August 24, 1909
POLISHING POLICE
FOR DUTY ON BEAT.
NEW MEN GET FINAL INSTRUC-
TION DRILL.
Wear Good Watch, Don't Visit,
Avoid Troubles and Keep Mum,
Sergeant James Tells
the "Rookies.".
Thirty-eight newly appointed patrolmen received the final lecture yesterday afternoon at Convention hall in a course of instruction by Sergeant R. L. James of the Sixth district. The "rookies" have been drilled and coached daily by Sergeant James for the last month. Yesterday afternoon he gave them a review of the work and tomorrow morning he will turn them over to the police board to be assigned to their duties.
"I have worked hard with these men," said Sergeant James yesterday afternoon, "and I can say that they are educated in police ethics and the practical phases of the work. They have a thorough knowledge of their duties and will not have to ask bewildering and confusing questions of their superiors or fellow policemen as has been the habit of new men in former years."
"For the honor of the department and for the honor of your family," is the slogan which Sergeant James has endeavored to instill into the minds of his pupils.
PEACE CONSERVATORS.
He has kept the fact before them that they are conservators as well as guardians of the peace, and that their acts are watched by hundreds of persons and copied by many.
Sergeant James has made the fact clear that a patrolman's duties do not consist solely of putting on a uniform and wearing it about the streets. He warned them especially to be polite to women and not to think when a woman addressed a patrolman she does so because she likes his appearance.
The standing of a policeman in law was gone into thoroughly. His duty with reference to the service of warrants and attendance at trials was discussed and more important than either of these, the men were urged to keep aloof from civil and divorce cases. Sergeant James's advice is that a policeman should seek to induce people not to get warrants.
The new police were instructed not to leave a beat unless told to do so by a superior officer. They were also told not to ask favors.
"These policemen will be recognized when they go to work," said Sergeant James. "They will be neat in appearance, courteous and will be of military bearing. In addition they will have a fund of knowledge which will be hard for one of the old men to duplicate. That the school of instruction is a good thing and is recognized by the old men as such is shown by the fact that I have had from two to a dozen old policemen in the class every day. These men came up of their own volition and seemed to take as much interest in my talks as the new men."
The following rules summarize Sergeant James's course of instruction to the new men:
RULES FOR THE BEAT.
Don't think you are it when a woman speaks to you.
Avoid arguments.
Don't mix in civil and divorce cases.
Locking up a man is but a drop in the bucket of a policeman's duties.
Always have star and gun.
Be prompt in all things.
Give roll call special attention.
Wear clubs going to and from the police station.
Be careful in calling for the patrol wagon or the ambulance.
Only one man is successful at drinking. He is the man who sells alcoholic drinks.
Avoid loafing and arguments in stores.
Don't be afraid of working overtime.
If you don't understand a case call your superior officer.
Buy and wear a good watch.
Do not be overzealous in making arrests.
Don't visit brother officers and don't have friends walk your beats.
Keep your business to yourself.
When late at a box use the telephone.
Remember you do not know it all.
If ill, call the station so that a doctor can visit you.
Don't go over the heads of your immediate superiors.
Don't kill dogs indiscriminately. Give the complainant permission to kill the animal with your gun, then call the health department.
Don't permit funeral processions to be disturbed except by the fire department.
Be polite and ready to serve strangers.
Labels: Convention Hall, police
