legislature of the State. The Mayors
of New York and Brooklyn were ex-officio members of this board.
The Charter of 1870 changed all this. It broke up the Metropolitan
District, and placed the police of New York and Brooklyn under the
control of their respective municipal governments. To the credit of the
force be it said, the police of New York were less under the influence of
the Ring than any other portion of the municipality, and improved rather
than depreciated in efficiency.
As at present constituted, the force is under the control and supervision
of four Commissioners appointed by the Mayor. The force consists of a
Superintendent, four Inspectors, thirty-two Captains, one hundred and
twenty-eight Sergeants, sixty-four Roundsmen and 2085 Patrolmen,
Detectives, Doorkeepers, etc.
The present Superintendent of Police is Mr. James J. Kelso. He is the
Commander-in-chief of the force, and it is through him that all orders
are issued. His subordinates are responsible to him for the proper
discharge of their duties, and he in his turn to the Commissioners. He
was promoted to his present position on the death of Superintendent
Jourdan, and has rendered himself popular with men of all parties by his
conscientious discharge of his important duties. Mr. Kelso is eminently
fitted for his position. His long service in the force, and great
experience as a detective officer, have thoroughly familiarized him with
the criminals with whom he has to deal, and the crimes against which he
has to contend. He has maintained the discipline of the force at a high
point, and has been rigorous in dealing with the offenders against the
law. His sudden and sweeping descents upon the gambling hells, and other
disreputable places of the city, have stricken terror to the frequenters
thereof. They are constantly alarmed, for they know not at what moment
they may be captured by Kelso in one of his characteristic raids.
In person Mr. Kelso is a fine-looking, and rather handsome man. He shows
well at the head of the force. It is said that he was overwhelmed with
mortification last July, when the Mayor compelled him to forbid the
"Orange Parade," and thus make a cowardly surrender to the mob. When
Governor Hoffman revoked Mayor Hall's order, at the demand of the
indignant citizens, Kelso was perhaps the happiest man in New York. He
had a chance to vindicate his own manhood and the honor of the force, and
he and his men did nobly on that memorable day.
The city is divided into two Inspection Districts, each of which is in
charge of two Inspectors. Each Inspector is held responsible for the
general good conduct and order of his District. It is expected that he
will visit portions of it at uncertain hours of the night, in order that
the Patrolmen may be made more vigilant by their ignorance of the hour of
his appearance on their "beats." The Inspectors keep a constant watch
over the rank and file of the force. They examine the Police Stations,
and everything connected with them, at pleasure, and receive and
investigate complaints made by citizens against members of the force.
The creation of this useful grade is due to John A. Kennedy, the first
Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police.
The Inspection Districts are sub-divided into thirty-two precincts, in
each of which there is a Police Station. Each Station is in charge of a
Captain, who is held to a strict accountability for the preservation of
the peace and good order of his precinct. He has authority to post the
men under his command in such parts of his precinct, and to assign them
to such duties as he deems expedient, under the supervision of the
Superintendent. He is required to divide his force into two equal parts,
called the First and Second Platoons. Each Platoon consists of two
Sections. Each of the four Sections is in charge of a Sergeant.
In the illness or absence of the Captain, the Station and Precinct are
commanded by one of the Sergeants, who is named for that purpose by the
Superintendent. The special duties of the Sergeants are to patrol their
precincts, and see that the Roundsmen and Patrolmen are at their posts
and performing their duties properly. They are severally responsible for
the condition of their Sections. One of the Sergeants is required to
remain at the Station House at all times.
Two Roundsmen are selected by the Commissioners from the Patrolmen of
each precinct, and one of them is assigned to each platoon. They have
the immediate supervision of the Patrolmen, and are required to exercise
a vigilant watch over them at all times.
The Patrolmen are the privates of the force. They are assigned certain
"beats" or districts to watch. Many of these beats are too large for the
care of one man, and more is expected of the Patrolman than he is capable
of performing. He is required to exercise the utmost vigilance to
prevent the occurrence of any crime within his beat, and to render the
commission of it difficult, at the least. The occurrence of a crime on
the streets is always regarded as presumptive evidence of negligence on
his part, and he is obliged to show that he was strictly attending to his
duties at the time. He is required to watch vigilantly every person
passing him while on duty, to examine frequently the doors, lower
windows, and gates of the houses on his beat, and warn the occupants if
any are open or unlocked; to have a general knowledge of the persons
residing in his beat; to report to his commanding officer "all persons
known or suspected of being policy dealers, gamblers, receivers of stolen
property, thieves, burglars, or offenders of any kind;" to watch all
disorderly houses or houses of ill-fame, and observe "and report to his
commanding officer _all persons by whom they are frequented_;" to do
certain other things for the preservation of the public peace; and to
arrest for certain offences, all of which are laid down in the volume of
Regulations, of which each member of the force is obliged to have a copy.
Patrolmen are not allowed to converse with each other, except to ask or
impart information, upon meeting at the confines of their posts; "and
they must not engage in conversation with any person on any part of their
post, except in regard to matters concerning the immediate discharge of
their duties."
The uniform of the force is a frock coat and pants of dark blue navy
cloth, and a glazed cap. In the summer the dress is a sack and pants of
dark blue navy flannel. The officers are distinguished by appropriate
badges. Each member of the force is provided with a shield of a peculiar
pattern, on which is his number. This is his badge of office, and he is
obliged to show it when required. The men are armed with batons or short
clubs of hard wood, and revolvers. The latter they are forbidden to use
except in grave emergencies.
The general misdemeanors of which the police are bound to take notice,
are: Attempts to pick a pocket, especially where the thief is a known
pickpocket; cruel usage of animals in public places; interfering with the
telegraph wires; selling or carrying a slingshot; aiding in any way in a
prize fight, dog fight, or cock fight; destroying fences, trees, or
lamps, or defacing property; aiding in theatrical entertainments on
Sunday; disorderly conduct; participating in or inciting to riots;
assaults; drunkenness on the streets; gambling; discharging fire-arms on
the streets; and other stated offences. The officer must be careful to
arrest the true offender, and not to interfere with any innocent person,
and is forbidden to use violence unless the resistance of his prisoner is
such as to render violence absolutely necessary, and even then he is held
responsible for the particular degree of force exerted. If he is himself
unable to make the arrest, or if he has good reason to fear an attempt at
a rescue of the prisoner, it is his duty to call upon the bystanders for
assistance; and any person who refuses him when so called on, is guilty
of a misdemeanor, for which he may be arrested and punished.
Promotions are made in the force as follows: Inspectors are chosen from
the Captains, Captains from Sergeants, Sergeants from Roundsmen, and
Roundsmen from the most efficient Patrolmen.
The duties of a policeman are hard, and the salaries are moderate in
every grade. The hours for duty of the Patrolmen are divided in the
following manner: from six to eight o'clock in the morning; from eight
o'clock in the morning to one in the afternoon; from one in the afternoon
to six; from six to twelve midnight; from twelve midnight to six in the
morning. These "tours" of duty are so distributed that no one man shall
be called on duty at the same hour on two successive days. One-third of
the entire force, about 700 in all, is on duty in the daytime, and
two-thirds, about 1400 men, at night. Sickness and casualties bring down
this estimate somewhat, but the men are such fine physical specimens that
sick leaves are now comparatively rare.
Besides the Patrolmen there are several divisions of the force. Forty
men, called the Court Squad, are on duty at the various Courts of
Justice. Four have charge of the House of Detention for Witnesses, No.
203 Mulberry street. The Sanitary Squad consists of a captain, four
sergeants, and fifty-seven patrolmen. Some of these are on duty at the
ferries and steamboat landings. Others are detailed to examine the steam
boilers in use in the city. Others execute the orders of the Board of
Health. Another detachment, nine in number, look after truant children.
Others are detailed for duty at banks and other places. The Detectives
will be referred to hereafter.
[Picture: FEMALE PRISONERS IN THE FOURTH POLICE STATION]
The qualifications demanded of an applicant for admission into the force
are thus set down in the book of Regulations: "No person will be
appointed a Patrolman of the Metropolitan Police Force unless, he
"First, is able to read and write the English language understandingly.
"Second, is a citizen of the United States.
"Third, has been a resident of this State for a term of one year next
prior to his application for the office.
"Fourth, has never been convicted of a crime.
"Fifth, is at least five feet eight inches in height.
"Sixth, is less than thirty-five years of age.
"Seventh, is in good health, and of sound body and mind.
"Eighth, is of good moral character and habits.
"Applicants for the office must present to the Board of Commissioners a
petition signed by not less than five citizens of good character and
habits, and verified by the affidavit of one of them."
As none but "sound" men are wanted, the applicant is then subjected to a
rigid medical examination; and the writer is informed by one of the most
efficient surgeons of the force, that scarcely one applicant in ten can
stand this test. The applicant must also give, under oath, an exact
statement as to his parentage, nationality, education, personal condition
in every respect, business or employment, and physical condition.
The strictest discipline is maintained in the force, and offences are
rigidly reported and punished. All members are required at once to
communicate intelligence of importance to their superior officers. The
men are regularly drilled in military exercises, to fit them for dealing
efficiently with serious disturbances. The writer can testify, that
during their parade in the Spring of 1871, they presented as fine an
appearance, and executed their manoeuvres as correctly as any body of
regular troops.
The finest looking and largest men are detailed for service on Broadway.
One of their principal duties is to keep the street free from
obstructions, no slight task when one considers the usual jam in the
great thoroughfare. It is a common habit to denounce the "Broadway
Squad" as more ornamental than useful, but the habitues of that street
can testify to the arduous labor performed by the "giants," and the
amount of protection afforded by them to the merchants and promenaders.
Scarcely a day passes that they do not prevent robberies and cut short
the operations of pickpockets.
The number of arrests made by the force is fair evidence of their
efficiency. Since 1862 the annual number has been as follows:
Total arrests in New York
1862 82,072
1863 61,888
1864 54,751
1865 68,873
1866 75,630
1867 80,532
1868 78,451
1869 72,984
During the year 1869, the arrests were divided as follows:
Males 51,446
Females 21,538
The principal causes for which these arrests were made were as follows: