Raymond S. Spears

“ Those citizens who see a fat and peaceful policeman standing on street corners in the daytime, and at night swinging his night stick as he moves from door to door to make sure that they are locked, do not realize how many interruptions there are in a “cop’s” life.
The men on the Broadway squad have regular hours. Their principal business is to regulate traffic and to see that people cross the streets without being run over. They and the members of the court squads are the aristocrats among patrolmen. ”

“ The regular man was in a hospital as a result of an attack “the gang” had made upon him. A “new cop” is meat and drink to a New York “gang,” made up of the young toughs of a certain neighborhood. There is no distinction greater than to “do a policeman.” Delaney was told what to expect. He fought the gang by day and by night until the leaders were either in the hospital or in jail. And Delaney stayed on the post.
It is true that the gangs are not as desperate as they used to be, but they are still dangerous in certain parts of the city. ”

“ There is not a good policeman, and the majority on the force are good policemen, who would not vote to take pulls out of the department. And because of the power of influence it is a marvel that the force is not worse than it is. Those in high places are always looking for good policemen, and men are promoted whenever they distinguish themselves. Of course the higher officers cannot see why a good policeman should not be a good Tammany man as well, or at least be sufficiently discreet to escape getting into disfavor with the organization. ”

“ As a rule, a policeman attends pretty strictly to his duty, and few of them mix up with politics any more than they can help. A third rate policeman with a first rate pull may be feared, but he is not respected, and if ever he shows the white feather even his pull will not protect him. ”

“ Tynan was slashed so badly with a knife that he had to be carried to a hospital.
Nowadays a new policeman is under the instruction of an experienced man for weeks; and this is a wise arrangement, for the responsibilities are great. An inexperienced man may make the most serious blunders. And they are absurdly simple at times. He may arrest the wrong person or permit a guilty one to escape. A new policeman went to the East Thirty Fifth Street station to report for duty. ”

“ It numbers about seven thousand men, whose business it is to protect nearly four millions of people. Here are presented facts from official records, supplemented by authenticated incidents, which show the long hours, the responsibilities, and the dangers of the calling.
For the most part the members of the uniformed force are steady, kindly, hard working, ambitious men, who in certain respects are the victims of a system for which they are in no wise to blame. There are two great unwritten laws in the department. One is that no man who is lacking in physical courage can remain in it. ”

“ With much vigor the sergeant assured Sonn that the case was officially and unofficially beyond his jurisdiction. Incidents like that occur in every police station in New York.
While a policeman is granted a certain amount of liberty, he is always on duty. It doesn’t matter whether he is on post or in plain clothes, with his “shield upon his left breast in order that the same may be displayed when required.” Policeman Raphael, of the Oak Street station, started forth to enjoy a day off and ended in a hospital. He was shot by a man he arrested, but he didn’t lose his prisoner. ”

“ A policeman is the natural arbiter of family rows, and all manner of disputes are referred to him. The kindliness, good sense, and generosity of most of the members of the uniformed force are remarkable. ”

“ The irregularity of their life is responsible for the straining after “snaps”—places in the court squads and other assignments to special duty where arrests are never made, and where the hours are short and regular, with freedom on all holidays. ”

“ These plain clothes men are at once the most valuable and most dangerous adjunct of the force. Those persons who became known as the “collectors” during the Lexow investigation were plain clothes men. Whenever a police captain is transferred his plain clothes men go with him. He can trust them absolutely. ”