Preliminary Legislative Report 
 
 
 Special 
 
 * 
 
 yy. v 7yp 
 
 K o > vY A,' A 
 
 ol 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 Committee of the 
 
 Board of Aldermen 
 
 ( 
 
 of 
 
 The City of New York 
 
 Appointed to Investigate the Police 
 Department, Pursuant to Resolu¬ 
 tion Dated August 5, 1912 
 
 >V 
 

& £ z.7 
 
 r 
 
 The Special Committee, appointed August 5, 
 1912, by the Board of Aldermen of New York City, 
 to investigate the Police Department, submits the 
 following preliminary legislative report: 
 
 Nature of This Report. 
 
 This preliminary report upon legislation is sub¬ 
 mitted at this time in order that it may be avail¬ 
 able for use during the present session of the Legis¬ 
 lature. In its final report the Committee will make 
 a summary of its entire investigation, and set forth 
 therein its general conclusions and recommenda- • 
 tions upon administrative matters. 
 
 Need of Legislation. 
 
 The police problem is primarily one of adminis¬ 
 tration. The present situation demands sustained 
 administrative efficiency. There is no magic in the 
 legislative printing press. New legislation should 
 be chiefly for the purpose of improving the admin¬ 
 istrative machinery of the Police Department. Sec¬ 
 tions of the Charter needing amendment, together 
 with the amendments recommended, we have sched¬ 
 uled in Appendix A. Bills now pending before the 
 Legislature, with our recommendations thereon, we 
 have scheduled in Appendix B. 
 
 Home Rule. 
 
 The administration of the Police Department has 
 been hampered by mandatory state legislation, con¬ 
 trolling administrative routine. This is inimical 
 to efficiency and subversive of discipline. State 
 
4 
 
 Appointment, 
 
 Tenure, 
 
 Removal. 
 
 Charges may be 
 preferred by 
 Board of Estimate 
 and Apportion¬ 
 ment or Board of 
 Aldermen. 
 
 Uncertain 
 
 Tenure 
 
 Destroys 
 
 Discipline. 
 
 lows at present deal with the organization of the 
 department, its different ranks, grades, salaries, 
 qualifications for appointment and promotion, man¬ 
 ner of distribution of the force, platoons and tours, 
 structure and quota of the detective bureau, traf¬ 
 fic squad, the suspension, trial and punishment 
 of delinquent policemen, etc. All such matters 
 should be left entirely to local authorities. 
 
 The Police Commissioner. 
 
 The Police Commissioner should be appointed by 
 the Mayor for a term of eight years, and should be 
 eligible for reappointment. He should be subject 
 to removal by the Governor, and also by the Mayor, 
 but in either case only after charges preferred and 
 after he has been given opportunity to defend him¬ 
 self in a public hearing. 
 
 In addition to the right of the Mayor to prefer 
 charges, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
 or the Board of Aldermen, by majority vote, should 
 be given the power to prefer charges against the 
 Police Commissioner, and it should be provided 
 that such charges must be heard by the Mayor at a 
 public hearing, after reasonable notice. 
 
 This change should not take effect until January 
 1, 1914. 
 
 We believe this recommendation to be of vital 
 importance. During the past eleven years we have 
 had eight commissioners appointed by Mayors of 
 different temperaments and political faiths. There 
 have been three Commissioners during the present 
 city administration. The brief and uncertain ten¬ 
 ure of the Commissioner has seriously impaired the * 
 efficiency of our police administration. Former 
 Commissioners have testified before us'that the force 
 does not respect its head. Captains and inspectors 
 upon our witness stand have shown this lack of re¬ 
 spect, This is a deplorable situation, and should 
 not be tolerated. 
 
5 
 
 It has been said that the policy of the Police 
 Department should be the Mayor’s care and respon¬ 
 sibility, and that he should have the power to re¬ 
 move the Commissioner at will. The appointment 
 of a Commissioner should not be a matter of poli¬ 
 tics. Moreover, there should be no such thing as a 
 “policy” with respect to the enforcement of law. 
 Unenforceable laws should be repealed. People 
 who disapprove of them should seek relief from the 
 Legislature, not from the Police Department. The 
 Police Department should no more have a “policy” 
 with respect to the enforcement of law than the 
 United States army should have a policy in foreign 
 affairs. 
 
 In this respect the Police Department is essen¬ 
 tially different from other departments. Moreover, 
 it is unique in its difficulties and problems. Hence, 
 eight commissioners in eleven years. The Com¬ 
 missioner must have long experience in the depart¬ 
 ment to become efficient. General Bingham, who 
 has served the longest period as Commissioner, has 
 testified before us that it takes between one and 
 two years for a Commissioner to acquaint himself 
 with the conditions and circumstances confronting 
 him. The Commissioner should know the history 
 and character of every superior officer. He should 
 study and learn the spirit of the force at large, in 
 order that he may sympathize with it, or combat it, 
 as occasion requires. 
 
 Deputy Commissioners and Inspec¬ 
 tors. 
 
 The increase or decrease in the number of Deputy 
 Commissioners should be determined by the Board 
 of Estimate and Apportionment and the Board of 
 Aldermen. The present method of appointment 
 and demotion of inspectors should be continued, 
 but the power to alter this method should be vested 
 in the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and 
 
 Should be no 
 “ policy ’’ of 
 enforcement 
 of law. 
 
 Police 
 
 Department 
 
 Unique. 
 
 Number of 
 deputies and 
 inspectors to be 
 determined by 
 local authorities. 
 
Chief of Police 
 with fixed powers 
 not favored. 
 
 Studied only as 
 police problems. 
 
 Graft to be 
 eliminated by 
 effective 
 administration. 
 
 Department of 
 Public Morals 
 opposed. 
 
 6 
 
 the Board of Aldermen, and not controlled by legis¬ 
 lative enactment. We have been much impressed 
 with Mayor Gaynor's suggestion that more deputies 
 and fewer inspectors are needed just at the present 
 time. We think it important that a Commissioner 
 should be able to choose a uniformed cabinet as 
 well as a civilian cabinet, and these in such num¬ 
 bers as occasion requires. Therefore we do not 
 favor the appointment of a permanent Chief of 
 Police. A Commissioner should have power, as at 
 present, to select a Chief Inspector as the head of 
 the uniformed force, and to prescribe for him ap¬ 
 propriate duties and authority. To create a Chief 
 of Police with authority fixed by law would be to 
 create a subordinate more powerful within the 
 limits of his authority than the Commissioner. 
 
 Gambling 1 and Prostitution. 
 
 The Committee has considered these subjects only 
 as they involve police problems under present laws. 
 We have not studied them as moral problems. Such 
 investigation would have been beyond the scope of 
 the resolution under which the Committee was ap¬ 
 pointed. We have received shocking evidence of a 
 widespread corrupt alliance between the police and 
 gamblers and disorderly house keepers. The elim¬ 
 ination of this grafting is one of the most difficult 
 and important problems with which we are con¬ 
 fronted. Believing, however, that the problem is 
 essentiallv an administrative one, Ave shall deal 
 comprehensively with it in our final report. We 
 feel that a Commissioner with a fixed tenure, with 
 an adequate staff of deputy commissioners, with an 
 ample fund for the engagement of a secret service 
 entirely outside of the department, Avould in time 
 secure and maintain an administrative efficiency 
 that would reduce this eAil to a minimum. 
 
 We are opposed to transferring the enforcement 
 of these laws to a Department of Public Morals, as 
 
7 
 
 provided in a bill now pending before the Legisla¬ 
 ture. We are also opposed to the suggestion that 
 a Board of Social Welfare be established for the 
 same purpose. 
 
 These.suggestions have been almost unanimously 
 condemned by former commissioners, deputy com¬ 
 missioners, and other public men appearing before 
 us. 
 
 The responsibility for law enforcement should 
 not be divided between two commissioners or agen¬ 
 cies. 
 
 To place the responsibility in the hands of 200 
 or 300 “morals policemen” would have a tendency 
 to lose the information which should result from 
 the daily observations of 10,000 policemen covering 
 every square inch of the City of New York. Evi¬ 
 dence before us has shown that a proper system of 
 reports from the latter would be of inestimable 
 value to a Commissioner in ascertaining conditions 
 and enforcing these laws. 
 
 Contact cannot be entirely removed because po¬ 
 licemen must still enter gambling and disorderly 
 houses and saloons for the purpose of enforcing 
 laws against larceny, burglary, assault, murder and 
 many other crimes. This might cause either fric- 
 tion or collusion between the two police forces, and 
 would not eliminate the collection of graft. 
 
 The standard of men deliberately enlisting for 
 service in a department having jurisdiction only 
 over gambling and disorderly houses, whether re¬ 
 cruiting from within or without the Police Depart¬ 
 ment, would certainly be very low. 
 
 The suggested bills provide that there shall be 
 no civil service restriction, and thus they turn back 
 the clock of civil service reform. 
 
 Moreover, even if any such change be desirable, 
 it is clearly a subject which should be left entirely 
 to local administrative and legislative authorities. 
 
 Such department 
 would divide 
 responsibility; 
 
 cannot remove 
 contact; 
 
 would lower 
 standard of men; 
 
 would be against 
 civil service 
 reform; 
 
 matter for local 
 determination. 
 
8 
 
 Home Rule 
 recommended. 
 
 No legislation 
 until completion 
 of investigation . 1 
 
 Photographs and 
 measurements of 
 those held by 
 magistrate on 
 felony charge. 
 
 Removal after 
 acquittal 
 discretionary 
 with court. 
 
 Excise. 
 
 We recommend that excise regulation for the* 
 City of New York be determined by local legislative 
 authority. We feel that this subject is essentially 
 one demanding home rule. 
 
 Pensions. 
 
 We are having made a thorough and exhaustive 
 study of the pension system of the Police Depart¬ 
 ment, including its past workings and probable fu¬ 
 ture results to the taxpayers of the. City. We have 
 gone far enough to discover that a pension fund 
 once boasting a surplus is now bankrupt, and mak¬ 
 ing constantly increasing demands. A trained 
 corps of experts is making this investigation, which 
 is not yet completed. Any recommendation by us at 
 this time would be premature. We think no pen¬ 
 sion legislation placing a further load upon the 
 City should be passed at the present session. We 
 shall deal with the subject fully in our final report. 
 
 Rogues’ Gallery. 
 
 We recommend a law authorizing the Police De¬ 
 partment to photograph and take linger prints and 
 measurements of all persons held by a magistrate 
 or on a bench warrant upon a charge constituting 
 a felony. In the event of the acquittal of the de¬ 
 fendant, the return of these records to be ordered 
 in the discretion of the judge trying the case. In 
 the event of a dismissal of the charge by the Grand 
 Jury, the records to be returned to the defendant 
 upon application. A law to this effect has been 
 strongly urged before us by judges, district attor¬ 
 neys and officials of the Police Department, past 
 and present. 
 
9 
 
 Special Patrolmen. 
 
 We recommend that no special patrolmen be ap¬ 
 pointed until a bond lias been filed to indemnify 
 those who may suffer by misconduct of such special 
 patrolmen. 
 
 Boiler Squad. 
 
 The inspection of steam boilers and the licensing 
 of stationary engineers are not police functions, and 
 should be placed under a bureau to be established 
 for that purpose by local authorities. 
 
 House of Detention. 
 
 The House of Detention for witnesses should be 
 removed from the Police Department, and should be 
 placed within the jurisdiction of the Department of 
 Correction. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS. 
 
 Administrative Routine. 
 
 We recommend changes in various minor mat¬ 
 ters of administrative routine, as will appear more 
 fully in Appendix A. 
 
 Perjury. 
 
 We endorse the recommendation of the District Would stop 
 Attorney that the Penal Law should provide that turmn s out 
 anyone who swears upon two different occasions in 
 a criminal proceeding in a materially different way, 
 upon a material point, should be liable to punish¬ 
 ment without reference to which statement be true 
 and which false. Although the District Attorney 
 and the court see perjury wilfully committed in the 
 recantation of statements, it is usually impossible 
 
10 
 
 to prosecute, because of lack of proof as to which 
 statement is true and which false. This will reach 
 the evil of police officers “-turning out” cases. 
 
 Health Department. 
 
 We recommend that the Police Commissioner be 
 relieved from his duty as a member of the Board of 
 Health. His duties in the Police Department are 
 more than enough to occupy his time and energy. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 HENRY H. CURRAN, 
 
 Chairman; 
 
 RALPH FOLKS, 
 
 JAMES HAMILTON, 
 
 O. GRANT ESTERBROOK, 
 
 W. AUGUSTUS SHIPLEY, 
 FRANK L. DOWLING, 
 
 FRANCIS P. KENNEY, 
 
 JAMES J. SMITH. 
 
 ROBERT F. DOWNING, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
 EMORY R, BUCKNER, 
 
 Counsel. 
 
11 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 Suggested Amendments to Specific 
 Sections of the New York Charter. 
 
 Section 270. Police Commissioner — Salary; Dep¬ 
 uties; Salaries, Etc. 
 
 This section should be amended to conform to the 
 recommendations heretofore made. The Commis¬ 
 sioner should be appointed upon January 1, 1914, 
 for a period of eight years, should be eligible to re¬ 
 appointment, should be removable either by the 
 Governor or the Mayor, but only upon charges, and 
 after a public hearing. 
 
 In addition to the right of the Mayor to prefer 
 charges, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
 or the Board of Aldermen, by majority vote, should 
 be given power to prefer charges against the Police 
 Commissioner, and it should be provided that such 1 
 charges must be heard by the Mayor at a public 
 hearing, after reasonable notice, and with oppor¬ 
 tunity for the Commissioner and witnesses to be 
 heard. 
 
 The salary of the Commissioner, the number of 
 deputies and their salaries, should be determined 
 by the local authorities. 
 
 Section 272. Police Commissioner; Authority To 
 Make and Enforce Rules and Regulations. 
 
 Should be amended to give the Police Department 
 the undisputed right to photograph and take finger 
 prints and identification measurements of all per¬ 
 sons held by a magistrate, or upon a bench warrant, 
 upon a charge constituting a felony. In the event 
 of a discharge by the Grand Jury, the defendant 
 should have the right to receive from the Police De¬ 
 partment these records. In the event of an acquit¬ 
 tal upon an indictment, it should be left to the dis- 
 
 
12 
 
 cretion of the judge trying the ease, whether the 
 defendant should receive these records. 
 
 Section 281. Police Force; Qualifications of Mem¬ 
 bers; Publishing Names and Residence of Ap¬ 
 plicants and Appointees. 
 
 Should he amended, substituting for the “City 
 Record” two daily papers in New York City of at 
 lease 100,000 paid circulation. 
 
 Section 288. Promotions. 
 
 The length of time in which a patrolman must 
 have served in a particular grade before being eligi¬ 
 ble for promotion should be left to the Civil Service 
 Commission. 
 
 The provisions with reference to inspectors 
 should be left as at present, except that the word 
 “nineteen” should be stricken out, leaving the num¬ 
 ber of inspectors to be determined by the local au¬ 
 thorities. 
 
 Section 290. Central Office Bureau of Detectives. 
 
 The grades and salaries of detectives, and the 
 maximum number thereof should be determined by 
 the local authorities. 
 
 Section 292. Police Commissioner; Duties and 
 Powers. 
 
 Should be amended, giving the Commissioner 
 power to suspend policemen without pay pending 
 investigation of alleged misconduct and trial of 
 charges. If the charges are dismissed, no pay to be 
 forfeited. Under the present law the Commissioner 
 lias no right to suspend without pay until the ser¬ 
 vice of written charges. If the charges are sus¬ 
 tained, pay can be forfeited under the present law 
 only from the time of suspension after written 
 charges have been served, and not from the time of 
 suspension before such service of written charges. 
 
13 
 
 The last sentence of this section, “Said Police 
 Commissioner may grant leaves of absence to mem¬ 
 bers of the force for a period not exceeding five 
 days,” is apparently modified by Section 303. In 
 any event, it should be repealed for reasons given 
 under Section 303. 
 
 Section 299. Salaries of Officers and Members of 
 the Force. 
 
 The creation of grades, ranks and the fixing of 
 salaries should be determined by the local authori¬ 
 ties. 
 
 Section 300. Police Commissioner ; Rules, Etc., 
 For Government and Discipline of Police De¬ 
 partment and Police Force; Trials; Dismissals. 
 
 The mandatory direction to the Commissioner to 
 provide two places for trials of policemen, each cov¬ 
 ering certain boroughs, should be repealed. This is 
 a matter of administrative routine and should be 
 left to the discretion of the Police Commissioner. 
 
 To make this section conform to the recommen¬ 
 dation made under Section 292, with reference to 
 suspension, the word “suspended” should be 
 stricken out in the sentence providing that no man 
 shall be suspended until written charges have been 
 preferred against him. 
 
 The word “reprimanded’ should be stricken 
 out because the Commissioner will have power 
 under another section to reprimand a police¬ 
 man, after a trial and upon conviction, and it may 
 well be that some future Commissioner will desire 
 to establish a system of demerits or reprimands by 
 captains and inspectors. The presence of this word 
 “reprimanded” in this section might prove an ob¬ 
 struction. It serves no useful purpose as it stands, 
 because it preserves no substantial right. 
 
14 
 
 Section 302. Police Commissioner; Punishments 
 Uy; Limitations of Suits for Reinstatements, 
 Etc. 
 
 The Commissioner should be given the right to 
 delegate to a Deputy, or to any member of the uni¬ 
 formed force, power to conduct trials and impose 
 punishment upon delinquent policemen. The Com¬ 
 missioner should have the right to revoke or modify 
 any such punishment within thirty days from the 
 time of its imposition. This is extremely impor¬ 
 tant. Although the law provides that the Commis¬ 
 sioner may delegate the power to conduct a trial to 
 a Deputy, he himself must find the delinquent guilty 
 and assess the punishment. The Corporation Coun¬ 
 sel has written an opinion recently to the effect that 
 in all cases the Commissioner must read the minutes 
 of the trial, unless he himself presided thereat. 
 Heretofore it has been the practice for the Com¬ 
 missioner to read the minutes onlv in those cases 
 
 t/ 
 
 where dismissal was imposed as a punishment. 
 During 1911 two thousand three hundred and 
 eighty-eight members of the Department were 
 either fined or punished. The Commissioner, under 
 the opinion of the Corporation Counsel, must read 
 the minutes in every case, and personally impose 
 the punishment. This places too much burden upon 
 the Commissioner. The provision that the Com¬ 
 missioner may modify or revoke the sentence of a 
 Deputy or member of the uniformed force gives 
 sufficient protection to policemen and prevents any 
 subordinate from having more power than the Com¬ 
 missioner himself. The recommendation that this 
 right of delegation be extended to members of the 
 uniformed force is made because a Commissioner 
 may desire to establish a system of trial for minor 
 offences by captains and inspectors. It is a waste 
 of time to try men at headquarters for appearing in 
 broken collars or unblacked boots. 
 
15 
 
 The Commissioner should have the right in his 
 discretion to have forfeited or withheld in monthly 
 installments the pay of policemen fined. 
 
 Section 303. Police Force; Resignation and Ab¬ 
 sence on Leave . * 
 
 . • 
 
 . . ■ . . • • ••»*..' .*. •» y.. /■.. • 
 
 The twenty-day limit should be repealed. Occa- 
 
 •14 ■ • . ■ f* J • - ' fe ** 
 
 sions frequently arise where policemen are called 
 upon to perform extended extra duty. Strikes, 
 riots, emergencies of various kinds impose hard¬ 
 ships. The Commissioner should have the right to 
 compensate for unusual service by granting leaves 
 of absence with pay. If lie cannot be trusted with 
 such a detail, he should not be trusted with the 
 Police Department. 
 
 That portion of this section dealing with resig¬ 
 nations has given rise to considerable discussion by 
 witnesses before us because of ambiguities. We 
 suggest that it be amended to read as follows: 
 
 • *- .. • **. •'*. • J .. • * - „*• A.% i. 
 
 “Under penalty of dismissal, no member of 
 the police force shall withdraw or resign, ex¬ 
 cept by the permission of the Police Commis¬ 
 sioner. If any member of the police force be 
 absent for five consecutive days without leave, 
 the Commissioner may, in his discretion, dis¬ 
 miss such member without notice or trial.” 
 
 Section 308. Police Force; Special Patrolmen; 
 When May Be Appointed; Military Assistance. 
 
 One of the several objections urged against the 
 appointment of special patrolmen is that the cor¬ 
 poration or individual employing them is not liable 
 for their misconduct, since they are peace officers. 
 We recommend that this section be amended to pro¬ 
 vide for the filing of a bond in the sum of $2,000, for 
 each special patrolman to indemnify anyone injured 
 through his misconduct. 
 
16 
 
 Sections 312, 313, 314. 
 
 These sections provide for the detail of police 
 officers to the Department of Health the Depart¬ 
 ment of Public Parks, and the Department of 
 Bridges. A section in the Tenement House Law 
 also provides for the detail of police officers to the 
 Tenement House Department. These provisions 
 should be repealed. We have not been impressed 
 by the reasons advanced for- this farming out of po¬ 
 licemen to other city departments. 
 
 Section 321. Police Commissioner; To Provide Ac¬ 
 commodations for Detention of Witnesses. 
 
 We ag ree with Commissioner Waldo and many of 
 his predecessors that the House of Detention should 
 not be under the jurisdiction of the Police Depart¬ 
 ment. It should be transferred to the Department 
 of Correction. 
 
 Sections 342-345. Boiler Inspection ' and Station¬ 
 ary Engineers. 
 
 We recommend that boiler inspection and licens¬ 
 ing of engineers be removed from the Police Depart¬ 
 ment and placed under the charge of a bureau to be 
 established for the purpose by local authorities. 
 
 Section 350. Special Patrolmen for District Tele¬ 
 graph Officers. 
 
 Should be repealed, provision for special patrol¬ 
 men being made by Section 308. 
 
 Sections 351-358. Police Pensions. 
 
 No pension legislation whatever should be en¬ 
 acted at this session, for reasons already given. 
 
 Section 1543-A. Police and Fire Commissioners 
 May Rehear Charges and Reinstate Members 
 of Force. 
 
 We recommend the repeal of this section. Our 
 investigation shows conclusively that its provisions 
 
17 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 are inimical to discipline. The present right of a 
 dismissed policeman to secure a court review af¬ 
 fords him ample protection against an unjust dis¬ 
 missal. 
 
 Three Platoon Law. 
 
 The present tliree-platoon law should be con¬ 
 tinued until changed by local authorities. All such 
 matters should be determined by local legislation. 
 
18 
 
 
 t u 
 
 
 i v y 'V(" 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 Pending Bill Affecting Administration of the Police 
 
 Department, to which our Attention has been 
 Galled. 
 
 i ;; »• ;; [\ t , i ' ! ! . a 1 • . *i ' . ■ ■ ■ ■ . < 
 
 Assembly No. 1225, Irit. 1146, Mr. Hammer. 
 
 Authorizes the Police Commissioner, in his dis¬ 
 cretion to reinstate William H. Finley, a resigned 
 member of the Police Department, to the position 
 of patrolman. It recites that William H. Finley 
 resigned from the Department in 1902. We oppose 
 this bill as special legislation. 
 
 Assembly No. 282, Int. 278, Mr. Taylor. 
 
 r Amends Section 1543-a of the Charter, extending 
 the operation of such section to include a demo¬ 
 tion as well as a dismissal. Inasmuch as we favor 
 a repeal of Section 1543-a, we oppose this exten¬ 
 sion. 
 
 :■■ ■>■ /1 : : 
 
 Assembly No. 293, Int. 289, Mr. Ingram. 
 
 ‘■C • i i. :';••• / I >f > - 
 
 Identical with above. 
 
 ) * * ' * ; ' /I U 
 
 j. j 'A A y r f _ . . . . t 
 
 Assembly No. 567, Int. 553, Mr. Ingram. 
 {.Identical with above. 
 
 * * * * * J . f /X ' ■ ' * * 1 ' ’ '• * * 
 
 in if HI . . t ■ ■ ■ i ■ -: i ; ,• ' . j . t ■. f 
 
 Assembly No. 1157, Int. 1084, Mr. McMahon. 
 
 Provides- for the absorption of the members of the 
 Aqueduct Police into the Police Department of 
 New York City, without examination or qualifica¬ 
 tion. We oppose this bill, because such matters 
 
 should be determined by local authorities. 
 
 r mtm> :>d faitjtnl? f; t *»;■.•< iv , r >0 v •• 
 
 Assembly No. 1043, Int. 991, Mr. Greenberg. 
 
 J ! f; • i 
 
 Creates a Department of Public Morals to take 
 charge of the enforcement of laws regarding gam- 
 
19 
 
 bling, prostitution and excise. It creates a large 
 staff of captains, lieutenants, sergeants, doormen, 
 surgeons and policemen, all “public morals’’ offi¬ 
 cers without any civil service restrictions. We 
 oppose this bill for reasons already given. 
 
 Senate No. 156, Int. 154, Mr. Griffin. 
 
 Fixes salaries of members of the police force. 
 Salaries should be determined bv the local authori¬ 
 ties. 
 
 * ' "" , ' " . . ’ ^ a - JL 
 
 Assemblv No. 458, Int. 453, Mr. Willmott. 
 
 Provides that a member of the force arrested for 
 a crime, shall not be dismissed upon charges based 
 upon the same facts until final determination of the 
 criminal charge. 
 
 This is inimical to discipline, and an interference 
 with administrative routine. Members of the Police 
 Department awaiting trial upon criminal charges 
 should not be continued in the Department if the 
 Commissioner has in his possession facts sufficient 
 to justify their dismissal. 
 
 Senate No. 663, Int. 608, Mr. Boylan. 
 
 This bill provides that no 'fine or demerit shall be 
 counted against a member of the Police or Fire De¬ 
 partment for promotion unless the same has been 
 imposed within three years of the time of examin¬ 
 ation for promotion. We oppose it as an interfer¬ 
 ence with civil service administration. 
 
 Assembly No. 738, Int. 709, Mr. Caughlan. 
 
 Identical with above. 
 
 Senate No. 420, Int. 399 ? Mr. White. 
 
 Amends the present three-platoon law. We op- 
 pose all such laws because they should be deter¬ 
 mined by local legislation. 
 
20 
 
 Senate No. 770, Int. 710, Mr. Frawlev. 
 
 Provides that police matrons shall receive the 
 same salary as patrolmen. We oppose this bill be 
 cause salaries of members of the Department should 
 be determined by local authorities. 
 
 Police administration in New York 
 City can never become efficient so 
 long* as bills similar to these here 
 scheduled are passed by the Legisla¬ 
 ture. Matters of administrative rou¬ 
 tine must be left to the Police Com¬ 
 missioner. Matters of Civil Service 
 administration must be left to the 
 Civil Service Commission. Matters 
 of police quota, ranks, grades, salar¬ 
 ies must be left to the Board of Esti¬ 
 mate and Apportionment and the 
 Board of Aldermen.