The Police At Their Work

The London police dare not touch a man unless he has committed some offence, or the officers have .a warrant. Well-known thieves and burglars walk defiantly by the guardians of the law, and know that no man can lay finger upon them unless they ply their profession. A dozen robbers and pickpockets may go into a crowd, or into a place of amusement, and though the police know what they are there for, they cannot touch one of them unless they actually commit some crime. A mob of ten thousand may gather in St. James's Park, with the intent of sacking Buckingham Palace, yet, until they begin to tear down the fence, or do some act of violence, the police or troops have no power to arrest or disperse them. A royal proclamation might do it So sacred is personal liberty in Great Britain. But our police can arrest on suspicion or at pleasure. They scatter a mob, and bid loiterers pass on or go to the station-house. If a notorious fellow enters a place of public resort, though he has purchased his ticket, yet he will be ordered to leave at once or be locked up. At a great public gathering in the night, say Fourth of July, when tens of thousands of all characters and hues gather together, among whom are the most desperate men and women in the world, the crowd will be orderly as a church, and go home quietly as an audience from the Academy of Music. In the draft riots of July, the police marched in solid column against the rioters, and obeyed orders as promptly as an army. They broke the prestige of the mob with their locusts, and scattered the miscreants before the military arrived. The Prince of Wales and Duke of Newcastle expressed astonishment at the ease with which the police controlled the masses. At the reception of the Prince and Princess of Wales in London, the mob overpowered the police, seven persons were killed, and hundreds of men, women, and children crushed. At the exhibition of the Great Eastern in England, pickpockets swarmed by hundreds, and thousands of pounds were stolen. On the exhibition of the Great Eastern in New York, she was visited by thousands of people, only six policemen were on duty, and not a dollar was lost.

The Metropolitan Police is not large. Besides the officers, the force numbers two thousand one hundred men. In uniform and soldierly bearing ; neatness of dress, manliness, and physical vigor ; intelligence and courteousness ; promptness and energy in the discharge of duty, often unpleasant and perilous, the police of no city in the world can excel the Metropolitan Police of
New York.

The Harbor Precinct

The police on the water have a precinct by themselves. It renders a most valuable service. Its headquarters are on a steamboat. This boat can be signaled at any moment. It keeps the peace of the harbor, quells mutiny, puts out fires, tows vessels on fire away from other vessels, and rescues vessels in peril. It arrests dock-robbers, and makes river-thieving dangerous business.

Headquarters

For many years the headquarters were in the basement of the Almshouse in the Park. Mr. Matsell had one room — damp, dark, and small — and one clerk, and these were enough for the service. A large marble building on Mulberry Street, running through to Mott, five stories high, is the present headquarters. It was built expressly for the police. It contains every convenience that taste, talent, and liberality can suggest, and is the most perfect building of the kind in the world. System, order, quiet prevail, and everything moves like a well-adjusted door on oiled hinges.

Every man has his place, and must be found in it. Thousands daily visit the rooms — officers from a circuit of thirty miles to make reports and take orders ; victims to make complaints; men and women, robbed and wronged, to get redress ; officers of justice from every city in the Union ; detectives from the Old World in search of rascals; policemen on trial, with witnesses and friends ; reporters, newspaper men, and citizens generally. But all is quiet. Loud talking and profanity are prohibited. Smoking and the use of tobacco are not allowed. You get a civil answer to a question, and the officers are courteous.

Within reach of the chief's chair is a telegraph, which communicates with every room in the building, with every station-house in the city, with every office in the district, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Westchester County. Before the robber has done up his bundle, the finger of the chief orders an up-town policeman to make the arrest. On the breaking out of a riot, men are instantaneously marched from every station-house to the gathering. Lost children are found at headquarters. Within an hour after a new counterfeit appears every storekeeper in the city is notified by the police.

Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since the old watch system was broken up, and the old Leather-heads disappeared forever. The present system is the growth of years. The severe but necessary discipline to which the present force is subjected makes it the security and pride of our people. New York is the home of the most daring and desperate criminals, who come from all parts of the world. Over two thousand men, efficient, brave, and well disciplined, who often face danger and death, guard our homes, make life safe, and property secure. Desperate men know with what vigilance New York is guarded. Should they overpower the police, they know that the electric wires, numerous as the veins in one's body, would communicate with headquarters, and a few
sharp strokes on the bell of the City Hall would bring ten thousand bayonets, if needed, to sustain the civil force. To the untold blessings of a strong government New York owes much for her tranquility and greatness.

The Full Police Force

The official statement of the entire Metropolitan Police force is two thousand five hundred and sixty-six. Of this number, two thousand one hundred and two are employed in Now York. This force is divided into one superintendent, four inspectors, eighteen surgeons, forty-five captains, one hundred and seventy-seven sergeants, ninety-one roundsmen, two hundred and eighty-nine patrolmen on special duty, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight patrolmen on general duty, ninety-three doormen. Of this force, all but four hundred and sixty are in the city of New York. The incidental duties of the police for a single quarter are thus summed up : Lost children delivered to parents, two thousand nine hundred and ninety-six ; abandoned infants delivered to Alms-house, thirty-six ; animals found, six hundred and eleven ; accidents reported, one thousand two hundred and seventy-two ; buildings found open and secured, one thousand three hundred and eighty-six; fires attended, two hundred and sixty-two; reported violations of law, sixteen thousand five hundred and eight; destitute persons lodged, twenty-five thousand eight
hundred and nineteen; money received from lodgers when they were able to take care of themselves, one hundred and seventeen thousand two hundred and fifty-five dollars ; stolen and lost property in charge of the property clerk, three thousand five hundred and forty lots.