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POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

Beat telephone equipment in use. Note folding writing platform;
also combined receiver and transmitter set.

Publications of the Bureau of Public Administration
University of California

Police

Communication
Systems

V.A.LEONARD

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
LONDON, ENGLAND

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BY SAMUEL T. FARQUHAR, UNIVERSITY PRINTER

CONTENTS

PAGE

Foreword, by Samuel C. May vii

Preface, by the author ix

Introduction, by August Vollmer xiii

CHAPTER

I. The Beginnings of Modern Police Communication . . . 1

II. The Modern Police Telephone System 52

III. The Beat and Its Equipment 76

XIV. The Police Radio System 107

V. Radio Patrol Operation 157

VI. The Regional Police Communication System 204

VII. The Police Teletype Network 242

VIII. Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 266

IX. Coordination of the Police Communication System . . . 298

X. Police Communication under Disaster Conditions . . . 320

XI. Police Communication and Distant Identification . . . 337

XII. The Modern Police Communication System 362

XIII. Foreign Police Communication Systems 404

XIV. Conclusion 461

APPENDIX PAGE

1. Specifications and Bidding Instructions for the Purchase

of Police Radio Equipment 483

2. Contracts Covering Regional Police Radio Organization

and Service 489

3. Municipal Legislation Prohibiting Electrical Interference
with Radio Reception 494

4. Municipal Legislation Prohibiting the Following Up and
Answering of Police Radio Calls 497

5. Radio Legislation Enacted by States 502

6. The New York State Teletype System— Operating and
Record Procedure 508

7. Exhibits from the Files of the New Jersey State Police
Teletype System 523

8. Alarm-system Equipment 529

9. Miscellaneous Record Forms 537

10. Summary of Work Performed by the California State Divi-
sion of Identification and Investigation 552

Bibliography 556

Index . . 573

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Beat telephone equipment in use Frontispiece

Early methods of police communication and transportation . . 11
Telephone layouts for police headquarters and police department

precincts 56

Telephone room at New York City police headquarters .... 58

Beat telephone equipment 88

Police recall-signal unit for mounting at street intersections . . 98

Another police recall-signal unit 100

The nerve center of the New York City police radio patrol system 112

The ideal transmitting antenna 118

A radio receiver set for police patrol cars 128

Fractional-second approach to zero running time by radio-
equipped police patrol cars: fast performance 168

Fractional-minute approach to zero running time by radio-
equipped police patrol cars: slow performance 170

Map of radio- equipped police patrol car districts, St. Paul . . 172
Motorcycle for police use, equipped with a short-wave radio

receiving set 195

Radio-equipped motorcycle and side-car unit with armored con-
struction 196

Switchboard and associated teletypwriter: Harrisburg installa-
tion, Pennsylvania State Police teletype network 244

California police teletype network 258

Pictures received over the Australian telephoto system .... 344
Foreign beat communication equipment: interior of police booth,

The Hague 418

Foreign beat communication equipment: exterior of police booth,

The Hague 420

Foreign teletype systems: central signal room, police headquar-
ters, Amsterdam 423

FOREWORD

WHEN IN 1930 the Bureau of Public Administration of the
University of California inaugurated a program of research
in public administration, its initial emphasis was directed to
the administration of criminal justice as one of several major
fields in each of which specialists in particular aspects of that
subject would cooperate in a series of related research proj-
ects. Since that time a bibliography of crime and criminal
justice since 1926 has been compiled, and studies dealing with
the incidence of delinquency in Berkeley, 1928-1932, judicial
criminal statistics, the prosecutor's office, the public defender
and private defense attorneys, and California prison popula-
tion, 1902-1934, have been made by members of the staff.
Since 1930, also, studies in police administration, including
The Police and Modern Society, published in 1936, Crime
and the State Police, published in 1935, police communication
systems, traffic engineering, and criminal investigation, have
been conducted under the direction of Professor August
Vollmer.

The Bureau of Public Administration presents this volume,
Police Communication Systems, by V. A. Leonard, as the
fourth of its publications in the group dealing with the ad-
ministration of criminal justice.

SAMUEL C. MAY,

Director.

[vii]

PREFACE

INFORMATION contained in this book is from reliable
sources. Fiction and questionable opinions have been re-
placed by facts. Very early in the course of the work, it was
found necessary to reject a large mass of information repre-
sented by popular accounts of feats performed by police tele-
type and radio communication, because this information was
not dependable. Data collected at random in the past nine
years have been supplemented by systematic inquiries di-
rected to important centers in the United States, Canada, and
the majority of foreign countries, in an endeavor to establish
connection with satisfactory sources of information. In addi-
tion to some 3000 questionnaires forwarded, more than 1000
original typewritten letters were placed in the mails, and
these were supplemented by personal investigation and inter-
views wherever possible.

The labor of pioneering the way into a new field of inquiry
would have been exceedingly difficult but for the ardent inter-
est and cooperation extended by a host of friends. The in-
spiration and counsel of August Vollmer (formerly Chief of
Police of Berkeley, California, and later Professor of Police
Administration in the University of California) , under whom
I served as a police officer for eight years, were the prime
factors in its inception and subsequent development.

The reader will find no difficulty in entrusting his confi-
dence to Chapter X, "Police Communication under Disaster
Conditions," and Chapter XIII, "Foreign Police Communica-
tion Systems," which represent the results of extensive inquiry
by Mr. Milton Chernin, Research Associate in the Bureau of
Public Administration, University of California. The advice
and counsel of Lieutenant-Colonel J. 0. Mauburgne, U. S. A.,
Ninth Corps Area, in charge of military communications
along the Pacific Coast, were of great assistance in the prepa-
ration of the chapter dealing with the operation of the police
communication system under disaster conditions; the discus-
sion of this subject is in large measure a reflection of his ex-

[ix]

x Preface

pert opinion in this field. In the assembling of material for
Chapter XIII, I am heavily indebted to the Department of
State and the Consular Service for their efforts in obtaining
with extraordinary completeness detailed information con-
cerning the framework and characteristics of police communi-
cation systems in all major foreign capitals.

The list of persons who have assisted in my undertaking is
extremely large, yet it would be difficult to close without at
least an expression of thanks to a few of them. These include
J. A. Greening, Chief of Police of Berkeley, California, whose
advice and cooperation were of great value throughout the
entire project. Lieutenant Kenneth R. Cox, formerly of the
Detroit Police Department (now communication officer at
Berkeley, California), and undoubtedly the principal Amer-
ican authority on the police radio system, generously lent
of his time and expert knowledge. Thanks are due Professor
Bert Wentworth and J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the Bu-
reau of Investigation of the United States Department of
Justice, Washington, D. C., for their assistance in presenting
Chapter XI, on communication and the problems of distant
identification.

Mr. F. C. Brandeburg, commercial representative of the
Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, San Francisco,
and the members of the eastern staff of the Bell Telephone
Laboratories, manifested an unusual degree of cooperation in
placing at our disposal information hitherto unpublished con-
cerning the use of the telephone and the teletypewriter in
police service. Mr. Gustav F. Bauer, of the National Police
Signal Company, Buffalo, N. Y., supplied invaluable techni-
cal data with reference to the installation of telephone and
recall equipment on the police beat. The Holophane Com-
pany, Inc., the National Radio Institute, the Corning Glass
Works, the American District Telegraph Company, the
Western Union Telegraph Company, the Pacific Radio Trades
Association, and others, were generously helpful.

Credit is due Professor Samuel C. May, Director of the Bu-
reau of Public Administration, University of California, for

Preface xi

the financial assistance which made possible the publication
of this material, as well as much of the work entailed in col-
lecting and organizing it for presentation. I am obligated also
to Mrs. Muriel Hunter, of the Bureau of Public Administra-
tion staff, who labored industriously in the final preparation
of the manuscript for publication.

In a treatise of this kind, a basic principle of police opera-
tion must not only be recognized, but must also, because of
its importance as a "base-line" for the discussion, be given
definite expression. It is this : Performance in emergencies is
taken throughout as the criterion for all communication ac-
tivities ; since, if a crisis can be met, the accommodation of
routine business must follow as a matter of course.

V. A. LEONARD

INTRODUCTION

E CHOICE of communication facilities for the administra-
tion of police departments is dependent, in large measure,
upon the means of transportation and of transmitting mes-
sages that are available to the criminal world. It is essential
to successful police operation to "keep one jump ahead of"
criminals in all manner of equipment, because these enemies
of public order take advantage of every new device which may
assist them in the pursuit of their lawless occupations. The
earliest police organizations employed simple methods of com-
municating with their various members, utilizing little more
than the military sentry-to-sentry calling system. Although
such measures seem crude in comparison with the systems in
use today, they served their purpose, for the criminal had no
instruments for conquering time and space superior to those
available to the officers of the law. As transportation and com-
munication facilities improved, however, it became necessary
for the police to avail themselves of the new equipment in
order to cope with the criminals who seized upon these inven-
tions to further their own purposes.

With the introduction of the automobile, and its increasing
utilization by all members of society, rapid communication
service became absolutely indispensable to law-enforcement
officials. The necessity has mothered many inventions, and now
there is no lack of scientific methods which may be employed
by the police in the apprehension of lawbreakers. Through the
modern telephone system, direct contact is possible between
the citizen and the police ; various other media convey the re-
ported information from the central station to the patrolmen.
By means of motorcycles and high-powered automobiles, the
man on the beat is able to reach the scene of the crime or pur-
sue the criminal. If the perpetrator escapes beyond the limits
of the local jurisdiction, radio and teletype can carry the
necessary information to neighboring localities, to the entire
state most nearly concerned, or even beyond these boundaries
into other states.

xiv Introduction

The citizen and taxpayer may be interested in the fact that
modern equipment, if carefully selected and distributed, will
effect an appreciable economy in the operation of a police de-
partment. The reserve force which formerly had to be kept
at the station house may be dispensed with, for modern sig-
naling equipment will summon the men on the beats for this
purpose at a moment's notice. Call cars which are held at
the station to respond in emergencies are no longer required,
and even the squad cars, still considered essential in some
departments, are unnecessary if the patrol cars are properly
equipped. Rapid concentration of the available forces at any
point and at any time is possible through modern communi-
cation instruments.

Every community, however small or large, has within its
confines the foundations of a police communication system.
The factory whistle, the lighting facilities of the municipality
or county, amateur wireless stations, and the telephone and
telegraph services may all be used, separately or collectively,
by the policemen in fulfilling the intercommunication needs
required in giving aid to the people they serve.

Unfortunately, the police have been handicapped in their
efforts to plan efficient communication systems by a lack of
published works on the subject. Every department has been
forced to struggle with the solution of its communication
problem independently; little or no opportunity has been
offered for one organization to become acquainted with the
practices and equipment employed by others and thus to
profit by their successes and failures. Large sums of money
and much effort have been wasted in fruitless and repetitious
experimentation which might well have been avoided if the
accumulated knowledge in this field had been available.

Too long have the police employed this trial-and-error
method in attacking their communication problem. Scien-
tific practices and principles have been developed in other
branches of the police service with marked results. Criminal
identification, for example, is no longer a guessing contest :
it is an exact science. Scientific investigative methods have

Introduction xv

been introduced into the police service, skilled technicians are
now employed in police departments to conduct scientific
crime-detection laboratories, and a substantial body of refer-
ence works has been developed in this field, to which other
scientists are constantly contributing. In recent years, the
traffic problem also has been scientifically attacked, and ac-
curate measures may now be used to determine what must be
done in planning for the control of traffic.

It is timely and important that the scientific achievements
of communication experts in every part of the world should
be critically reviewed and presented in such form that their
special knowledge may be made available to police and public
officials. The rapid advances which have been made in com-
munication methods are traceable to the individual efforts
of countless persons in every section of the globe. What the
policeman uses in China may not necessarily be applicable
elsewhere, but it may contain the germ of an idea which,
associated with other ideas, may prove enormously useful in
improving the service of some other country. Engineers
everywhere have contributed greatly toward the improve-
ment of the communication branch of police service by sup-
plying ingenious devices and efficient methods. Visual and
audible signals, street and office telephone systems, depart-
mental and interdepartmental teletypewriter service, secret
alarm devices, and the radio all contribute valuable assist-
ance to the officers of the law, and, paradoxically, reduce the
cost of police service to the taxpayer.

In his description of the problem encountered by police in
the communication field and in his presentation of the instru-
ments, practices, and techniques employed by police in this
country and abroad, Mr. Leonard has supplied public and
law-enforcement officials with a much needed tool. By the
critical manner in which he has treated the material, he has
added another police function to the list of those that are now
in the hands of scientists. From this summary of the many
methods available to police organizations, it is evident that,
from now on, no communication system should be installed

xiv Introduction

Introduction xv

xvi Introduction

until the installation plan has been carefully studied and ap-
proved by specialists.

The future is filled with great possibilities. Even today the
developments in this science are so rapid that it is impossible
to present every new invention and practice in any book.
Radio and television are only in their swaddling clothes, and,
according to the best-informed men, there will be varied and
rapid advances in all phases of communication technique. Mr.
Leonard has made a valiant effort to include all the latest de-
vices offered for police use, but it may be that some have been
neglected. It will always be necessary for the police to be
alert for new developments in order to combat with superior
methods and superior equipment the efforts of the criminal
to fasten himself parasitically upon our society.

AUGUST VOLLMEB

CHAPTER I

THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN POLICE
COMMUNICATION

IN THE MODERNIZATION of police departments probably the
factor that has played the greatest role is communication.
The history of its development is not a long and continuous
one, for the ancient Greeks and Romans communicated with
as great facility as did George Washington. Furthermore, it
was not until the British Parliament was led to enact the
sweeping reforms of Sir Robert Peel in 1828 that police or-
ganization became coherent enough to make use of formal
communicative facilities. Peel's reforms established an agency
the development of which thereafter could parallel closely
the advancement in scientific communication. This first pro-
fessional police force, of uniformed constables, had a day-and-
night responsibility for keeping the peace and apprehending
lawbreakers. In 1845 New York set up a force like London's ;
and other American cities soon followed the example of New
York.

ADOPTION OF THE TELEGRAPH

Almost coiiicidentally with the establishment of professional
police departments came the application of the electric tele-
graph to police communication. The Wheatstone and Cooke
telegraph had been installed on most of the English railroads
in the years between 1837 and 1842, and not long after the
telegraph was completed on the Great Western road its use-
fulness in police operations was dramatically demonstrated.
A murderer, fleeing from his crime, boarded a first-class car-
riage at Slough, eighteen miles from Paddington. Once in the
carriage, in a train moving rapidly toward London, the man
breathed freely, for escape seemed certain. He reckoned with-
out the telegraph, which had already borne to London the
news of the murder and a description of the fugitive. Within
three minutes, a return message announced to the local offi-
cials the arrival of the train and the arrest of the murderer.

[1]

2 Police Communication Systems

The publicity given to this incident had results which were
felt in police circles. In 1846, the Central Police Station at
Scotland Yard was connected by wire to the Central Office
of the Electric Telegraph Company, and shortly afterward
the district police stations also were thus connected to it.

The development of district telegraph service in London
and of telegraph communication exchanges in various cities
of the United States1 enabled citizens to get in touch with the
police stations ; this use of the telegraph, however, never be-
came of great importance in police service. The rapid con-
struction of telegraph wires between important cities also
provided means by which police forces in various parts of the
country could have cooperated in police matters ; but they did
not do so. It was not until after the formation of the Interna-
tional Association of Chiefs of Police in 1893 that the provin-
cialism and exclusiveness of the numerous American police
forces began to be broken down. In fact, the lack of coopera-
tion between police departments in the war against crime was
one of the main causative factors which led to the setting up
of this association.

When the telegraph was first utilized by police depart-
ments, the practice was to employ telegraph operators at
headquarters, as members of the force, to transmit and receive
the Morse signals. In 1858, the firm of C. T. and J. N. Chester
constructed, for the New York City Police Department, a dial
telegraph which enabled policemen who did not know the
Morse code to send messages over the wires. Through its use
the police did good work in the draft riots in New York in
1863. The use of the dial telegraph was adopted rapidly by
other forces. In an address delivered before the International
Association of Chiefs of Police in 1903, Chief Francis O'Neill,
of Chicago, gave a notably good description of these instru-
ments :

"The introduction of electricity as a means of communica-
tion between stations was the first notable advance in the im-
provement of police methods. Not many here will remember

1 A. E. Costello, Our Police Protectors, p. 31.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 3

the time when the manipulation of the dial telegraph by the
station-keeper while sending messages excited the greatest
wonder and admiration. The alphabet and numerals in two
concentric circles were so arranged that the operator spelled
out the words by pressing the buttons. The finger or arrow in
the center of the dial rattled noisily around and pointed out
on both instruments (the sender and receiver) the numbers
or letters indicated by the touch of the station-keeper.

"So little was the means of sending messages by telegraph
understood that, on one occasion, a cabman rushed into a Chi-
cago Police Station, and, handing the station-keeper a written
description of his rig which had just been stolen, urgently
requested that a message be sent immediately to all stations.
The latter took the slip of paper and put his instrument in
connection with its destination and after spelling out the
message on his dial, hung on a spindle the piece of paper
which the cabman had given him. The man lounged around
for some time, evidently restless and unsatisfied. At last his
patience was exhausted and he belched out, 'Ain't you going
to send that dispatch f The station-keeper politely informed
him that he had sent it. 'No, you hain't,' replied the indignant
man, 'there it is on the hook.' ':

The desire for speed caused the police to readopt the Morse
code after using the dial for a generation. "The dial was su-
perseded by the ticker in Chicago in the year 1876, and all
station-keepers, who were by this time called desk sergeants,
were required to take up the immediate study of the Morse
system of telegraphy."3

Although the telegraph was adopted for communicating
between the precinct stations and central headquarters before
the middle of the nineteenth century, the problem of com-
munication between the patrolman on the beat and the pre-
cinct station received little consideration until the 1880's.
Each shift of patrolmen was assembled at its precinct station
before going on duty, the orders of the day were read, and the

2 Proceedings of the International Association of Chiefs of Police,
1903. *Ibid.

4 Police Communication Systems

men were then marched to their beats by their roundsman.
From that time until the end of the shift each patrolman was
essentially dependent upon his own resources and isolated
from the rest of the force except at periodic meetings with the
roundsman or patrol sergeant.

The disadvantages of this system were obvious. There was
no way of knowing whether the patrolman was diligently pa-
trolling his round, for every popular officer was promptly
informed by his friends on the beat of the near approach of
the roundsman. Neither was there any way of making avail-
ble to the officer such information of happenings on his beat
as might be reported to the precinct station. Nor was an officer
available in the event of an emergency, unless he happened
by extreme coincidence to be at the scene of that emergency.
If an officer on a beat needed help from his fellow policemen,
he had great difficulty in getting it. He could use his voice,
whistle, or baton as a distress signal, but unless another officer
was within earshot such signals were ineffective. If he suc-
ceeded in arresting a dangerous or unruly person he entered
a new realm of trouble, for there were no police conveyances
which he could summon to take the prisoner to the station and
no means of calling such a convenience, even if it had existed.

The lack of means of communication between the precinct
station and the patrolman cannot be explained by the non-
existence of apparatus for this purpose. Telegraphic fire-
alarm signal systems, which could have been adapted to police
operations, had been in use in the United States since 1851.
In fact, Dr. W. F. Charming suggested the use of the tele-
graph for fire-alarm purposes as early as 1839, when the tele-
graph itself was a crude instrument. Nothing came of this
suggestion, however, until after the publication of an article
by Dr. Channing in the Boston Advertiser in 1845, in which
he outlined a method of applying the telegraph to fire alarms.
In the winter of 1847-48, Moses G. Farmer carried out this
suggestion by constructing the first machine for giving an
electric fire alarm. In 1851, Dr. Channing and Professor
Farmer installed a fire-alarm system in Boston, based on the

Beginnings of Modern Communication 5

former's original proposal ; it consisted of numerous box sta-
tions, connected by telegraph circuit with the central office,
from which all alarm signals received from the boxes were
sent out over other circuits to the bell towers, so that the signal
from the box would be simultaneously struck, electrically, by
every fire-alarm bell in the city.

Although New York City officials had experimented with
the idea of adapting the telegraph to fire-alarm purposes be-
tween 1846 and 1850, nothing permanent had come of their
work. For the evolution of the practical machinery required
for this purpose, credit must be given to the joint efforts of
Dr. Channing and Professor Farmer. Their patents were
acquired in 1855 and 1859 by John N. Gamewell, of South
Carolina, who devoted the rest of his life to the development
of fire-alarm and police signaling systems. The Boston system
with some improvements was adopted by Philadelphia in
1855. St. Louis signed a contract for it in 1856, although the
plan was not used until 1858. New Orleans and Baltimore
adopted the system in 1860, but the Civil War seriously ar-
rested the development. New York City did not adopt an elec-
tric fire-alarm system until 1869.

Between 1852 and 1881, 106 electric fire-alarm systems
were installed in the United States, and by 1881 these sys-
tems had reached a high stage of mechanical development.4
Few police forces had anything like them. The fundamental
reason for this lag in police-communication development lies
in the historic conception of the police function and the basic
differences between police and fire organization. For cen-
turies, people had thought of police work in terms of the
petty constable or sleepy night watchman walking his round.
The uniformed patrolman was merely a more efficient night

4 In 1902, the United States Bureau of the Census published a Survey
of the Electrical Industry of the United States (Bulletin No. 11), which
deals with municipal electric fire-alarm and police-patrol systems. This
report gives in detail the number of installations of police and fire-alarm
signals year by year from 1852 to 1902. By 1866 the fire-alarm signal
boxes in Boston were automatic. In 1867 the automatic features were
improved, and in 1869 the "noninterference pull" was invented, which
prevented interference with a signal being sent in from a box.

6 Police Communication Systems

watchman. What need was there for other police equipment
than a badge and club, a pair of handcuffs and a whistle ? The
chief duty of a policeman was thought to be making the round
of his beat, suppressing crime by his presence, and appre-
hending such criminals as he might, by extreme coincidence,
"catch in the act." The need for a complex communication
system which would serve as the central nervous system of a
highly integrated organism for the suppression and preven-
tion of crime was not perceived until after police organiza-
tions began to move from under the rigid control of political
officials. With the introduction of some measure of civil-serv-
ice reform and the consequent development of the idea that
police work was a specialized profession, police communica-
tion began to receive the attention it deserved.

Basic differences between the centralized organization of
the fire department and the dispersed organization of the po-
lice department also assisted in the diverse development of
their respective communication systems. Firemen were cen-
trally situated in their stations, not patrolling the streets
looking for fires to put out; it was essential, therefore, to
bring the news of a fire to their notice in the shortest possible
time ; the dangers of delay were obvious to the most indiffer-
ent person ; the need for electric fire-alarm systems was easily
perceived and their adoption easily procured. The need for
electric police communication was not so obvious. Policemen
were constantly walking their beats and were supposed to
come upon the criminal while he was committing a crime. A
person who needed a policeman could either run to a police
station or take the chance of meeting one on the street. Delay
in informing the police of a crime report did not seem of such
great importance. The adoption of police communication
equipment was therefore greatly delayed.

Adaptation of telegraphic fire-alarm boxes to police pur-
poses was early undertaken by the Gamewell Company and
others. The first electric police-communication system of rec-
ord was installed in 1867. Between 1867 and 1882 only seven
more systems were put in operation. After this rather slow

Beginnings of Modern Communication 1

beginning, however, installations became more numerous : 56
systems were installed from 1882 to 1891, 76 systems in the
next decade, and 84 new installations were made in the years
from 1892 to 1902. When the census of municipal electric
fire-alarm and police-patrol systems was taken in 1902, re-
ports were received from 148 electric police-patrol systems.
Of the total number, 125 were exclusively signaling systems,
19 were exclusively telephone systems, and 3 were a combina-
tion of these two. (The remaining system reported only "tele-
graphing boxes.") Although the systems were well distributed
among cities of various sizes, the communities of 100,000
population and more had so large a proportion of the equip-
ment that the use of police boxes was obviously still limited
to the larger metropolitan centers. In fact, 68.6 per cent of the
signal boxes and 68.2 per cent of the telephone-system boxes
were in cities of 100,000 and more, with only 3 per cent, and
0.7 per cent, respectively, in cities of less than 10,000. Cities
of the largest class (100,000 and more) received and sent 77.7
per cent of all police calls and 87.3 per cent of telephone mes-
ages.5 "Thus," stated the Census report, "there appears to be
a large field for the introduction of telephones for police serv-
ice in the smaller communities, where they would be most
useful, the number of officers being few and the population
and dwellings being sparsely scattered over a large area."

The first police boxes utilized telegraphy and established
one-way communication between the officer on the beat and
the precinct station. The apparatus consisted of electric sig-
nal mechanisms which were placed at stated points along the
route of the beat patrolman and were connected by suitable
circuit wires to headquarters or the precinct station. Some

5 The Census figures show the following result.

Number of
cities having
systems

Per cent
of total

Population

34
30
39
33
12

23
20.3
26.3
22.3
8.1

More than 100,000
50,000 and less than 100,000
25,000 and less than 50,000
10,000 and less than 25,000
Less than 10,000

8 Police Communication Systems

of the boxes were simply placed against a wall or on a lamp
post, but even early practice favored specially constructed
booths on the curbs or at street corners, in which signal boxes
were placed. As subsequently improved, the apparatus en-
abled the policeman on his beat to send a variety of signals
to his headquarters. An ordinary duty call, which he was re-
quired to make every hour, could be sent by merely opening
the box with a specially constructed key. This automatically
registered the number of the box, together with the time, on a
tape in the terminal apparatus at headquarters. Other signals,
such as wagon calls, ambulance calls, and calls for help, were
sent by opening the inner door of the box, setting a pointer at
the required call, and pulling the releasing mechanism. For
this purpose, signal boxes were manufactured which accom-
modated seven or more different calls. In Berkeley, Calif., for
example, prior to replacement by other equipment, boxes were
employed by which it was possible to transmit to headquar-
ters seven types of call, including three report calls for the
three patrol shifts and four emergency calls — f ast wagon,
slow wagon, ambulance, and telephone. At headquarters the
receipt of these emergency signals on the tape was usually
accompanied by the ringing of a bell or the flashing of a light,
which ensured prompt attention to them.

Originally, these boxes seem to have been used only in out-
lying districts, where beats were large and patrolmen widely
separated from each other. A description of the various pre-
cincts of New York City in 1884 mentions telegraphic police
boxes as being used only in such precincts. Thus, in describing
the Thirty-second precinct, Costello says "This is a mounted-
police precinct and even the horsemen are aided by boxes
from which they can send necessary signals to the station
house."6 The Thirty-fifth precinct "is a mounted one, with
boxes for signals from far-off parts."7 The utility of these
boxes and the even greater need for them in busy parts of the
city soon became apparent, and their use was no longer lim-
ited to outlying districts.

8 Op. cit., p. 388. 7 Ibid.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 9

Thus the introduction of the telegraphic police box ended
the isolation of the policeman on his beat and enabled him to
utilize the reserve strength and equipment of the whole de-
partment in the performance of his duty. It did not, however,
enable his headquarters to communicate with him. Nor did
it furnish a ready means by which the general public could
promptly get in touch with the police in case of need, even
though certain reputable citizens along every beat had special
keys to the police boxes, by means of which they could send
an emergency call to the precinct station and so obtain the
services of a policeman. These necessary and desirable fea-
tures of police communication awaited the invention and com-
mercial introduction of the telephone.

ADOPTION OF THE TELEPHONE

Fortunately, the telephone was invented and perfected about
the same time that the police began actively to adopt and in-
stall signaling systems. Since the telephone was only in its
experimental phases and the telegraph was already well es-
tablished as a workable police-communication instrument, the
telephone for several years remained an auxiliary to tele-
graph facilities. Police departments, however, did have tele-
phones very soon after exchange service was made available,
especially in the smaller towns and cities which had not de-
veloped extensive telegraph systems. At first, the police tele-
phone service did not differ greatly from the service as it was
used by the public. The metropolitan police in Washington,
D. C., subscribed on April 11, 1878, to fifteen telephones,
which were installed in eight precinct headquarters, at the
home of the superintendent of police, and in headquarters in
suburban communities. By 1880, two precincts in New York
were listed in the telephone directory, but these were evi-
dently disconnected soon afterward, for they were not listed
in the directory for 1882. In the same year, Inspector Byrnes,
the newly appointed head of the New York Detective Bureau,
established an office in the Stock Exchange Building, which
was connected by telephone with every bank and banking

10 Police Communication Systems

house in the lower part of New York. The speed with which
he was enabled to send an officer to any of these places in an
emergency contributed in large measure to the decrease of
bank robberies in the city.

In 1882, the Brooklyn Police Headquarters was listed in
the city's telephone directory, and about the same time, New
Brunswick, N. J., had several telephones listed under "Po-
lice Department." Brooklyn, according to the evidence, had
developed a usable telephone system before any other section
in the New York metropolitan area ; an editorial in the New
York Tribune for July 20, 1886, admonishing New York of-
ficials for not making use of the telephone as a means of com-
munication, said: "... this wonderful invention has been used
for six years to connect the police central office in Brooklyn
with the police stations . . . and its advantages have been
found too great to enumerate. If they [the New York police]
wish to keep up with the times, they will put in telephones
without delay. Doubtless the time may come when every pa-
trolman's beat will be furnished with one of these instru-
ments, so that the policeman can at once give notice to the
station of any occurrence demanding immediate attention."

Apparently, the New York Police Department, acting on
this suggestion, made use of the telephone, for the Police re-
port for 1889 mentioned that exchange service connecting the
offices of the chief officers of the department at Police Head-
quarters with each other, with the telegraph office, and with
the general exchange system had been in operation for two
years, and was used in transmitting a great many messages
not requiring a written record.

The telephone was early used to supplement the deficien-
cies of the telegraphic police boxes and thus establish two-way
communication between the station house and the officer on
the beat. The evidence seems to indicate that the first com-
bination telegraph and telephone police box was introduced
in the city of Chicago in 1880 by J. P. Barret, then superin-
tendent of the electrical department of that city. The system
was first installed in one of the most turbulent districts and

Beginnings of Modern Communication 11

at once increased tremendously the efficiency of the force,
chiefly in making possible a rapid concentration at any
troubled point. Its success was so rapid that by 1893 no fewer
than 1000 street stations had been installed all over the city of
Chicago, and several hundred private boxes besides. The Chi-
cago installation consisted of a call box in which were placed
both signaling apparatus and a telephone. Numbered keys

From an old print; about 1889.
Early methods of police communication and transportation.

which opened any of the stations and boxes were given to the
patrolmen of the district and to responsible citizens, whose
names were carefully recorded. A citizen's key turned in only
a call for help and was locked in the box until an officer ar-
rived to release it. The patrolman's key gave him access to an
inner box from which he could transmit calls, signals, and
reports by means of the telegraphic signaling apparatus and
the telephones.

The value of the police telephone system was dramatically
brought to the attention of the public by the prompt capture,
through its use, of the perpetrators of a brutal murder. On

12 Police Communication Systems

the evening of September 2, 1889, Walter Koeller, lying sick
in his room in an East Chicago boarding house, was stabbed
to death by two young men who called upon him. The land-
lady, startled by the cries of the victim, ran from the house in
search of a policeman, but when she returned with an officer a
few minutes later the murderers had fled. The officer rushed
to the patrol box and notified his station of the crime, sending
a good description of the assassins, which the landlady had
supplied, and mentioned the fact that one of them carried a
suitcase. A message describing the two men and the nature of
their crime was forwarded by headquarters to every precinct
in the city, so that in less than an hour from the time of the
murder it was known in all police stations. This message was
in turn transmitted to every police officer on duty, when he
called in to make his hourly report. At eleven o'clock an officer
arrested in a railroad yard two suspects who answered the
description, and a few hours later Inspector Shea had a full
confession of the murder. Thus, by means of a new communica-
tion facility, a crime was cleared which might have remained
a mystery, for had the men succeeded in leaving Chicago, it is
improbable that they would ever have been discovered.

The Chicago system was adopted in Milwaukee in 1883.
Brooklyn followed in February, 1884, with many improve-
ments, replacing the unsightly booth by iron boxes, similar to
firm-alarm boxes. Philadelphia, however, which also installed
its police-patrol system in 1884, adhered to the booth type.
Since then, the police patrol-box systems have been extended
year by year. With the rapid expansion of telephone service,
information relative to law violations was received with less
loss of time, and an increasing number of complaints and re-
ports of minor violations began coming in over the telephone.
These changing conditions required a gradual but sure im-
provement in operating facilities in order that the increased
traffic might be efficiently taken care of. As we have seen, in
1902 a total of 148 such systems were reported to the Census
Bureau. In 1907, there were 226 ; in 1912, 319; and in 1917,
the last year for which we have census figures, there were 428

Beginnings of Modern Communication 13

system, 383 of which were exclusively police-patrol systems
and 45 were combined fire-alarm and police-patrol systems.

With the introduction of the private branch exchange, the
telephone became the chief communication instrument of the
police. Given an instrument capable of transmitting speech,
the problem was to devise means whereby correspondents
could be placed readily in communication with each other.
The earliest application of the telephone necessitated a wire
extending from each subscriber to every other one with whom
communication was desired. The impossible complexity of
such a system became apparent in the earliest days of the
telephone, and it was decided to extend the line of each sub-
scriber to a point selected centrally with reference to the en-
tire group and then devise apparatus whereby any pair of
subscribers could at pleasure be placed in mutual talking re-
lations. Various forms of switching apparatus were developed
in attempts to solve this problem. The first switchboards were
limited in capacity and were inadequate for any but the
smallest number of subscribers. The first telephone switch-
board installed in San Francisco was a crude affair consisting
of two boards nailed to brackets on a wall, along each of which
was arranged a row of brass clips. Each clip was the terminal
of a telephone line, and in the center of each clip a hole was
drilled to receive a plug. A connection was made between two
subscribers' lines when the proper clips were linked by means
of two brass plugs joined with a piece of cotton-insulated
wire. Equipment was subsequently developed which would
accommodate the grouping of the lines of a large number of
subscribers in front of the operator. Inventive ingenuity had
been so successful that by 1896 there were in use several
switchboard exchanges accommodating from 5000 to 6000
subscribers.

With the development of these private exchanges, and the
consequent engineering of private telephone systems designed
to take care of the communication requirements of large
commercial organizations, the way was opened for a more
thorough study of systems especially suitable for police work.

14 Police Communication Systems

It remained only to study the communication problems of the
various police departments, large or small, in order to design
a telephone communication system adequate for all ordinary
needs. The telephone now rapidly began to replace the tele-
graph as the basic police communication facility. The police
department of New York City, after a demonstration of
the value of the telephone in police work at the time of the
Columbian celebration in Chicago in 1892, installed a pri-
vate switchboard and extensive telephone facilities in 1893.
By 1903, "a remarkable proof of the enlarged scope given
the [police] service by the use of the modern telephone ex-
change," in the words of the Census report, was "afforded
by the latest development of the telephone police signal sys-
tem recently put in operation in the city of New York." This
system was determined upon early in 1903 after several con-
ferences between Professor G-. F. Sever, consulting electrical
engineer of the city, and representatives of the New York
Telephone Company. It was decided to install in the Borough
of Manhattan 661 telephone stations, from 20 to 30 in each
of the 29 police-patrol precincts. After a careful investiga-
tion, it was decided to eliminate from this system all signal
appliances apart from the telephone itself, as it was held that
everything provided for in the ordinary combination signal
and telephone!) ox, and much more, could be done through the
telephone station.

A station consisted of a telephone transmitter and receiver
and a call bell placed in a cast-iron box fastened to the side of
a building. Six stations comprised one circuit. Each patrol-
man had a key and was required to report at a designated
time each hour. If he was delayed more than fifteen minutes,
a roundsman was sent out to investigate the cause of the de-
lay. There was little chance of collusion, because the central
operator could recognize the voices of all the men and could
tell by the signal from what circuit the call was made. In each
precinct station house a small switchboard was installed and
the operator of this board took down and noted the reports
of policemen, the time of the calls, and other details.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 15

By 1905 the installation of the police-patrol telephone sys-
tem was completed in Manhattan. It gave such general satis-
faction that in September of that year the extension of the
system to the eight precincts of the Bronx was approved.
In the same year, it was recommended that the old signal sys-
tem in Brooklyn, with its ancient telegraph equipment and
iron wires strung on poles, be replaced by a telephone system,
the report pointing out that to renew this system and place
the wires underground would be enormously expensive and
would take years ;8 but this recommendation was not carried
out until later.

Since 1905, the use of telephones for both police and fire-
alarm signaling has steadily increased. Because the Census
figures do not separate the detailed data, it is impossible to
discuss the police use of telephones apart from their use for
fire-alarm purposes.9 The data in the 1917 Census report, the
latest available on this subject, showed 86,759 signaling boxes
and 8094 telephone boxes used by the police and fire depart-
ments. The use of telephone boxes in both police and fire-alarm
systems was increasing much more rapidly than that of sig-
naling boxes, telephone boxes having increased 84.7 per cent
between 1907 and 1917 and signaling boxes only 49.3 per cent
in the same period. Telephone boxes, moreover, were used
much oftener than were the signaling boxes. The 1902 Census
report of municipal police and fire-alarm signaling systems,
which contained more nearly complete data on the subject
than any subsequent report, contained an analysis of the mes-
sages sent over the police systems. In that year, there were in
police service 9476 signaling boxes, 1170 telephone boxes, and
1998 special telephones. Of the 40,626,505 police messages re-
ceived and sent in that year, 23,393,812 were telephonic and
17,232,693 were signal-box messages and other kinds. "If . . .
the number of special telephones be added to the number of
telephoning boxes or stations," said the report, "it would ap-

8 Police Department of the City of New York, Annual Eeport, 1905.

9 Censuses of municipal electric fire-alarm and police-patrol signaling
systems were published in 1907, 1912, and 1917.

16 Police Communication Systems

pear that the 3,168 telephones are to be credited each with
7,384 calls sent or received, or about four times as many as the
signaling boxes, a striking demonstration of the prominent
part played by the telephone in the police patrol system."

The rapid replacement of the telegraph by the telephone as
the fundamental police communicating medium is not sur-
prising. The important question in police work, then as al-
ways, was how to make the police officer effective as a repres-
sive or crime-preventing influence and, at the same time, to
have him available for any emergencies that might arise. If
the officer remained in precinct headquarters so as to be avail-
able in an emergency, his influence as a crime deterrent was
lost. If he walked his beat as an ever-present threat to those
who would trample on the rights of the ordinary citizen, he
was almost useless in an emergency unless he happened by
extreme coincidence to be at the scene of that emergency.

The introduction of the telephone was a significant step
forward in solving this basic problem of police management.
By means of the call box, the officer kept in touch with his
headquarters regularly, and although it was impossible until
after the development of recall systems for headquarters to
get in touch instantly with officers in the field, the routine of
reporting regularly established a definite connection at cer-
tain times between the officer and his superiors, who, in the
interval between calls, might have learned of some occurrence
which required his attention. Calling times were staggered, so
that if the officer nearest was not available, other patrolmen,
reporting from beats near by, could be sent.

Besides contributing toward the solution of this basic prob-
lem, the telephone offered the advantages of universal utility
and extreme flexibility. In order to use the instrument, one
needed only to know how to talk. When both police and public
had access to telephone service, news of crime was learned
quickly by a city's protector and, because of telephone service
which permitted rapid connection with police officers near
the scene of crime, the police were able to begin action with a
minimum of delay. Without telephone service, criminal in-

Beginnings of Modern Communication 17

vestigation was a slower procedure. Lack of communication
facilities extended the escape time of the criminal and often
important clues were erased before the police even had in-
formation that the crime had been committed.

INTRODUCTION OF THE POLICE RECALL SYSTEM

The need for a method by which headquarters could make
known to the patrolman on the beat its desire to communicate
with him was solved early in the twentieth century by the ad-
dition of visual and audible signals to the communication sys-
tem. One of the first attempts in the country to employ a light
signal for expediting patrol operations was made by Charles
Foster, a private night watchman in Los Angeles, Calif. In
1905, Foster patrolled a section of West Adams Street on a
bicycle, and was accompanied by a small fox terrier as his
chief assistant. He soon found that some form of signaling de-
vice would add to the efficiency of his service and arranged
with the (then) Home Telephone Company to install red
lights on nine of its poles at different places in the area which
he patrolled. As part of his plan, Foster instructed his em-
ployers to telephone his wife promptly concerning any crime
or irregularity which should come to their attention. The
light being wired directly to the Foster home, Mrs. Foster
played the role of desk sergeant, and in an emergency sig-
naled to her husband to call her for full particulars. Foster's
efforts stand out as a significant event in the history of police
communication, since they mark one of the first known appli-
cations to police service of the colored-light flashing system.
In various cities, semaphores and electric lights controlled
from headquarters were placed on top of the police booths
or on the lamp posts. When headquarters found it necessary
to transmit a report or order to a particular patrolman, it
could notify him by turning on the signal lights. As soon as
the patrolman noticed the light, or heard the bell which was
sometimes attached to the signal to make it even more notice-
able, he called headquarters from the nearest police box and
received his instructions. He could be informed quickly of

18 Police Communication Systems

any matter on his beat requiring his attention, of all general
alarms, and of such orders as headquarters might desire to
give. The flexibility and coordination of the police depart-
ment were enormously increased, for by the use of the recall
system, headquarters at last had almost as effective control
over the decentralized patrol force as it had over the men at
the station house. The problem of how to make the policeman
available in an emergency while serving as a crime deterrent
on his beat was thus on the way to a definite solution.

The first calling signal used by modern police was a single-
stroke bell in the signal box and was of value only while the
patrolman was at the box. This was followed by a red-light
installation, the light signal being mounted above the signal
box and its operation being under the control of the operator
at the central station. Such a signal is of value only when an
officer is actually approaching the signal box. To overcome
this deficiency, an audible signal was added, usually a bell.
The audible range of the only type of bell available was lim-
ited, and this and the maintenance requirements demanded
by its exposure to the weather were serious handicaps. The
bell was finally replaced by a signal in which the sound was
created when a diaphragm was struck rapidly by a vibrating
hammer or by a motor-driven cam device. Such signals are
known as horns, and the first-mentioned device has been
found superior to the latter because it has a tone so distinc-
tive that it cannot be confused with any other signal. Further-
more, it has no moving parts in which frictional resistance
resulting from temperature changes or lack of proper lubri-
cant can affect its operation, and the electrical energy re-
quired to operate it is reasonably low.

Improvements were soon made in recall-signal installations.
The practice of placing the colored light on the patrol-box
post proved unfortunate. The blinking signal was generally
observed by the public before the patrolman noticed it, and
consequently he usually found a large and expectant crowd
gathered about the box when he approached it. This difficulty
was solved by suspending the light over the center of street

Beginnings of Modern Communication 19

intersections, which increased the visibility factor so far as
the patrolman was concerned, did not interfere with traffic
signals, and was not so conspicuous to the public.

In 1911, Police Chief E. A. Gravenor, of Camden, N. J.,
in an address at the annual convention of the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, described with much enthu-
siasm the colored-light recall system which had recently been
installed by his department. The lights were suspended from
22 to 25 feet above the surface of the street and were arranged
in circuits of five or more lights, with a total of ten circuits
for the entire city. With the control mechanism at headquar-
ters, it was possible to switch on any combination of circuits
from one to ten and burn them steadily or flash them accord-
ing to a prearranged code.

Improvements in the type of electric globes and reflectors
used in the signal equipment increased visibility both by day
and by night and made possible the abandonment of the elec-
tric bells or horns whieh had proved disturbing to many citi-
zens and a disadvantage to the police in many ways. New
types of installation increased the applicability of the recall,
permitting the summons of one particular patrolman, a group
of patrolmen, or all officers on duty at the time. The recall
system, moreover, instead of increasing the costs of the police
department, actually decreased them.

New York City did not adopt the light-recall system until
1914. In 1911, the so-called fixed-post system was organized by
the police commissioner in order to make a policeman quickly
available to any citizen. Policemen were stationed in the mid-
dle of various street intersections where they could be noticed
by anyone who might need their assistance. Other officers
walked the beats, each beat starting and ending at a corner
where there was a stationary officer. The officers would then
alternate, one walking the beat and the other staying at the
fixed corner post. This system of patrolling proved so expen-
sive that in 1914 there was installed in the Twenty-third pre-
cinct an experimental flashlight recall system. The precinct
was divided into recall zones, and the signal lamps were placed

20 Police Communication Systems

on the patrol-box posts. A special feature of the New York
system was the provision of "citizens' call buttons" attached
to the signal boxes. Anyone needing a policeman could press
a call button, which would cause the lamp to burn steadily
and so notify the patrolman that he was needed. The recall
system proved so efficient that by 1915 it had been extended
to six precincts and its installation was planned in sixteen
more. By 1919, the recall signals were in use in Brooklyn as
well as in Manhattan. The growth and distribution of police
recall systems has not been in proportion to their value to the
service, but the accumulated evidence from many American
communities which have installed them points to their in-
creased use in the future.

MOTORIZATION AND RADIO COMMUNICATION

The development of wireless communication toward the end
of the nineteenth century, together with the growing use of
vehicles, gave opportunity for a complete change in police
practice and technique. Half a century ago, not only did the
policeman have no means of traversing his beat except on
foot, but he was not even provided with any facilities for
transporting to the station house the persons he arrested. The
officer sometimes had literally to drag his prisoner to the sta-
tion, and frequently the station was a mile or more from the
point of arrest. If a prisoner was unruly, and they often were,
it was a contest of muscular strength and physical endurance
between the policeman and the person in custody.

Occasionally, if the prisoner was very stubborn or helplessly
intoxicated, the policeman requisitioned a passing horse-
drawn vehicle ; and when required by duty to care for the sick
and injured or to remove a dead body, his only recourse was
an appeal to the owner of some suitable conveyance. Often,
especially in the night and in stormy weather, "sick horse"
was given as an excuse for refusing the officer's request. Pris-
oners were taken to the station house in wheelbarrows, push-
carts, milk wagons, and other available conveyances. On one
occasion a policeman stopped an empty hearse after a funeral

Beginnings of Modern Communication 21

and, entering that gruesome vehicle with the prisoner, lay
down on him and thus held him until a police station was
reached.

Then came the horse-drawn patrol wagon, — variously
known as the "Black Maria," "pie-wagon," and other as little-
suited names, — another innovation in police service. The first
of these patrol wagons were not very commodious, and they
were uncovered, policeman and prisoners being in full view
as they passed through the streets. Naturally they attracted
attention and were followed by the usual crowd of curiosity
seekers, but they were a great improvement upon muscular
power, wheelbarrows, and milk wagons. With the appear-
ance of the automobile as a means of transportation, officials
charged with the management and control of police depart-
ments recognized its economic value in police work. At this
writing, many departments are completely motorized and
almost all of them possess one or more cars for emergency
service.

The automobile as a universal means of rapid transporta-
tion, however, greatly complicated the problem of fighting the
criminal. Modern improvements in automobile construction
made it possible for an amazing number of persons to become
qualified drivers. Present-day criminals, appreciating the
enormous possibilities of motor transport for their purposes,
have also found in the automobile, with its flexibility of serv-
ice and speed, a much-desired means for rapid escape. To
meet this situation the motor patrol was organized and has
become one of the most important arms of law enforcement.

Until the radio reached its present development, there was
no efficient means of keeping in touch with these cruising
units of the department. The mobile policeman, like the foot
patrolman, made periodic calls through the police boxes and
so received his instructions — a procedure which of course re-
duced the efficiency and value of the new patrol units. The
police therefore turned eagerly to radio as the medium which
would solve this communication problem.

The possibilities of radio in police work were suggested, it

22 Police Communication Systems

is said, as early as 1902, when two robbers escaping from
Catalina Island, off the coast of California, were arrested, on
reaching the mainland, by officers who had been notified by
wireless. A more dramatic use of wireless in a criminal case
was made in 1910 when a Mrs. Crippen disappeared. Her
husband, Dr. Crippen, living in London, sent notes to friends
indicating that she had died in California. Subsequently, a
woman who had been the doctor's mistress began to live with
him openly and to wear the wife's jewelry. The wife's friends
reported the matter to Scotland Yard. An investigation, in
which the doctor assisted, revealed nothing. Later, after the
two had disappeared, sufficient evidence was produced for
charges of murder against them, but they could not be found.
On the steamship "Montrose," sailing from Holland to Que-
bec, the captain noticed the unusual caresses bestowed by a
man passenger upon his supposed son, who proved to be a
woman. The captain wirelessed the facts to Scotland Yard,
two detectives took passage for Quebec, caught up with the
"Montrose" off the Canadian shore, and returned to England
with the prisoners. Dr. Crippen was hanged, the woman ac-
quitted.

These isolated examples, however, only faintly foreshad-
owed the coming police usefulness of wireless communication.
In 1908, upon the recommendation of the Police Commission
of New York City, wireless telegraphy was provided between
police headquarters and the police steamer "Patrol." The first
regular police use of wireless was thus similar to its first com-
mercial employment, — as a means of communication with ves-
sels. Further development in the police use of wireless did
not come until after the World War.

The first radio-station license issued for police service was
granted on June 11, 1920, to the Department of Police, City of
New York. The call signal was K-U-V-S. Almost simultane-
ously in various sections of the country, individual members
of police departments, on their own initiative and encouraged
by their chiefs, began to experiment with this new and prom-
ising instrumentality. Their apparatus was crude, but their

Beginnings of Modern Communication 23

hopes were high. In the same year, Lieutenant- Colonel J. 0.
Mauburgne, now in charge of military communications on the
Pacific Coast, assisted the Chicago police in the development
of a transmitter and associated receiving apparatus. The late
Inspector Mehrtens, of the police department of Berkeley,
Calif., as early as 1921 foresaw the potentialities of police
radio use and made extensive tests and observations with the
cooperation of local broadcasting stations. With an automo-
bile equipped with a receiving set, test cruises were made to
various sections of the San Francisco Bay area. The experi-
ments had varying success, the signal fading in and out at
irregular intervals, but the persons present were convinced
that final success only awaited the development of apparatus
designed for the purpose.

In the same year, 1921, Captain Roy Scofield, of the po-
lice department of Toledo, Ohio, a captain in the Signal
Corps and chief signal officer of the 37th Division during the
World War, set up a transmitter at police headquarters and
equipped his own automobile with a receiving set. Fading
strength of the received signal and various forms of elec-
trical interference handicapped operations so severely that
the project was temporarily abandoned.

In 1920, prior to the experiments of Mehrtens and Scofield,
Chief James Higgins, of Buffalo, N. Y., had read before the
International Association of Chiefs of Police a paper entitled,
"Use of Wireless Telegraph in Police Service." The paper
presented the thesis that wireless was the solution to the prob-
lems of long-distance intercity police communication, and the
author proposed a series of wireless stations for sending police
information. Although the Chief made a good case for the need
of a new method of sending long-distance police messages, he
guessed incorrectly in respect to the medium to be employed
for this purpose. Recent installations of long-distance tele-
typewriter networks appear to indicate this apparatus as the
police long-distance communication medium, at least for the
time being.

At the 1921 convention of the International Association,

24 Police Communication Systems

Chief Higgins returned to the subject of radio and wireless in
police work, stressing the application of radio to intracity
communication. Significant experiments carried on by the
Rochester, N. Y., police department in wireless communica-
tion between radio-equipped automobiles and police head-
quarters received special attention. A committee appointed
to investigate the possibilities of radio in police work reported
in 1924 an apparent consensus among chiefs of police that
radio communication might prove very valuable in the future,
but was still too little developed to be of great present value.
The incomplete report submitted by the committee showed
that the police of eleven cities had wireless receiving sets, five
departments had their own broadcasting stations, and ten
police departments (exclusive of those listed in the table on
pp. 25-31) were making use of cooperating private receiv-
ing sets. In spite of the committee's pessimism, these data
afforded a few crumbs of comfort to the radio enthusiasts
among the police.

Apathy, inertia, even opposition, perennial enemies to in-
novation, had yet to be overcome by the advocates of police
radio development. There were other quarters in which the
approval of wireless was not quite unanimous. There were
admirals and captains who were unalterably opposed to it;
they believed that when a ship was out of sight of land she
belonged in the hands of her master and that orders from the
blue were an outrage and an affront to his dignity. A similar
attitude prevailed, it is interesting to note, at the time of
creation of the first police departments in this country, when
great difficulty was experienced in both New York and Phila-
delphia in making the men wear uniforms. This form of dress
was considered to be degrading to American manhood and the
attempt to compel its use was resented. Indeed, it is said that
in Philadelphia the uniform was not accepted as a part of the
officer's equipment until 1860.

It is not surprising that openly expressed skepticism met
the first proposals to experiment with radio apparatus as a
device for police communication. To persons not versed in the

Beginnings of Modern Communication

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS

Call

letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequencv

(kc.)

Power

(watts)

KGZV

City of Aberdeen

Aberdeen, Wash

2414

125

KADR

"City of Abilene

Abilene, Tex

2458

KNHC

City of Ada

Ada, Okla

2450

WPDO

City of Akron

Akron, O

2458

100

WPGH

City of Albany

Albany, N. Y

2414

300

KGZX

City of Albuquerque. . . .

Albuquerque, N. M. . . .

2414

KACL

City of Altus

Altus, Okla

2450

KARD

*City of Ardmore

Ardmore, Okla

2450

WPED

Town of Arlington

Arlington, Mass

1712

100

WSAG

*City of Ashland

Ashland, Ky

2430

200

KADQ

*CityofBrea

Brea, Calif

2490

WPFS

Buncombe County

Asheville.N.C

2474

500

KACA

City of Atchison

Atchison, Kan

2422

WPDY

City of Atlanta

Atlanta, Ga

2414

400

WPDN

City of Auburn

Auburn, N. Y

2382

WQFV

City Council of Augusta . .

Augusta, Ga

2414

250

KGHU

City of Austin

Austin, Tex

2442

100

KGPS

City of Bakersfield

Bakersfield, Calif

2414

WPFH

Baltimore Police Dept. . . .

Baltimore, Md

2414

200

WBRP

*City of Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, La

2430

250

WPGA

City of Bay City

Bay City, Mich

2466

KGPJ

City of Beaumont

Beaumont, Tex

1712

100

KACK

City of Bellingham

Bellingham, Mass

2414

WAKL

Belmont County

St. Clairsville, O

2430

100

WPFK

Bergen County

Hackensack, N. J

2430

500

KSW

City of Berkeley

Berkeley, Calif

1658

500

KACM

City of Big Spring

Big Spring, Tex

2458

WPGL

City of Binghamton

Binghamton, N. Y

2442

400

WPFM

City of Birmingham

Birmingham, Ala

2382

150

WAKH

Town of Bloomfield

Bloomfield, N.J

2430

WBWV

*City of Bluefield

Bluefield, W. Va

2490

WAMI

City of Bluff ton

Bluffton, Ind.

2490

WPFW

City of Bridgeport

Bridgeport, Conn

2466

WPHV

City of Bristol

Bristol, Va

2450

WMPB

*City of Brockton

Brockton, Mass

1712

KGHT

City of Brownsville

Brownsville, Tex

2382

100

KNGW

City of Brownwood

Brownwood, Tex

2458

200

WMJ

City of Buffalo

Buffalo, N. Y.

2422

500

WPHY

Carter County

Elizabethton.Tenn....

2474

100

KGOZ

City of Cedar Rapids

Cedar Rapids, la

2466

KGHW

City of Centralia

Centralia, Wash

2414

KGZF

Citv of Chanute

Chanute, Kan

2450

WCPD

City Council of Charles-

ton

Charleston, S. C

2430

WPHI

City of Charleston

Charleston, W. Va

2490

WPDV

City of Charlotte

Charlotte, N. C.

2458

500

KACJ

Chelan County

Wenatchee, Wash

2414

250

WPDB

City of Chicago

Chicago, 111..

1712

500

Denotes construction permit only.

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call

letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequency
(kc.)

Power

(watts)

WPDC

Chicago 111

1712

500

WPDD
KACF

WKDU
WPFP
KNGE
WRBH
KAPE
KNFA
KGZP
WPGU

City of Chicago
City of Chickasha and
Grady County
City of Cincinnati
City of Clarksburg
City of Cleburne
City of Cleveland
County of Cleveland
City of Clovis
City of Coffeyville

Chicago, 111

Chickasha, Okla
Cincinnati, O
Clarksburg, W. Va
Cleburne, Tex
Cleveland, O
Norman, Okla
Clovis, N.M
Coffeyville, Kan

1712

2450
1706
2490
1712
2458
2450
2414
2450
1712

500

50
500
30
50
500
100
50
50
50

WPFI
KNFM
WAMB
KGHV
WPGK
KAPB
KVP
KVPA
KGPN
WPDM

KNHF
KGPX

City of Columbus
City of Compton
City of Connersville
City of Corpus Christi
City of Cranston
City of Gushing
City of Dallas
City of Dallas
City of Davenport
City of Dayton

City of Denton
City and County of

Columbus, Ga
Compton, Calif
Connersville, Ind
Corpus Christi, Tex —
Cranston, R. I
Gushing, Okla
Dallas, Tex
Dallas, Tex
Davenport, la
Dayton, O

Denton, Tex
Denver Colo

2414
2490
2442
2382
2466
2450
1712
1712
2466
2430

1712
2442

50
25
40
50
50
50
500
500
100
150
250f
100

150

KGZG
WCK
WPDX

City of Des Moines
Detroit Police Dept
Detroit Police Dept

Des Moines, la
Detroit, Mich
Detroit, Mich

2466
2414
2414

100
500
500

KNGH

City of Dodge City

Dodge City, Kan

2474

KNFE

City of Duluth

Duluth, Minn

2382

400

KNGK
WPEI

City of Duncan
East Providence Police
Dept.

Duncan, Okla
East Providence, R. I. .

2450
1712

50
50

KNGJ
KAPD
KGZM

City of El Centro
City of Eldorado
City of El Paso

El Centro, Calif
Eldorado, Kan
El Paso, Tex

2490
2450
2414

100
50
100

WASF

*Elwood Police Dept

Elwood Ind

2442

KAPK

*City of Enid

Enid, Okla

2450

KADV

Eugene Ore.

2442

WAKF
KNFP
WPHJ

City of Everett
City of Everett

Everett, Mass
Everett, Wash
Fairmont, W. Va

1712
2414
2490

50
50
100

WAKV
KNHM

City of Fall River.

Fall River, Mass
Fargo N D

1712
2442

50
100

WPHA
WPDF

City of Fitchburg
City of Flint

Fitchburg, Mass
Flint, Mich

2466
2466

50
150

* Denotes construction permit only.

t Denotes construction permit for increase in power.

Beginnings of Modern Communication

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequency
(kc.)

Power

(watts)

WAKO
KNHE
WPDZ
WAKK

City of Fort Lauderdale . .
City of Fort Smith
City of Fort Wayne
Citv of Frankfort

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. .
Fort Smith, Ark
Fort Wayne, Ind
Frankfort, Ind

2442
2406
2490
2490

50
100
200
50

WPDI

KGZA
WQFC
KADM
KRPW
KNFH
WPEB
KNHB
WMPG
KACU

WRDR
KADK

Franklin County Board of
County Commissioners
City of Fresno
City of Gainesville
City of Gainesville
City of Galveston
City of Garden City
City of Grand Rapids
City of Green Bay
*City of Greenville
Gregg County Sheriff's
Dept
Township of GrossePointe
""County of Hawaii

Columbus, O
Fresno, Calif
Gainesville, Fla
Gainesville, Tex
Galveston, Tex
Garden City, Kan
Grand Rapids, Mich. . .
Green Bay, Wis
Greenville, Miss

Long view, Tex
Lochmoor, Mich
Hilo, T. H.

2430
2414
2466
1712
1712
2474
2442
2382
2490

1712
2414
2450

200
500
50
50
50
50
500
100
50

250
50
100

WARN
WMO
KGPQ

Village of Herkimer
City of Highland Park ....
City and County of
Honolulu

Herkimer, N.Y
Highland Park, Mich. .

Honolulu, T.H

2414
2414

1712

50
50

100

KAPL

Hoquiam Wash.

2414

KHTP

City of Houston

Houston, Tex.

1712

200

WAKA
WPGO
KVPB
KGHN
KNFB
WMDZ
KAPG
WPHP

City of Huntington
Town of Huntington
City of Huron
City of Hutchinson
City of Idaho Falls
City of Indianapolis
Cityoflola
City of Jackson

Huntington, Ind
Huntington, N.Y
Huron, S. D
Hutchinson, Kan
Idaho Falls, Ida
Indianapolis, Ind
lola, Kan
Jackson, Mich.

2490
2490
2450
2450
2458
2442
2450
2466

50
25
40
50
500
400
50
50

WAMK
WPFG

City of Jackson
City of Jacksonville

Jackson, Miss
Jacksonville, Fla

2490
2442

50
400

WPGZ
WAMG
KGPE
WPEP

City of Johnson City
City of Kalamazoo
City of Kansas City
County and City of
Kenosha

Johnson City, Tenn —
Kalamazoo, Mich
Kansas City, Mo

Kenosha, Wis

2474
2442
2422

2450

50
100
500

100

KACS

Kern County

Bakersfield, Calif.

2414

500

KADL

Kitsap County Sheriff's
Office

Port Orchard, Wash. . . .

2414

KGZH
WPFO
WPDT

City of Klamath Falls
City of Knoxville
City of Kokomo

Klamath Falls, Ore
Knox County, Tenn. . .
Kokomo, Ind. .

2442
2474
2490

25
400
50

WQFQ
WQFX

City of Lafayette
Lake County

Lafayette, Ind
Waukegan, 111

2442
1712

50
100

WPFT

City of Lakeland

Lakeland, Fla

2442

Denotes construction permit only.

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequency

(kc.)

Power

(watts)

WQFO
WPDL
WQFZ
KGHG
KGHP

City of Lancaster
City of Lansing
County of Lasalle
City of Las Vegas

Lancaster, O
Lansing, Mich
Ottawa, 111
Las Vegas, Nev
Lawton Okla

2430
2442
2458
2474
2450

50
50
500
50
50

KNFF
WPET
KGZU
KGHZ
KNGY
WAMN
KGPL
KNGX

City of Leavenworth
City of Lexington
City of Lincoln
City of Little Rock
City of Lodi
City of Lorain
City of Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles

Leavenworth, Kan
Lexington, Ky
Lincoln, Neb
Little Rock, Ark
Lodi, Calif
Lorain, O
Los Angeles, Calif
Portable

2422
1706
2490
2406
2414
2458
1712
1712

50
500
200
100
40
50
500
200

WPDE

City of Louisville

Louisville, Ky

2442

200

KGZW

City of Lubbock

Lubbock, Tex.

2458

250

WQFH
WQFB

WASB

City of Lynchburg
City of Macon

*Macon County, Sheriff's
Dept

Lynchburg, Va
Macon, Ga

Decatur, 111.

2450
2414

2458

50
50
250f

100

WA.SD

*City of Madison

Madison, Wis.

2382

250

KADH

*City of Mangum

Mangum, Okla.

2450

WQFY

City of Mansfield

Mansfield, O.

2474

KADT
KADS
KADE
WPHG
WPEC

City of Marshall
*City of Marysville
*City of McPherson
City of Medford

Marshall, Tex
Marysville, Calif
McPherson, Kan
Medford, Mass
Memphis Tenn.

1712

2422
2450
1712
2466

50
50
50
50
400

WPFZ

City of Miami

Miami, Fla.

2442

500

WAKW
WPDK
KGPB
KGPR
WPGW

City of Miami
City of Milwaukee
City of Minneapolis
City of Minneapolis
City of Mobile

Portable
Milwaukee, Wis
Minneapolis, Minn
Minneapolis, Minn
Mobile, Ala

2442
2450
2430
2430
2382

40
500
400
400
400

WQFF

City of Monessen

Monessen, Pa

2482

WAKC
WPGP

Board of Chosen Freehol-
ders, County of Mon-
mouth, N. J

Freehold, N. J

2366
2442

100
100

WPFC

Muskegon, Mich.

2442

KNGT

City of Muskogee

Muskogee, Okla

2450

WPHB

City of Nashua

Nashua, N. H

2422

WPGS
WANG

County of Nassau
County of Nassau, N. Y. .

Mineola.N.Y
Portable-mobile

2490
2490

400
10

WAMJ

City of Natchez

Natchez Miss

2490

WMPN

*Town of Needham

Needham, Mass.

1712

* Denotes construction permit only.

f Denotes construction permit for increase in power.

Beginnings of Modern Communication

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequency

(kc.)

Power
(watts)

WPFN
WPGT

City of New Bedford
City of New Castle

Fairhaven, Mass
NewCastle Pa.

1712
2482

100
50

WQFA
WAKB
WPEK
WPFA
WPEE

City of New Haven
City of New London
City of New Orleans
City of Newton
City of New York

New Haven, Conn
New London, Conn
New Orleans, La
Newton, Mass
Brooklyn, N.Y

2466
2466
2430
1712
2450

100
100
250
50
400

WPEF

City of New York

New York, N. Y

2450

400

WPEG

City of New York

New York, N.Y.

2450

500

WNFP
KNGN
WQFL

City of Niagara Falls
City of Norfolk
Village of Oak Park

Niagara Falls, N. Y. . . .
Norfolk, Neb
Oak Park, 111

2422
2490
1712

125
25
50

KADI

City of Oceanside

Oceanside Calif

2490

37 5

WPHZ

City of Oil City

Oil City, Pa

2482

KGPH
KACT

KNGO

County of Oklahoma
County of Oklahoma,
Okla
County of Oklahoma,
Okla

Oklahoma City, Okla. .
Portable-mobile
Portable-mobile

2450
2450
2450

250
20
50

KAPF

City of Okmulgee

Okmulgee, Okla

2450

RACE

City of Olympia

Olympia, Wash

2414

KGPI

City of Omaha

Omaha, Neb.

2466

400

WQFJ

City of Oneonta

Oneonta, N. Y. .

2414

KGHX
WPHM

WPFX

County of Orange
City of Orlando

Town of Palm Beach

Santa Ana, Calif
Orlando, Fla

Palm Beach, Fla.

2490
2442

2442

400
50
500f
50

KGHK

City of Palo Alto

Palo Alto, Calif.

1674

WPHQ
KGJX
WPFV

WASC

City of Parkersburg
City of Pasadena
City of Pawtucket
*City of Peru

Parkersburg, W. Va. . . .
Pasadena, Calif
Pawtucket, R. I
Peru, Ind.

2490
1712
2466
2490

50
400
50
50

WQFI

City of Petersburg

Petersburg, Va.

2450

250

WPDP
KGZJ

City of Philadelphia
City of Phoenix

Philadelphia, Pa
Phoenix, Ariz.

2474
2430

500
100

WAKG

Pinellas County

Clearwater, Fla. . .

2466

250

WPDU
KNFJ
KACP
WPGB
WPFU

City of Pittsburgh
City of Pomona
City of Ponca City
City of Port Huron
City of Portland

Pittsburgh, Pa
Pomona, Calif
Ponca City, Okla
Port Huron, Mich
Portland, Me.

1712
1712
2450
2466
2422

400
50
50
50
100

KGPP
WPGI
KNHG
WPGF

City of Portland
City of Portsmouth
City of Prescott

Portland, Ore
Portsmouth, O
Prescott, Ariz
Providence, R. I.

2442
2430
2430
1712

500
100
10
150

KNGM
WPFE

City of Rapid City
City of Reading

Rapid City, S. D
Reading, Pa. .

2450
2442

50
100

* Denotes construction permit only.

t Denotes construction permit for increase in power.

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequency

(kc.)

Power

(watts)

KGHM

City of Reno

Reno Nev.

2474

WPDH

City of Richmond

Richmond, Ind

2442

WPHF

City of Richmond

Richmond, Va

2450

400

WQFG

City of Roanoke

Roanoke, Va

2450

100

WPDR

City of Rochester

Rochester, N. Y

2422

200

WPGD

City of Rockford

Rockford, 111

2458

KNGF

City of Sacramento

Sacramento, Calif

2422

400

WPES

City of Saginaw

Saginaw, Mich

2442

100

500f

KGPC

City of St. Louis

St. Louis, Mo

1706

500

WPDS

City of St. Paul

St. Paul, Minn

2430

500

KGZR

City of Salem

Salem, Ore

2442

KNGV

City of Salina

Salina, Kan

2422

KGPW

Salt Lake City, a Munici-

pal Corporation

Salt Lake City, Utah . .

2406

100

KSBC

San Bernardino County

Radio

San Bernardino, Calif.

1712

500

KACN

City of San Buenaventura

San Buenaventura,

Calif

2414

KGZD

Citv of San Diego

San Diego Calif.

2490

500

WAKI

City of Sandusky

Sandusky, O

2474

KGPD

City and County of San

Francisco

San Francisco, Calif. . .

2466

400

KAPH

County of San Joaquin . . .

Stockton, Calif

2414

500

KGPM

City of San Jose

San Jose, Calif

2466

100

KGZO

City of Santa Barbara ....

Santa Barbara, Calif. . .

2414

100

KGZT

City of Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, Calif

1674

100

KGPF

City of Santa Fe

Santa Fe.N.M

2414

KGPA

Seattle Police Dept

Seattle, Wash

2414

500

KACR

City of Seminole

Seminole, Okla

2450

WQFU

City of Sharon

Sharon, Pa

2482

KWCM

*City of Shawnee

Shawnee, Okla

2450

100

WAMH

* Shelby Police Dept

Shelby, O

2474

KNGP

City of ShrGVGport

Shreveport La.

2430

100

KGPK

City of Sioux City

Sioux City, la

2466

100

KNFI

Skagit County

Mt. Vernon, Wash

2414

WPEH

City of Somerville

Somerville, Mass

1712

100

WPGN

City of South Bend

South Bend, Ind

2490

100

KGHS

City of Spokane

Spokane, Wash

2414

100

WPHD

City of Steubenville

Steubenville, O

2458

100

WPFQ

Borough of Swarthmore . .

Swarthmore, Pa

2474

KAPJ

*City of Sweetwater

Sweetwater, Tex

2458

WPEA

City of Syracuse

Syracuse, N. Y

2382

400

KGZN

City of Tacoma

Tacoma, Wash

2414

100

WPHN

City of Tampa

Tampa, Fla

2466

100

WRDQ

City of Toledo

Toledo O

2474

400

KGZC

CityofTopeka

Topeka, Kan

2422

* Denotes construction permit only.

t Denotes construction permit for increase in power.

Beginnings of Modern Communication

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Concluded

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location

Frequency

(kc.)

Power

(watts)

KACO
WPDA

City of Tracy
City of Tulare

Tracy, Calif
Tulare Calif

2414
2414

16.5
150

KGPO

City of Tulsa

Tulsa, Okla

2450

100

KADG
WAGE
WPGJ
KGPG
KGZQ

City of Tulsa, Okla
City of Urbana
City of Utica
CityofVallejo
City of Waco

Mobile
Urbana, 111
Utica, N. Y
Vallejo, Calif
Waco Tex

2450
2458
2414
2422
1712

10
40
100
50
50

KACV
WPIA
WPDW

WMPW
WMPD
KGHY

City of Walla Walla
Town of Warren
District of Columbia
Metropolitan Police
*City of Waterbury
*County of Waukesha
City of Whittier

Walla Walla, Wash
Warren, R.I

Washington, D. C
Waterbury, Conn
Waukesha, Wis
Whittier, Calif.

2414
1712

2422
2466
2450
1712

50
40

400
50
100
50

KGPZ

City of Wichita

Wichita, Kan.

2450

250

KGZI
WQFM
WAKE

WPEM

City of Wichita Falls
City of Wilkes-Barre
Winnebago County

City of Woonsocket

Wichita Falls, Tex
Wilkes-Barre, Pa
Oshkosh.Wis

Woonsocket, R. I.

2458
2442
2382

2470

200
100
100
400f
50

WPGX
KNGU
WPFY
WAKX
WPDG
KADF
WPHO

City of Worcester
City of Yakima
City of Yonkers
City of York
City of Youngstown
Yuma County
City of Zanesville

Worcester, Mass
Yakima, Wash
Yonkers, N.Y
York, Pa
Youngstown, O
Yuma, Ariz
Zanesville O.

2466
2414
2442
2442
2458
2490
2430

100
100
400
40
250
50
50

* Denotes construction permit only.

t Denotes construction permit for increase in power.

technique of radio, it seemed a complicated and even impossi-
ble undertaking, but to those who understood this modern
instrument of communication it was a smooth-running ma-
chine of great potential usefulness in the suppression of crime
and the upholding of law and order. Its adoption by the po-
lice was slow, for wireless apparatus easily appeared too com-
plicated for the layman to understand. The police in many
cities concealed their ignorance of the subject by sweeping
announcements that the expense involved would not be justi-
fied by the results. As late as March, 1927, the following edi-
torial appeared in a prominent American police publication.

32 Police Communication Systems

RADIO NOT TOR POLICE

One of the bright prospects which appears to have become a disap-
pointment is that of the use of radio as an auxiliary to police work. Yet
it is not certain that the failure is a permanent one and the lack of
results up to this time may prompt some genius to bring out an idea

which will turn a failure into success Despite some very valuable

instances of crime apprehension through radio alarms, the fact remains
that the more profitable use of the radio is still a standing police
problem.

Oral expressions of skepticism were more to the point. The
police commissioner in one of the largest cities in the United
States, as late as 1931, vehemently opposed the adoption of a
police radio system by that department. The city council was
ready and anxious to appropriate funds for the installation,
the public and the press openly condemned his stubborn op-
position ; yet he persistently decried the use of what he termed
"new-fangled contrivances." His attitude was disregarded,
however, and the city concerned now possesses one of the most
up-to-date radio patrol systems in the United States.

In their earliest efforts in the radio field, police departments
made use of commercial broadcasting stations, as in the ex-
periments conducted by the New York Police Department in
1924. Even earlier, before the days of popular broadcasting,
under the first police radio license granted in this country
the New York Police Department maintained and operated a
telegraph transmitting station, transmitting in telegraphic
code information on stolen cars or missing persons. These
messages were picked up by amateurs, wireless operators on
incoming vessels, and other persons who understood the code.

In general, however, in the first attempts to use radio
broadcasting in police work, information was sent out over
a commercial station or over some station operating in the
entertainment frequency bands. The attendant disadvantages
were obvious. Information about the activities of the police
was received not only by police stations equipped with re-
ceivers, but also by radio listeners everywhere within range
of the station.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 33

There were more far-reaching disadvantages. The person-
nel of commercial broadcasting stations were unfamiliar with
police practice and technique and were therefore incapable
in handling police traffic effectively. Broadcasting organiza-
tions, moreover, exist primarily for entertainment purposes
and it was not feasible to "break in" at any point on a pro-
gram for a police broadcast. The time-interval delay in finally
putting the police call on the air was often so long as to defeat
its purpose. Furthermore, a certain amount of secrecy is in-
dispensable to the success of police operations. The use of a
broadcasting station often involved the release to the public
of information essentially confidential. It should be said, how-
ever, that the owners of many commercial broadcasting sta-
tions displayed a gratifying spirit of cooperation in putting
their facilities at the disposal of the police when need arose.
For the reasons mentioned, the police have found it necessary
to develop and install their own transmitting equipment, but
commercial broadcasting stations still hold great promise for
police use in the locating of missing persons and under dis-
aster conditions when the usual means of communication are
paralyzed. These matters are considered in some detail in an-
other chapter.

In the beginning, Canadian authorities also seized upon the
apparent opportunity presented by the already established
broadcasting stations. As in the United States, this was a
logical preliminary step in police broadcasting because, with
a modern station already in existence, the only police expense
involved was the cost of receiving equipment for the selected
police stations. In Edmonton, Alberta, through the courtesy
of C-J-C-A, a broadcasting station operated by the Edmonton
Journal, information was broadcast twice daily relative to
stolen automobiles, and lost children and other missing per-
sons. Scotland Yard made a similar arrangement with the
British Broadcasting Corporation.

The years 1926 to 1928 represent a significant period in
the history of police radio communication. Almost simultane-
ously in this interval, the police in various parts of the United

34 Police Communication Systems

States began to experiment with whatever apparatus was
available. Transmitters constructed of spare parts and assem-
bled with the assistance of local radio amateurs were installed
on police stations and, with receivers of like pedigree mounted
in police cars, the first police radio systems began to assume
their present form. Although these tests were uniformly suc-
cessful, they were everywhere attended with numerous diffi-
culties, the same in every place where such experiments were
conducted.

The operation of a radio receiver in a moving automobile
presented an entirely original problem. Little or 110 technical
material had been written or published on this phase of radio
reception, and progress was in large part a process of trial
and error. Eoad shock, constant change of position, interfer-
ence originating in the electrical circuits of the car and from
outside sources, fading of signal, and other problems arose at
once for solution. During this period the police were greatly
indebted to the zealous band of operators in the field of ama-
teur radio. It was the amateur who discovered the true value
of short waves and found that he could chat round the world
by means of very simple apparatus which consumed less cur-
rent than an electric flat iron or toaster. In a dozen or more
cities and communities, these youngsters, with no small
amount of engineering knowledge gained from study and ac-
tual construction of radio transmitters and receivers, stepped
in and without compensation gave of their time and energy
to the development of police radio equipment. Their inval-
uable assistance to officers in the various departments who
pioneered in the radio project holds an important position in
the history of police radio communication.

Police departments in a number of cities, notably Detroit,
Mich., and Berkeley, Calif., were moving ahead steadily
with experimental installations and continuous tests. Detroit
began using radio in police work in 1921, just after the begin-
ning of commercial broadcasting. The results were not satis-
factory and in the spring of 1927 the station was closed. In
the fall of that year, Commissioner Rutledge placed a former

Beginnings of Modern Communication 35

traffic patrolman, Kenneth B. Cox, in charge of radio devel-
opment in Detroit. Assigned with him were Walter Vogler
and Bernard Fitzgerald, both experienced radio men. Cox,
a former engineering student of Purdue University, reopened
the station in April, 1928, and the results obtained from that
day to the present have played an influential part in the per-
manent establishment of radio as a police instrument. The
system developed in Detroit of broadcasting, over a short-
range station, information to cruising police cars equipped
with radio receivers attuned to that station alone, is, in essence
the system universally adopted.

The present author, with the assistance of a young engi-
neering student, Reginald Tibbetts, in 1926 established what
was probably the first radio contact on the Pacific Coast be-
tween police headquarters and a moving patrol car. In that
year, following a study of the apparatus then available, a
50- watt Hartley-type transmitter was built and installed at
police headquarters at Berkeley, Calif., by members of the
department, and experiments were conducted with a police
car equipped for radio reception. These experiments termi-
nated in 1928 with the installation of a 75-watt transmitter
employing the Hartley circuit and the construction of a
7-tube automobile receiver especially designed for this type
of service. The increased power of the transmitter proved a
valuable aid. The new receiver, consisting of three stages of
screen-grid radio frequency, a detector, and three stages of
audio amplification, although somewhat elaborate, performed
admirably under actual operating conditions in a police car.
With this equipment it became possible to demonstrate offi-
cially that the system was entirely feasible and that the time
was opportune for the installation of standard radio equip-
ment at police headquarters.

From its inception the project enjoyed the interest and
support of municipal officials, and in the year following these
experiments funds were appropriated and professional radio
engineers were consulted for the design and construction of
a modern radio-communication system. This installation was

36 Police Communication Systems

unique in that it was designed for code transmission exclu-
sively and used primarily as a fast signaling system. Coded
calls were assigned to radio patrol officers, and code combina-
tions covering street intersections, crime classifications, and
personal descriptions were prepared, to increase further the
usefulness of the apparatus. The average time required to
make contact with patrol cars was 45 seconds, day or night,
and under any and all weather conditions. The transmitting
equipment was automatic in operation.

Meanwhile, Canadian police officials were alert to the possi-
bilities of rapid communication : the recognition and growth
of radio as a facility for police communication was not con-
fined to this country. The men engaged in the battle against
crime in Canada had no illusions about the seriousness of the
situation. In an address given before the Chief Constables'
Association of Canada, in 1926, Inspector T. W. A. Parsons,
of the British Columbia Provincial Police, declared that the
most effective means of defeating speedy transportation as a
weapon of the criminal was by accelerated intercommunica-
tion as a weapon of the police. With this end in view, the
British Columbia police decided to experiment with radio-
telephony and radio-telegraphy. Subsequently, a police radio
network was constructed with 50- watt transmitters installed
in the divisional offices at Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Kam-
loops, Nelson, and Victoria. Each station could communicate
with all the others, either individually or collectively, and
an immediate reply could be received to any message trans-
mitted. This installation was designed for code communica-
tion and provided a system which effectively blanketed the
entire province.10

Further, the board of police commissioners of the city of
Winnipeg, Manitoba, on May 23, 1930, awarded a contract to
the Canadian Marconi Company for the construction of a
modern police radio station. The Winnipeg system, the first

10 According to recent information, the Alberta Provincial Police were
amalgamated with the Boyal Canadian Mounted Police on April 1, 1932,
and shortly thereafter the use of the radio system was discontinued.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 37

radio-telephone transmitter in Canada to be used exclusively
in the suppression and prevention of crime, is a model station
and equal to any in the United States.

The value of speed of communication in the apprehension
of criminals was becoming increasingly recognized by police
authorities throughout the world and the police radio stations
for police operations exclusively grew in number by leaps
and bounds.11 Toward the end of 1929, radio construction per-
mits, covering the installation of radio equipment necessary
for communication between police headquarters and motor
patrols or squad cars, had been granted to twenty police de-
partments in the United States by the Federal Communica-
tions Commissions at Washington, D. C.

The development of police radio systems directly parallels
that of automobile reception. Satisfactory transmitters were
available long before automobile receivers became practical.
It was not until 1930 that commercial manufacturers of
standard receiving equipment entered the field of automo-
bile radio. The first sets to appear on the market, although
a decided improvement on all previous attempts, were not
entirely satisfactory. It was clear, however, that there was a
definite, popular market for this type of equipment, and en-
gineers concentrated upon the development of improved re-
ceivers, principally through reorganization of circuit design.
The introduction of the "B eliminator" and other current-
supply devices, as well as exceptional improvement in tube
design and construction, soon resulted in an automobile re-
ceiving set which rivaled the performance of the standard
home receiver. With efficient receiving apparatus available,
police radio communication took another big stride forward
and by 1933 the number of systems in operation had expanded
from tweny-six to almost one hundred. Licensed state police
stations were in operation in the states of Iowa, Louisiana,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and Mas-
sachusetts had on file applications for four additional state
police radio stations, including one portable station. In many

11 See Chapter XIII, "Foreign Police Communication Systems" (p.
404).

38 Police Communication Systems

communities, moreover, the police radio served the fire de-
partment also, and in four cities — Boston, Detroit, San Fran-
cisco, and Seattle — the fire departments had their own radio
stations.

This unexpected expansion of the new means of patrol
communication was accompanied by even more astounding
performance. So spectacular have been the achievements of
radio in the police field that one is tempted to abandon plain
statement of fact and describe them in the language of the
sensational press. Only a few typical examples, taken from
actual police records, are given here.

Two officers waiting in a radio patrol car for the "Go" sig-
nal received a broadcast from Chicago police headquarters
describing two men in an automobile who were wanted for
bank robbery and murder, committed a few minutes before.
While the officers were listening, a car with two men in it
stopped alongside to await the traffic signal and the officers
had only to step from one car to another to make an important
arrest. Contrast this with the period when policemen were
walking beats and reporting in at one-hour intervals. Fre-
quently, those farthest from a disturbance received the infor-
mation first and hurried to the scene, their necessary use of
their sirens giving ample warning to the fugitive that the
police were on the way. Now, the radio-patrol officers nearest
the scene are informed, and frequently they are within a
block or two of the disturbance.

The clerk of a hotel in Hollywood was held up, robbed, kid-
naped, and thrown from the bandits' car some distance from
the hotel. From his telephoned description, the police com-
plaint board identified the car's license number as that of a
car stolen just prior to the robbery. This information was
given to all police radio patrol cars, and the two bandits were
captured some ten miles from the hotel, eighteen minutes
after the broadcast.

The Radio Police Division of Los Angeles arrested in May,
1933, the first month of its radio operation, 66 more suspects
than the entire force had seized in the preceding month. In

Beginnings of Modern Communication 39

April, uniformed men had made 559 arrests, of which 41 were
for felonies ; in May, the officers manning the 43 police-radio
cars made 625 arrests, of which 178 were for major crimes.
In April, 177 robberies were reported ; in May, with radio-
equipped cars cruising the streets day and night, the number
of robberies reported dropped to 133.

On May 29, 1933, the manager of a branch bank in Los
Angeles was held up by three men. The manager, in his report
to the police department, gave the two license numbers on the
car, one on the front and one on the rear. The car was traced
through the registration of licenses at the Motor Vehicle De-
partment and found in the garage at one of the registered
addresses. Two officers guarded the premises while the third
phoned to headquarters and received instructions to await
reinforcements. Three radio patrol cars made the run in less
than three minutes and the three robbers were captured. The
robbers had intended to resist the two officers, but upon the
prompt arrival of the other six they decided that their situa-
tion was hopeless. The case was entirely cleared up within
thirty-five minutes after the robbery ; yet when the officers
arrived the money had been divided and the men were just
about to separate.

Numerous instances might be cited of arrests made by po-
lice radio patrols within from ten to sixty seconds for such
offenses as breaking and entering, robbery, and extortion.
Only one further example, however, of the great value of the
radio patrol will be given, taken from the records of the De-
troit Police Department ; a case which, without the assistance
of radio-equipped automobiles, would have been added to the
long list of police mysteries, possibly to remain there.

Three men directed a taxicab driver to take them from
Detroit to the suburb of Ferndale. In a sparsely settled sec-
tion, the driver was bound and tied to a tree, and the three
drove away in the cab. It was more than thirty minutes before
the driver was able to report to the Detroit police, but thirty
seconds afterward the alarm was broadcast to cruising cars.
The cab was sighted, a gun fight followed, and in only a few

40 Police Communication Systems

minutes after the broadcast two of the men were in custody,
one of them with $5000 in his pocket. The third escaped. The
case, however, was only begun, as eventually these arrests led
to the discovery that the $5000 was ransom money paid in a
kidnaping as yet unknown to the police. The arrests made
were most important, for the men confessed to a long series of
major crimes. Both had served terms in the Michigan state
prison, and they were wanted in two other states for parole
violations.

The foregoing illustrations of the effectiveness of the police
radio patrol might be multiplied almost indefinitely. They
have a significance that the casual reader may not appreciate,
for they hold the promise that society has in its hands a power-
ful agency of social control. And the adaptation of radio to
police operations has barely begun : constant experimentation
is going on in police departments the world over. In London,
Scotland Yard not only employs the radio-equipped cruiser,
but also makes use of vans equipped with both receiving and
transmitting apparatus, thus establishing two-way communi-
cation between the mobile patrol and police headquarters.
The possibilities of this new development stagger the imagi-
nation. It is receiving the serious attention of many police
departments in the United States, and several cities have
already added this two-way communication to their police
equipment. In a number of police departments, also, radio
receiving apparatus has been successfully installed on solo
motorcycles, as well as on those provided with side-car equip-
ment, making these mobile units a more effective force in
traffic and patrol operations.

State governments are recognizing the growing usefulness
of radio communication in police work. In 1929, Michigan
provided by law for a state owned and operated police radio
station. All state police cars were equipped with radio equip-
ment, and receiving sets were installed in sheriffs' and police
chiefs' offices throughout the state. As already indicated, a
number of state police radio stations are now licensed and in
active operation.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 41

The need for police coordination, the problems of radio in-
terference, and the dictates of economy have brought about
the creation of regional police radio systems in several of the
metropolitan areas of the United States. The Chicago police
department was the first to offer radio service to other com-
munities in the metropolitan area, and at the present time the
three Chicago police transmitters serve fifty-six other police
jurisdictions, covering three counties with a combined area
of 1328 square miles and a population of more than 4,000,000.
At this writing there are thirty-five regional radio systems
serving areas ranging from 15 square miles in Kansas City
to 1446 square miles in the East Bay area surrounding Berke-
ley, Calif., and used by about 300 police organizations.

The police use of radio has received recognition from both
national and international authorities charged with the regu-
lation of radio. The International Radio Conferences have
set aside certain wave lengths for the exclusive use of police
forces in international communication. In the United States,
the Federal Communications Commission, with commendable
foresight, issued an order in April, 1930, setting aside five
additional wave lengths for police purposes exclusively and
regulated the power of the individual stations on the basis of
population in the area served. Influenced, no doubt, by the
International Association of Chiefs of Police, this Commis-
sion has taken steps to have the problem of police frequency
and power assignments expertly studied and it is to be ex-
pected that the future will provide ample freedom for the
full development of this important arm of law enforcement.

ORIGIN OF BURGLAR- AND HOLDUP-ALARM SYSTEMS

The following brief account is a history of the need for alarm-
system protection rather than a history of the alarm sys-
tems themselves. Chroniclers of past times have had little or
nothing to say on the subject and it must be assumed that
burglary and robbery protection has been, in former times as
it is today, one of the most neglected fields of police communi-
cation and practice.

42 Police Communication Systems

In the early years of the nineteenth century, the only
known device for fastening a door was some form of the key-
operated lock. The possible variations of locks were few and
the mechanism quite simple. Adroit burglars of the period
were intimately familiar with all of them and needed but a
glance at the door to select the required key.

History does not inform us how strong-box burglars oper-
ated before the days of Jack Shepard, who was executed in
London in 1724. The crude burglar tools of his time, however,
remained in use generally until gunpowder came into play
for "blowing" safes. About 1868, a maker of machine tools
suggested to the inquiring mind of a burglar, George White,
alias George Miles, the wedge to force open the doors of the
new burglar-proof safes which had then appeared. At that
time, the jambs of safe doors were not provided with steps and
the wedges could be driven in. Where location would permit
the noise of an explosion, one pound of gunpowder, intro-
duced through a quarter-inch crevice made by one of the
wedges, would blow the door out bodily. This little adjunct to
the burglar's tools effectively sealed the fate of the then so-
called burglar-proof safe and stirred up some feeling of con-
sternation among saf emakers and bankers alike.

A similar fate met the introduction of other makes of safes,
most of which were protected by various types of patented
combination locks. The means employed by the burglar to
obtain the contents of the safe were various and successful,
according to his ingenuity and initiative. A new method
would be guarded by one band of thieves as long as possible,
and so it was that cracksmen became known to the police by
their work and methods of operation.

By 1865 or 1868, the use of gunpowder became so general
that nearly all the safes in coal and wood yards, as well as
other business premises in isolated sections of New York City,
were blown open. What may be called a fierce competition
between the saf emaker and the burglar seems to have started
about this time, the former attempting to make a safe to with-
stand the burglar's tools and gunpowder, and the latter to

Beginnings of Modern Communication 43

overcome the new and stronger constructions. This happy
state of affairs continued until shortly after the Civil War,
when the combination lock became a more practical affair.

The relief afforded by this new introduction was tempo-
rary, however, for organized burglary gangs began immedi-
ately to collect for examination and experiment a number of
these locks, sometimes at considerable cost. Some they found
were very easy to master, others required more time, but all
were vulnerable. Some burglars soon became noted among
criminals and police alike for their extreme cleverness in dis-
covering the combination on this type of lock. The combina-
tion lock, however, was made proof against such attacks by
the introduction of the time lock in 1874 ; this mechanism pre-
vented the operation of the bolts, even with the use of the
combination, until a predetermined time had elapsed after
setting of the lock.

The truce was again short-lived, for dynamite came into use
for safe burglary in 1878. The potential force of this explosive
is about eight times that of gunpowder, but its action is more
local, and where closely confined the noise of its explosion is
small when compared to its shattering effect. About this time,
however, drill-proof steel came on the scene and in a measure
circumvented the use of dynamite because of the difficulty of
penetrating this metal with a drill. Cracksmen were more
than equal to the occasion, and about 1894 introduced the use
of nitroglycerine into safe burglary. This has proved to be
one of the most successful methods of any yet known, and is
still used almost exclusively where an explosive is to be the
means of attack. With this liquid explosive at the burglar's
command, the drill was unnecessary and the drill-proof safe
soon became an easy prey for the professional cracksman.

Since the introduction of nitroglycerine, other industrial
methods and tools have been prostituted to criminal use, in-
cluding the oxyacetylene cutting torch, the oxygen blowpipe,
and others, to meet advances in safe and vault construction.
Given time, and by that is meant only a few hours, the most
modern enclosure is unable to resist attack.

44 Police Communication Systems

Burglar-alarm systems had their inception in 1853, when
A. R. Pope patented an ingenious device to give signals when
doors were opened by interlopers. In 1858, Edward Holmes,
proprietor of a notion store in Boston, spent his spare mo-
ments studying the mysteries of electricity. Electrical phe-
nomena were then more or less unexplained ; the telegraph
was in use, but the incandescent lamp was still unknown, and
electricity had not yet become one of the commonplaces of life.
Holmes bought Pope's patent and began to exploit it in Bos-
ton. Soon, however, he went to New York City to try and sell
his "new-fangled" device in the larger metropolis. He met
with fair success, installing the equipment in the homes of a
few wealthy people. It is interesting to note that Alexander
Graham Bell sought to attach his telephone circuits to the
wires of the Holmes burglar-alarm system in Boston, since
that wire system was one of the most widespread intracity
electrical communicating systems then in existence.

Holmes's first equipment was designed merely to warn the
occupants of a house or store when someone tried to open a
door or window. But it also warned the intruder, who could
usually make a successful escape after the "warning gong be-
gan to sound. Holmes reasoned that this defect could be elimi-
nated if the wires protecting the doors were connected with
police headquarters or with a central station near by; for,
then, when signals were received, trained men could respond
and capture the burglar unawares. Thus was born the central-
station idea of alarm-system protection.

Many developments and improvements have since been
made in electrical equipment and circuit design, and in the
past thirty years various types of alarm-system equipment
have been made available to persons provident enough to
secure its advantages. In November, 1901, the Underwriters'
Laboratories, Inc., was chartered by the state of Illinois and
authorized to establish and maintain laboratories for the ex-
amination and testing of devices, systems, and materials em-
ployed in alarm systems, thus giving official recognition to the
worth and utility of this type of communication equipment.

Beginnings of Modern Communication 45

The Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., has since expanded into
a national organization and is now the recognized authority
on alarm systems. Wherever employed, alarm equipment has
invariably reduced losses, a fact that is well evidenced in the
lower insurance rates for protected premises.

DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT

The latest adaptation of an old device to the demands of fast
police communication is the teletypewriter. This machine,
which is being increasingly used in police as well as in other
fields, is no more than a modern improvement of the old print-
ing telegraphs invented by Hughes, Siemens, Creed, and
others in the middle of the nineteenth century. After much
experimental work and improvement of the apparatus, the
telephone companies began supplying teletypewriter leased
circuit service to the press associations in 1915. Other com-
mercial uses for this equipment had been found even before
the United States Navy adopted the service at the time of the
World War. The teletypewriter has proved to be a valuable
adjunct to the police communication system. In a number of
cities it is the medium of communication between headquar-
ters and the scattered precinct stations, and it is rapidly be-
coming the instrument chiefly relied upon for long-distance
intercity police communication. The teletypewriter is super-
seding other means of communication in these two specific
fields because it combines the speed of the telephone and the
accuracy of the typewriter with the authority and perma-
nence of the printed word. This new service first demon-
strated its efficiency in the Times Square subway disaster of
1928. The precision and speed with which, through its use,
the police headquarters mobilized the reserve forces of sev-
eral divisions and the patrolmen on duty in many precincts,
clearly proved that Commissioner Warren was not indulging
in a mere flight of oratory when he characterized the new in-
stallation as "one of the most perfectly coordinated commu-
nication systems used in any line of business." The results
obtained in other cities — Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco,

46 Police Communication Systems

Chicago, Buffalo, Portland, and Seattle — have in large meas-
ure repeated the New York experience. The further develop-
ment of county, state, and regional teletypewriter networks
marks a new era in the coordination of police agencies and
emphasizes the continued growth in use and importance of
this instrument in the police field.

In 1902, Major Richard Sylvester, President of the Inter-
national Association of Chiefs of Police, commented in his
presidential address upon the then novel transmission of
photographs by means of telegraph wires and prophesied im-
portant police uses for this unusual communication process.
The problem of transmitting a photograph or drawing over
a distance by means of electricity has occupied the attention
of many engineers and scientists for more than three-quarters
of a century. Of the early attempts to effect the telegraphic
transmission of pictures, the system developed by Bakewell
is of particular significance. His experiments, which came to
the notice of the scientific world as early as 1847, made use of
two revolving drums, one at the transmitting and one at the
receiving end. The rotation of these cylinders was, as far as
possible, synchronized. Upon the transmitting cylinder were
placed a thin sheet of tinfoil, upon which the sketch was drawn
with a specially prepared ink, and a nonconductor of elec-
tricity. The passing of a small metal contact over the cylinder
broke and closed the circuit as it crossed the inked markings
of the sketch, these current interruptions being passed over
suitable lines to the receiving apparatus. Wrapped on the re-
ceiving cylinder was a sheet of paper so prepared chemically
that the passage of an electrical current caused changes in
the chemical composition of the surface, leaving small marks
or stains. With both cylinders synchronized, the transmitted
current interruptions could be made to reproduce an approxi-
mate copy of the original sketch.

Amstutz, Shelf ord Bidwell, Gaselli, Charbonelle, and other
European inventors carried Bakewell's experiments further,
but it was not until the mathematical calculations of Profes-
sor Arthur Korn, a German mathematician, resulted in an

Beginnings of Modern Communication 47

improved use of the selenium cell, that telephotography
became commercially attractive. The metal selenium, when
kept at a definite high temperature, usually 200° C, assumes
the crystalline state and becomes electrically conductive and
senstive to light. In this apparatus, Korn employed for
transmission purposes a transparent photograph printed on
a celluloid or gelatin film which was wrapped tightly around
a revolving cylinder. A beam of light was made to pass
through the photographic negative, and thence through a
prism which reflected the beam upon a selenium cell. The
spiral revolution of the cylinder was so regulated that the
beam of light would in time cover all parts of the photograph,
the intensity of the light at any instant depending on the
density of the photographic film in the part traversed at that
moment. The beam of light falling upon the selenium would
therefore always vary in accordance with the density of the
photograph. The section of the photograph embraced by the
pencil of light threading its way over the image was about
3 by 2 millimeters in area ; small details could not be trans-
mitted, as several would be encompassed by the beam at one
time ; and this made it difficult to transmit any but the most
simple diagrams and sketches.

The first photograph transmitted by Korn's selenium ma-
chine was sent from Berlin to the Paris office of the French
illustrated weekly, L 'Illustration, in October, 1907. A Paris-
London phototelegraphic service was begun on November 7,
1907, the first photograph, a likeness of King Edward VII,
being sent from Paris to the London office of the Daily Mirror.
The year 1908 is especially important in the history of tele-
photography as far as the police were concerned. In that year
the photograph of a criminal named Hedermann was tele-
graphed from Paris to London and published in the Daily
Mirror. The picture was recognized by someone in London
who knew him and who gave information to the police which
finally led to his apprehension.

An inventor, Edouard Belin, had for some time been en-
gaged in developing apparatus of his own design for the

48 Police Communication Systems

transmission of pictures. By 1920, Belin's developments in
this field gave positive proof of their value and presaged an
event of more than ordinary significance in the history of
police communication ; for experts closely associated with po-
lice service were quick to see the potential value of this device
in the transmission of fingerprints and photographs of crim-
inals.

The first actual transmission of fingerprints by wire was
done in Paris early in 1921, at the instance of Professor Sal-
vador Ottolenghi, an Italian. Working with two assistants in
Paris, M. Belin and M. Rainferi, he reproduced successfully
the first fingerprints transmitted by telegraph. The prints,
of course, exhibited numerous imperfections; the papillary
lines, especially, presenting at various points many fractures,
which rendered a comparison difficult. Nevertheless, they
were good enough to convince the professor that it would be
possible to obtain a perfectly clear image with Belin's ap-
paratus.

Confident of utimate success, he related the matter to Sena-
tor Vigiliani, General Director of Public Safety. After an
explanation of the possibilities and the benefits that the na-
tion would derive from the use of the device, the director
ordered him back to Paris to investigate further Belin's
experiments and to make suggestions for necessary improve-
ments. He arrived in the French capital on the first of June,
and resumed work with Belin at the latter's research lab-
oratory. On the night of June 3, the transmission of finger-
prints from Lyons to Paris with Belin's machine was accom-
plished with most satisfactory results and these experiments
were repeated from the office of the Matin. On June 4, other
tests were made in the presence of the representative of the
Italian Embassy, the Marquis del Vascello, and several Ital-
ian and French newspapermen. After critical, detailed ex-
amination of the prints, it was concluded that the image had
been transmitted with mathematical precision. The French,
the Italian, and the international press followed these experi-
ments with great interest. Further transmissions were made

Beginnings of Modern Communication 49

in the presence of M. Beyle, head of the Judiciary Depart-
ment of Police, M. Baldasarre, technical consultant of the
department, and other important officials of the French po-
lice. On one occasion Belin was able to transmit from Paris to
Lyons the photograph of a convict, with corresponding finger-
prints, in seven minutes and twenty-five seconds.

During this period, many police experts had become inter-
ested in the new discovery, including Dr. De Recther, Direc-
tor of the School of Police Science of Brussels, who discussed
the subject in the Review of Penology and Medical Jurispru-
dence, and Dr. Stockis, Professor of Medical Jurisprudence
in the University of Liege. "The international identification
of criminals," wrote Professor Stockis, "is the full realization
of a most important problem in the field of public safety, and
it should not be considered an exaggeration to say that this
discovery constitutes the most precious weapon the police
have in successfully fighting international crime."

In 1922, Korn came to Italy, where he continued his experi-
ments with the aid of the Ministry of the Navy. Through the
suggestions of Professor Ottolenghi, he became intensely in-
terested in the possibilities of telephotography in criminal
identification and subsequently, in many experiments, proved
that absolute identification could be made through fingerprint
impressions transmitted by wire.

Thus science again placed itself at the disposal of the po-
lice, and a new instrument was made available in the develop-
ment of communication facilities. To the Italian professor
belongs the credit for the first recognition of the great poten-
tial usefulness of telephotography in police work. From the
records, it would appear that this invention grew and devel-
oped almost entirely under the guidance of foreign engineers
and inventors. To German, Italian, and French scholars be-
longs the greater credit for its introduction, although it is
definitely known that Alexander Graham Bell, American in-
ventor of the telephone, had independently recognized the
telegraphic transmission of images as an engineering possi-
bility.

50 Police Communication Systems

Prior to 1923, the technical staff of American telephone
companies had been working steadily on the development of
telephotographic apparatus suitable for regular commercial
use. In an astonishingly short time — by 1925, to be exact —
regular telephoto service was offered to the public of the
United States by the commercial communication companies.
Although the expense involved at present prevents a general
use of telephoto facilities by the police of the United States,
the future utilization of this type of communication in po-
lice service is certain. In Germany, wireless police telephoto
sending and receiving machines have been installed in Ber-
lin and several other cities for experimental purposes. Should
the results obtained justify the expenditure, it is planned to
extend the system throughout Germany and to members of
the International Police Radio System.

With the growing complexity of law enforcement and the
increased demands upon the police, there is need for an agency
commissioned to foster the development and use of modern
communication methods and equipment in the police field.
Every effort should be made for the early organization of a
national association of police communication officers in the
United States, so chartered and organized as to permit its
later expansion into an international association. Such an ex-
pert body of men could make recommendations to the Inter-
national Association of Chiefs of Police on questions which
are of vital concern to the service. Further, the new associa-
tion, through its collective power and opinion, would be in a
position to initiate proposals for comprehensive police-com-
munication projects which must otherwise wait for the tide
to come in. Growth of regional communication systems and
the development of a national police-communication network,
among others, would be given immediate impetus through the
organized efforts of the association. Annual conventions
would afford opportunity for the expert presentation of vari-
ous phases of the complex police-communication problem :
many questions in this field await competent analysis. Rec-
ords of convention proceedings would be valuable documents

Beginnings of Modern Communication 51

and, through their distribution to the profession, would
awaken interest in the possibilities of modern communication
in police service. Thus may those who see ahead pave the way
for others in the general advance toward an efficient police
system.12

The scientific horizon is being constantly widened. In thou-
sands of laboratories, chemistry and physics are yielding new
ideas and discoveries for the advancement of man's knowl-
edge, many of which have a direct application in the field of
communication. Toward these the police attitude is one of
keen interest, since they know full well that the practical
equipment and methods in use today are based upon the in-
novations and discoveries of yesterday.

With this general panorama of communication in mind, we
come to consider at close range, in the following chapters, the
conditions which have made the communication system a
major factor in police administration.

12 The ideas expressed here have assumed tangible form, with the
recent organization of the Associated Police Communication Officers.
Its membership includes communication officers throughout the United
States and its strength is rapidly growing. Headquarters are at In-
dianapolis; Robert L. Batts, of that city, is president (1936).

CHAPTER II

THE MODERN POLICE TELEPHONE
SYSTEM

BECAUSE OP THE DUAL advantage of telephone communica-
tion,— its adaptability to police uses for two-way service
between commanding officers and patrolmen, and its instant
convenience for calls from citizens, — telephone service in the
modern police department has come to be the very backbone
of its communication system. It carries most of the communi-
cation load, as it should. Although supplemented in police
operations by highly specialized communication apparatus
such as radio and the teletypewriter, the versatile telephone
continues to meet the immediate demands of the police when
conversation between two persons at more or less distant
points is necessary.

In the setting up of a telephone system, the primary prob-
lem is one of economic selection — how to do the satisfactory
thing at the lowest cost. Police telephone systems in the United
States range in size from the very small village system, which
might consist of only a single line or two from the local central
office, to the elaborate and complex systems used by the metro-
politan police of the largest cities. The smallest-sized system
differs in no way from that which serves the general telephone
subscriber. The police telephone system begins to be different
when the private branch exchange switchboard is introduced.

THE SMALL-COMMUNITY SYSTEM

For the small town, or the city where all police operations are
centered in one station, a one- or two-position switchboard
will suffice, depending upon the size of the force and the num-
ber of call boxes necessary in policing the geographic divi-
sions of the town. Terminating at this switchboard are the
lines from the local central office, the extension lines serving
telephones used by the officers, the detectives, and the head-
quarters staff, and extension lines connected with the beat

[52]

The Modern Police Telephone System 53

telephone system. Burglar- and holdup-alarm lines from lo-
cal banks and mercantile establishments may also be con-
nected to the police switchboard. Many installations of this
smaller-community class also provide direct extension lines
to the homes of the chief executives of the department and to
the central office of the local fire department ; and other ex-
tensions may be provided to meet special requirements of in-
dividual departments.

In planning the telephone communication system for the
smaller community, it is important to provide facilities ade-
quate to meet the emergencies that may arise, as well as the
routine wrork of the department. Of great importance is the
provision of a sufficient number of trunk lines to the local cen-
tral office. A single telephone line in use is a barrier to the
citizen who is trying to call the police department in an emer-
gency, and quite useless to the operator at the police depart-
ment switchboard if he wishes to relay a call for assistance to
the hospital, to the fire department, or to divisions of the
police department. Busy central trunk lines may paralyze
an entire department for several minutes when seconds may
mean the difference between life and death, or between cap-
ture and escape. Adequate facilities to the local central office
should be provided well in advance of present requirements
so that in emergencies there will be no delay in summoning
police aid. Emergencies are not infrequently accompanied by
a sudden increase in telephone traffic over the police switch-
board, which may cripple the entire system unless provision
is made for peak-traffic periods. Switchboards provided by
the telephone companies are usually designed to permit en-
largement or expansion as the increased business of the de-
partment makes this necessary.

THE METROPOLITAN SYSTEM

The large metropolitan telephone communication system is
essentially a combination of smaller units of the same type as
those used by the smaller cities. These are linked together
by tie lines into a larger system, and the operating routine

54 Police Communication Systems

changed so as to permit the complex and more extensive sys-
tem to function as simply as the small unit.

For administrative purposes, the large city is usually di-
vided into police districts, or precincts, each one of which is
provided with a telephone system comparable to that outlined
for the small city. These precinct systems are in turn con-
nected to the police switchboard at divisional or central head-
quarters by direct lines. In most installations, all call-box
extension lines come into the district switchboard, where a
record is kept of the patrolmen reporting. In a few cities,
beat telephone systems are wired direct to central headquar-
ters. Although the wisdom of this arrangement is open to seri-
ous criticism, the number of such installations may increase
because of the centralizing effect of radio communication. In
a few places, the adoption of radio patrol has prompted the
abandonment of substations altogether. Modern police prac-
tice, however, seems to favor the retention of a decentralized
system so far as beat communication is concerned.1

The district or precinct switchboard is provided with the
necessary number of trunk-line connections with the central
telephone exchange, much the same as in the telephone system
described for the smaller community. In order to coordinate
the decentralized system in large cities, it is necessary to pro-
vide a large amount of equipment at headquarters to tie these
scattered units together into one properly functioning whole.

Telephone traffic handled by police communication systems
falls into two classes. There are (1) the calls concerned with
administrative matters and the ordinary business calls, and
(2) the assistance or emergency calls — calls having to do with
requests for police aid from the public or from police in other
parts of the city and outside jurisdictions. In the metropoli-
tan department where the volume of both types of call is
great, they are segregated and handled by means of separate
equipment in the communication bureau. In this situation the
private branch exchange switchboard is used to handle ad-

1 See Chapter IX, "Coordination of the Police Communication System"
(p. 298).

The Modern Police Telephone System 55

ministrative calls that require switching and the connection
of incoming lines with extension stations, and an order-receiv-
ing turret is employed to accommodate with dispatch the calls
requiring police action. Where headquarters equipment is
thus provided in two units, adequate provision is made for in-
terconnection, so that any calls coming in to one unit may be
transferred to the other when necessary.

Order-receiving equipment is designed to permit the speedy
answering of incoming calls, and is used where there is no
need for interconnection of incoming trunk lines with exten-
sion stations or other telephones. Jacks with attendant pilot
lamps are mounted on both sides of the turret, each side
serving as an operating position. When a call is indicated,
the operator plugs in the jack designated by the lighted pilot
lamp, answers the call, records the information, and after tak-
ing the action necessary to give police aid, is ready to answer
another call. The order-receiving turret is also designed to
accommodate outgoing facilities. Thus, a police-turret opera-
tor may take a call for assistance from a citizen and then call
out over one of his outgoing trunk lines, some of which may
be private wires to other departments or hospitals, in order
to relay the call for assistance to the point where action may
be taken. In addition, where the department makes use of
radio communication, facilities are provided enabling the tur-
ret operator to "cut in" the radio dispatcher on conversations
when the incoming crime report is important enough to make
this action advisable.

The system described is, to be sure, subject to minor varia-
tions, depending upon individual problems and conditions
and in some measure upon the ingenuity and interest of those
in charge of the Communications Bureau. In Chicago, for
example, all incoming calls for police assistance generally ar-
rive at one central turret, the operator of which commands a
view of fifteen or more telephone stalls or booths, each manned
by an operator and equipped with a standard telephone and
direct extension to the radio dispatcher. The operator of this
turret answers no calls, but acts as a telephone dispatcher,

Police Communication Systems

TELEPHONE
CENTRAL
OFFICE |N HEADQUARTERS

=x==r.=j^j:L^

fna§

Cj*NAL - 20C 0

SPRING 7-5100

HEADQUARTERS MANHATTAN

SENDING ft RECEIVING

TELETYPEWRITERS

— nnnnnncH

RECEIVING ONLY

TELEPHONE CO.
CENTRAL OFFICE POLICE HEADQUARTERS

ill I
j 1 1 *

/^r£=zr=E==-;E=::=Ei^/

TRUNK LINCSN (ff T|£ L|NES

I
I

TELETYPEWRITER
RECEIVER

LINES TO SIGNAL BOXES

Telephone layouts for police headquarters and
police department precincts.

switching the incoming call to the operator who at the mo-
ment is not occupied. The essential information is recorded
upon a report form which is then delivered to the radio dis-
patcher or to one of a group of operators who handle incom-

The Modern Police Telephone System 57

ing and outgoing calls to district stations. If to the latter,
the information is telephoned to precinct headquarters, from
which point the report is finally received by the beat patrol-
man or other officer for investigation. If there is an emergency
crime report, the operator signals the dispatcher, who may
listen to the conversation and thus save time by gaining im-
mediate possession of the facts essential for the broadcast.

Most of the crime reports in the large American city ar-
rive by telephone. It is necessary, in order that the police de-
partment may give the most valuable service, that these calls
reach quickly the point where direct action may be taken. In
this respect the telephone communication system of the large
police department acts merely as the agent of transfer. Of-
ficers in charge of communication are primarily responsible
for establishing a routine which will accomplish this transfer
quickly and accurately. A satisfactory routine which has been
used with success in several large cities may be outlined by
tracing a call from its inception to the point of action.

The citizen who wishes to communicate with the police may
call the headquarters emergency number direct ; he may say
to the central-office operator, "I want a policeman," or he may
call the number of his local precinct station. Calls made either
way should accomplish the same result. If the call comes in to
the precinct switchboard, the operator there takes down the
details and, if the matter is one of minor importance, turns it
over to the precinct organization. If the call is of major im-
portance, he records the details just the same, dismisses the
citizen, and telephones the information over his direct wire
to the order-receiving turret at headquarters. Here the call
is received, a record made, and the matter referred to the
proper department : it may go to the radio broadcasting room,
the teletypewriter bureau, the detective division, or the hos-
pital. Occasionally several different divisions must be noti-
fied, in the order of their importance to the case in hand.

If the citizen says to the operator, "I want a policeman,"
the call is given to the headquarters switchboard without be-
ing sent through the precinct organization. If it prove of

The Modern Police Telephone System 59

minor importance, the report is referred back by telephone
to the district headquarters concerned. If the report is of an
emergency, or is otherwise of major importance, it is han-
dled as was the call from district headquarters previously
described.

In order that there may be no chance for an error in judg-
ment on the part of the district-headquarters operator, police
manuals of procedure specify calls which must be transferred
to headquarters, so that an operator willfully failing to dis-
patch the prescribed information becomes subject to disci-
plinary treatment. In several cities, all telephone switchboard
and order-turret operating instructions are included in the
manual of procedure.

OPERATION OF THE POLICE SWITCHBOARD

Since conditions so far have not dictated a special design or
construction, switchboards used in police work are the same
as those supplied by the telephone company to commercial
establishments. These range in size from the small cordless,
or "key" switchboards, to the large type of private branch
exchange, similar to the central office switchboards in use
throughout the Bell system. Telephone engineers, when called
upon to make a study, first obtain a record of the volume and
kind of traffic, and then decide upon and recommend the
proper facilities with which to handle that traffic. To provide
the type of service required by the modern police department,
the telephone system should be planned properly and oper-
ated efficiently. Of these two, the latter requirement is by no
means the less important one.

No police communication s}rstem can give adequate service
unless it is used properly. No matter how many millions of
dollars may be spent upon cables, laboratory research, line
equipment, switchboards, and other facilities, the quality of
police telephone service will yet depend in large measure upon
the human element, the operator at the police switchboard.
Efficient operation is dependent upon three factors : the selec-
tion of men fit for the job, the competent training of these

60 Police Communication Systems

men, and adequate supervision of the operating task. Ac-
cording to telephone engineers, the neglect of any of these
factors usually results in a poor grade of service, and thus
retards action and lowers efficiency in every branch of the
department.

Since the operator bears such a direct relation to the suc-
cess or failure of communication in police service, what are
his qualifications ? Speed, judgment, accuracy, and courtesy
are among the essentials. He is responsible for the initial ac-
tion, and that action must be accomplished without lost mo-
tion or hesitation. In emergencies, he is the first to receive
information and the operating divisions of the force are de-
pendent upon him for its prompt receipt and transfer.

Furthermore, the value of promptness and dispatch at the
switchboard in promoting a friendly public attitude toward
the department is of considerable importance. The complain-
ant refuses, and justly so, to stand quietly in line and wait
his turn as he would at a theater or railway ticket office. He
is in a hurry or he would not be at the telephone and he is so
completely overwhelmed with the matter to be reported that
he is quite unmindful of competing calls that may be coming
in. Any delay is a direct personal affront and makes a vivid
impression upon his mind. Later explanations in answer to
a citizen's complaint of delay are of little avail, regardless of
what they may be, and only tend to compromise the depart-
ment and its chief executives. It is much better to give prompt
service in the beginning.

This necessity of promptness in answering calls and in re-
laying messages cannot be overemphasized. A minute's delay,
often a second's hesitation, may mean the difference between
success and failure in a criminal investigation ; it may mean
the difference between life and death to a citizen or an officer
in danger. Stop-watch observations should be made to deter-
mine the time interval of response on these calls, and when-
ever the average is in excess of from five to ten seconds, steps
should be taken to correct the condition. Modern police or-
ganizations know that speed in answering incoming calls is

The Modern Police Telephone System 61

imperative ; if difficulty is had in getting satisfactory results,
the advice of the local telephone company should be requested.

Speed, however, should not be attained at the sacrifice of
thoroughness and accuracy. The newspaper editor's admoni-
tion to his reporters, "Get it first, but first get it right," can
well be given to the operators of a police switchboard. Inac-
curate information may mean the sending of aid to the wrong
address, time wasted, or even complete failure in an emer-
gency. Inaccuracy may be consistently shown by operators
whose judgment and other qualifications are above criticism.
Nevertheless, if they make the necessary adjustment only
with difficulty, they should be replaced.

In attaining accuracy at the police switchboard, clear pro-
nunciation and a resonant voice are essential. Much of the
difficulty in connection with numbers is eliminated by sepa-
rating the hundred by means of emphasis ; for example, L234.
A rising inflection sustains the sound so that it reaches the
hearer clearly. It also helps if the voice is raised in a question-
ing tone 011 the last digits of numbers and when answering
calls; for example, "1234? Police?" It is not hard to speak
clearly and distinctly, giving proper form to all the sounds
which make up every word and number. Given a voice with
average tone and resonance qualities, maximum clearness is
produced by speaking in the ordinary conversational tone,
with the mouth a half-inch from the mouthpiece and directly
in front of it. Increased volume causes distortion. Shouting
into the mouthpiece generates a sound congestion and excites
the transmitter to the point of saturation and beyond, making
intelligible speech difficult if not impossible.

In the record procedure of an increasing number of police
departments, the memoranda made by the operator in receiv-
ing calls for the police are the basis for the police master com-
plaint record card. This card is usually typewritten on a pre-
scribed form as soon as the operator has taken the action re-
quired by the call, and is given a consecutive serial number.
Investigating officers assigned to the call file written reports
bearing the same serial number, and these are attached to the

62 Police Communication Systems

original complaint card, forming an orderly and complete
record. Although actual record procedure is as varied as are
police departments, in most of them the original information
obtained by the operator subsequently becomes part of the
permanent police record.

Inaccuracy in the information set down by the operator, it
is easily seen, may cripple the record system. Some letters of
the alphabet have a phonetic similarity, and where there is a
possibility of error the questioned letter should be specifically
identified. The most useful method is much the same as that
used in broadcasting reports of stolen automobiles : "Calling
all cars, a stolen auto, license 6-B (B as in Boy) 6346." Under
the most trying conditions, this simple expedient will enable
the operator to obtain exact information.

Good judgment is imperative in efficient switchboard op-
eration. The daily routine of the police operator is sharply
punctuated with emergency situations, and the ability to
make rapid-fire decisions in a crisis is among his first quali-
fications. He should have poise, alertness, and unfailing pres-
ence of mind. The emergency is the supreme test of a police
communication system ; it is equally the proving ground
where the individual either qualifies or is eliminated as an
operator.

On the balance sheets of large corporations, the value of
good will, that intangible asset, is sometimes expressed in six
and seven figures. In police work, courtesy in human contacts
pays big dividends. The mandate of some police departments,
"Kill them with kindness," might with profit become a part of
the police code of ethics in many others. The police-exchange
operator is in a position to do as much as any other person in
the organization, if not more, in introducing courtesy into the
department's contact with the public. He should be able to
replace friction in conversation with the ease of politeness.
It is not difficult to converse politely with a citizen whose at-
titude for the moment is colored with malice and complaint.
The person with a "chip on his shoulder" is correspondingly
weak, and the person with an even temperament, inherited or

The Modern Police Telephone System 63

acquired, is thereby the stronger and will dominate the situa-
tion. Adroit and tactful conversation may win a permanent
friend for the department. Retaliatory conversation arouses
antagonism and wastes time ; there should be brevity but not
abruptness. Politeness by 110 means implies a lack of firmness ;
the two qualities are not contradictory, but supplementary.

It is the policy of every organization to win friends and to
hold them. The police operator can promote friendly relations
with members of the community by cultivating the habit of
distinct speech and a pleasant tone of voice, devoid of any in-
dication of haste or impatience. A courteous attitude will go
far in convincing a citizen that the department exists to pro-
tect him, his family, and his property from harm ; it will reas-
sure him in his difficulties, and secure his willing cooperation.

Many observers of human behavior believe that the voice
is a potent factor in expressing personality. Speech is a deli-
cate, subtle, and powerful form of behavior; therefore the
way in which a thing is said, and the sound of it, are often
as important as the message. It is said that Joseph Conrad,
on hearing two sailors speak English in the darkness, adopted
it as the language of his choice. The listener is apt to evaluate
the department in terms of the person with whom he speaks.

In the selection of police operators, the approved practice
in the more modern police organizations is to recruit opera-
tors direct from the force, since experience as a patrolman is
very desirable in this type of work. Sometimes lay candidates
who have a preference for police work and would be willing
to take its responsibilities seriously are given the opportun-
ity. Good hearing, of course, is essential. Usually, however,
the operator selected has a good record of two years on the
force, or the time spent on police duty is sufficient to have
given him a fair knowledge of the department's operating
procedure. A prominent police executive on the Pacific Coast
selects for operators men who give promise of being advanced
to higher positions. His reasons are two : (1) the value of ex-
perience at the police switchboard, and (2) the fact that quali-
ties and capabilities which foretell a probable advancement

64 Police Communication Systems

in police work indicate the person's fitness to be an efficient
operator.

The proper men having been selected, they must be ade-
quately trained. Not enough attention has been given to the
intelligent training of police officers for work at the switch-
board. The prospective operator too often receives a mini-
mum of instruction and must work out his own salvation. It
is like placing a new recruit on patrol duty without first hav-
ing him work under the supervision of a patrol sergeant.

Correct training is usually divided into three stages, which
may be varied with different individuals : listening-in with
an auxiliary set of headphones at the switchboard that he
will later operate, classroom instruction, and actual practice
in handling calls under supervision — all under instructors
thoroughly experienced in operating practice and technique.
After a certain amount of classroom instruction, practice, and
listening-in at the main switchboard, the neophyte operates
a position at the switchboard during light traffic hours under
an experienced operator. Police calls are of no set type. They
vary greatly, and the best instruction is that which includes
the actual operation of the board, although this should not be
undertaken before the operator has mastered the mechanics
of switchboard technique. Pamphlets dealing with the me-
chanical arrangement of the switchboard and its operation
have been published by the telephone companies, and police
departments have only to ask for them.

Local telephone companies often admit police operators to
their private branch exchange operators' training school, and
in several of the larger cities instruction in switchboard op-
eration is included in the curriculum of the police school, as
it is in New York, where training apparatus has been sup-
plied to the police department by the New York Telephone
Company.

Correct supervision of the operating force is essential to all
good telephone service. This is even more important with men
than with women operators. Good supervision keeps an ade-
quate force on duty at all times ; it insures attentiveness to

The Modern Police Telephone System 65

the work in hand, courtesy in handling; calls, and thorough-
ness and accuracy with respect to the details of each call han-
dled. Without these things, the service cannot be of the best.

Auxiliary to the police switchboard are the "records" which
serve as a means of ready reference to the operator on duty.
These auxiliary records expedite communication operations
tremendously, and the best police organizations supply them
to the operator. Besides the local telephone directory, they
generally include the items named in the accompanying list
(p. 66).

It becomes a simple matter to arrange these records so that
all the information necessary in emergency situations may
be found quickly.

WOMEN AS POLICE OPERATORS

For several years after the invention of the telephone, when
exchange telephone service was first coming into use, switch-
boards were operated by men. This arrangement was short-
lived, however, for the operating companies found that
women were better adapted to telephone operating. Both men
and women are employed as operators of police switchboards.
The women are considered the better telephone operators;
yet their assignment to the operating position has definite dis-
advantages.

Women are quieter, they have natural aptitudes suitable
to switchboard operation, and their employment as police op-
erators has the over-all advantage of affording a higher and
more uniform grade of service in some respects, as well as a
more courteous service. Their employment may also be fa-
vored for economic reasons ; generally, women telephone op-
erators can be employed at a rate of pay below that received
by the police officer who has been taken from the ranks to
perform this type of work. A position at the police switch-
board, however, involves more than mere switchboard op-
eration. Women assigned to such positions should undergo
intensive training if they are to perform efficiently the func-
tions of a police operator. Training is necessarily costly, al-

66 Police Communication Systems

LIST OF AUXILIABY RECORDS

1. Telephone directories of near-by cities and towns

2. City directories

3. Day and night telephone numbers of all department executives

4. Home address and telephone number of every member of the depart-
ment (two lists, one alphabetical and one geographic by residence)

5. Complete list of hospitals in the area served

6. List of local physicians, including County Physician and Health
Officer, who may be available in an extreme emergency

7. Telephone numbers and addresses of executives of all other muni-
cipal departments, such as Recreation, Health, Welfare, etc.

8. List of outside ambulances

9. Telephone number and address of coroner

10. Copy of plans and maps covering operation of the police department
under disaster conditions

11. List and spot map of all police telephone boxes

12. List and spot map of police recall signals

13. List of office intercommunication telephones

14. List and spot map of all bank, holdup, and burglar alarms installed
in the area

15. List and location of all fire-alarm boxes

16. List of all banks and telephone numbers of their principal executives

17. List of all private night watchmen aand private patrolmen

18. List of principal mercantile establishments which are special police
hazards, such as jewelry stores and theaters, with night telephone
numbers of proprietors and managers

19. List and telephone numbers of outside police departments in the
immediate area

20. Location of all safes in the area

21. Telephone numbers of nearest military authorities

22. List and telephone numbers of available experts — chemists, metal-
lurgists, geologists, and other specialists, who can be relied upon for
immediate response

23. Maps. (The operator should have conveniently beside him a map of
the area served, showing beat boundaries at different periods of the
day, names of streets, and with the 100-blocks designated. This
should be supplemented by an individual map of each police beat,
which, besides the names of streets and the 100-block designations,
should show the location of potential emergencies and principal po-
lice hazards. Auxiliary diagrams and plans should be available for
each major contingency, outlining a covering plan in the event such
emergency materializes.)

24. List of all public and private schools in the area

25. Other lists and maps as dictated by the experience of the department.

The Modern Police Telephone System 67

though the cost should not outweigh the savings represented
in lower salaries. Again, because of the control by communi-
cation of the movements of the force, the operator in many
organizations is virtually the director of their operations, dis-
patching and concentrating officers at first one point and then
another, as the usual procession of emergencies comes to the
attention of the police. In such situations, the abilities of an
executive are required in order that the movements of the
force may be directed to the best advantage, and it is here
that experienced officers may be assumed to possess the ad-
vantage as police operators. Furthermore, switchboard op-
eration can be rated as a valuable training ground for mem-
bers of the force. Ordinarily, the duties of the operator give
him a perspective of the general operations of the organiza-
tion not afforded by any other position in the department.
With this idea in view, the executive of one Western organi-
zation rotates assignments in such a manner that each mem-
ber of the force may serve at the switchboard.

Generally speaking, the evidence indicates that in the best-
organized police departments there is a preference for male
operators. The final decision on this matter, however, must
await the results of further experience. Women police op-
erators are still employed in many departments throughout
the country and many of them have proved equal to the task
in emergency situations.

OFFICE INTERCOMMUNICATION

The administrative communication system in a police depart-
ment functions much the same as that in any large commer-
cial organization, and the private branch exchange system is
used by both. But that part of the telephone communication
plan which has to do purely with matters concerning police
action — the emergency system — shows many differences. The
correct use of the administrative system lies chiefly in the
recognition of these differences and in the solution of the
problem of how to keep the administrative system from im-
pairing the efficiency of the emergency system.

68 Police Communication Systems

Tie lines, connecting outlying offices with headquarters, are
usually provided for handling1 emergency calls, and should
be reserved for emergency information demanding quick ac-
tion. If employed for the usual routine calls in connection
with administration, they are apt to be busy when an emer-
gency call is received — and thus the vital purpose for which
they were provided is frustrated. All calls relating to ad-
ministrative matters should therefore be handled over the
central-office trunk lines and not over the tie lines.

This problem of the restriction of certain functions to each
unit is bound up with the larger necessity for adequate facili-
ties, no matter what they are to be used for. This is imperative
for the emergency system and highly desirable for the ad-
ministrative system, as the police administrative force ham-
pered by inadequate telephone facilities functions just as
poorly as the business concern handicapped by the lack of
specialized telephone equipment. Every person on the ad-
ministrative force who has need of a telephone should have
access to an extension and not be forced to neglect other du-
ties while searching for a telephone to use. Efficiency is as
essential in the office as on the beat. In the best-designed in-
stallations, provision is made for the connection of all head-
quarters telephones to the headquarters switchboard ; but
there are certain exceptions, as, for example, officers engaged
in confidential criminal investigations. These officers have pri-
vate telephones connected directly with the central telephone
exchange, and the numbers of these phones are not listed in
the telephone directory — nor are they generally known. They
are used chiefly for outgoing calls. Only subordinates report-
ing directly to the executive officer in charge of an investi-
gation have access to them, as a rule, and limitation of the
number of these users may sometimes be desirable.

Just as the large business organization does, so the police
office can profitably make use of special communication-
equipment facilities that are to be had from the local tele-
phone companies. These include wiring plans, jack-and-plug
arrangements, code-calling systems, special visual signals,

The Modern Police Telephone System 69

and other accessories to the office telephone system. They are
used where there is a definite need for equipment auxiliary
to the ordinary private branch exchange system and usually
are installed on the recommendation of telephone-company
engineers after a study of the particular conditions.

Wiring plans are low-cost arrangements which, when prop-
erly designed to fit the needs of a particular subdivision of
the police department, add greatly to the efficiency and con-
venience of its telephone system. Wiring arrangements now
standardized by the telephone companies permit of the police
executive's having any telephone connected with any one of
two or more lines for use on the line not busy ; for the transfer
of calls from one telephone to another; for answering any or
some of the office telephones from another telephone ; for in-
tercommunication with inside telephones ; for talking over
one telephone with the assurance that the conversation is not
being overheard by anyone at any of the other telephones in
the arrangement ; for holding an incoming call on one line
while he talks over an outside line or communicates with an
associate without being overheard by the calling party; for
having his secretary or attendant receive incoming calls, hold
the line, and transfer the calls, after which the secretary's
telephone is cut off ; for listening in by the secretary, who may
take notes on the conversation.

Jack-and-plug arrangements are useful in any bureau
where the files cover an extensive area. By means of this ar-
rangement, information file clerks with small convenient head-
sets may receive a call, ask the person calling to hold the line,
and, by plugging the headset in a jack near the file which con-
tains the information, resume the conversation while consult-
ing the records.

The code-calling system is used as an auxiliary to the main
switchboard to notify persons who may be absent from their
usual posts that they are wanted. To each executive, and to
any other person likely to be called, a code number is as-
signed. On receiving a call or other request for a person who
cannot be reached on his regular telephone, the operator at

70 Police Communication Systems

the switchboard depresses a key on the code signaling box,
which causes a code signal to sound in various parts of the
building. When the person called hears this signal, he goes to
the nearest telephone and communicates with the switchboard
operator, who connects him with his call. Direct circuits con-
nect the code signaling box on the main switchboard with
signaling devices throughout the building and at other places
where circumstances warrant it. Gong, bell, muffled chime, or
any other audible signal device, sounds the proper code. Vis-
ual signals are installed where silence is necessary or desir-
able. A separate code signal, or the use of a distinctive gong
supplemented sometimes by a visual signal, is employed by
some departments for spreading quickly a general alarm
throughout headquarters offices. Such a system may also be
provided with a selective keying arrangement, whereby only
certain details or divisions may be notified of the emergency,
such as the homicide detail, or robbery detail.

Special precautions are often necessary, as in detention cells
or jails, with which police stations are usually equipped. The
alarming increase in the frequency with which desperadoes
escape from county jails and city prisons should be reason
enough for taking at least the more ordinary precautions. At
little expense, a jail can be so protected by a communication
network that such deliveries become physically impossible,
even though the attempt may have the assistance of corrupt
jail personnel. With a proper communication system, any ir-
regularity in normal routine is sufficient to set in play a silent
alarm at certain near-by points, foil an attempted jail break,
and perhaps, if escaping prisoners should show armed resist-
ance, relieve the trial courts of any further concern in the
matter. Suitable detectors, with connecting lines, may be in-
stalled so that officers may be forewarned of any unauthor-
ized tampering with jail equipment or of an attempt at
escape.2 In addition, concealed f ootrails, push buttons, or sim-
ilar devices, may well be placed at convenient places in the
jail section, in order that the jailer may signal for assistance

2 See Chapter VIII, "Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems" (p. 266).

The Modern Police Telephone System 71

in emergency. Some jails are provided with the familiar dic-
taphone installation, by means of which officers at some re-
mote point can listen in on conversations between prisoners
confined in cells.

In order to provide this protection in the larger jails and
penitentiaries, more elaborate intercommunication systems
have been developed, designed not only to secure control over
persons within such institutions, but also to minimize the pos-
sibility of a serious prison fire or a prison break. Typical
of this kind of installation is the prison paging and patrol
system recently put in operation in the county jail at Los
Angeles, Calif., where a centrally controlled network of many
audible and visible signals and extension telephones permits
immediate contact with all persons on duty in the institu-
tion and enables the operator to transmit quickly emergency
alarms of various kinds.

A system of this type also provides a means for supervising
the activities of the prison patrol force. By its use the central
office can get in touch with any or all prison officials, sound
emergency alarms, and, in an emergency, control the move-
ments of the entire force. The guard in making his rounds is
required to push the button of each reporting station on his
tour. The pushing of this button illuminates a corresponding-
number at the central station, and the illuminated number of
the preceding push button becomes dark. As only one number
for each section is illuminated at any one time, the central-
station operator always knows the last station at which the
guard pushed a button. These reporting stations are placed
at intervals of fifty or sixty feet, and telephones are made a
part of every third or fourth reporting station or placed at
strategic points. The obvious value of such intercommunica-
tion systems is being recognized by public officials, and in-
stallations of this type will no doubt increase in number.

LONG-DISTANCE TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

Since January 7, 1927, when transatlantic telephone chan-
nels were officially opened by the American Bell Telephone

72 Police Communication Systems

Company, the telephone field has constantly widened. Today
this long-distance communication system uses more than
33,000,000 telephones, or about 92 per cent of all telephones
in use throughout the world. The area thus served covers most
of North America, much of South America, all Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, almost all Europe from Brittany to
the Black Sea, Australia, and cities in Africa. It includes,
moreover, the islands of Java and Sumatra in the East In-
dies, Sicily, the Canary Islands, Bermuda, and the Hawaiian
Archipelago. And a number of large passenger liners while
at sea maintain telephone contact with this great network
through ship-to-shore service.

Although the cost of long-distance telephone service has
been a prohibiting factor, this service has played an impor-
tant role in police work for many years. As a means of di-
rect conversation between distant points, its strategic value in
emergencies has been demonstrated on numerous occasions.
As in other lines of endeavor, situations frequently arise in
police service where direct conversation is the most expedi-
tious means to the end desired, and on such occasions the
long-distance telephone is a ready instrument.

COMMERCIAL TELEGRAPH AND CABLE LINES

Supplementing the telephone in long-distance communica-
tion, of course, are commercial -telegraph and cable lines,
which penetrate every corner of the civilized world. In almost
every major criminal case in the past twenty years, tele-
grams have been used to relay important information or to
request the investigation and apprehension of criminals. In
the absence of a national communication network operated
exclusively by the police, the importance of the commercial
telegraph in police service is not to be minimized.

All the important cities in the United States are now inter-
connected by direct trunk telegraph circuits equipped for au-
tomatic machine operation. Two general classes of telegraph
service are available, designated as "Immediate" and "De-
ferred." The "Immediate" service includes the standard "tele-

The Modern Police Telephone System 73

gram" or "full-rate message," which takes precedence over all
other classes of traffic, and the timed- wire service, described
below. The "Deferred" services include the day letter, the
serial, the night letter, and the night message.

The full-rate telegram represents a fast service for all com-
munications when speed is an urgent requirement. Full-rate
telegrams are accepted at any hour of the day or night for
immediate transmission and delivery. Serial service is the
sending of several communications to one addressee in the
course of one day ; for example, a running story written by a
newspaper man during the progress of a news event and sent
to his newspaper in short sections.

Serial telegrams, as the name indicates, may be filed in sec-
tions during the day, and the number of words is unlimited.
The minimum charge per day is for fifty words, and in de-
termining the total charge the individual sections are counted
as having a minimum of fifteen words each. The rates are
about 20 per cent higher than for the day letter. The number
of words used in the series of messages (each counted as hav-
ing at least fifteen words) is totaled and the charge made is at
the basic rate for the first fifty words, plus one-fifth of the
basic rate for each additional ten words or less.

Timed-wire service consists of the transmission, by means
of a perforated tape, of a message received in the telegraph
company's operating room from a printer telegraph appara-
tus operated by the sender and destined to a printer tele-
graph apparatus on the premises of the addressee. The charge
is based on the time consumed by the sender in transmitting
the message to the operating room and on the distance to the
point of destination.

The day letter is employed for communications of some
length the nature of which permits them to be subordinated
slightly in transmission to the fast-telegram traffic. The cost
of a 50-word day letter is only one and one-half times that of
a 10-word fast telegram. One-fifth of the initial 50-word rate
is charged for each additional ten words or less. The night let-
ter is an overnight service for messages of some length which

74 Police Communication Systems

will serve their purpose if delivered the following morning.
Night letters are accepted at any hour of the day or night up
to 2 :00 A.M., for delivery the following morning. The charge
for the first fifty words or less is the same as for a 10-word fast
telegram, and one-fifth of the initial 50-word rate is charged
for each additional ten words or less. Night messages are, in
effect, short night letters with a lower minimum charge, the
initial charge being for ten words. Like the night letters, they
are accepted at any hour of the day or night up to 2 :00 A.M.,
for delivery the following morning.

Of the various types of message service available, the full-
rate telegram, day letter, night letter, and night message are
of primary interest to the police in the solution of their long-
distance communication problems. However, it is possible
that, in the future, timed- wire service may be adapted to po-
lice requirements through the development of a national po-
lice network to supplement teletypewriter networks already
in operation.

Almost all police telegraphic communications concern one
phase or another of criminal investigation, a circumstance
which involves peculiar requirements in respect to the con-
tent and composition of messages. Experience has shown that
little thought is given to the technique of message composi-
tion, with the result that frequently the received message is
so confusing to the reader as almost to require decoding be-
fore intelligent action can be taken. This situation is due
primarily to lack of uniformity in police practice. Standard
information, such as personal descriptions and fingerprint
formulas — more often than not a part of police telegraphic
communications — should be reduced to a standard order and
form, so that delay and confusion may be eliminated. The
growing use of teletype communication by the police is stimu-
lating development in that direction.

While brevity is, for economy's sake, always desirable in
writing telegrams and can usually be achieved without im-
pairing the value of the communication, it should not be car-
ried to such an extreme that the addressee will be in doubt of

The Modern Police Telephone System 75

the sender's exact meaning. All messages should of course be
written legibly and typewritten whenever possible. Inasmuch
as the ordinary marks of punctuation are not transmitted in
telegrams unless the sender demands and pays for this privi-
lege, it sometimes happens that a possible combination of sen-
tences may be confusing ; it is then advisable to insert some
such words as "stop" or "period," in order to clarify the mean-
ing. Figures are counted as one word each in telegrams, and
economies can accordingly be effected by using words instead
of figures. For example, the number "50," if transmitted as
the word "fifty," is counted as one word instead of two. The
substitution of words for figures also tends to ensure greater
accuracy in the transmission of a group of numbers.

Codes are ordinarily used in telegrams for two purposes,
economy and secrecy. The general use of codes by police de-
partments requires that code books be available at all points
to which such messages might be sent. These books very often
get into the hands of unauthorized persons, with the result
that attempts to secure secrecy by this method are not at-
tended with striking success. In the interests of economy, the
use of code might conceivably be of some value, as the police
employees who handle the messages would, as a rule, be avail-
able to code and decode them without additional cost. This,
however, requires time. On the whole, therefore, although po-
lice codes are available for telegraphic communication, it is
seldom that their use is considered really necessary.

CHAPTEK III
THE BEAT AND ITS EQUIPMENT

THE TREND in modern police organization is toward almost
complete decentralization, and the accompanying recog-
nition of the individual patrol area or beat as the basic func-
tional unit has emphasized the importance of communication
in the police department of today. A recent survey of the per-
sonnel of the police departments in 390 cities1 showed a com-
bined numerical strength of 45,689 ; of this number, 20,791
were patrolmen assigned to beats. At any one time, therefore,
approximately half the entire strength of the normal police
department is dispersed in the field and lost to its commands
except through whatever means may be provided for com-
munication between the station and the beat.

The functions of the beat communication system are closely
associated with the administrative plan of decentralization
and distribution of the force. For the better supervision and
control of the force in large cities, the area policed is divided
territorially into divisions and precincts. Each precinct is un-
der the command of a superior officer, usually a captain, who
is responsible to the divisional commanding officer, and he, in
turn, is held accountable to central headquarters for the "state
of affairs" in his jurisdiction. Besides facilitating the physical
distribution of the men, the division into these smaller areas
breaks up a large, unwieldy force into comparatively small
units, each the equivalent of an ordinary community, in which
crime prevention and crime detection are the direct responsi-
bility of the commanding officer. The area is further decen-
tralized by the division of precincts into sections and sections
again into police beats or posts, the fundamental units of po-
lice service. Each beat or post consists of a specific well-de-
fined area traversed by a patrolman. The responsibility of
the patrolman assigned to a beat is exactly the same as that of
the officer in command of a precinct. In smaller communities
1 August Vollmer, unpublished manuscript.

[76]

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 77

where all police activities are controlled from one station, the
area is divided into beats in much the same manner as that
described for precincts in the large city.

Obviously, the geographic allocation of beats is a matter of
great importance in distributing the patrol force of a police
department. The selection of the beat as the point of attack
in all police operations conforms to the fundamental prin-
ciples of military strategy, namely, breaking the problem into
small units and providing for a concentration of power at
those points where the strength of the opposition is most in
evidence. The existence of the beat rests upon the conviction
that effective patrol service is the foundation of police organi-
zation. The individual patrolman is society's first line of de-
fense against the criminal.2

Because the beat is the fundamental unit of police organi-
zation, the communication requirements in the beat area
proper present a problem. The objective is a flexible means
of two-way communication between the beat and the station.
This would be a simple matter were it not for the fact that
the beat patrolman in the modern organization is no longer
assigned to a fixed post ; he is on patrol in the true sense of the
word, moving continuously from one part of his beat to an-
other as an outpost of the crime-fighting organization. Hence,
a necessity for the location and distribution of communica-
tion facilities throughout the beat area. Further, two-way
communication on the modern police beat means more than
provision for a two-way conversation between the patrolman
and his station, a service which is made possible by the in-
stallation of police telephones at several points in the area
patrolled. There must also be some reliable means which in
emergencies will permit headquarters to notify the patrolman
that a two-way conversation is desired. This is accomplished
through the recall system — by the installation, at various
points in the beat area, of signaling devices which, when op-
erated by the control mechanism at headquarters, will attract
the attention of the officer on patrol. Although the two types

2 August Vollmer, The Police Beat.

78 Police Communication Systems

of equipment have separate functions, they are complemen-
tary to each other, and the experience of police departments
has proved that the absence of either facility is detrimental
to patrol efficiency.

Municipal officials generally, and even police-department
officials, greatly minimize the importance of adequate com-
munication between the station and the patrol force. This
may be due in some measure to a lack of understanding of
the fundamental principles and the scope of the purposes
for which such systems have been designed. They are not in-
tended to make the work of the patrolman more laborious or
exacting, but rather to provide a helpful facility for the per-
forming of his work with greater ease, safety, and certainty,
one through which he can make himself more valuable and
important to the community. Communication is the instru-
ment through which the scattered force of the department
may be mobilized for concentration in emergency situations.
In the normal routine of police business it expedites opera-
tions generally, and in the elimination of delay it makes pos-
sible economy both of time and of man power. Under existing
conditions and with the specialized subdivisions of police
work, the number of men available for actual patrol duty, in
proportion to the amount of work to be done, is much smaller
on the average than it was twenty or more years ago ; and it is
therefore sound — indeed imperative — administrative policy
to increase the availability and effectiveness of the beat pa-
trolman.

THE BEAT TELEPHONE SYSTEM

As in its early history, so today the police call box on the beat
has two uses : the regular reporting of beat patrolmen, and
the sending of information from the station house. Ordinar-
ily, patrolmen working in eight-hour shifts are required to
report to the station over a beat telephone at a specified time,
usually once each hour during their tour of duty. Although
the reporting interval varies somewhat with different depart-
ments, there is general agreement that it should not exceed
one hour. Some departments have adopted a 40-minute re-

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 79

porting interval, and a few a 30-minute one. In some organi-
zations, calling times are staggered so that members of the
patrol force may be available to the station at close intervals.
This procedure also prevents a congestion of calls at the
switchboard. In a period of impending emergencies, patrol-
men may be instructed to call in at much shorter intervals, as
the situation may require. Whatever the time interval may
be, the patrolman calling the station reports his number to
the operator, and receives and executes instructions.

The requirements of police telephone service are quite dif-
ferent from those of commercial telephone service. In the
latter the central office, or the telephone exchange, as it is
commonly called, is the medium through which all calls are
handled. Inasmuch as all calls terminate at some point be-
yond the telephone exchange, the exchange equipment is de-
signed to interconnect the circuits of the system so that any
two parties may carry on a conversation. In police communi-
cation practice, particularly where the system is limited to a
single police district, as is true in most municipalities, all
calls originate or terminate at the police station.

"Pulling boxes" has always been an important part of the
service available through the call-box system. In view of the
future possibilities of protective police work and patrol serv-
ice, it will, with some modification, gain in importance. In the
early types of call systems, as indicated in an earlier chapter,
"pulling boxes" was entirely mechanical. An officer in mak-
ing his hourly report would press the proper signal button,
and then pull down the lever of the code-sending mechanism,
and the call would be transmitted to the station, there to
appear on the record tape. Identification of the signal box
from which such a report was made was possible only when
the box number was included as part of the signal. Substitu-
tions could be made, someone other than the required patrol-
man pulling the box. Very little improvement has been made
in this type of equipment, other than the use of a time stamp
for part of the box record call in place of the earlier require-
ment of writing in the time. There is also the possibility of

80 Police Communication Systems

functional trouble with the calling and recording equipment.
The telephone has therefore come to be the principal link
between the station and the beat.

Three requirements govern the selection of police box tele-
phone equipment : the instrument selected must give a good
grade of transmission to the station switchboard ; it must be
housed in a waterproof cabinet so as to prevent damage from
weather conditions ; and it must be simple enough to be easily
operated and maintained. Several kinds of police telephone
sets are available which adequately fulfill these requirements.
The set usually employed in the United States consists of a
standard telephone mounted in an iron casing which shelters
it from the weather and ensures its operation under adverse
conditions. It may be equipped with signal bells somewhat
louder in tone than the ordinary telephone set, so that the
patrolman on the beat, if known to be near the box, as when
temporarily assigned to a fixed post in emergency situations,
may be summoned without delay to communicate with the
station.

As a general rule, the box which houses the equipment is
provided with a lock mechanism, making it accessible only to
authorized persons who possess the right key. In a few Amer-
ican cities, the box is left latched but unlocked, so that citizens
may use the telephone in reporting an alarm to the central
station. Accessibility by the public to police equipment, how-
ever, has marked disadvantages, and the best American or-
ganizations look upon it with some disfavor. In this country,
besides, the great number of private telephones in use has al-
most eliminated any necessity for making the beat telephone
accessible to the general public. In almost all European coun-
tries, on the contrary, where somewhat different conditions
prevail, public use of the police field telephone is considered
one of the primary purposes of its installation.

There are also special types of police call boxes, equipped,
in addition to a telephone connection, with various signaling
devices for the use of patrolmen and, in some types, for the
public as well. One unit designed for this purpose combines

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 81

the telephone and the automatic telegraph, thus providing fa-
cilities whereby a patrolman may send to headquarters three
or more distinct calls — a duty report call, an emergency call
for the police patrol conveyance, an emergency call for the
police ambulance; a telephone call; and such other calls as
may be dictated by the local plan of operation. A selecting
device on the instrument enables the sender to transmit the
appropriate call. There is a preference for the use of the tele-
phone exclusively, since, besides other advantages, conversa-
tion permits the transmission of calls with as much dispatch
as with automatic telegraph equipment, and identifies the
sender, besides.

Once exclusive use of the telephone has been secured, no
particular addition to terminal equipment at the station is
required, all beat telephone lines coming in to the telephone
switchboard, where calls are received in much the same man-
ner as those on other extension telephone lines to offices in
the same building. In most of the automatic telegraph in-
stallations, terminal apparatus includes automatic recording
equipment, which makes a permanent record of the time,
place, and nature of the call transmitted from the beat. It is
asserted that this arrangement has the advantage of record-
ing a signal which may be used later in court, or for other
purposes, but experience shows that few departments have
had occasion to make use of such records and that therefore
the additional expense involved is hardly justified. Undoubt-
edly there is, and will continue to be, a limited field for this
type of apparatus in police service. Many banks, theaters,
stores, and other mercantile establishments desiring a secret
and efficient means of registering an alarm at police head-
quarters, have installed such equipment for their own pro-
tection.

EQUIPPING THE BEAT

There is as yet no scientific basis for the location and distribu-
tion of police-beat telephones in American cities, nor is there
any evidence to indicate that foreign countries have applied
definite principles to the problem. This confused situation

82 Police Communication Systems

exists in spite of the fact that a blind distribution of tele-
phone units on the beat may defeat the purposes of the in-
stallation. The policy in most departments has been to install
telephones at approximately equidistant points throughout
the beat. Usually, where equipment is available, boxes are
placed at about half-mile intervals, without regard for fac-
tors which, if properly considered, would materially alter the
plan of distribution.

In considering the prospective location and distribution of
this equipment, the executive should not only have a general
idea of the needs of the different beats, but also should corre-
late these needs with the particular requirements of the en-
tire area served by the department ; it may easily turn out
that an equitable distribution of telephones will make pos-
sible an advantageous realignment of beat boundaries. Fur-
ther, the crime records in the entire area should be classified
according to the various offenses recorded. This study should
cover a period of not less than five years, and the data per-
taining to the respective beats should be noted in order to
discover those areas which seem to be the greatest potential
sources of lawlessness. Spot maps showing the concentration
of the different classes of crime are of material assistance in
such a study, as are statistical charts and diagrams portray-
ing variations in existing beat boundaries as between patrol
shifts ; offenses and arrests by beats ; offenses per square mile
per thousand population ; comparative relationship between
density of offenses and arrests, and the relative size of beats ;
variation of offense and arrest density as between patrol shifts.
Other factors may demand consideration at this preliminary
stage of the plan, but an analysis of the beat origin of offenses
reported to the department for a period of five years will pro-
vide a fairly accurate index for at least the preliminary plan
for a general division of equipment.

After a fair apportionment of equipment has been made
for the individual beat areas, there should be determined
those points on the beat where telephone installations would
be of the greatest strategic value. Ingenuity as well as judg-

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 83

ment is necessary here, and again the geographic origin of
offenses is significant. We are now concerned with the dis-
tribution of offenses within the beat, in order that adequate
equipment may be provided in those particular parts of the
area where crime is a chronic condition, or where potential
emergencies are indicated. Special watch must be kept con-
stantly for police hazards. There may be within the boundaries
of the beat potentialities for riots, rendezvous for criminals
and prostitutes, low-rent areas, concentration of foreign ele-
ments, restricted sections for colored people, and districts in-
habited by the transient or migratory class. A study of such
hazards should supplement the analysis of crime origin, al-
though it will in general be found that the two are parallel.

Cognizance should also be taken of county and state high-
ways and of other important arterials that may traverse the
beat, of shipping docks, ferry landings, and stations of inter-
urban and longer railway lines. Residential sections of par-
ticular interest to the burglar, theaters, banks, jewelry stores,
exclusive mercantile establishments, apartment houses, and
hotels must be noted. In fact, all those elements which enter
into the definition and construction of a police beat influence
also the location and distribution within the beat of the police
telephones. Near boundary lines, telephones may be placed at
the conjunction of two beats, making them available to two
patrolmen. Accessibility is another important factor to be
taken into account. A sufficient number of instruments should
be maintained to make it unnecessary for the officer on patrol
to extend his beat solely for the purpose of making a tele-
phone call.

Experience has proved that the number of signal boxes in
any one area should depend upon the requirements for proper
control of patrol operations and of the time response when
calling officers in an emergency; on beats in congested dis-
tricts, the call boxes must be closer together than in districts
where much larger beats are practical. Likewise, the urgency
for reaching an officer will, as a rule, be greater and arise
more frequently in the more congested districts.

84 Police Communication Systems

With the foregoing in mind, and in order that the elements
involved in planning the density of telephone distribution
may be more readily understood, arbitrary time-response
elements can be used as a guide in determining relative dis-
tances. In the congested business areas the time element
might be two minutes ; in areas somewhat less congested, three
minutes ; and in the rest of the precinct or community it
should not exceed four minutes.

Each time element is the measure of distance that a man
can walk within the time indicated. A patrolman on duty will
average about 80 steps a minute ; each pace will cover about
26 inches, a total of 173 feet a minute. When answering a call,
he should be able to increase his pace to 110 or 120 steps a
minute with an average of 30 inches to each step. At this rate,
using the smaller of the two values, he will cover 275 feet
a minute. The last-mentioned "distance per minute" is the
measure to be used.

The time-response elements employed should not, however,
be the maximum time in which any call box can be answered.
The time value used should be the average time required by
several men in answering calls. When a number of men are
called, it will be found that the answers to a general call will
be spread out over a period of time greater than that esti-
mated, and that the average time of all the men called will be
very close to what it should be, since at any given instant the
distance to be covered by each man in reaching a beat tele-
phone will vary. The greatest distance that a patrolman has
to walk in answering a call will be half the distance between
two telephone boxes. Where there is a uniform distribution of
telephones in a relatively large area, this halfway point may
be equidistant from as many as four telephones.

To determine the actual distance between beat telephones
for any given time response, it is first necessary to convert
into feet of travel the distance that patrolmen will cover in
the time allowed. This value will be half the total distance
between boxes. However, if the unit of time response used is
to be considered as an average, an addition must be included

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 85

to offset the answering calls that will come in under the set
time allowance. An increase not exceeding one-third of the
total given will be sufficient for this purpose.

For a two-minute time response, the total distance between
beat telephone boxes will therefore be 1466 feet ; for a three-
minute time response, the distance between boxes will be
2200 feet; and for a four-minute time response, 4000 feet.
Such an extreme distance as 4000 feet is not of much practi-
cal value except where existing conditions make it unneces-
sary to place boxes closer together. For example, this spacing
can be used in the outskirts of a municipality, particularly
where motorized patrol is employed.

The foregoing calculations are of course more or less arbi-
trary and, when used in actually planning a beat-telephone
installation, will be found more or less difficult to reconcile
with the actual distances between street intersections. If,
however, the figures suggested are used as maximum units of
distance, there should be no difficulty in planning a layout.

It must also be remembered that the effectiveness of each
call-box location is determined to a large degree by its rela-
tionship to the surrounding call boxes. In other words, each
beat telephone becomes the center of a surrounding group of
telephones. On some beats it may be necessary to eliminate or
relocate a telephone at an otherwise desirable point, because
of this relationship. Attention must also be given to the loca-
tion of telephone boxes on the borderline between beats, in
order to permit of maximum usage of the equipment at those
points. Box locations should, as a rule, be made on or near the
corners of intersecting streets, for the equipment is thus made
available in both directions on each of two streets.

To determine approximately the number of beat telephones
that may be required in a given police area, the following
simple rule can be used, provided the total street mileage
within the limits of the district is known. If the community
or district requires a telephone distribution of varying den-
sity, as is the general rule, the intermediate time response of
three minutes can be used. This element in terms of feet gives

86 Police Communication Systems

an average distance between telephones of 2200 feet. Inas-
much as each box is, on the average, available in both direc-
tions on each of two streets, the approximate number required
will be one-fourth of the street mileage divided by 2200. If
the density of box distribution is to be uniform throughout
the area, this result must be increased by about one-fifth.
Street mileage traversing undeveloped areas may be elimi-
nated. This result must be tempered by considerations
previously discussed, since cognizance is to be taken of the
concentration of crime in various sections, as indicated by the
geographic origin of offenses and a survey of potential emer-
gencies. Only by mapping out the territory in question,
plotting the emergencies that may arise therein, and planning
the shortest and fastest concentration possible, can an effi-
cient and economical distribution of beat telephone equip-
ment be made.

Experience has demonstrated that the usual police depart-
ment, large or small, can profitably apply this plan at five-
year intervals to existing beat-telephone facilities so as to
determine whether or not the present location and distribu-
tion of equipment is economical and effective and what
changes, if any, should be made to increase patrol efficiency.
There are many examples of beats, formerly star contributors
to the sum total of a city's crime, that have drifted suddenly
into the doldrums of criminal inactivity and become peaceful
and respectable neighborhoods. On the contrary, some quiet
business section may become a huge manufacturing area.
From a once quiet, rather out-of-the-way place, another will
be converted into a "roaring third." Our social life and organ-
ization is in a constant state of flux. Changing population
density and nationality, shifting business areas, changes in
the character of suburban residential districts, the appear-
ance of new hotels, banks, theaters, jewelry stores and other
mercantile establishments, may, in the course of a five-year
interval, make the communication facilities of one beat obso-
lete and inadequate, while other beats may have become over-
equipped.

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 87

The growing motorization of police service introduces a
new element into the problem of distribution. Recent police
surveys indicate that approximately nine-tenths of all police
departments in the United States now make use of the motor
vehicle to a greater or less degree.3 If the area is to be pa-
trolled exclusively by automobile, it is possible to maintain
the two-, three-, and four-minute time-response intervals with
box distances of 4693 feet, 7040 feet, and 9386 feet, respec-
tively, assuming an average speed of 20 miles an hour in
answering the call. However, experience is proving that the
remarkable efficiency of the automobile in beat patrol work
is increased as the density of telephone boxes approaches the
standard density set for foot patrolmen.

The actual installation of beat telephone units may be done
under the supervision of the company that supplies the equip-
ment. Often, the municipal electrician, who is usually fully
competent to do it, may make the installation. Irrespective of
the type of unit employed, an independent pair of wires must
connect each telephone to the station terminal equipment;
otherwise, where a number of units are connected on the same
circuit, one telephone out of order means that all telephones
on the circuit are disabled, occasionally paralyzing communi-
cation over an entire beat. The so-called series plan of wiring
police-box telephones is being rapidly superseded by installa-
tions in which each telephone may become defective without
affecting the rest of the equipment. There is also the addi-
tional advantage that the source of the line trouble is more
easily found.

The telephone units may be mounted on individual metal
standards anchored in a concrete foundation, or, if a less ex-
pensive installation is desirable, they may be mounted on or
against any permanent or stationary object, such as a brick
wall or telephone pole. In many cities, police boxes and fire
boxes are mounted on a common standard, but the advisa-
bility of this arrangement, except in special situations, is

3 Study of 480 cities of more than 5000 population in the United States
made by the author.

88 Police Communication Systems

open to some question, since the distribution of fire boxes may
not coincide with the plan worked out for the location and
distribution of the police equipment. All fire hazards are po-
lice hazards, but the converse is not exactly true, and it is
probable that there would be a conflict in the arrangements
if an attempt were made to locate the police equipment to the
best advantage.

The housing box varies in dimensions within a small range,
usually being approximately 12 inches wide, 16 inches long,
and from 8 to 10 inches deep. In order to expedite the work

Beat telephone equipment. Box can be mounted at any
convenient location.

of the patrolman, some departments are giving attention to
the design of the telephone unit and its housing. The so-called
hand-set telephone unit is proving its worth as the instrument
best suited for this type of work, since it affords a greater
freedom of movement at the telephone and gives the officer a
better opportunity to take in writing such notes and informa-
tion as may be necessary. Furthermore, there may be installed
within the structure a small folding shelf or platform which
comes to rest in the writing position when the door is opened.
To facilitate writing at the telephone in the nighttime, a small
electric bulb may be placed at a convenient point inside the

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 89

box, with contacts and circuit arranged so that it is in opera-
tion only during the time that the door is open.

The problem of how and where to install the beat telephone,
however, is not a new one, and old solutions are still in vogue
today. The patrol booth, for example, is an adaptation of the
fixed post in military tactics and strategy. The fixed post is to
be found in the patrol plan of the earliest European police
departments, where, because permanence was desired for it,
it became a more elaborate structure than would have been
feasible for military purposes. Its introduction into the
United States followed as a matter of course.

In modern times the booth still holds an important position
in the decentralization plan of some European police systems,
although in some places its use and operation has been modi-
fied to meet changed conditions. In England, Chief Constable
Crawley of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, on January 29, 1928, pre-
sented a report in which he outlined a plan of reorganization
based upon the use of the patrol booth as the center of com-
munication and activities on each beat, supplemented by the
installation of telephone boxes (i.e., booths) at half-mile in-
tervals throughout the area.

These telephone boxes or booths situated at strategic points
throughout the area were, in fact, miniature police stations.
They afforded temporary shelter for two or more persons, had
limited cell accommodations, and were equipped with tele-
phone connections direct to the station which controlled their
activities. Crawley modified the fixed-post system and out-
lined a plan of patrol similar in many respects to the best
American practice. The present London metropolitan beat
telephone system also makes use of patrol booths, but differs
from the system developed by Crawley in two important re-
spects : it provides for not more than one telephone booth on
each beat ; and the booth is a fixed post in the true sense of the
phrase, as an officer remains on duty constantly at each booth.
He is charged with the immediate supervision of the consta-
bles who actually patrol the area. In this system, the patrol
booth is a veritable police substation, equipped with telephone,

90 Police Communication Systems

stool, small cupboard, desk and drawer, box diary, first-aid
outfit, fire extinguisher, electric heater, brush, duster, break-
down card, portfolio for miscellaneous circulation, forms for
dealing with or describing property lost or found, and miss-
ing persons, and other police record forms. Encouragement is
given to the use of the booth telephone by the general public,
the instrument being made accessible to them upon their
opening a small, unfastened, cupboard-like door.

The conditions that indicate the use of the patrol booth
abroad are somewhat different in this country, and American
police departments that adopted the booth system have long
since left it by the wayside. There are still, however, some
persons who believe that this type of equipment, under cer-
tain conditions, can be used effectively in modern patrol
operations. As late as 1918, the Detroit Police Department
decided, after an experimental installation, to erect thirteen
additional patrol booths. The problems which confronted De-
troit were common to most large cities. By 1918 the total area
of the community had expanded to 80.86 square miles. Be-
cause of the unprecedented growth of the city, together with
the annexation of new territory, the department faced the
serious problem of providing adequate police protection for
all the newly acquired, outlying districts. Obviously, in such
areas the beats would have to be exceedingly large or the cost
of patrolling them would be more than the city could afford
to pay. The chief need was decided to be an arrangement by
which a policeman could be called quickly in an emergency,
and the solution found was the patrol booth.

The booths were centrally located in outlying districts, and
were supplied with telephone facilities for both police and
public use, and connected by direct telephone wire to the sta-
tion. A policeman equipped with a motorcycle or automobile
was assigned to each booth on a fixed post, and another officer
was detailed to each booth but patrolled between this fixed
post and the next booth in adjacent territory. This procedure
permitted the patrolmen to work in relays, there being at all
times one officer on patrol and a man at the booth.

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 91

The booth system appeared to give rather promising results
both in Detroit and in New York, where Colonel Woods had,
prior to this time, supervised a similar installation and found
it well adapted to the needs of suburban districts. It was
asserted that the time required for a patrolman to reach cer-
tain points had been reduced from forty-five minutes to from
six to eight minutes.

Whatever may have been the value of the patrol booth in
meeting police requirements in noncongested residential dis-
tricts, the expanding use of communication on the beat has
eliminated it as a fixture in American police service, and with
it has gone the old fixed post. The booth system was based
upon the availability of police strength in the immediate vi-
cinity of each booth and it attained that end by the detailing
of men to fixed posts where they would be available on call. It
represented but a slight advance upon the old reserve system
in which a body of men was kept in readiness at headquarters
for emergency calls. In fact, it was the old reserve system
under another name, for it involved the retirement of a cer-
tain percentage of the force from active beat patrol work, and
a corresponding impairment of the crime-preventive func-
tion of the police. In the smaller communities, the recall and
beat telephone systems together are answering the problem of
availability and at the same time are permitting the officer to
patrol his beat as a crime deterrent. In cities where there is
radio control of the patrol force, there is of course no problem
of availability.

With modern beat telephone equipment, the patrolling of
the beat can be varied and improved upon in a number of
ways, and a greater amount of protection thus secured. By
properly arranging the schedule of boxes to be pulled and the
time limit allowed for pulling each box, a definite patrol plan
can be developed that will ensure the patrolman's reaching all
parts of his beat as frequently as the size of the beat and his
period of service allow. The patrolman on the smaller beat
will naturally be able to cover his territory more frequently.
The important point is to arrange the schedule so as to meet

92 Police Communication Systems

the requirements of each individual beat so far as the general
plan of operation will permit.

With respect to beat telephone density, a number of alter-
nate schedules should be possible for each beat. There is a
natural tendency for anyone repeatedly traveling- between
two points to follow a definite route with more or less con-
sistency until it becomes a habit. Patrolmen so frequently
acquire this habit that criminals are often able to time their
operations so that the possibility of detection is greatly less-
ened. The English place great emphasis on the element of sur-
prise in patrol operations. In both London and Newcastle-
upon-Tyne the reporting-in time schedules are changed at
frequent intervals and officers are instructed to avoid regular
routes of travel in touring their beats. Every effort is made
to mislead the public so far as their movements are concerned.
In this respect, American patrol practice may be improved.

The ringing-in schedule of patrolmen should be rigidly ob-
served, although it is generally understood that police duty
is not to be neglected in order to conform to the schedule. A
variation of from five to ten minutes from the scheduled time
of reporting can be tolerated if this does not happen repeat-
edly. Where the delay in reporting-in exceeds thirty minutes,
an immediate investigation should be started by the station
commanding officer, since the officer concerned may be badly
in need of some sort of assistance. At the station, a regular
record form is kept on which beat telephone calls are re-
corded, indicating as a rule the name of the officer calling, the
number of the call box used, and the time of the call. The
operator has a list of all call boxes with their corresponding
locations, so that when necessary this information may be re-
ferred to without delay.

The beat telephone has hardly begun to demonstrate its
possibilities in police work. Careful study of its flexibility as
a means of communication between the beat and the station
will undoubtedly discover new uses, and future improvements
in patrol service will be contingent, in large measure, upon
such developments.

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 93

Estimates covering the cost of beat telephone apparatus
and its maintenance may be obtained by police authorities
from the companies distributing this type of equipment.
Where the equipment is installed by the local telephone com-
pany, it is usually supplied and maintained by the company
at rates applying to the ordinary off-premises extension serv-
ice, plus an additional rental for the special equipment. This
rental is usually calculated on a mileage basis. Where cities
own and operate their own apparatus, the sets may be bought
outright. The cost of privately owned and maintained beat
telephone equipment varies with different localities, depend-
ing upon the initial cost of the equipment and the cost of
installation and maintenance. In a number of cities, the ar-
rangement described above has been found most economical,
that is, where the telephone lines and instruments are rented
from local telephone companies and maintained by them.
Communication engineers associated with these companies
are always available for consultation.

THE POLICE RECALL SYSTEM

The modern recall system is aptly illustrated by the Jersey
City installation. To aid in the spreading of alarms in the
event of the commission of a major offense, or in the speedy
mobilization of the department in an emergency, each pre-
cinct in the city is equipped with red-light alarm signals,
installed by electricians of the department. These signal de-
vices are strategically placed and are immediately visible to
every policeman in the vicinity, whether on or off duty, all
members of the department being required to answer the
silent but peremptory summons by communicating with the
precinct by call box or private telephone. Following the com-
pletion of the system, the then Director of Public Safety
Quinn said : "I consider [it] one of the most valuable ad-
juncts to the mechanical contrivances in use to prevent and
detect crime." To make the system yet more nearly complete,
Jersey City has created an emergency battalion, properly
equipped and capable of coping with any situation that may

94 Police Communication Systems

arise, such as large conflagrations, riots, and other emer-
gencies.

All recall or signaling systems consist essentially of a cen-
trally located control or transmiting mechanism from which
electrical circuit lines radiate to designated points in the area
served, actuating audible or visual signal devices capable of
attracting the attention of officers in the field. The system
may comprise elaborate control apparatus capable of pro-
viding automatically fifty or more different code-signal com-
binations, or it may consist of a simple switch operated by
the local telephone operator in a small community where a
lone patrolman goes on his appointed rounds. Fundamen-
tally, the recall signal is a visual or audible notification to the
patrol officer to telephone his station for instructions.

With the variety of electrical equipment now available, it
is a simple matter to devise a signal code sufficiently flexible
to meet all ordinary situations in indicating what officer or
groups of officers should communicate with the station. The
accompanying list of code combinations in use by one depart-
ment illustrates the possibilities in this direction :

CODE COMBINATIONS

Steady light All officers (emergency signal).

Steady alternated with 2 . . Cover bridges as instructed by precinct

commander.

8 Special details.

21 Sergeant in district.

23 Captain or lieutenant.

24 Prowl or shotgun squad.

25 Patrol wagon and ambulance (while out on

call).

26 Open for special signal as desired.

3 Plain-clothes division (vice squad).

31 All inspectors.

32 Auto-theft division.

34 Crime-prevention officers.

4 All traffic officers.

41 All foot-traffic officers.

42 All motorcycle-traffic officers.

5 Chief or assistant.

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 95

In addition, different and specific signals are assigned to the
individual beat patrolmen, so that these members of the pa-
trol force may be available for immediate service in matters
which involve only a particular beat. Signals will flash thus :
23 will flash ** *** ** *** ; 31 will flash *** * *** * ; 4 will
flash **** **** ****. Signals are always repeated until an-
swered.

When a certain patrolman is wanted, a signal correspond-
ing to his beat or call number is transmitted over the circuit
which controls recall-signal devices in his district. In re-
sponse, the officer hastens to the nearest call box, and calls
his station. He answers to no other signal except the emer-
gency call for all officers, and no other officer responds to this
officer's number.

In emergency situations, when it is desirable or necessary
to disseminate orders and information to all members of the
force on duty, a general call signal is sent out over all circuits,
thus operating recall equipment in every section of the city.
To this general emergency call all officers respond, and as
they answer by telephone over the various police-box circuits,
the necessary instructions are given them. This call may be
made more effective, as in Jersey City, by requiring that all
off-duty officers who happen to observe the emergency signal
must report to their station from the nearest telephone. In
such circumstances it frequently happens that two or more
officers may report in at approximately the same time, and it
is then possible to give the information to all of them simul-
taneously. There are also occasions when a call for police
assistance or investigation may involve two or more beats, or
perhaps a section of the city, to the exclusion of the others,
and circuit controls can be arranged so as to operate signals
only in the area affected.

DESIGN AND INSTALLATION OF RECALL SYSTEMS

Practically speaking, the production of a satisfactory signal
on the beat which will attract the attention of the officer on
patrol is limited to those devices which give an audible or

96 Police Communication Systems

visual signal. Experimental work is now being conducted on
the possibilities of the use of infrared light in police signal-
ing, because it seems to promise secrecy and other advantages
of such transmission. At the present stage of development,
the reception of this type of signal by the officer would require
a specially designed detector, somewhat similar to the con-
ventional radio receiver. Successful adaptation of invisible
light for use in alarm systems suggests that further experi-
mental work in this direction may produce a practical device
for field signaling purposes.

For several reasons the audible signal has been in large part
supplanted in modern police service by the visual, or light-
signal devices. Aside from the fact that the human ear is in-
sensible to sound frequencies below 8 or above 32,000 a second,
the penetrating power of sound waves is very definitely lim-
ited in its transmission by both acoustical and meteorological
factors. Presence of large objects, such as buildings, obstructs
the normal advance of sound waves ; atmospheric conditions,
wind velocity, temperature variations, and other similar fac-
tors raise or depress the audible horizon of a given source of
sound, and thus lessen the dependability of the sound-signal
device. Further, in accordance with the law that sound inten-
sity varies inversely as the square of the distance from its
source, the sound signal that would be effective as a patrol
recall device would also most undesirably arrest the attention
of everyone else in the area ; yet if it were of less intensity, so
as to require the officer to remain within earshot, this neces-
sity would greatly hamper free patrol movement. If the offi-
cer patrols his beat properly, experience shows that he is
usually out of range of communication by ear when emer-
gency arises. Modern police departments are therefore de-
pending more and more upon the light signal as a solution of
the recall problem, since it is silent in operation and capable
of efficient transmission over any ordinary distance.

Both experiment and experience dictate the use of red as
the color of the light signal. Study has been made of the rela-
tive effectiveness of various colored lights in signaling by the

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 97

United States Bureau of Lighthouses, in an attempt to use
other colors, but none was so effective as red. It has been
found that, in order to produce some other color which at the
proper distance could be identified unmistakably, the inten-
sity of the beam would be feeble in comparison to the light
source employed. For instance, in order to produce a violet
distinctive from red on the one hand and from blue on the
other, the necessary density of the color screen cuts down the
beam candlepower to not more than one-tenth of that ob-
tained with white light. White light is unsuitable for police
signaling purposes because it is easily confused with other
light sources at night, and because it is so little visible by day.
Green is fairly effective as a signal color, but loses most of its
effectiveness under daylight conditions. Red is generally se-
lected because of its high contrast and arresting power both
by day and by night, when properly controlled. It is signifi-
cant, in this connection, that red is employed as the "Stop"
signal in most of the automatic traffic control systems.

Given a suitable color in the design and installation of
recall systems, there still remains the problem of visibility,
the proper control of the light source. There is no intention or
desire to illuminate any surface or surrounding object, all
effort being bent toward increasing the visibility of the source
of the emitted light; and in the recall light-signal unit, the
object of vision is the light source itself. A horizontal light-
distribution pattern is therefore desirable, with maximum
distribution in four directions 45 degrees apart, since recall
signal units are installed whenever possible at street intersec-
tions so that they may be visible from the maximum number
of directions.

The refractor used for police signaling is known as the
four-way or four-beam refractor. This concentrates the light
not only in a beam which makes it visible from maximum dis-
tances, but also further conserves the light so that the beams
are concentrated up and down the intersecting streets in all
four directions. With the lamp at normal focus within the
refractor, a beam is produced which makes an angle of 75

98 Police Communication Systems

degrees with a vertical line drawn directly below the center
of the unit. It is possible, however, to adjust the filament posi-
tions vertically within the refractor so that five or more
degrees may be added or subtracted from this spread ; this
makes for maximum efficiency and coverage through field ad-
justment when the installation is made. In the police signal

Police recall-signal unit for mounting at street

intersections. Note dark shade and shadow area

for illumination contrast.

refractor, the outer half of the unit is of ruby glass in order
that a uniform red signal may be seen, day or night. Diffusion
of light, as in street-lighting projects, is neither necessary nor
desirable in the police-signal unit. Tests, supplemented by
experience, have indicated that a 300-watt lamp mounted in
this type of refractor unit will provide a uniformly efficient
signal under all ordinary conditions.

Although the unit described represents the standard recall-
light signal in use by the more modern departments, im-
provement is expected to follow the developments in scientific
control of light sources. Some attention, for example, is being

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 99

given to the possibilities of a revolving unit, similar in prin-
ciple to lighthouse apparatus, in which all the emitted light
is concentrated in one direction through the use of the reflec-
tor and lens. This of course materially increases the range
and effectiveness of a given source of light. The approximate
range of color light signals employing the reflector and lens
is shown in the list of ratings used by railroad signal engi-
neers :

LAMP RATINGS

Volts

Watts

Approximate range
of signal

(ft.)

5,000 to 6,000

4,000 to 5,000

2,500 to 3,500

120

4,000 to 5,000

Range as applied in the list of ratings is based on the use
of a lens 8% inches in diameter, and is the distance on a
tangent, in bright sunlight, at which the signals are clear
and distinct to a person of normal eyesight. Such a unit, how-
ever, involves the use of equipment in which the unit itself,
or some part thereof, revolves — a circumstance which has
thus far prevented the design of practical apparatus for
police signal purposes. Continued experiment will undoubt-
edly make this revolving unit available for police use.

In the location and distribution of recall signal units, visi-
bility is of primary consideration. Because of the many vari-
ables which affect the visual characteristics of these signals,
it is difficult to set up an exact rule for their distribution. Vis-
ual characteristics of the respective streets must be studied.
At night the police signal is constantly competing with other
strong sources of light, such as advertising signs, particularly
in business areas. Obviously, the effect of these is to reduce
the contrast and the arresting power of the recall signal.
Standard street-lighting equipment is not necessarily a com-
petitor. Minimum lighting intensities required to make streets

100 Police Communication Systems

by night essentially as safe and convenient as by day have
been determined by illumination engineers and these data
usually govern the installation of street lighting equipment
in modern cities. Nevertheless, the strong sources of light

Another police recall-signal unit: a span-wire suspension unit
equipped with bowl refractor; refractor lowered.

necessary for good illumination interfere, of course, with the
visibility of the red-light signal. In order to minimize this
difficulty, wherever it is practical to do so, the signal unit
should be isolated at some distance from street lights. By day,

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 101

the situation is more serious. At noontime in most California
cities, for example, the sun produces during midsummer fully
10,000 foot-candles of light. To meet this competition, every
advantage must be taken in the location of the light unit. Ac-
tual experiments should be made on each beat under both
nighttime and daylight conditions in order to determine the
most practical distances over which a typical signal unit may
be considered observable by the patrolman. Such a survey will
reveal the existence of obstructions, such as trees and build-
ings, which interfere with the line of vision. Occasionlly, jog-
ging streets must be taken into account.

Ordinarily, the unit described will be found to be effective
under daylight conditions at a minimum distance of four
average blocks in four directions, which means that signal
units should be placed at approximately eight-block intervals.
The existence of so many variables in problems of illumina-
tion will cause this estimate to vary both ways to meet local
conditions, the location of each light being a separate and in-
dependent problem. In congested business areas where large
buildings and other structures impede vision, signal-unit
density will be somewhat greater than the foregoing figure,
which is given only as an average distance.

For best results, recall units are mounted at from twenty-
five to thirty feet above the center of the street intersection.
The higher the signal the greater the visibility, but with the
greater use of the automobile in patrol work the effective
height is restricted, as the visor and top of the car may ob-
scure the signal for too great a distance. In most communities
there are certain points strategically placed, such as build-
ings, towers, and other structures, from which a signal would
be visible over a comparatively great distance, thus permit-
ting the patrolmen of two or more beats to see the light from
any point in their respective districts. In Berkeley, Calif.,
the hills on the eastern outskirts of the city presented an op-
portunity of this kind and the installation of a signal unit on
an elevated point has given excellent results. In engineering
the recall system, however, it should be remembered that it

102 Police Communication Systems

is not necessary that the patrolman be able to see a signal
light from any given point on his beat. Since he is constantly
moving about the area, either on foot or in an automobile, an
approximate eight-block interval between units would bring
a light into his line of vision in from one to two minutes.
Where foot patrolmen are used exclusively on the beat in
outlying districts, light-unit density may profitably be in-
creased. In no circumstances should the interval of vision
exceed two minutes.

The old practice of mounting the recall-light unit on the
call box so seriously obstructs the line of vision as to eliminate
any usefulness that the unit might have when so placed. This
type of installation is still found in some cities, but the best
practice is to suspend the light with span lines over the center
of the street intersection. This is both economical and con-
venient, and permits of the unit's being lowered or drawn in
for replacement of parts or for cleaning.

The application of electricity to the uses of daily life has
resulted in recent years in the manufacture of equipment spe-
cifically designed by electrical engineers for the police-recall
system. A complete electrical recall system is now available
as an independent installation. A number of manufacturers,
both here and abroad, combine the recall signal and telephone
unit as one composite installation. In most of these instal-
lations, the recall unit, consisting of a light, bell, or horn,
or some variation of the semaphore method of signaling, is
mounted directly on the telephone housing.

Where conditions dictate the use of a sound signal, vibrat-
ing or motor-driven horns are most serviceable, as they de-
liver a very loud and penetrating note, which can be heard
over comparatively great distances. Of all sound-signaling
devices, however, the siren and large whistle are probably the
most effective. This type of signal, however, except for the
use of the siren on fire and police department vehicles, should
be reserved for general city-wide alarms, as, for example, a
major emergency or a disaster.

The cost of recall installations varies with the type and

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 103

elaborateness of the equipment selected. For a paltry sum the
small community might install a Mazda bulb at some high
central point for signaling to the patrol force. Connected to a
suitable push button or switch at the point where calls for
police assistance come in, this inexpensive device would make
possible a service out of all proportion to its cost. Other com-
munities have installed light units at strategic points in an
area where twenty-four-hour telephone service is provided,
such as fire houses, bridges, pumping stations, telephone ex-
changes, elevated railway stations, surface carbarns, and milk
depots. To have a signal given in a designated district, one
needs only to telephone the agency at the proper point and
request that the signal be turned on. Such a system affords a
very economical service, as it eliminates the necessity for a
circuit network connecting the station control apparatus with
the signal units. The cost of a standard recall system, however,
is easily within the means of most police departments, and
the purchase of standard equipment soon justifies its original
cost in the greater effectiveness of the individual officer and
of the department as a whole.

The police department of Gleiidale, Calif., recently faced a
situation common to a large number of cities in this country.
This community covers an area of approximately 20 square
miles and has a population of from 70,000 to 75,000. Until
quite recently, the public telephones were the sole means of
communication between the police station and outlying patrol
forces. The police chief (John D. Fraser) obtained estimates
covering a composite system of beat communication which
combined the telephone and recall units. The figures ranged
from $75,000 to $100,000 with an estimated annual mainten-
ance cost of from $6000 to $8000, the usual amount with some
composite systems. Such an expenditure would have been in
the nature of an extravagance. Furthermore, a bond issue
would have been required, and between the citizens who are
always too indifferent to vote and those who are unalterably
opposed to bond issues in general, the project would have been
defeated.

104 Police Communication Systems

After thorough investigation and discussion, Chief Fraser
finally purchased the Rae recall system, and entered into a
contract with the local telephone company for telephone
service, this service including* the installation of a PBX tele-
phone switchboard at headquarters and thirty-six beat tele-
phone units distributed throughout the city. The E/ae recall
system, by means of which the station operator is able to flash
a signal to any officer or group of officers on the beat, was in-
stalled by the city electrician. The amount of current con-
sumed is small, and the monthly maintenance cost is less than
$25. The total cost of the combined installation, including
the recall system and the iron boxes in which the telephones
were placed, was less than $8500. The monthly rental for the
switchboard and thirty-six telephones, based on the wire mile-
age, was of course much less than the estimated monthly main-
tenance cost of the composite system.

Recent improvements in land wire transmission include the
introduction of the multifold carrier current control system,
which may influence future installations of beat telephone
and recall equipment. This unique system of transmission is
significant in that it utilizes existing wire networks of the
power and telephone companies and eliminates the cost rep-
resented by the purchase or lease of the land wire connec-
tions ordinarily required. Through an independent carrier
frequency imposed upon these commercial lines, communi-
cation may be had with any desired point in the area so cov-
ered. If a transmitting device generating a frequency of 2000
cycles, for example, is coupled in a suitable manner to a 60-
cycle network, 2000-cycle signals can be superimposed on the
lower frequency without in any way causing interference
with the 60-cycle current ; likewise, the lower frequency has
no effect upon the 2000-cycle system. The 2000-cycle impulses
of the carrier current travel out from the transmitter over the
primary feeders, through the distributing transformers, to
the secondary circuits and therefore throughout the commer-
cial network. Transmission of signals is thus accomplished by
the use of varied frequencies, relayed from the central trans-

The Police Beat and Its Equipment 105

mitter to the power or telephone lines. These frequencies affect
properly tuned receiving sets, which are connected by means
of an ordinary plug inserted in the commercial lighting or
telephone circuit. When resonance is established between the
transmitted frequency and the receiver, the receiver, in ac-
cordance with its pre-fixed adjustment, rings a bell, lights a
light, or performs some other operation.

By means of this system, transmission may be made over
lines which have failed because of grounds, broken or short
circuits, or any of the usual troubles of the ordinary electric
circuit. Tests have indicated that alarm signals may be radi-
ated in various directions from a central point over distances
of from 200 to 300 miles. Furthermore, by the separate gen-
eration of two or more carrier frequencies, a number of differ-
ent communications or signals may be transmitted over the
same line simultaneously. The system accommodates voice
transmission if carrier frequencies of from 60,000 to 100,000
cycles are employed.

The application of this new development to the beat com-
munication system, particularly to the recall, must be obvi-
ous. Recall lights with relays can be installed anywhere and
in as great number as desired, the actual current for the lights
being taken from the 110-volt 60-cycle circuit, and the con-
trolled carrier frequency riding the same circuit operates the
relay and causes the desired signal to flash.

How to reach off-duty patrolmen in an emergency has al-
ways been a serious problem. Even where officers have tele-
phones in their homes, valuable time is lost in the cumbersome
process of summoning them to the station by individual tele-
phone calls. Through the facilities of the system here under
discussion, the problem is reduced to its simplest terms. It is
only necessary to connect a receiving element to a light socket
in the home of each officer and the station may signal him at
will. If he moves to another house or apartment, he takes
the unit with him. There are no wires to transfer and the
equipment is moved in much the same manner as the ordinary
household radio receiver.

106 Police Communication Systems

With its adaptability to two-way voice communication, the
multifold carrier current control system should find a ready
application to the engineering problems of the beat telephone
system. Elimination of the cost of land wire connections will
liberate funds for the purchase of additional telephone units
for installation on the beat. Thus far, public utility companies
are said to be quite willing that their lines shall be used for
police and fire-alarm purposes, since the transmission of mes-
sages and signals does not interfere in any way with the
normal services provided by their circuits. In individual in-
stallations, it would of course be necessary to obtain the con-
sent of the local company whose facilities it is desired to use.

The discussion and data presented in this chapter enable us
to reach the conclusion that beat communication equipment
now available can give to any police organization installing it
all the essential service required to meet present-day needs in
police work, and further, that such equipment can be had at
a cost well within the means of all municipalities, regardless
of size.

CHAPTER IV
THE POLICE RADIO SYSTEM

INTRODUCTION of the automobile into modern patrol
service made mobilization a factual possibility. One of the
major developments of the present decade in police service,
the automobile patrol is rapidly displacing foot patrolmen in
residential and semiresidential sections, and supplementing
the work of foot patrolmen in business districts. One man in
an automobile can do routine work as effectively as two or
more foot patrolmen, and in emergencies he can do more than
a dozen unmounted policemen. Virtual extinction of the "flat-
foot" or foot patrolman is inevitable ; a 250-pound policeman
walking his beat, equipped with a revolver but slightly im-
proved over the model that subdued the West, can no longer
be expected to cope successfully with criminals in fast motor
cars and armed with modern weapons.

The fundamental strategic value of the automobile was its
conversion of a static patrol force into a mobile group, ca-
pable of rapid movement from one point to another. The au-
tomobile solved also a tactical problem : it increased very
greatly the range and value of the individual patrolman. A
second tactical problem, however, that of effectively conserv-
ing the reserve strength of the department, was still in large
part unsolved. The beat communication system with its tele-
phones and recall signal lights was a step toward solution,
but it limited the rapidity of mobilization — a vital factor in
the fighting strength of a combat unit.

The limitations it imposed are best illustrated by data ob-
tained from studies conducted in one police department to
determine the actual time interval of response to recall-light
signals. The results indicated that, under ideal conditions,
contact may be established with the beat patrolman in an av-
erage time of approximately 3 minutes and 57 seconds. The
efficiency of the experimenting system was, however, far
above the average for most police departments, and the values

[107]

108 Police Communication Systems

given accordingly represent the best performance obtainable
with this equipment under actual operating conditions. Be-
tween 8 :00 A.M. and 4 :00 P.M., the average time-response in-
terval was 5 minutes, 3 seconds; between 4 :00 P.M. and 12 :00
midnight, 3 minutes, 35 seconds ; and between 12 :00 midnight
and 8 :00 A.M., 2 minutes, 57 seconds. These intervals were
computed from the moment that the signal-control mechanism
was set in motion at the station until the moment when the
officer lifted the receiver from a beat telephone and reported
in. Other lost time — for example, the actual time consumed
by the desk operator in conveying the message or informa-
tion, and the time lost by the patrolman in getting in and out
of his car — is conservatively estimated at from one to two
minutes, and further time is dissipated in other lost motions.
In other words, from the moment the station is in possession
of the report or information, a time interval averaging from
4 to 7 minutes or more must pass before the officer is under
way to the scene of the emergency.

Under ordinary conditions, the offender finds in this pe-
riod of free time his margin of safety ; within this time in-
terval, he may escape to a comfortable seclusion four or five
miles from the scene at the moment that the officer on the beat
is receiving the report of the crime, and loss or destruction
of valuable evidence and the disappearance of material wit-
nesses are frequently results of this delay. The situation is
further complicated by the addition of time employed by the
patrolman in traversing the distance from the telephone on
the beat to the scene of the disturbance. It is seldom that the
officer happens to be in the near vicinity.

The motorized patrol, although a mobile and flexible af-
fair, had not yet (the reference is to the situation three para-
graphs above) become sufficiently organized, nor — and this
was the critical difficulty — had the problem of communica-
tion been sufficiently mastered, to permit of its effective oper-
ation as a unit. As a result, mobilization was too slow to be of
much value in an emergency. But a new help was at hand.

The radio, together with the automobile, was to usher in a

The Police Radio System 109

new era in the fight of the police to protect society. Its value
in the solution of the problem was indicated by two of the
physical characteristics of radio communication ; namely :

(1) The energy emitted by a radio transmitter radiates to
all points of the compass, and all receiving apparatus within
range of the sending station can clearly receive its messages.
Further, a message need be broadcast but the once, as it is
received at one and the same time by all receiving stations
within range.

(2) Of equal importance was the fact that communication
could be had with the mobile units over any distance. An au-
tomobile, whether parked or moving at high speed, could in-
tercept the message as well as the stationary receiver. Land
wires were unnecessary : the ever-present ether was the trans-
mitting medium. The only equipment needed was the sending
and receiving terminals.

Thus, through the instrumentality of radio, headquarters
was provided with a means for rapid communication with the
deployed mobile patrol units. The decentralized force could
be called into action almost simultaneously with the receipt
of the report at headquarters. The time interval of response
was reduced to zero and the outlying patrols could be in-
formed at once of any request for police assistance. Rapidity
of operation became an accomplished fact. The patrolman
could traverse his beat on patrol and yet be available in-
stantly, at all times, for emergency calls.

Most of the publicity that has been given to the police radio
system deals with the spectacular split-second captures which
it made possible, somewhat to the neglect of other points
of value. Where radio communication is used, a fast, well-
equipped fleet of cars is ready at any moment to deal with
serious disturbances in any section of a city. There also fall
to the lot of the police many routine duties which require, for
their performance, men and cars. The radio patrol, while en-
gaged in these activities, is always in possession of the latest
information concerning stolen cars, holdup reports, descrip-
tions of missing and wanted persons, and other crime inform-
ation, and is always ready for emergency assignment.

110 Police Communication Systems

THE DETROIT SYSTEM

Describing results achieved through radio communication in
patrol service, Commissioner Rutledge, of the Detroit Police
Department, addressing the International Association of
Chiefs of Police at its 1929 convention, said : "Snaring crim-
inals in a radio network, woven by broadcasting to radio-
equipped cars, has become a matter of seconds. Seconds are
precious to the lawbreaker. They spell the difference between
escape and capture. The wider the margin of time, the better
his chances to escape apprehension. With the use of radio
communication between headquarters and the patrol cars we
are catching the criminal red-handed. We are eliminating the
introduction of circumstantial evidence in trials by indisput-
able proof of guilt. Economically, we are cutting down the
cost of law enforcement ... by synchronizing the arrest with
the depredation and eliminating the need for long and costly
investigations. Instead of trailing behind in the dust of the
criminal, we are as nearly abreast of him as it is humanly
possible to be."

The plan of operation in Detroit is typical of the present-
day use of radio communication in police service. Information
broadcast by the police transmitter is obtained from several
sources and is of types which can be roughly classified as
follows :

(1) Euns. — Orders to a police car to proceed to the scene of a crime,
fire, or accident. The broadcasting of this type of information, generally
known as a "run," is given precedence over all other broadcasts.

(2) Station calls. — Cars are often wanted by the precinct station, or
perhaps by the police radio dispatcher. They are told to go to their sta-
tion, or are given any other information that is necessary.

(3) Teletypes. — The Detroit Police Department uses the teletype sys-
tem1 for the dissemination of information from headquarters to its pre-
cinct stations. The radio station is equipped with one of these teletype
machines, and teletype messages are broadcast by the operator. They
contain information with respect to holdups, descriptions of men wanted
by the police, reports of missing persons, and other information which
is subject to broadcast.

1See Chapter VII, "The Police Teletype Network" (p. 242).

The Police Radio System 111

The transmitted information is obtained from two general
sources : from citizens, by means of the commercial telephone
system ; and from the precinct stations and the several divi-
sions of the Police Department. Lines from all possible sources
of information converge into one room, where are both the
central switchboard of the department and the dispatchers.
These dispatchers, two in number, are trained men with long
experience in their work. They, and no others, dispatch the
police cars on runs. One of them supervises cars on the east
side of the city, and the other the movement of patrol cars on
the west side. They have available at their fingertips all the re-
sources of the entire department. Patrol wagons, ambulances,
detective-bureau flyers, emergency wagons, and other fast
services can be obtained quickly by means of the police tele-
phone system, and the radio-equipped scout cars and cruisers
patrolling the streets of the city between the two dispatchers.
They merely plug in on a telephone line to the radio station
and the transmitting equipment is automatically, and almost
instantaneously, in operation for immediate broadcast.2

In Detroit, as in many other large cities, the radio-equipped
patrol cars are distributed by precincts. The regular police
precinct is further decentralized into what are termed radio
patrol districts, and a radio car is assigned to patrol each dis-
trict. When an emergency arises, the car is dispatched to the
scene of trouble. Patrol districts are determined systemati-
cally, with the following points in mind : (1) density of popu-
lation; (2) the crime record of the particular territory; (3)
the traffic problem — density of traffic, congested points, im-
pediments such as railroads and topographical and other ob-
structions (obviously the traffic problem affects the speed of
police cars and therefore the time required to respond) ; and
(4) other police protection. The radio cars used are of two
types, scout cars and cruisers. The scout cars are light ma-
chines. They are manned by two uniformed policemen and are
assigned to definite patrol districts. The cruisers are heavy,

2 See also "Communication System of the Los Angeles Police Depart-
ment," in Chapter XII (p. 362).

5 1

jx * j

Ids

i pi pQ
-i o —

The Police Radio System 113

high-powered cars, with bulletproof windshields. They carry
four men, including two plain-clothes patrolmen, one driver
in uniform, and one detective, and are equipped with riot
guns, tear-gas bombs, and other emergency weapons. A cruiser
patrols an entire precinct, covering territory assigned to pa-
trol-district cars ; thus, in the event of serious trouble, the two
policemen in the scout car are supplemented by the cruiser
crew.3

An incoming call for police assistance is routed into the
main dispatching room. The operator receiving the call turns
the information over to the police dispatcher. The latter as-
certains from which precinct and district the call originates,
then plugs in on the radio station and speaks into the micro-
phone, giving the car number and a brief account of the re-
port. As his voice goes out on the air, it is also audible to the
operator at the radio station, who writes the message down
and then signals the dispatcher, thus signifying that he has
understood the message and that transmission has been ac-
complished. The radio operator listens to a loud-speaker which
affords reproduction similar to that in the cars. After he has
signaled the dispatcher, he switches connections to the micro-
phone at the station and repeats the call in order to lessen the
possibility that the car may fail to receive the broadcast.

The crew of the car designated in the broadcast, upon hear-
ing its number called, listens to the immediately succeeding
description of the "run," goes to the scene, and takes care of
the trouble. As soon as the run is completed, the crew calls
the radio station and reports back in service. Officers are in-
structed to call back at the earliest possible moment. Should
the radio operator fail to hear from them within a reasonable
time, another car is dispatched on the call.

RADIO : ITS APPLICATION TO POLICE USES

A radio message is a series of vibrations carried by wave 'mo-
tions through the ether. Frequency, or wave length, is all-
important to message-sending, for it is this characteristic of
3 See Chapter V, "Radio Patrol Operation" (p. 157).

114 Police Communication Systems

radio transmission that permits the tuning or selection of the
radiation of one station from that of another. Radio waves of
a multitude of different frequencies are constantly crowding
the ether. If it were not for strict adherence to the assigned
frequency and the fact that each transmitted wave keeps its
own frequency as it travels away from the sending station,
without regard for other waves passing through space, radio
communication could hardly be the practical matter that it is.

When a voice-transmitting station goes on the air, a carrier
wave and two side bands are radiated from the antenna sys-
tem. Although 60 per cent of the total power transmitted is
in the carrier wave proper, it does not of itself carry the
modulations. The side bands transport the speech and require
a total width for a single broadcast channel of approximately
10 kilocycles. The fullest use of this crowded transmission
medium requires the greatest possible constancy in the op-
erating frequencies of radio transmitting stations.

This matter is of such great importance that it has been
made the subject of special regulation by the Federal Com-
munications Commission. In Section 2 of General Order 119,
the Commission specifies "that no transmitter will be per-
mitted to operate unless the applicant can show that the car-
rier frequency will be kept within 0.025 per cent of the as-
signed frequency by automatic frequency control." Recent
Federal regulations require an adherence to the assigned fre-
quency of plus or minus 50 cycles per second.

Because the number of frequency channels available for
police operations is limited, the Commission has been com-
pelled to regulate the power of individual police transmitting
stations, in order to reduce interference and make possible a
maximum number of police transmitters. The regulations are
based upon the population of the area served. The maximum
amount of power assigned for the use of stations is based on
the latest Census Bureau population figures for cities or state
subdivisions, as follows : population less than 100,000, 50
watts ; 100,000 to 200,000, 100 watts ; 200,000 to 300,000, 150
watts; 300,000 to 400,000, 200 watts ; 400,000 to 500,000, 250

The Police Radio System 115

watts ; 500,000 to 600,000, 300 watts ; 600,000 to 700,000, 400
watts; more than 700,000, 500 watts.

Supplementing its regulations, the Commission says : "In
the event that the amount of power allocated is insufficient
to afford reliable coverage over the desired service area, the
Commission will, upon proper showing being made, author-
ize the use of additional transmitters of duplicate power."
Federal regulations require that in all circumstances except
in the use of maritime distress signals, all radio stations, in-
cluding those owned and operated by the United States, shall
use the minimum power necessary to carry out the communi-
cation desired, and shall not exceed the power assigned to the
station.

Since the power of a given police transmitter is fixed by
specific Federal regulations, it is necessary to inquire con-
cerning alternative means of transmission through which the
service may be improved or the area covered, enlarged. There
are several factors, more or less amenable to control, which
if properly reckoned with will greatly aid transmission effi-
ciency. Proper transmitter location is one of these.

The major importance of location is based upon some rather
fundamental characteristics of radio transmission, some of
which should be mentioned. To radio transmission there are
three principal obstacles : (1) interference from other trans-
mitting stations ; (2) static ; and (3) fading of signal strength.

Interference from other transmitters is controllable and can
be eliminated if the equipment used is made to adhere strictly
to a predetermined frequency.

Static is the term applied to electrical disturbances that
give rise to irregular, interfering noises heard in the receiving
apparatus. Some sources of static are accessible to man, and
others — for example, lightning — are beyond his reach and
necessitate the use of special apparatus. However, the recent
improvement in the design of receiving apparatus has greatly
mitigated the effects of this form of interference, and it is now
of comparatively little importance in police transmission.

Fading or swinging of signal strength is an irregular or

116 Police Communication Systems

regular variation of the received signal, given a constant
circuit adjustment of both transmitter and receiver. This phe-
nomenon is more prevalent on short wave lengths, particu-
larly those of less than 400 meters, and is therefore of the
utmost importance to the police. Early experimenters in
the field of police radio are familiar with this troublesome
characteristic of radio transmission, and even today police
departments equipped with the finest radio apparatus occa-
sionally encounter a fading of signal strength in certain sec-
tions of the area covered.

In the phenomenon of fading, the signal of a transmitting
station will be received with normal intensity for a few min-
utes, and then for a brief interval the intensity will increase,
and then it will so far decrease that the signal is too weak to
be audible. Variations in signal strength may be very rapid,
with a period of about one second, or very slow, with one-hour
periods, and they usually occur where the transmission is over
land areas. The causes of fading continue to be the subject of
scientific investigation. Where fluctuations in the received sig-
nal are the result of variations in the wave length or in the
intensity of the transmitted wave, as often happens, the sit-
uation is easily remedied by necessary adjustments at the
transmitter.

Eecent improvements in transmitter design and the appli-
cation of greater transmitter power have done much to elimi-
nate fading, particularly in the popular broadcast field. In the
police field, however, the situation is somewhat different, by
reason of two peculiar conditions. First, police transmitters
are under the extraordinary limitations in power imposed by
Federal regulations ; the power of a police transmitting sta-
tion may never exceed 500 watts. Second, a police receiving
station is mobile, being installed in a patrol car that is con-
stantly moving. The receiving apparatus is also subjected to
many adverse conditions of interference peculiar to this type
of installation, which will be discussed later. With these ob-
stacles to be overcome, no possible advantage can be neglected.

It is generally accepted that the wave radiated from an

The Police Radio System 111

ordinary antenna spreads out in a hemispherical form, ex-
tending in every direction except into the earth. At a height
of from 60 to 300 miles, this wave front reaches an ionized
conducting region of the atmosphere known as the Kennelly-
Heaviside layer, where it is reflected, somewhat as light is
from a rather poor grade of mirror. A fading phenomenon
known as phase distortion occurs when the wave reflected
from the Heaviside layer reaches the receiving set simulta-
neously with the arrival of the "ground wave," or that part
of the impulse which travels along the earth's surface. It will
be perceived that when these two waves are applied to the am-
plifier tubes of the receiving set in the condition known as "in
phase," an enormous increase in the signal strength will be
apparent in the loud-speaker. Conversely, when the two waves
are applied to the receiver 180° out of phase, the volume of
the loud-speaker will be zero. The intermediate conditions as
the waves drift in and out of phase — depending upon the
strength of each individual wave — vary from zero to maxi-
mum. Elimination of either increases the apparent signal
strength of the other, with little or no evidence of fading. It is
for this reason that the vertical-style radiator antenna, which
reduces the strength of the reflected wave, with a correspond-
ing increase in that of the ground wave, is strongly recom-
mended in police transmitter installations.

In radio transmission there is also encountered a phenom-
enon known as the skip-distance effect, which, until it was
well understood, was more or less of a stumbling block. At a
frequency of 16,000 kilocycles or a wave length of about 18
meters, the ground wave progresses outward only a few miles
from the antenna when it is so seriously absorbed as to make
reception difficult. The sky wave in the meantime mounts to
the Heaviside layer, where it is reflected back to some point
on the earth at a great distance away from the sending station.
A simple study of the geometry of the situation will show that
a wave leaving an antenna on the earth's surface and striking
this reflector at an oblique angle about one hundred miles
above the ground, must come down again in a remote region.

118

Police Communication Systems

The ideal transmitting antenna.

The Police Radio System 119

There is therefore a region between the transmitter and the
down-coming sky wave in which the transmitter is not heard
except for very feeble echo signals. This curious ability of the
short wave to skip over certain points within a radius of from
400 to 500 miles from the transmitter and yet be received with
high efficiency by receivers 1000 to 2500 miles away, has a
direct bearing on all radio transmission problems. In the early
experiments with radio apparatus by the police in Berkeley,
Calif., it occasionally happened that signals were booming
away through the Panama Canal Zone which could not be
heard at all in certain sections of the city.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that all police radio
transmission systems must depend upon the ground wave for
their operation, since the police broadcast radius is compara-
tively short, usually less than seven miles if the transmitter
is serving only the area comprising one large city. Frequently
a centrally located transmitter serves police departments in
two or more adjacent jurisdictions, but the service radius is
seldom more than from fifteen to thirty or forty miles. Recep-
tion within a radius of fifty miles from a transmitting station
is usually through ground-wave energy. But the ground wave
clings close to the surface of the earth in its path forward,
and its energy dissipates rapidly, on account of the exceed-
ingly high rate of energy absorption by objects on the earth's
surface. Moisture, dust, and sunlight absorb radio-frequency
energy. On land, large conducting objects, such as buildings,
wires, trees, mountains, underground metallic deposits and
other electrical obstructions sap the energy of the transmitted
signal. Skyscrapers and other large structures projecting into
the air have a short-circuiting effect on transmitted energy.
A formula has been derived for the strength of signals over
salt water in the daytime, and the observed and calculated
values are nearly always in fair agreement. Over land, how-
ever, observed values differ greatly from those calculated ac-
cording to this formula, and vary greatly among themselves
because of the difference in ground absorption in different
sections.

120 Police Communication Systems

If a copper wire ranging from 50 to 100 feet in length
strung around the molding of a room can intercept sufficient
energy from passing waves to produce sound which can be
heard several hundred feet from a loud-speaker, it is not
difficult to understand how absorption by trees, steel struc-
tures, electric wires, and pipes, may dissipate the strength of
high-frequency radiation. A mountain, hill, or other irregu-
larity in the earth's surface casts a radio shadow analogous
to optical diffraction, and in the shadow area signal strength
is at a low ebb. It is to the screening effect of hills and tall
buildings, and the other obstacles mentioned that the occur-
ence of the familiar "dead spot" — the enigma of all early ex-
periments in police radio systems — may be attributed.

THE FIELD-INTENSITY SURVEY AND THE POLICE TRANSMITTER

An expert study by a competent radio engineer, taking into
account all the factors and conditions pertaining to radio
transmission within the area involved, should invariably pre-
cede the selection of the point at which the police transmitter
is to be installed. It will require the attention of an expert
technician, who has at his command the facilities of scientific
laboratories and the sources of the latest engineering knowl-
edge and information; the professional radio engineer has
supplanted the "local genius," who played such an important
and spectacular role in the early development of police radio
communication.

The primary objective is to obtain satisfactory coverage at
field strengths of sufficient intensity to produce good signals
in a radio receiver mounted in an automobile, at any point
within the policed territory. The most reliable and, in the long
run, the most economical method of determining possible loca-
tions for the station, is by making scientific measurements of
field-signal strengths with apparatus that has been especially
designed for this purpose. A portable transmitter of not less
than 50 watts power and possessing high operating efficiency
is usually employed, for which a special license is issued by
the Federal Communications Commission. This transmitter

The Police Radio System 121

should also be capable of maintaining as nearly as possible an
absolute frequency constant. The transmitter having been
installed at one of several possible locations, the test car,
equipped with suitable signal-intensity measuring instru-
ments, moves about the area to be served.

The strength of a radio-frequency field surrounding a
transmitter in operation is defined in terms of "microvolts
per meter." The field-strength measuring equipment is, in a
sense, a radio receiver so designed as to give meter indications
which can be resolved into microvolts-per-meter field inten-
sity for each given location. With the portable transmitter
rated at 50 watts output, the field-strength survey discloses
the signal strength that prevails at given distances from the
transmitter. The time of day and the season of the year are
also noted, for, owing to natural causes, signal intensity may
vary as between darkness and daylight and from season to
season.

Upon completion of tests with the transmitter in a sug-
gested location, it is next in order to plot signal-strength
curves for the entire area. Data obtained from the survey
are reduced to graphic terms by the preparation of a field-
strength map. This map is so drawn that its center represents
the location of the transmitter during one series of tests. As
a rule, field-strength measurements are made by circling the
transmitter at various distances. Several stops are made on
each circuit and the field-signal strength at those points is
noted. In drawing the field-strength map, the readings at
these points establish locations or points on the drawing which
need only to be connected by drawing contour lines bisecting
them. Similar tests and procedure are followed through for
each possible location of the transmitter. From these results
the engineer may determine : (1) the most favored location
for maximum coverage of the entire area ; (2) the location of
shadows, dead spots, and other fading areas which show a
pronounced weakness of signal strength ; (3) the location and
identification of local sources of interference; (4) the type of
transmitting antenna system best adapted to the purpose;

122 Police Communication Systems

(5) the comparative signal variations by hour of day ; (6) the
variations between day and night signal intensity; (7) the
efficiency of the location for transmitter grounding purposes ;
(8) the type and design of receiver best adapted to local con-
ditions ; and (9) the minimum transmitter power output nec-
essary to cover the area efficiently.

From the field signal strength maps, department executives
will be able to observe for themselves the results to be expected
from the various locations. The radio-frequency input re-
quirements of the automobile receiver being known, the effec-
tiveness of each location tested can be determined by a glance
at the map. From an engineer's point of view, the most desira-
ble procedure is to select the transmitter location purely on
the basis of the field-intensity survey. Where conditions are
such that the most desirable location becomes unavailable, the
purchaser will at least have, in advance, scientific evidence of
the results that he may expect from the location selected.

In general, the transmitter should be at a point where good
"ground" conditions prevail. Such conditions may not be
found where, for example, the surface and underlying de-
posits are of volcanic origin, because of the natural noncon-
ductivity of such material and its rapid drainage. Soil which
has, 011 the contrary, a tendency to retain moisture, usually
offers a good location so far as grounding requirements are
concerned. It may develop, however, that natural or artificial
shielding, absorbing, or reflecting objects may be interposed
between what seems superficially to be a choice location and
the area to be covered. Unfortunately, some municipalities
are restricted to one or two possible locations. In such circum-
stances, the ingenuity and skill of an experienced radio engi-
neer may be relied upon to indicate the design and installation
of an antenna system which possesses the necessary character-
istics. Adverse natural grounding facilities, it may be, may
dictate the construction of a counterpoise for this purpose.

The most advantageous transmitter location as shown by
the field-intensity survey might be at a point some distance
from police headquarters, as in Los Angeles and a few other

The Police Radio System 123

cities where the radio communication equipment is several
miles from headquarters. It is nevertheless desirable that the
radio transmitter should be subject to control from the cen-
tral police office. This can be accomplished by remote-control
equipment.

In general, it is advisable to lease circuits from the local
telephone company. Two circuit groups are necessary, one
for starting and transmitting equipment, and the other for
speech-input purposes. As a rule, the remote start-stop equip-
ment consists of either a push button or a key arrangement.
When the starting circuit is closed, the effect is as if the start-
ing button on the transmitter had been pressed. This is true
because the remote starting circuit is connected across the
local starting circuit built into the transmitter. The best of
remote-control equipment is now available, making this prob-
lem quite easy to solve.

For remote-control operation it may be necessary to am-
plify the signals between the microphone and the speech-input
terminals of the radio transmitter, the amount of amplifica-
tion depending upon the distance between the two points. The
type of amplification can only be determined when the dis-
tance and impedances are known. Broadly speaking, what
this amplifier should do is build up the current passed by the
speech-input terminals at the transmitter so as to produce
virtually complete modulation.

The field survey may reveal that one transmitter with its
authorized power rating is incapable of covering the entire
area effectively, particularly in the larger cities. The Federal
Communications Commission has recognized this, and has in-
dicated its willingness to authorize, where necessary, the use
of additional transmitters of duplicate power and frequency.
In an installation of two or more transmitters, separate field-
intensity surveys will be helpful and perhaps even necessary
in order to determine the best location for each piece of equip-
ment. Transmitters are then usually operated as semi-inde-
pendent units with remote-control lines wired direct to the
central dispatching room at headquarters. Transmission sys-

124 Police Communication Systems

terns of this type are now in operation in Chicago, where three
transmitters are in use, and in Greater New York, where five
are used to cover a huge area. In some installations where a
plurality of transmitters was to be employed, an attempt was
made to synchronize their operation. The Commission, how-
ever, considers this impracticable under present conditions
and has not as yet approved any police request for permission
to operate in this manner.

In cities equipped with radio communication facilities,
great reliance is placed upon them, and much is required of
them. This circumstance tends to increase the dangers in-
volved in interruption of service ; disabling of the transmitter,
failure of power supply, damaged antenna system, or other
causes which may temporarily throw the system out of serv-
ice, place the patrol force at a serious disadvantage. A meas-
ure of control remains possible through the beat telephone
and recall systems, but the longer time-response interval pre-
cludes the effective concentration in emergencies that has
made the police radio indispensable. Adequate safeguards
should therefore be provided to forestall such contingencies
as far as possible ; and experience has shown that, with proper
precautions, this hazard may be reduced to a minimum.

When interruptions do occur, the immediate necessity of
course is to make possible the resumption of operations with
the least possible delay. A full supply of extra parts and
equipment should be a first requirement in the inventory of
every department using radio communication. Interruptions
in service fall, as a rule, into three broad classes : (1) failure
of power supply; (2) transmitter failure; and (3) faulty or
damaged antenna system.

The power supply in a radio transmission system repre-
sents the source of electrical energy for driving its equipment,
and any interruption of current or failure of power equip-
ment results immediately in a complete shutdown in trans-
mission. The various types of power-supplying equipment
used in conjunction with vacuum-tube transmitters are the
direct-current generator with suitable filters, alternating cur-

The Police Radio System 125

rent with transformer and tube rectifiers, storage batteries
with suitable ampere-hour capacity, and alternating current
with transformer but without tube rectifiers (raw alternat-
ing current). Of these five possible producers of transmitter
power, the two first named are the most widely used. Several
modern types of transmitter are equipped with transformer
and rectification apparatus which transforms the coming line
current to proper voltages and rectifies the alternating char-
acteristics into a smooth pulsating current suitable for
modulation purposes. Step-down transformers supply proper
voltages for the tube filaments. Storage batteries with a suffi-
cient combined strength may be used as a source of power
supply. In fact, batteries supply the ideal current, but the
enormous assembly of cells necessary for the high-plate
voltages required in modern transmitters precludes their
continuous use. A storage-battery assembly, however, with
gasoline-driven charging equipment, is sometimes used as an
auxiliary power supply.

The Chicago Police Department now has available for im-
mediate operation three separate and independent power-
supply installations. A number of other departments have
installed complete auxiliary transmitters, which provide of
course the most satisfactory form of insurance against trans-
mitter breakdown. In such installations, provision for auto-
matic throw-over from one transmitter to the other when
breakdown occurs will eliminate the possibility of any delay.
If economy is imperative, it is not absolutely necessary that
the auxiliary equipment have the same power rating as the
regular equipment nor need it be an elaborate affair, since it
will only be used for very brief periods. The ideal auxiliary
transmitting equipment would be an exact duplicate of the
service transmitter. Some sort of reserve transmitter should
be provided and it should be the very best obtainable within
the local limitations. A medium-power transmitter for this
purpose may be installed at a nominal cost. If even this is not
possible, communication officers should acquaint themselves
with all private transmitting equipment in the immediate

126 Police Communication Systems

vicinity, including transmitters employed by commercial
broadcasting companies and particularly the equipment in
use by amateurs. Many amateurs possess transmitters of
extraordinary efficiency and these may be converted to the
assigned police frequency with very little manipulation or
adjustment. Remote-control lines may be very easily set up,
and, without moving or seriously disturbing the amateur's
equipment, police broadcast may be continued without inter-
ruption while necessary repairs are being made to the police
transmitter. The amateur has always been cooperative, and
communication officers will find him ready and willing to
assist.

A police radio transmitter should be ruggedly constructed
of the best materials known to be suitable for radio telephone
practice. The complete equipment should be arranged to oper-
ate directly from electric power of a readily available type.
Starting, stopping, tuning, and maintenance of the equip-
ment should be simplified, and of such nature as to permit its
use by persons not particularly skilled in the operation of
radio telephone equipment. All units of the equipment should
be completely enclosed, with the enclosing material perforated
to permit ventilation. Safety appliances should be attached
wherever practicable. AH doors to the transmitter-housing
proper may be provided with switches which automatically
shut off all power when the doors are open, thus giving protec-
tion to operating personnel from contact with high voltages.
Further, as a protection against unauthorized entry and fore-
warning of sabotage or other damage to transmitting equip-
ment, suitable alarm contacts should be provided in the
immediate vicinity of the transmitter. In St. Louis, for ex-
ample, the room in which the transmitter is placed, is so
wired that entry is impossible without automatically sending
in an alarm to officers in the dispatching room.

The antenna system, being unavoidably exposed to the ele-
ments, is subject to the ordinary processes of erosion as well
as to other factors which may undermine if not cripple trans-
mitter operation. The antenna is primarily an elevated wire,

The Police Radio System 127

well insulated from the ground, and should receive careful
inspection at regular intervals, particularly with respect to
insulation. If this equipment is carried away under storm
conditions or in any other way seriously damaged, an emer-
gency antenna should be erected at once, the following funda-
mental requirements of antenna installation being borne in
mind: (1) erect as high as possible; (2) keep clear of build-
ings, commercial transmission lines, and other metal objects ;

(3) insulate carefully, particularly at the remote end; and

(4) fasten securely. A supply of extra antenna wire, insu-
lators, and other auxiliary equipment should be on hand at
all times for making necessary repairs or substitutions. An-
tenna insulation may break down if the voltages or currents
are excessively high, and, occasionally, as a result of the
insulator's accumulating large quantities of dirt, soot, and
moisture. Insulators should be cleaned whenever the oper-
ator notices a decrease in radiation resulting from this condi-
tion. The voltage in the antenna, when the transmitter is in
operation, is greatest at the remote end, and the heaviest insu-
lation must be provided at this point of high potential strain.

THE POLICE RECEIVER AND ITS REQUIREMENTS

The designer of police automobile receiving equipment must
take into account inflexible requirements. Ruggedness of con-
struction is essential in order that the instrument may be
able to withstand hard everyday use in a moving automobile.
It is desirable that the case or container be constructed of
some indestructible material such as aluminum or steel. All
parts should be so designed and constructed as to preclude
the possibility of change in adjustment by severe road shock.
Ease of installation is important. In the early development
of motor-car receivers, it was almost necessary to attach the
car to the set. With the modern receiver, a mounting plate for
the chassis and container is generally provided, which can be
quickly installed on the bulkhead. The chassis and container
hook into this plate quickly and securely. The magnamotor or
other battery eliminator equipment and the loud-speaker unit

128

Police Communication Systems

¥ V

A radio receiver set for police patrol cars : a, the receiver, cased ;

fc, the removable receiver chassis — which expedites

servicing operations.

The Police Radio System 129

require but a few minutes to install, and three to five hours'
work is now sufficient to make a complete autmobile receiver
installation.

Compactness of units is recommended. The over-all dimen-
sions of the receiver should be reduced as far as possible, since
space is usually at a premium and the available locations for
the receiver are few. The average dimensions of the modern
police receiver are : chassis, height, 7^2 inches, width 7 inches,
length, 9 inches; container, height, 10^2 inches, width, 9%
inches, length, 12 inches. The receiver chassis and associated
container should be arranged in such a way that removal of
the chassis from the container does not involve the removal
or disconnection of wires or tuning controls or of more than
six retainer bolts or screws, including those used for holding
the container cover in position. In some modern receivers,
only one bolt has to be removed. The complete receiver unit
should be such that without modification or alteration it may
be rigidly mounted in an accessible position. The receiver
chassis and its container should be so designed that all chassis
are readily interchangeable without disconnecting any wires
or controls. The working unit must be readily replaceable in
tube failure or other trouble. A spare or emergency chassis
can thus be inserted summarily and the police car remain in
service. This is accomplished with the aid of aircraft-type con-
necting plugs and spring latches, which permit quick discon-
nection and reconnection. Other auxiliary equipment already
supplied with modern receivers is available ; this gives longer
wear to the mounting and adds to the ease of servicing.

The electrical requirements of the police automobile re-
ceiver are severe indeed. This equipment must be many times
more sensitive than any home receiver. Home receivers may
operate with an antenna seventy-five feet or more in length;
the motor-car receiver at best can have only a small antenna
input. The sensitivity of the receiver should be such that,
when used with an antenna having an effective height of 20
centimeters, a signal intensity of 10 microvolts per meter
will produce an output of 150 or more milliwatts to the loud-

130 Police Communication Systems

speaker, assuming that the input signal is to be modulated
by 50 per cent. Selectivity should be such that, when a sig-
nal is given having a field intensity equal to the intensity of
the signal to which the receiver is tuned but differing in
frequency from the desired signal by plus 10 kilocycles per
second, the given signal shall produce a signal input to the
detector grid the level of which shall be 10 decibels or more
down from the level of the signal to which the receiver is
tuned.

It must also be possible to tune the receiver to the desired
police frequency and to permit locking on that frequency
in such manner that alteration of the adjustment by road
shock will be impossible. Some departments make this lock-
ing feature so positive that the tuning adjustment cannot be
changed by the operator of the car.

Wiring of the receiver installation should be so arranged
that no connections or terminals are exposed. All connecting
cables should be shielded with flexible copper braid shielding-
material. The connections to be made in the installation of
the receiver should be limited to one cable to the car storage
battery, one cable to the battery eliminator, and one to the
antenna.

In quality of reproduction, the receiver should possess
audio-frequency characteristics such that the amplification is
substantially constant from 70 to 5000 cycles per second. The
audio system is designed in conjunction with the loud-speaker
for clear speech articulation. Special emphasis has therefore
been placed upon developing a receiver and speaker unit
which will cover the voice frequencies efficiently. It is advan-
tageous to eliminate from the design means for reproducing
the very low or very high audio frequencies. The lows tend
to overload the tubes, the highs only add noise.

The power output of the receiver should be such that the in-
structions coming from the transmitter can be heard through
the loud-speaker when the car windows are open. The volume
level required is higher than the volume level at which an
ordinary conversation is carried on in a moving automobile.

The Police Radio System 131

Automatic volume control, already mentioned, should be
incorporated in the police receiver. The mobile police set is
subject to continual changes in the strength of the trans-
mitted signal, occasioned by varying distances from the trans-
mitter, the shielding effect of buildings, underpasses, and
similar structures, as well as other phenomena connected with
radio transmission. Without automatic volume control facili-
ties, the officer would be under the handicap of almost con-
tinuously operating a manual volume control to compensate
for the variations in signal strength.

The manual volume control, however, should be simple.
Manual adjustment of volume by a potentiometer mounted
on the steering column permits the car operator to adjust the
volume of reproduction to suit his personal choice or to meet
temporarily any special conditions. The control head gener-
ally includes the manual control knob, tuning dial, and on-
and-off switch. Special jewel lights will indicate that the set
is in operation and show when the sensitivity is at a maximum.

The cone type of speaker has taken first place in all modern
radio installations, both stationary and mobile. For automo-
bile use, particularly in police service, the magnetic cone
speaker is used almost exclusively. In the electrodynamic
speaker unit, a constant field-exciting current of six volts or
more is necessary ; this represents an additional drain upon
the available current supply in the automobile ; the use of the
magnetic speaker does not involve this expense.

The position of the speaker unit is not extremely critical
for good reproduction. Any service man, by testing the unit
at different angles and locations in the car, can determine the
place where reproduction is best. It is not always practicable
to mount the receiver and speaker side by side in a location
that is ideal for both. The bulkheads are usually crowded with
automotive equipment, leaving often only the motor compart-
ment for the installation of the receiver proper. The ideal
position of the speaker is face out, with the unit flush with
the instrument board ; but this position is usually impracti-
cable on account of the space factor. An alternative is to leave

132 Police Communication Systems

it at the same approximate level but move it back to the bulk-
head. In certain types of automobile receivers, where speaker
and receiver are built together as one composite unit, the
problem is somewhat simplified.

On the installation of the antenna, extraordinary limita-
tions are imposed, chiefly because the effective height of a
radio antenna from the electrical ground has a direct bearing
upon its pick-up and the power of input to the receiver. In an
automobile, the effective antenna height has to be extremely
low because it is desirable that the antenna construction be
concealed and inconspicuous, and a superstructure on top of
the car is therefore impracticable. Almost all makes of auto-
mobiles are provided at the factory with a built-in roof an-
tenna. The lead-in wire is usually brought down one of the
front corner posts and coiled up behind one of the body lining
sections, and it is only necessary to connect this lead-in to the
shielded antenna cable of the receiver. The connection should
be soldered and well taped. It is also important to make sure
that the stranded metallic covering of the cable does not touch
the wires at the joint when making the splice, as this will
cause a grounding of the antenna.

RECEIVER CURRENT SUPPLY DEVICES

As the "A" or filament current is usually taken directly from
the car battery, the amount of current used from this source
is of vital importance. With the aid of recently designed tubes
now available, the modern automobile radio receiver draws
only 2.1 amperes, the amount of one headlight bulb. Ordi-
narily, the added drain on the car battery can be compensated
for by advancing the charging rate. Radio-tube manufactur-
ers have been giving this problem serious attention, and new
tubes designed especially for low current consumption are
constantly appearing on the market.

As a solution of the problem of plate current supply, the
automobile radio battery eliminator has been designed as a
substitute for the batteries formerly used in automobile re-
ceivers. The cost of the eliminator represents a much greater

The Police Radio System 133

investment than the initial cost of batteries, and the advan-
tages of its use must be sufficient to warrant this larger outlay
of money. Even the best available commercial B battery will
not last more than three or four months on a basis of only
four or five hours' service daily. Toward the end of this rather
short life, the battery becomes erratic and unreliable in the
discharge of its duties. The volume begins to fluctuate, and
the reception becomes unbalanced and distorted, because the
deterioration of the battery has progressed more rapidly in
the heavier loaded units so that their voltage has dropped
more rapidly than in the other units.

Service and replacement of batteries must be repeated fre-
quently in the police patrol car, as the receiver is, as a rule, in
continuous operation from eight to twenty-four hours a day.
It is quite clear that, in the course of a year, the cost of battery
replacements and service will more than equal the cost of an
eliminator. This device has made possible a drastic reduction
in the cost of receiver maintenance, since in police service the
cost of battery replacements is the greater part of the cost of
receiver operation.

The work of the B-battery eliminator is clearly defined. It
must perform in continuous duty as well as the B battery at
its best, maintaining at all times an output voltage sufficient
to ensure good volume and to establish faithful reception. The
voltage output must be reasonably free from impurities ; that
is, it must approximate as closely as possible the true direct
current supplied by the B battery. The device must further
have a fairly close voltage regulation ; the high-voltage out-
put should not vary much with changes in the low-voltage
supply and with fluctuations in the milliampere load, repre-
sented by the receiver. It must be small, compact, light, and
easily mounted.

It is of the greatest importance that the eliminator should
make but a low current drain on the car battery. In every
new automobile design additional devices are installed and
additional duties imposed upon the car lighting system, the
generator, and the six-volt car battery. An increase in the

134 Police Communication Systems

capacity of the generator and battery might not seem very
difficult at first ; nevertheless it would necessitate changes in
the design of the electrical wiring and equipment, and to
these the automobile manufacturer is generally opposed. It is
therefore essential that the drain from the car battery be held
as low as possible, so as not to interfere with the starting of
the engine and the operation of the ignition and lighting sys-
tems. A current drain of more than three amperes for such
apparatus is definitely undesirable.

The eliminator must be noiseless in operation. An inherent
characteristic of voltage-conversion devices is the presence of
sparks or electrical contact disturbances, and this makes it
necessary that the unit must contain sufficient and adequate
filtering equipment. In the interrupter type of converter, the
filtering is somewhat more difficult than in rotating conver-
sion devices, but these have the disadvantage of generating a
mechanical noise. The device must be durable, uncomplicated,
and strongly constructed so that it will require a minimum of
service and attention. The minimum adjustment period of
such a unit should be well over two thousand hours of actual
running.

It must be economical in cost; a list price of more than
three times that of a battery replacement is expensive for
this unit. The eliminator should earn its keep in one year.
Such equipment should further be mechanically foolproof ;
all rotating, moving, or vibrating parts must be subjected to
as little wear as possible. Vibration from moving parts should
be kept at a minimum. Variations in temperature should have
no influence on its operation. It should be as nearly dust-
proof and waterproof as possible. At the same time, all wear-
ing parts should be easily accessible and their replacement
quick and simple so that the service man may make necessary
changes in a minimum of time. Finally, the life of the elimi-
nator should be at least that of the average automobile — from
three to four years.

The Police Radio System 135

INSTALLATION OF THE POLICE RECEIVER

Numerous automobile receivers fully capable of meeting all
the requirements of police service are commercially available.
The installation, as all who have had experience will testify,
must be done within most exacting limitations. The person
making such an installation should be something of an expert
automobile mechanic, and in particular he should possess an
engineering knowledge of radio circuits and design, if the
work is to be satisfactorily done. The best receiving equip-
ment is worthless unless the installation is made according to
accepted standards and with due regard for the mechanical
and electrical requirements of the receiving apparatus. All
manufacturers send detailed installation instructions with
their instruments, and so far as practicable these instructions
should be followed. Before installing the receiver, the units
and all associated equipment should be checked against the
shipping list. The general order of installation is to mount
the control unit, chassis plate, chassis, flexible drive shaft,
speaker, battery eliminator, and antenna, and then to install
the suppressors and condensers for the elimination of noise
caused by the ignition system and the generator.

SELECTION AND PURCHASE OF POLICE RADIO EQUIPMENT

Actual purchase of transmission and receiving equipment
should be preceded by competitive bidding on a rigid set of
specifications. Bids should be asked only of concerns capable
of engineering such an installation successfully. The specifi-
cations and bidding instructions employed by the city of
Milwaukee, Wis., in the purchase of police radio equipment,
have been suggested by the American City Magazine as a suit-
able standard. With minor changes and variations to meet
certain local conditions, the Milwaukee form (see Appendix
1, p. 483) may be used to advantage in the intelligent selection
and purchase of police radio system equipment in the open
market.

136 Police Communication Systems

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT AND STATION LICENSE

For the protection of radio communication in general, a code
of government regulations has been set up covering the li-
censing and operation of radio transmitting equipment. No
one can install a radio transmitter without first obtaining
from the Federal government, after written application, the
authority to do so, and no license will be granted for the oper-
ation of any station unless a permit for its construction has
been granted by the licensing authority, upon written appli-
cation therefor. Applications for construction permit or modi-
fication thereof, involving removal of transmitting apparatus
and/or installation of new transmitting equipment, must be
filed at least sixty days prior to the contemplated removal
and/or construction.

Construction permits are usually required to specify a
maximum of sixty days from the date of granting as the time
within which construction of the station shall begin, and a
maximum of six months thereafter as the time within which
construction shall be completed and the station ready for op-
eration. Any application for extension of time within which
to complete construction of the station must be filed at least
thirty days prior to the expiration date of the original per-
mit. Application for the station license must be filed prior to
any service tests made with the completed installation.

When construction of the station is completed and regular
application for license is filed in exact accordance with the
terms of the construction permit, the department is automati-
cally authorized to begin service tests, using the equipment,
power, frequency, and hours of operation specified in the con-
struction permit. Such tests may continue for a period of not
to exceed thirty days, provided the licensing authority is
notified two days in advance of the beginning of such service
tests. Authorization for service tests is not to be construed as
constituting a license to operate. Under no circumstances may
the station be operated under the construction permit except
for testing purposes, until a regular station license has been

The Police Radio System 137

granted by the government. Application forms for construc-
tion permit and station license may be obtained from the Fed-
eral communications supervisor of the district in which the
proposed station is to be located, or from the Federal Com-
munications Commission at Washington, D. C.

It is further required that one or more licensed operators
shall be on duty at the place where the transmitter is situated,
and whenever it is in operation. Details concerning examina-
tions conducted for licensing of operators may be obtained
from the two sources mentioned above. Finally, communica-
tion officers should be thoroughly conversant with the provi-
sions of the Radio Act of 1927, the rules and regulations of
the Federal Communications Commission, and the general
and special orders issued by that body from time to time. A
law-enforcement organization should be the first to set the
example in complying strictly with the laws and regulations
governing radio communication.

SPECIAL ASPECTS OF POLICE RADIO COMMUNICATION
THE SERVICE ORGANIZATION

A radio receiving set is a comparatively delicate affair, and
it is therefore subject to service failures if there is any serious
disturbance of circuit adjustments or connections. This is
particularly true of automobile receivers, which must con-
stantly bear the brunt of road shock and other hard usage
characteristic of service in a moving automobile. It is there-
fore very important that proper attention be given to the
economical and speedy servicing of patrol-car radio equip-
ment.

The radio patrol service unit should be so manned and
equipped that thoroughly satisfactory repairs can be made
both rapidly and economically. The men responsible for this
type of work should be highly experienced transmitter and
receiver operators with a thorough understanding of the radio
circuits commonly employed in police equipment.

The number of men detailed to the radio service organiza-
tion is chiefly determined by the number of radio patrol cars

138 Police Communication Systems

in service. Properly equipped, one efficient service man should
be able to take care of the service requirements of from thirty
to forty patrol cars, provided his time is not encroached upon
by other duties.

Most police radio-service organizations are housed in a cen-
trally situated shop, with a complete assortment of the neces-
sary tools and instruments, and a fast service car is provided
to expedite servicing of cars in the field. Effective use of the
service car has reduced markedly the average time out of
service per receiver. In Chicago the city is divided into three
equal sections, with a service car covering each section. These
cars, which are in operation twenty-four hours a day, are di-
rected by radio to the squad cars that develop any defect in
their radio equipment. Each service car carries spare and re-
placement parts of all kinds, together with specialy designed
test equipment for checking receiver operation. Similarly, in
Los Angeles and other cities, a radio-equipped service car is
immediately dispatched to the point from which a radio pa-
trol car, over the beat telephone system, has reported a defec-
tive receiver to the complaint board. Major repairs are made
in a well-equipped repair shop.

The introduction of the removable chassis was a great help
to police-automobile receiver construction. "Where minor ad-
justments will not suffice to place a receiver in operating con-
dition, the defective chassis is immediately removed and
another slipped in to take its place. This has done much to
expedite the servicing of radio patrol car equipment. The
defective chassis is taken to the shop for thorough inspection
and repair.

The technique of radio servicing has called forth many con-
flicting opinions, and the subject is further complicated by
the frequent introduction of improvements in radio equip-
ment. There recently appeared on the market within a period
of two weeks sixteen or more new types of receiver tubes. It
is still possible, however, to make certain fundamental steps
in the procedure of receiver testing and servicing, which are
likely to hold good for some time to come. Probably the one or-

The Police Radio System 139

ganization that has done more than any other to stabilize this
important field in the radio industry is the Institute of Radio
Service Men, with headquarters in Chicago. In the journal
published by this organization, professional service men will
find the latest information obtainable about the equipment
and technique of radio servicing.

With the development of present-day radio communication,
there have appeared instruments specially designed to expe-
dite the checking and measurement of electrical values within
the suspected circuits of a defective receiver. Several reliable
testing instruments or set analyzers are now available which
make possible a speedier service. Manufacturers send with
this type of equipment detailed instructions for making a
rapid analysis of the condition of any radio receiver.

THE PROBLEM OF EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE

Since the operation of the radio-patrol receiver is directly af-
fected by electrical interference from external sources, this
subject should be given more than passing mention here. In
many cities radio-patrol operations have been seriously crip-
pled as a direct result of this sort of avoidable interference,
which is entirely foreign to the electrical system of the car,
and which tends to reduce the signal strength of police broad-
cast. External interference with the radio receiver installed
in a moving automobile has to do with extraneous electrical
noises which have their origin outside of the automobile and
receiver electrical system. Two kinds of external interference
are generally recognized : natural or meteorological, and
"man-made." The former, which consists generally of a series
of electrical discharges caused by disturbances in the atmos-
phere, such as thunderstorms, northern lights, and heat light-
ning, does not assume serious proportions in police broadcast
operations. With respect to man-made static or interference,
the situation is quite different. Some part of virtually every
electrical device is potentially a radio transmitter, the radia-
tions of which may be received in the police receiver with such
intensity as to confound the desired reception entirely.

140 Police CommunicoMon Systems

Consideration of some of the common sources of man-made
static will indicate the scope of the problem and some of the
methods of solution.

Electrical apparatus having a make-and-break contact con-
tains the essentials of a spark transmitter, and thus a loose,
dirty, or corroded connection may cause trouble. Some of the
more common of the appliances liable to this fault are mo-
tor generator sets, electric elevators, dental laboratoy equip-
ment, diathermy machines, violet-ray and X-ray machines,
high-tension lines, defective power transformers, street-car
electrical systems, flashing signs, traffic signals, arc lights,
and motion-picture machines.

The interference created by a motor generator set is usu-
ally heard as a high-pitched crackling sound, varying slightly
in intensity from time to time. This interference originates
at the D. C. end of the machine when it is used for converting
direct current to alternating current, and may originate at
either the D. C. or the A. C. end when the machine is used in
changing alternating current to direct current. Usually, how-
ever, A. C. to D. C. converters employ three-phase motors,
which are not likely to create radio interference.

Interference from the motor generator set usually origin-
ates at the brushes and commutator of the motor. This inter-
ference, which is caused by the making and breaking of the
electrical circuit, is impressed on the direct-current lines sup-
plying the motor, is distributed along these lines, and, being
radiated from them, may be picked up by the antenna system
of the receiver. The procedure necessary for suppressing in-
terference from this type of equipment will vary with the ap-
paratus used, its location, and the manner in which it is in-
stalled. As a rule, it is necessary that a filter of the inductive-
capacitive type be applied at both the D. C. and the A. C.
end of the machine.

The first and most obvious source of street-railway inter-
ference is to be found in the driving motors of the cars. Since
the motors are in operation almost all the time a car is mov-
ing, the interference which they create is a serious impedi-

The Police Radio System 141

ment to radio reception. Call buzzers, light switches, door
switches, the controller mechanism, and intermittent contact
between trolley wheel and trolley wire, or between car wheels
and rails, may also be sources of troublesome interference.

The interference created by the various parts of the street-
car is carried along the power, lighting, heating, and signal
circuits of the car, many of which are cabled together or
parallel each other, thus making for ease of inductive or ca-
pacitive transfer of interference from the circuit in which it
originates to the other circuits of the car. From any of these
circuits, interference may be conductively impressed upon
the trolley wheel and trolley wire, or it may be radiated from
the car wiring and picked up by the trolley wire. The inter-
ference which reaches the trolley wire, either by direct con-
nection or by inductive coupling, may be distributed along
the entire trolley-line system. Trolley-contact interference is
caused by rapid changes in the resistance of contact between
trolley wheel and trolley wire. These changes cause fluctua-
tions in the flow of current to the car so that, even though
there may be no measurable interruption of the flow of cur-
rent, an electrical disturbance which will cause radio inter-
ference is likely to result. Further, the passage of a car under
power over a section gap results in the creation of interfer-
ence from the interruption of current flow. On a heavily
traveled line, this interference may be decidedly objection-
able. Expert use of filters in the electrical system of the car,
and proper bonding of rails, are generally recommended for
the elimination of street-railway interference.

Traffic-control apparatus is a frequent source of external
interference. Both the flashing beacon used as a warning sig-
nal at dangerous crossings and the synchronized or progres-
sive form of traffic-control equipment may cause radio in-
terference when operated electrically. Interference from this
source depends in large degree on the manner in which the
flashing beacon is installed, and on the power and telephone
wiring arrangement. If all wiring is exposed, and particu-
larly if the leads between the flasher mechanism and the load

142 Police Communication Systems

are long, the interference may be present at a distance as
great as one mile from its origin. However, it is usually no-
ticeable only within a few blocks of the beacon.

Synchronized traffic-control apparatus may produce inter-
ference consisting of a steady clicking, usually at such a fre-
quency as to constitute an almost continuous roar, punctua-
ted by clicks of greater intensity as the various indicating
circuits are switched on and off. Since a synchronized traffic-
control system may extend for several miles, the interference
may be present in the entire area covered by the traffic-control
system. Proper installation of filters or condensers offers a
definite solution to this problem.

Although no attempt is here made to discuss all the pos-
sible sources of external interference, mention should be made
of electromedical apparatus, since these devices are quite
troublesome. Unlike most other electrical devices, which cre-
ate interference in their immediate locality only, certain
types of high-frequency apparatus set up interference which
may destroy reception over a large area. In fact, in some
places where the supply lines to the apparatus parallel the
primary supply or telephone circuits, the disturbance may
be spread over quite a distance, and may even be carried into
cities several miles away.

A diathermy machine is a device for the production of high-
frequency currents to be used in the treatment of certain dis-
eases. The circuit used for obtaining these frequencies is
essentially the same as that employed in early spark trans-
mitters, the operation of which is now forbidden by Federal
law. In the diathermy machine a transformer, a condenser,
and adjustable spark gaps are used to produce high-fre-
queiicy currents. These currents are carried along flexible
leads to metal electrodes which are applied to the body of the
patient. The maximum high-frequency current used in dia-
thermy treatments is usually 4000 milliamperes, or 4 amperes.
When it is understood that a radio transmitter with an an-
tenna current of 4 amperes may have a working range of sev-
eral thousand miles, it is obvious that a diathermy machine

The Police Radio System 143

can do a good deal of damage to radio reception. Fortunately,
the apparatus is not designed for maximum radiation at the
frequencies used, and consequently the area affected by the
direct radiation from the electrode leads is relatively small.
This directly radiated interference seldom affects receivers
that are more than 200 feet from the machine. The greater
part of the destructive interference is carried along wiring
circuits in a manner similar to the transmission of "wired
wireless," or, more correctly speaking, carrier telephony. The
high-frequency currents flowing in the electrode circuit of
the diathermy machine cause voltages of the same frequency
to be induced in the primary circuit of the transformer used
and thus to be superimposed on the power supply line. The
high-frequency currents flowing as a result of this induced
voltage may travel back along the secondary distribution net-
work for many miles unless a suitable filter is installed in the
power supply line to the diathermy machine. Occasionally it
is necessary to enclose the apparatus proper within a copper
screen or shield. Ultraviolet and X-ray machines present sim-
ilar problems. Once the source of interference is found, an
expert electrician can recommend the procedure necessary
for its elimination.

About power-line interference much is yet to be learned,
since its amount and extent is in large part dependent upon
local conditions. In surveys conducted by field engineers, in-
terference actually arising on power lines has been found in
many instances to represent less than 7 per cent of the inter-
ference complaints reported. The reports of radio-coordina-
tion departments of public utilities show that power-line
interference is the cause of between 5 per cent and 30 per
cent of all interference complaints received. A "leaky" trans-
former is a myth repeated so often that it is generally believed
to be true. Such a condition could not be a continuing source
of radio interference, since any leak in a transformer of suf-
ficient magnitude to cause radio interference would bring
about an early breakdown of the transformer and its prompt
removal from service.

144 Police Communication Systems

Almost all of the interference apparently attributable to
distribution transformers has been the result of arcing at the
contacts of the plug- type primary cutouts. After primary cut-
outs have been in service for some time, the contact springs
tend to lose their tension, with the result that arcing takes
place, causing radio interference which is likely to be dis-
tributed along both the primary and the secondary distribu-
tion networks. The effective remedy is simply the installation
of a new cutout.

Improper spacing of strain insulator bolts and metal cross-
arm braces may occasion radio interference. In one instance a
transformer installation was found in which the metal cross-
arm braces were so close to primary insulator pins that infini-
tesimal discharges of high-frequency voltage produced much
interference.

A study will show the similarity of a power line, a strain in-
sulator, and an insulator bolt, to a condenser. The two plates
of the condenser are the power line and the insulator bolt,
and the dielectric of the condenser is the insulator. As the
power line bears a continually varying charge, it is obvious
that the insulator bolt, which is the opposite plate of the con-
denser, will also bear a continually varying charge. Although
the quantity of this charge may be extremely small, the ra-
dio-frequency energy developed when the charge leads off to
ground or to a metal object having a different charge (such as
another insulator bolt, a metal crossarm brace, or a crossarm
bolt) is impressed on the high-tension line and also on the low-
tension line by this same condenser action, and is thus dis-
tributed along the wiring system.

Some of the most common sources of power-line interfer-
ence are : loose line connections ; tree grounds, slight or other-
wise (voltage about 1000) ; arcing fuse contacts; arcing con-
tacts in cutouts ; loose fuse or cutout contacts ; defective light-
ing arrestor ; defective insulators ; loose street lamps ; poor or
loose grounds on neutrals ; defective or broken transformer
bushings; loose transformer cores (not always); and guy
wires across lines (not necessarily grounded) .

The Police Radio System 145

An interesting example of transmission-line interference
was reported some time ago. An 11,000-volt line which passed
within a short distance of a cement mill seemed to be ex-
tremely noisy. Investigation disclosed that the noise was
caused by leakage across insulators, the leakage being the re-
sult of a deposit of cement dust on the insulators. In order to
keep this line free from noise, the insulators are now washed
periodically to remove the coating of cement which caused
the leakage and consequent interference.

One further source of interference found on transmission
lines is the corona discharge which takes place when long ends
are left on insulator tie wires. This interference may travel
for some distance along the transmission line. The remedy is
to cut short any loose ends of tie wires in order to eliminate
the discharge.

Extensive research on the problem of transmission-line in-
terference is being carried on by power companies, univer-
sities, the National Electric Light Association, and many
independent engineers. At present a complete outline is not
available, but the attention that is now focused on the prob-
lem seems to promise a satisfactory solution at an early date.

The few illustrations just given afford some idea of the way
in which external interference originates and travels. It may
assume such proportions as to warrant the adoption of spe-
cial means for its elimination. Although the field-intensity
survey previously outlined as a prerequisite to the proper
location of the transmitter may reveal many sources of exter-
nal interference, it may also be advisable to make an inter-
ference survey of the area served. The significance and value
of such a project is amply illustrated by the fact that, in a
number of cities, civic organizations have instituted these sur-
veys because of the destructive effect of external interference
upon broadcast reception. At this writing, no such survey
looking toward the improvement of patrol-car reception has
been made by a police department, but with an inevitable
refinement in police radio technique and operation, this may
be a logical future step.

146 Police Communication Systems

The interference survey, so far as the technique is con-
cerned, resembles in many respects the field-intensity survey.
An interference locator is employed, which is, in reality, a
very sensitive portable radio receiver, light enough to be car-
ried easily by one man. One such instrument, now available
on the market, employs a four-stage tuned radio-frequency
amplifier to obtain the extreme sensitivity necessary. The in-
put circuit is so designed that it may be tuned to various types
of antenna, thus providing a maximum of sensitivity under
all conditions. A filament control knob operates a rheostat
governing the voltage applied to tube filaments, and a meter
connected in the filament circuit indicates the applied volt-
age. By depressing a button at the top of this meter, the plate
voltage may be read.

The human ear unaided is a poor indicator of noise inten-
sity, being rather easily overloaded so that, after a certain
noise level has been reached, it does not respond to further
increases in noise. The intensity meter is not subject to these
limitations, and will continue to record increases of interfer-
ence intensity after the ear has become overloaded. The in-
tensity meter also makes possible a comparison of interfer-
ence intensities. The sensitivity control of the instrument is
set at a predetermined position and the meter deflections un-
der varying interference conditions may then be noted. A
frequency selector, or tuning dial, is provided at one side of
the control panel.

In order to permit the detection of electrical disturbances
in the audio frequency range, a jack, marked "audio," is pro-
vided on the top panel. When the plug of the audio coupling
unit is inserted in this jack, the signal is impressed on the pri-
mary of the first audio-frequency transformer ; consequently,
there is no possibility that a radio frequency impulse will be
indicated by the output meter when this jack is being used.
This instrument is powered by self-contained batteries, and
is also equipped with jacks for the use of external battery
equipment. When fully equipped with tubes and batteries,
the instrument weighs approximately thirty-five pounds.

The Police Radio System 147

The purpose of the survey is to discover and identify the
sources of interference in order that recommendations may
be made for their elimination. Although the services of an
interference expert are to be preferred, the radio technicians
connected with most police departments are fully competent
to make such a survey with the aid of equipment similar to
that described above. Local radio dealers, amateurs, and citi-
zens whose interests are directly affected may be encouraged
through suitable publicity channels to report sources of in-
terference that come to their attention. Most broadcasting
stations will cooperate in any movement that will help their
own listeners to obtain better reception. The following partial
report of an interference survey recently made by interfer-
ence engineers, indicates the scope of such a project.

ENGINEEEING REPORT OF AN INTERFERENCE SURVEY

Heavy general interference. — Area : section bounded by River, North
Main, Center and Niagara streets. Source: Corona discharge on high-
tension line coming in on Washington Avenue and Bridge Street. Vari-
ous electric motors and sign flashers.

Heavy individual interference. — Area : North Main and East Center
streets, with center of disturbance on Third and Newport avenues.
Source: large diathermy machine in Dr. Briggs's office. This interfer-
ence blankets the entire area, preventing the reception of even local
stations. Dr. Briggs also operates an X-ray machine.

Other individual interference. — Area: all sections. Source: oil burn-
ers, sewing machines, commercial motors and sign flashers (business
blocks), fire-alarm generator, Western Union Telegraph Office, and au-
tomatic dial telephones.

Interference cleared. — Power lines : Avith the aid of Power Company
line crew, all sources of line trouble, such as tree grounds, broken in-
sulators, loose cutouts, ground leaks (defective insulation underground),
and other small defects found were cleared up. Interference carried on
power lines from other sources cannot be immediately remedied. All in-
terfering appliances will require the application of proper filter to
silence the interference caused by their operation.

High-tension line, 33,000 volts. — Relief from this source of trouble
may be secured by either moving the line away from other parallel 2300-
volt feeders, or by the use of "no-static" insulators and wooden cross-
arms. Present construction is wooden poles, steel "wishbone" crossarms,

148 Police Communication Systems

and porcelain pin type insulators. A 2300-volt feeder is carried on the
same poles and picks up interference of the 33,000-volt line.

Recommended installations. — Factory, 326 Eiver Street : filter on bat-
tery charger generator ; bad interferences.

General recommendations. — (1) Application of proper niters to all
new installations of interfering appliances. (2) Use, by Power Com-
pany, of interference locator, to check its line and other interference.

(3) Periodic trimming out of tree branches to prevent tree grounds.

(4) Use of latest type porcelain cutout boxes. (5) Bringing in of high-
tension lines down upper Belmont Avenue, instead of through Washing-
ton Avenue. This would require the changing of about six miles of line.

In many places, local ordinances have been drawn to com-
pel owners of disturbing machinery to suspend its operation,
or to adjust it so that no interference will be created.4 Such
ordinances must be so drawn that they will not conflict with
Federal laws and should be so phrased as to be inapplicable
to persons who are not guilty of willful or negligent disre-
gard of the radio-reception rights of the community.

In a Bulletin of the Federal Communications Commission
issued in 1935, the following remarks are made.

The spark and the arc, together with their accompanying radio inter-
ference, are found in hundreds of appliances in common use. In some
such appliances the disturbance is a necessary part of the apparatus.
Examples of this are the X-ray, violet ray, and diathermic machines.

In these, radio interference is cured or prevented by the insertion of
attachments which prevent the flow of the radio frequency impulses back
into the power lines for general dissemination. In other devices, the
interference is not necessarily produced by the operation of the device,
and is due only to improper design, or to a defect which has developed.
Devices of this character are heating pads, vibratory battery charges,
electric sign flashers, motors and controls such as those used in vacuum
cleaners, electric refrigerators, washing machines, elevators, and innum-
erable other devices.

The holding of the householder to a criminal or penal responsibility
because of the mere ownership or operation of a device within this classi-
fication, is certainly unjust. In many cities, however, ordinances of gen-
eral application have been enacted where the real purpose has been to
reach individual offenders who knowingly and persistently operate in-
terference-producing devices of wide effect, refusing to attach corrective
apparatus or to make repairs. As to such persons, ordinances are valid,

4 See Appendix 3, p. 494, for examples of municipal legislation on this
subject.

The Police Radio System 149

if reasonable. In such applications, the ordinances are in no wise bur-
dens on interstate commerce, but are rather in aid thereof. They come
within the power of the State to prevent and abate nuisances.

Whether the device causes interference through lack of choke or filter
attachments, or through improper design, the cure for the interference
lies in the education of the manufacturer. Many brands of devices have
become specifically known as interference producers, and this reputation
is compelling manufacturers to improve their construction. Already a
large number of such appliances carry the guarantee of the maker that
they will not produce interference with radio reception. The importance
of the work along this line of trades associations has been tremendous,
and the time will arrive soon when this type of interference will no
longer exist.

Regulations such as those just described are designed par-
ticularly to remove conditions which interfere with broadcast
reception. Their enactment of course automatically improves
the situation in respect to radio patrol-car operation. Gener-
ally speaking, the broadcast frequency channels are more
subject to the vagaries of external interference than are the
police frequency bands. Occasions frequently arise, however,
in which patrol-car reception over a comparatively wide area
is difficult because of high-frequency radiation from some
piece of electrical equipment. Once found, the source of the
interference may usually be corrected without resort to legal
means, by approaching the owner of the suspected apparatus
and suggesting the necessary changes. The police will, as a
rule, be given the best of cooperation in such matters. If the
owner is obstinate, the city attorney should be consulted.

RADIO LEGISLATION

Radio legislation, so far as the police department is con-
cerned, is not limited to city ordinances providing for the re-
duction and elimination of external interference. In national,
state, and municipal jurisdictions, rigid laws have been en-
acted and are now in force, which have a direct bearing upon
the installation and operation of police radio communication
systems.

In the regulation of radio communication, legislators are
under the necessity of making their enactments conform to

150 Police Communication Systems

the invisible laws of nature. All that can be intelligently dis-
cussed or made the subject of treaties, laws, and regulations,
is fundamentally the question of the use of the ether for the
operation of transmitting stations and receiving sets.5 If ex-
cessive numbers of radio stations are permitted to propel
waves into the ether, the resulting interference will decrease
the usefulness of this new medium of communication and, if
great enough, would make it useless to everyone. No other
kind of business presents this peculiar dilemma. The fact that
there are such obstacles in the business of radio communica-
tion means that, instead of the comparatively slight amount
of regulation that would otherwise be necessary, nations must
bind themselves by treaty to obligations which they would not
accept with reference to any other activity. Furthermore, the
radio administration within a nation must have a decisive
power over the radio operations of its nationals, such as it
neither has nor desires over their other activities.

If the ordinary receiving set used for the reception of
broadcast programs could cover the entire span of the radio
spectrum, including both the low- and the high-frequency
bands, the listener, by turning the dial above or below the
present popular broadcast limits, would encounter a world of
activities in radio communication the existence of which he
hardly suspects. By turning the dial into the low-frequency
band, he would hear the familiar dots and dashes of the tele-
graphic code used by ships in communication with each other
and with the shore, by aircraft, by government stations, and
by stations engaged in transoceanic communication. He might
also hear the wireless telephone service which spans the
Atlantic and the Pacific. By turning the dial toward the
high-frequency band, he would again hear ship, aircraft, gov-
ernment, and other stations engaged in telegraphic commu-
nication with foreign countries, and also within the United
States. He would also intercept the messages of any one of a
hundred or more police transmitters directing radio-equipped
patrol cars to scenes of crime or of various emergencies. In

5 Stephen Davis, Law of Radio Communication.

The Police Radio System 151

this section of the frequency spectrum he would be able to
listen in on amateurs and experimenters, and even to hear
broadcast programs being transmitted on the high frequen-
cies from stations in the United States to remote foreign
points. If he had the proper equipment, he would receive still
and motion pictures transmitted by stations experimenting
with television; he would hear stations used by oil companies
prospecting for oil in the Southwest, by power companies, by
state departments of agriculture, and by railroad freight and
passenger trains.

The orderly regulation of the extremely limited channel
of communication which must be made to accommodate the
requirements of these various services is a problem of the
first magnitude, and requires judicial and engineering skill
of a new order for its intelligent solution. This regulation is
effected in large measure through a definite allocation of
parts of the radio frequency spectrum to the various services
which make use of this form of communication.

Federal regulation. — The first recognition of wireless teleg-
raphy in the laws of the United States was the passage of the
Ship Act of June 24, 1910 (36 Stat. L., 629), effective July 1,
1911. This regulation was directed solely toward better pro-
tection of life at sea ; it required the installation of wireless
equipment on every passenger vessel carrying fifty or more
persons, including passengers and crew. Limitations of wire-
less transmission at that time are reflected in the provisions
of the act, which required that the apparatus used should be
capable of transmitting or receiving intelligence over a dis-
tance of at least one hundred miles.

Power to make regulations for the execution of the Act was
conferred on the Secretary of Commerce, and enforcement
duties were made a responsibility of the Bureau of Naviga-
tion, which had charge of the enrollment and licensing of
vessels. Through this Bureau, the Secretary of Commerce
exercised all regulatory powers concerning radio communica-
tion. Aside from an additional act passed on August 13, 1912
(37 Stat. L., 302), dealing with radio apparatus on merchant

152 Police Communication Systems

ships, no further legislative action of importance was taken
until the passage of a bill, which was approved by the Presi-
dent on February 23, 1927 (44 Stat. L., 1162), creating the
Federal Radio Commission.6 Prior to 1927, Congress had
given some attention to the problem of radio control, but ac-
tion had been delayed7 because of the coupling of regulation
of transmission with the suppression of alleged monopoly in
apparatus resulting from the pooling of patents.

As created under this Act, the Commission was to possess
Federal credentials as the original licensing authority for a
period of one year, at the expiration of which time the Secre-
tary of Commerce was to succeed to the licensing authority,
and the Commission to become an appellate body. The Com-
mission was to consist of five members, to be appointed by the
President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The
powers specifically conferred on the Commission were as fol-
lows : (1) to classify stations ; (2) prescribe the nature of serv-
ice to be performed; (3) assign frequencies or wave lengths
to stations or classes of stations, determine the power to be
used, and allocate the time of operation; (4) determine the
location of classes of stations or individual stations ; (5) regu-
late the apparatus to be used with reference to its external
effects and the purity and sharpness of emissions ; (6) make
regulations to prevent interference; (7) establish zones to be
served by any station ; and (8) make special regulations ap-
plicable to chain broadcasting.

As the end of the statutory period approached, it became
evident that the licensing authority would have to be con-
tinued in the Commission, or that the Secretary of Commerce
would be compelled to assume this great burden. An act ex-
tending the licensing power of the Commission was approved
on March 28, 1928 (45 Stat. L., 373) , and once again the Com-
mission's power in the field of radio regulation was continued
for one year, that is, until March 16, 1929.

6 The name was changed in June, 1934, to Federal Communications
Commission. See below.

7 Laurence F. Schmeckebier, Federal Radio Commission.

The Police Radio System 153

When the first regular session of the Seventy-first Congress
convened on December 2, 1929, the President, in his annual
message, recommended that the licensing power of the Com-
mission be made indefinite, saying :

I recommend the reorganization of the Eadio Commission into a per-
manent body from its present temporary status. The requirement of the
present law that the commissioners shall be appointed from specified
zones should be abolished and a general provision made for their equi-
table selection from different parts of the country. Despite the efforts
of the commissioners, the present method develops a public insistence
that they are specially charged with supervision of radio affairs in the
zone from which each is appointed. As a result there is danger that the
system will degenerate from a national system into five regional agencies
with varying practices, varying policies, competitive tendencies, and con-
sequent failure to attain its utmost capacity for service to the people
as a whole.

The work that had been accomplished in establishing some
semblance of order in a field characterized by much confu-
sion and chaos reduced Congressional opposition to the pro-
posal that the Commission be vested with continued authority
to function. Accordingly, there was passed without debate
the Act of December 18, 1929 (46 Stat. L., 50), placing the
licensing authority in the Commission "until such time as is
otherwise provided by law."

In June, 1934, a Communications Act was passed abolishing
the Federal Radio Commission and transferring its records
and functions to the Federal Communications Commission,
together with all duties, powers, and functions of the In-
terstate Commerce Commission relating to the operation of
telegraph lines. This new commission is composed of seven
members appointed by the President by and with the consent
of the Senate, and is divided into three sections, namely,
broadcast, telegraph, and telephone.8 So far as regulation of
radio and police communication is concerned, this agency suc-
ceeded to the responsibilities, and now performs the functions
of its predecessor, the Federal Radio Commission.

8 Congressional Directory, 74 Congress, 1 Session, ed. 1, corrected to
December 20, 1934, p. 516.

154 Police Communication Systems

The Radio Act of 1927, in addition to creating the Federal
Radio Commission, codified into an established body of law
certain measures for the regulation of radio communication.
This Act, together with subsequent additions and General Or-
ders issued by both commissions, provides the sole regulation
of a new industry, which for a period of years presented —
and still presents — a problem of major proportions. It is to
the Commission, and under these regulations, that police de-
partments must apply for the license and authority to op-
erate a police radio communication system. The regulations
should therefore be carefully studied, not only that they may
be obeyed to the letter, but also that changes necessary to the
future welfare of police communication maybe recommended.

State regulation. — Several states have attempted to enact
legislation concerning certain conditions that directly affect
the police communication system. The questions of legal the-
ory and states' rights said to be heavily involved in such legis-
lation, we shall leave for the jurists to settle, and consider
now a few of the statutes that the states have enacted on this
subject.

State radio legislation is almost invariably limited to mat-
ters which concern the police power. Almost all the state
statutes deal with the prohibition of short-wave receiving
equipment in other than police cars, an attempt, however in-
effective, to prevent the criminal use of police information. It
is clear, however, and it is the growing consensus among police
officials, that secrecy is impossible of attainment through leg-
islative channels. Nevertheless, inherent in this type of law
there are certain advantages to the police which are not to
be overlooked.9

Municipal regulation. — In addition to regulatory ordi-
nances covering the reduction and elimination of external in-
terference, cities have enacted legislation designed to improve
the police radio communication system. This legislation deals
in large part with the so-called "ambulance chaser" and others
who seek to exploit police broadcasts for personal ends, and

9 See Appendix 5, p. 502, for state laws on this subject.

The Police Radio System 155

with the regulation of short-wave receiving sets in auto-
mobiles not intended for use by the police.10

THE POLICE USE OF COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING STATIONS

In the beginning of police radio communication an attempt
was made to use commercial broadcasting stations, since they
were already established and in operation. Many of the orig-
inal experiments with radio receiving equipment installed in
an automobile were made possible through the cooperation of
commercial stations, and, as we have seen, broadcasting fa-
cilities were subsequently employed to a limited extent in ac-
tual police operations, both in this country and abroad.
Although this temporary arrangement was superseded by ra-
dio installations exclusively owned and operated by the po-
lice, the possibilities of the gigantic chain of communication
represented by modern broadcasting stations should not be
overlooked in contemplating the maximum use of radio facili-
ties in police service.

The incredible coverage of these commercial stations,
because of their power and the enormous distribution of
household receivers, places them in the front rank as a com-
munication agency in exceptional instances where it is de-
sired to give information to the general public in a wide area.
The Federal government, fully aware of the services that can
be given by these stations in a national emergency, included
in the Radio Act of 1927 the following regulation :

Upon proclamation by the President that there exists war or a state
of public peril or disaster or national emergency, or in order to preserve
the neutrality of the United States, the President may suspend or amend,
for such time as he may see fit, the rules and regulations applicable to
any or all stations within the jurisdiction of the United States as pre-
scribed by the licensing authority, and may cause the closing of any
station for radio communication and the removal therefrom of its ap-
paratus and equipment, or he may authorize the use or control of any
such station and/or its apparatus and equipment by any department of
the government under such regulations as he may prescribe, upon just
compensation to the owners.

10 See Appendix 4, p. 497, for municipal legislation on this subject.

156 Police Communication Systems

The President shall ascertain the just compensation for such use or
control and certify the amount ascertained to Congress for appropria-
tion and payment to the person entitled thereto. If the amount so certi-
fied is unsatisfactory to the person entitled thereto, such person shall be
paid only 75 per cent of the amount and shall be entitled to sue the
United States to recover such further sum as added to such payment of
75 per cent will make such amount as will be just compensation for the
use and control.

Up to the present time, the use of commercial stations by
the police has been for the most part limited to the broadcast
of descriptions and information connected with missing-per-
son reports. Police departments have been able to cancel many
such reports promptly through immediate coverage of the
surrounding area over broadcast facilities.

In a recent situation involving the disappearance from
Berkeley, Calif., of a sixteen-year-old boy, through the co-
operation of commercial stations the author was able to throw
out within a short time a radio net covering the entire Pacific
Coast and Rocky Mountain area. Broadcasting stations in San
Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Portland, Seat-
tle, Denver, and Salt Lake City gave out the particulars of
his disappearance, together with a personal description, and
he was found the following day in Vancouver, B. C.

It would be difficult to indicate the full implications to
police radio communication of the tremendous area that, at
every hour of the day and night, is being covered by commer-
cial stations in the broadcast band. When broad dissemina-
tion of information is essential, these stations can be of almost
immeasurable usefulness. Moreover, in respect to public rela-
tions, the wide contact made possible through police addresses,
monologues, plays, and other similar radio programs, when
properly presented, is hardly to be estimated.

Should there develop a more extended police use of com-
mercial broadcast facilities, it is likely that some arrange-
ment will be made whereby the management of such stations
may be reimbursed for the use of their equipment, particu-
larly in emergencies, when their services can be of such great
material assistance.

CHAPTEE V
KADIO PATROL OPEEATION

GVEN A POLICE RADIO INSTALLATION in which the transmit-
ting and receiving equipment meets all requirements, how
shall the radio patrol be organized so as to take every advan-
tage of the new communication system ? All the technique of
modern police radio communication is directed toward a re-
duction of the operating-time interval, that is, the interval
between the commission of a crime and the appearance of of-
ficers at the scene. This critical period falls quite clearly into
four well-defined divisions, each characterized by a specific
function; namely: (1) the time between the commission of
the crime and the moment when some person lifts a telephone
receiver to call the police; (2) the time between the lifting
of the receiver and the beginning of actual conversation be-
tween the person calling and the police department; (3) the
time between this conversation and a broadcast of the report
to police radio patrol cars; and (4) the running time of the
patrol cars from the point at which they receive the broad-
cast to the scene of the crime. All four of these time divisions
are extremely flexible and amenable to time-reducing methods
of operation.

(1) Time interval between commission of crime and tele-
phone call to police. — Because of the wide distribution of
telephones in all communities, the telephone is the most con-
venient and most direct means of contact with the police de-
partment. The time interval between the commission of a
crime and the moment at which a telephone receiver is lifted
from the hook is an extremely significant one. It may vary
from a few minutes to days or months. Some crimes are never
reported to the police. Occasionally, they receive almost in-
stant notification, and in that event the law-enforcement
organization has a reasonable opportunity to function effec-
tively. Chief Quinn, of the San Francisco Police Department,
commenting on this subject recently, said : "The main diifi-

[157]

158 Police Communication Systems

culty is the human equation represented by the reluctance of
the average citizen to communicate with police headquarters
after being attacked. ... If the public can be aroused to the
degree that they will immediately, or as soon as possible after
the attack, communicate with their police departments, giv-
ing full particulars, the results will show great increases in
arrests with consequent deterring of those who attempt to
commit crime."

A reduction in this time interval may be made to a marked
degree through well-directed educational work. The New
York Police Department recently issued a pamphlet for dis-
tribution in that city, with this purpose in mind. Further, it
placed at conspicuous points throughout the city large illus-
trated posters and placards emphasizing the necessity of tele-
phoning the police without delay. Obviously, the elimination
of delay in making the telephone contact is more than equiv-
alent to a reduction in running time of patrol cars, to which
the police have given considerable attention.

Commissioner Rutledge, of Detroit, in an address before
the 1930 convention of the International Association of Chiefs
of Police, emphasized the importance of speedy communica-
tion in police operating technique. "In the early days of po-
lice radio," he said, "my prediction that it would prove a valu-
able ally and police weapon, was regarded by many as 'vision-
ary' and impractical. Now I suggest and predict the use in
stores, and eventually in private homes, of automatic call sys-
tems, such as are now used in the banks to summon the police.
I feel that this is one of the important developments to come
in the future. Usually the victim of a burglary or a robbery
is unable to call the police until after the thug has fled. Then
he is so nervous or excited that he cannot give the police op-
erators at headquarters his address or location, with the result
that valuable time is lost. How much simpler and more effi-
cient it would be if the business man could merely touch a
button — even while the thug was still in his store, sending the
police speeding to the scene. I believe this entirely practical."

In some foreign countries, particularly Germany, the tech-

Radio Patrol Operation 159

nique and methods suggested by Commissioner Rutledge are
widely employed/At present, however, this method has the se-
rious disadvantage of "blind" dispatching; only one element
of the crime report is known — location. Officers dispatched
to the scene in response to such a summons must perforce close
in on the location in complete ignorance of the nature of the
disturbance, whether a robbery, street fight, or an accident.
The great hazard here is not the personal danger to police of-
ficers, since presumably they are out on duty, prepared and
trained for any contingency ; the hazard lies rather in the
reduced efficiency of patrol operation. Owing to the absence
of descriptions and other information, officers en route to
the scene may actually pass by the car or individual wanted.
Many other related disadvantages inherent in this particular
system of notification now classify it as a secondary solution
of the problem; but future developments in communica-
tion equipment and technique may eliminate all present ob-
jections.

Some signal boxes are so designed that a variety of code
signals may be sent in to the police station, each representing
a particular type of disturbance or of service required. This
equipment is similar in many respects to the first automatic
telegraph police boxes which were early employed on beats. As
a means of present-day police communication, it must be elim-
inated at the outset on account of its complicated mechanism
and operation. The first requirement of any communication
device for reporting to the police is simplicity of operation,
and in this respect the conventional telephone still holds first
place.

2. Time interval between lifting of the receiver and actual
conversational contact with the police department. — Gener-
ally speaking, it may be said that the second interval of delay
is a responsibility of the telephone engineer ; it represents the
only one of time divisions 2, 3, and 4 over which the police
have no direct control.

3. Time interval between contact with police and broadcast
1 See "Police Communication in Germany," pp. 446 ff.

160 Police Communication Systems

to patrol cars. — Delay at this point seriously cripples the effi-
ciency of the entire communication system as well as of the
department. The cause lies usually either in a traffic over-
load or a lack of organized operating procedure.

It is fundamental in police work that a signal on the ex-
change board indicative of an incoming call must be answered
without delay. At the moment this signal appears, the re-
sponsibility of telephone traffic engineers ends; their work is
accomplished. At that same moment the police organization
should begin to function, but in far too many departments
unnecessary delay is allowed to creep in. Frequently, tardi-
ness in responding to incoming calls is traceable to the phys-
ical inability of any one individual to handle properly the
volume of incoming traffic. The remedy here is obvious. All
functions of the communications bureau should be coordi-
nated and directed toward the elimination of delay and lost
motion.

In this third time interval, we are concerned with the radio-
dispatching unit of the police organization, upon which alone
rests the responsibility for rapid technique in the delivery of
orders and information to cruising radio patrol cars. Between
the complainant or person reporting a crime, and the operat-
ing patrol cars of the department, there must be an inter-
mediate agency for receiving reports and information and
for directing the movements of the force to meet the emer-
gency. It would be ideal if the complainant might get into
direct contact with the patrol cars in his immediate vicinity.
It would be a simple engineering matter to provide appara-
tus for automatically routing the voice of the complainant
through the speech-input system of the police transmitter.
This is already done in the advanced types of automatic
holdup- and burglar-alarm systems, and the principle em-
ployed may make possible sometime the fulfillment of Com-
missioner Rutledge's prophecy.

Even so, however, the complainant is still untrained in po-
lice technique and at the moment of reporting a crime, par-
ticularly a serious one, he is an emotionally unstable person

Radio Patrol Operation 161

who requires skillful and expert coaching in order to get from
him without delay the facts of a crime report that are essen-
tial for fast and intelligent police action. It is the primary
function of the dispatching organization to act as an inter-
mediate or connecting agent between the person or persons
attacked, and the police field strength which may be dis-
patched to handle the situation.

The qualifications of the police radio dispatcher are similar
to those of the police telephone operator. (See Chap. II.) He
should be capable of working at traffic peaks with a cool mind
and should possess the ability to make decisive judgments
that are correct. The entire dispatching unit should be so or-
ganized as to eliminate all lost motion and delay in moving
the information from the complainant to the patrol force.
Direct contact between the victim and the patrol car nearest
him is the goal of police communication, and the necessary in-
tervening agencies must therefore be reduced to the lowest
possible minimum. In some departments this fundamental
fact is appreciated, but in others the information may be re-
layed from two to four times before it finally reaches the input
system of the transmitter.

There are three general methods of dispatching in general
use. In the first, the functions of operation at the exchange
switchboard and of dispatching are performed by the same
person ; in the second and third, these functions are sepa-
rated and assigned to different persons, but there is a defi-
nite difference between the two in the manner of transferring
the information from operator to dispatcher : in the second, a
complaint record form is used ; in the third, the dispatcher is
put into direct contact with the person calling.

In the smaller communities, as in Kokomo, Ind., Tulare,
Calif., and others, all incoming calls are received at the police
exchange board by the desk sergeant, who also functions as
the radio dispatcher. With the microphone and remote-con-
trol equipment mounted directly in front of him, he is able to
broadcast alarms almost simultaneously with their receipt.2

2 See description of the Berkeley police radio system, pp. 386 ff.

162 Police Communication Systems

The number of intervening and time-consuming agencies be-
tween the victim and the patrol car is here reduced to the low-
est possible minimum, and, in this particular, the combina-
tion police telephone operator and dispatcher gives a service
somewhat superior to that afforded by the more complicated
dispatching systems in the larger cities.

In the metropolitan area, the volume of emergency traffic
requires special arrangements to accommodate the great flow
of incoming calls as rapidly as possible. Dispatching proce-
dure is more involved on account of the necessary decentral-
ization of activities in the communication bureau. Here, the
combination police operator and dispatcher gives way to spe-
cialization ; functions and duties are divided in order to re-
lieve congestion and provide maximum speed in handling the
individual call for police assistance. Operating and dispatch-
ing become separate activities, and each is assigned to a single
person. The second and third methods of dispatching, which
are characteristic of the metropolitan system, therefore in-
volve the receipt of the complaint information by the police
operator and its transfer to the radio dispatcher for broadcast.

In the second method, this transfer is accomplished by
means of a complaint record form, on which are written the
essential details of the complaint or report as these are re-
ceived by the operator. In Chicago, for example, all incoming
calls for the police arrive at a central turret in the communi-
cation bureau on the eleventh floor of Police Headquarters
building. Seated at the operating position in this turret is a
woman operator who answers no calls, but transfers them im-
mediately to that one of twelve or more independent operat-
ing positions in the same room which may be idle at the
moment. Her function is that of a telephone dispatcher. Each
of these operating positions consists of a small booth equipped
with a standard telephone instrument and provided with a
direct wire to either of two radio dispatchers, who are always
on duty in the communication bureau.

Emergency calls, and all others requiring police assistance,
are recorded on a specific record form by the operator receiv-

Radio Patrol Operation 163

ing the call. Emergency reports are immediately transferred
to the radio dispatchers for broadcast. Those calls not classi-
fied as emergencies are transmitted to precinct stations over
telephone lines by operators who do nothing else but handle
such precinct traffic. The significant characteristic of this
method of dispatching is the preparation of an embryo com-
plaint form by the receiving operator prior to actual broad-
cast of the report, as indicated below (p. 164) .

Upon receiving an emergency report filled in on this form
by the receiving operator, the dispatcher broadcasts the call
and then passes the report form to the squad operator. Upon
completion of a call, each patrol car is required to report back
to the squad operator by telephone, giving the following in-
formation : location of car when call was received ; time re-
quired to reach the scene of the call ; nature of trouble and
action taken, together with number of arrests made. This
information is recorded on the original complaint form by
the squad operator.

In Los Angeles,3 a record form similar to the Chicago report
is filled out at the police complaint board by the receiving
operator, and is passed to the index operator, who ascertains
the car making the particular call. He notes the number of
the district or car and transfers the report form to the dis-
patcher for broadcast, after which it is passed to the disposi-
tion clerk. Officers make all reports relative to their action at
the scene of the calls at their respective divisional headquar-
ters. Dispositions are not transmitted direct to the disposition
clerk, but through the divisional desk sergeant, in order to
save the expense of using pay stations, as the officers may
employ the Gamewell system for communication with the
divisional office.

In the third method, the emergency call is transferred to
the dispatcher, and he obtains directly from the victim or
complainant the information necessary for broadcast. The
volume of police broadcast, especially in the larger cities,
precludes any extensive adoption of this method. However,

3 See "The Police Communication System: Los Angeles," pp. 362 ff.

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Radio Patrol Operation 165

in the greater number of metropolitan installations the dis-
patcher is connected by direct wire with each operating posi-
tion so as to facilitate "cutting in" on extremely important
emergency reports. This expedient results in a great saving
of time in major emergencies.

The radio dispatcher has at his fingertips the entire re-
sources of the Police Department, and every provision should
be made for accelerating their use in the emergency. Maps
must be provided, indicating by districts and beats the area
patrolled and the distribution of radio-equipped patrol cars.
Supplementary devices, either manually or electrically oper-
ated, should be used to indicate cars in and out of service, so
that the dispatcher may know at all times the number of cars
at his disposal.

In the large cities, vast street systems complicate the work
of dispatching, and means must be provided to identify
quickly the district in which a report originates. In Los An-
geles, where there are more than 7500 streets, a satisfactory
street-index system has been developed by means of which,
it is stated, a total stranger can determine in from fifteen to
twenty seconds the radio patrol area in which a certain street
and number are to be found. St. Louis attacked the problem
in an ingenious manner, under the direction of Sergeant
Fisher, in charge of radio communications in that city. This
device consists of a large map of St. Louis under plate glass.
Stretched tightly across the map are two intersecting wires,
and adjoining it is a complete alphabetical list of all streets
and alleys in the city. Since the machine is electrically oper-
ated, it is only necessary to insert two plugs at the proper
point on the alphabetical list, opposite the streets concerned.
When this is done, the two wires move and come to rest auto-
matically so that their point of intersection on the map cor-
responds with the exact point at which the crime report
originated. With this device it is possible to determine in a
minimum of time the radio patrol area in which the crime,
or other disturbance reported, has occurred. The writer re-
cently observed the St. Louis machine in action in a peak

166 Police Communication Systems

traffic hour. There was much evidence to indicate its worth in
reducing the time required for the dispatching operation.

4. Running time of patrol cars. — Running time may be de-
fined as the interval, usually in minutes and seconds, between
the time of broadcast and the time of arrival of the directed
patrol car at the indicated location. It is the generally con-
ceded opinion of police officials that the running time of radio
patrol cars must not exceed an average of TWO MINUTES if the
radio system is to be considered a paying investment. This
opinion, establishing as it does a dead-line operating interval,
is fundamentally sound. Where the average running time of
any police radio patrol system exceeds a maximum average of
two minutes, it may be said that the installation is not pro-
viding the service for which it was designed and which it is
capable of giving. At the moment that the average running
time trespasses beyond this limit, the investment in radio
communication equipment tends to become unprofitable.

The reason for this is simple enough. The investment in
radio communication facilities is justified by the radical
reduction in patrol operating time. It is through radio com-
munication that the probability of apprehension and the
preservation of important evidence and witnesses become a
direct threat to criminal operations. The necessity for labori-
ous and costly investigations may be eliminated at the outset
by the prompt arrest made possible through reduced running
time or, as Commissioner Rutledge would say, "by synchro-
nizing the arrest with the depredation." Further, preserva-
tion of important evidence and immediate identification of
material witnesses expedite the criminal-trial process and
reduce the cost of prosecution and conviction.

A two-minute time interval is the extreme maximum limit
within which these patrol functions may be discharged with
any degree of efficiency. If that limit is exceeded, the hazard
of escape, destruction or loss of evidence, and disappearance
of important witnesses become almost a practical certainty.
The running-time interval gives to the criminal his chief
margin of safety, but it is also subject to police control.

Radio Patrol Operation 167

It is of the greatest importance to state here that any re-
duction in the running time of patrol cars, even though by
fractional seconds, under the established limit increases to a
striking degree the probability of a successful run. This is an
extremely critical period in respect to patrol strategy and
operation. Within this well-defined limit of 120 seconds, any
fractional reduction produces an increasingly rapid degree
of progression from probable to absolute certainty of arrest
as the running time approaches zero.

The significance of every fractional-second approach to
zero running time is aptly illustrated by the accompanying
chart (p. 168) , which was plotted on the basis of arrests made
by eight radio patrol cars in a typical 90-day period in De-
troit. It will be noted that the curve between ninety seconds
and zero is almost perpendicular. For purposes of compari-
son, there is also presented a similar chart released by the
Chicago Police Department covering radio operations in Feb-
ruary, 1931. The average values shown are sufficiently above
the two-minute deadline to negative, in large measure, the
results that should be achieved with this rapid system of com-
munication. Although the performance indicated by this
curve is superior to that obtainable through the use of the
conventional red-light recall system, it is still far from satis-
factory. (Since 1931, it should be stated, the Chicago police
radio system has been completely reorganized, with a marked
reduction in this time interval.) With a two-minute interval,
the radio system is still a serviceable agency, but its energies
are a good deal wasted in lost motion and delay.

The area of a radio patrol district bears a definite relation
to running time. As in other forms of police patrol, and as
determined by the same factors, the area served by a police
radio system is divided or decentralized into definite sectors
or radio patrol-car beats. There follows, however, from the
foregoing discussion, one important additional element. Gen-
erally speaking, the dimensions of a radio patrol beat should
be such that the distance between any two points within the
district may be traversed by an automobile, traveling at an

168 Police Communication Systems

average of twenty-five miles an hour, in a maximum time in-
terval of two minutes. In downtown business sections and
other congested areas, calculations should be made on the
basis of an average automobile speed of fifteen miles an hour ;

Percentage of arrests made by radio cruisers
25 30 56 40 45 60 56 60 66 70 76 80 65 90

Fractional-second approach to zero running time by radio-equipped

police patrol cars : chart plotted on the basis of arrests made by eight

cars in a typical ninety-day period in Detroit.

in the less congested residential sections of the city, calcula-
tions up to an average speed of thirty miles an hour may be
employed. In the intelligent definition of radio patrol district
boundaries, the physical topography of the area should be
studied and a careful appraisal made of obstructions to travel,
such as bridges, narrow streets, and traffic-flow conditions.

Radio Patrol Operation 169

In illustration of the way in which the modern police de-
partment is meeting this problem, in eleven Detroit radio
districts containing the larger part of that city's population,
the average maximum distance that could be traveled in re-
sponding to a call for police assistance is 1.44 miles, and the
average distance actually traveled is .55 mile. In the other
four districts, which are sparsely settled, the average maxi-
mum distance is 2.4 miles, and the actual average 1.18 miles.
This tabulation refers only to scout cars, and does not take
into consideration the cruisers operating in various precincts,
which might be anywhere within the area when a call is re-
ceived. On many calls the cruiser is the first on the scene.
The accompanying police map (p. 172) of St. Paul, showing
the radio patrol districts, will be helpful in a further study of
this problem.

Two distinct systems of radio patrol-car distribution are to
be found in the American police field today. The Los Angeles
plan is typical of the large metropolitan organization where
radio districts are superimposed upon and independent of
the regular police-patrol beats. In this system, which is de-
signed for large cities, the radio cars employed are scout cars
and cruisers.4 The scout cars, which are assigned each to a
a patrol district, are usually light machines manned by two
uniformed policemen. The cruisers are heavy, high-powered
cars, equipped with riot guns, tear-gas apparatus, and simi-
lar equipment. They carry from three to four plain-clothes
patrolmen and detectives, including the driver, and are fre-
quently provided with bullet-resisting windshields and other
protective equipment. A given block in the business or resi-
dential sections will be patrolled on some occasions by three
separate agencies — the scout car, the cruiser, and the beat
patrolman. Because of this apparent duplication of patrol
services in the larger cities and the effectiveness of the radio
patrol system, there is a recognizable tendency among some
police departments to reduce the strength of the regular old-
line beat patrol force. In Denver and a few other cities this

4 See page 113.

170 Police Communication Systems

has further led to the abandonment of substations, since the
police radio system makes possible a highly centralized con-
trol of the patrol force. Time and experience must determine
the full effect of this policy.

The second type of radio patrol organization is illustrated
in Berkeley, Calif., where the radio communication system

Performance of radio-equipped police patrol cars in Chicago for one

month (February, 1931) ; service has since been improved. Compare

with performance shown in figure on page 168.

Radio Patrol Operation 171

has been harnessed to the regular patrol beat organization.
The patrol force in that city was completely motorized when
radio communication first entered into police activities. It re-
mained only to equip the patrol cars with radio apparatus in
order to bring into existence a highly efficient radio patrol or-
ganization. The radio patrol beat and the regular police beat
in Berkeley are one and the same. Each radio patrol car is
manned by one policeman suitably equipped for emergencies,
and performs the functions of both patrol or squad car and
cruiser.

In this type of organization, any one beat becomes the cen-
ter of a larger patrol unit, since the patrol cars in adjacent
beats constitute an available reserve force which can be
massed or concentrated in the affected area at a moment's no-
tice. Thus speedy protection is available to an entire section
of the city, wherever a heavy concentration of the force is
necessary. It is never advisable, however, irrespective of the
patrol system employed or the nature of the emergency
reported, to mass the entire radio patrol strength in one
quarter. Some departments do, and the practice affords the
opportunity for a favorite ruse of the professional criminal
in minimizing the possibility of immediate police interfer-
ence in the vicinity of an intended attack. Several bank and
payroll robberies resulting in heavy losses have been made
in several parts of the country by taking advantage of this
practice.

Where approximately complete motorization of the patrol
force is practicable, this second system of radio patrol more
nearly balances economy and efficiency for a city in this popu-
lation class. With slight modification, it could be adapted to
the requirements of the metropolitan area with telling effect.

COLLATERAL DEVELOPMENTS

The expansion of radio communication in the police field has
been accompanied by a number of related developments. Chief
among these are the police use of the higher frequencies for
transmission purposes, the beginning of two-way radio patrol

Radio Patrol Operation 173

communication, and the organization of regional police radio
systems ; and others include secrecy of communication, and
the installation of radio receiving equipment on police motor-
cycles, airplanes, and boats.

As some of these developments, more particularly the use
of high frequencies, two-way communication, and the regional
radio system, indirectly resulted from limitation of the num-
ber of radio frequency channels available for police use, it is
necessary to consider the nature of these limitations.

ALLOCATION OF POLICE FREQUENCIES

Prior to 1924, police officials had given serious thought to po-
lice radio use, with the result that, at the thirty-first conven-
tion of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, held
in that year, it was proposed to petition the Department of
Commerce, through the Supervisors of Radio, to set aside a
special band of waves in the radio spectrum for the exclusive
use of police departments. It was also recommended that a
committee of well-informed members be appointed to attend
a general radio conference called by Mr. Herbert Hoover, then
Secretary of Commerce, and get for the police departments
of the United States an allocation of exclusive frequency
channels for police transmission. Thus, at this comparatively
early date in the history of police radio communication, it
was officially recognized that the allocation of specific fre-
quency channels for police operations was an inevitable ne-
cessity. No decisive action was taken in 1924, but under the
leadership of Mr. Butledge, then Commissioner of Police at
Detroit, and others, the matter of police frequency allocation
continued to be a current police problem of major importance.
At the 1929 convention, it was considered imperative that
police departments should receive full cooperation from those
who controlled the future of radio communication in this
country. In view of the huge toll of crime and the cost of law
enforcement, police officials felt justified in instructing a new
committee to present the matter fully before the Federal Com-
munications Commission. The committee consisted of seven

174 Police Communication Systems

Michigan Congressmen, one member of the State Senate, the
Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, a lieuten-
ant of State Police, the Highland Park Chief of Police, and
Lieutenant Kenneth R. Cox, supervisor of the Detroit police
radio station. Mr. Eutledge acted as spokesman.

As a direct result of the work of this committee, the Federal
Communications Commission, recognizing both the protective
and the entertainment functions of radio communication, is-
sued in April, 1930, General Order No. 85, which officially
allocated a total of eight frequency channels to be used en-
tirely for police transmission. The Commission also set up
regulations governing the issuing of construction permits and
licenses, and further set the maximum amount of power to
be assigned to the use of stations in accordance with the popu-
lations of the areas served by the respective transmitters.

In the succeeding years the adoption of radio communica-
tion by more than one hundred police departments in the
United States has lead to a serious congestion in the police
frequency band. With the saturation point already at hand,
the gravity of the situation becomes apparent when it is
stated that there are still more than two hundred and fifty
cities ranging in population from 25,000 up that are not yet
provided with this valuable form of protection. In 1931, the
Law Observance and Enforcement Committee, appointed by
former President Hoover, commented as follows :

Although radio in police work is assured a brilliant future, condi-
tions are arising which may become the cause of considerable apprehen-
sion. Lieutenant Kenneth R. Cox, of the Detroit Police Department, an
outstanding authority in the United States on police radio, in this con-
nection wrote :

"In scanning the figures, which must be considered as representative
of the potential magnitude assumed by this vast development, we find
that if the situation remains in its present uncontrolled state, the com-
mission will receive applications for approximately 556 police radio sta-
tions. We are confronted with an impending chaotic condition that gives
promise of paralleling that of the broadcast spectrum before the re-
allocation of frequencies. In view of this fact, it would seem advisable to
anticipate such a condition and introduce precautionary measures that
will prevent its occurrence." His suggestions were as follows :

Radio Patrol Operation 175

A. That assignments be granted to cities that have urgent need for
police radio before assignments are made to smaller municipalities and
areas where crime conditions do not warrant immediate introduction.

B. That since the present stations are not existing on the frequency
assigned, all be required to maintain frequency to within 100 cycles of
the assignment.

C. Since at present the tendency is to establish stations of too great
power, that 500 watts, if possible, be the maximum allowed.

D. That a national committee be formed of chiefs of police, who would
have authority to determine acceptance or rejection of applications. This
would relieve the Federal Eadio Commision from the burden of passing
on propositions requiring a technical understanding of the problem.

The program of Lieutenant Cox is one which it behooves all police
officials to consider seriously. Should the air channels be monopolized by
the smaller towns, whose problem cannot be of the same magnitude as
the large cities, a very serious check will be placed over the police func-
tion in this country.

The Federal Communications Commission has made com-
mendable efforts to escape from this strait jacket. Taking ad-
vantage of the size of the United States, the Commission,
through a geographical distribution of police frequency as-
signments, together with a regulation governing the alloca-
tion of power to individual stations, has provided an effective
control of the country-wide police frequency pattern and
transmitting range, and has made possible the use of the eight
frequency channels by a hundred or more police departments.

The following representative opinions concerning the prob-
lem of power and frequency allocations, especially in view of
the inevitable expansion in police communication, have been
condensed by the author from a survey recently made among
the radio-equipped police departments.

(1) There was more or less general agreement that addi-
tional frequency channels should be provided, making pos-
sible allocations of power on a more flexible basis, since the
limit of power allowable would then be a function of the wave
length or frequency.

(2) The more extensive use of the teletype network was
recommended, particularly in connection with the work of
state-wide police organizations.

176 Police Communication Systems

(3) It was urged that steps should be taken to have all po-
lice stations maintain a tolerance of fifty cycles at their as-
signed frequency in order to avoid the severe heterodyning
between stations from four hundred to two thousand miles
distant from the complaining station.

(4) It was realized that the commercial broadcasting sta-
tion must continue to have the right of way ; and the future
allocation to police use of bands in the ultra-high-frequency
part of the radio spectrum was predicted as the solution of
this problem.

(5) The geographical distribution of police frequency as-
signments, having proved helpful in the past, was recom-
mended for all future plans.

(6) More effective organization of the police departments
interested in police radio communication was sought, in order
that the problems might be more intelligently attacked.

One Eastern city, with a total area of 316 square miles, con-
sidered a frequency of 2450 kilocycles to be satisfactory.
Three transmitters were employed to give efficient coverage,
one of 500 watts output, and two with 400 watts power each.
Interference from outside stations was negligible, and was
more particularly noticeable at night, when the messages of
the neighboring cities of Rochester and Syracuse, the Bergen
County, N. J., police, and Washington, D. C., could be heard.
However, no outside signals came in so strong that they could
not be overridden by the local signal when the local carrier
was placed on the air. A power differential for day-and-night
transmission, it was thought, would be a valuable improve-
ment, since reception is much better at night. If the station
were permitted to operate with 500 watts power at night, and
at 1000 watts output in the daytime, transmission efficiency
would be greatly increased and maintenance operations sim-
plified, yet there would be no greater interference in the area
affected.

Fortunately, the problem of limited police frequency chan-
nels can be solved. Of the various expedients available, two
offer the greatest promise of immediate relief, namely, the

Radio Patrol Operation 177

organization of regional police communication systems, and
the police use of bands in the ultra-high-frequency part of
the radio spectrum. The use of ultra-high-frequency channels
is here treated first, followed by a consideration of the re-
gional police communication system in Chapter VI.

THE HIGH-FREQUENCY SPECTRUM

The ultra-high frequencies are so called because, when ex-
pressed in kilocycles, they run to figures between 30,000 and
400,000 or more, corresponding to wave lengths below 10 me-
ters. These frequencies offer a new field of great promise in es-
tablishing communication systems over comparatively small
areas. Because of the phenomenal characteristics of signals
transmitted in this part of the radio spectrum, definite areas
can be very effectively covered, thus making possible the op-
eration on the same frequency of a greater number of trans-
mitters in a given geographical area without the interference
that characterizes the channels now employed.

Ultra-high frequencies travel in a straight line, for all prac-
tical purposes, in much the same manner as a beam of light
given out by a beacon. This means that the distances over
which communication is possible are controlled by the height
of both the transmitting and the receiving antennae. Small
intervening objects, such as buildings, hills, trees, and similar
obstructions, however, have no effect upon the transmitted sig-
nal : it terminates on the visible horizon. If, for example, the
transmitting antenna is placed at a height of 100 feet above
ground, the horizon point, or maximum possible transmission
range with high-frequency apparatus of the type to be de-
scribed, would have a radius of IS1^ miles, on the assumption,
of course, that the receiving position is directly at ground
level. The importance of antenna height in obtaining distance
has been demonstrated in tests conducted by the Conserva-
tion Department of the State of New York. In these tests,
the ultra-high-frequency equipment was installed in a mono-
plane. When the ship had gained an altitude of 6000 feet, it
was possible to communicate signals over a distance of 110

178 Police Communication Systems

miles. The point with which communication was established
was at an elevation of 100 feet above ground.

Ultra-high frequencies also offer the very important ad-
vantage of being free from the influence of atmospheric
conditions. It was possible to operate throughout a local thun-
derstorm without interruption. Since adverse weather con-
ditions may be accompanied by increased police activity, the
value of this advantage may be readily appreciated. Further,
there is no noticeable differential in signal intensity between
day and night transmission. As a rule, the signals are as
strong at 12 noon as they are at 12 midnight. Fading, dead
spots, and skip-distance effect, the enigmas of police broad-
cast, are reduced to a negligible minimum.

Although the Federal Communications Commission has not
as yet allocated any part of the ultra-high-frequency spectrum
for commercial services, experimental licenses are being is-
sued for the operation of such stations in order to increase the
available knowledge concerning operation in this part of the
spectrum. The experimental status of the station continues
until such time as the Federal government officially divides
this spectrum into channels for the various services.

TWO-WAY RADIO COMMUNICATION

Since the introduction of police radio communication, the ap-
paratus has been much refined. Transmitters have been re-
duced in size and weight, and their operation so improved that
portable equipment can be operated successfully in the field.
As a matter of engineering, two-way radio patrol communi-
cation presents no particularly serious difficulty at present,
and manufacturers now have available portable transmitting
equipment specifically designed for police-patrol communi-
cation.

Two-way radio communication presages a new era in patrol
technique and operation. As a tactical instrument, it repre-
sents a radical increase in the available channels of commu-
nication between headquarters and the dispersed patrol force,
with a corresponding increase in availability of police field

Radio Patrol Operation 179

strength. Speed of action, flexibility, and mobility of the force
are increased, accompanied by an accelerated interchange of
information and instructions in emergencies.

Through the ability of the patrol car to acknowledge imme-
diately the receipt of a message, the control-station dispatcher
is assured that his broadcast has been properly received, and
that the car or cars assigned are on their way to the scene of
the emergency. Furthermore, while proceeding to the scene
of action, and up to and including actual contact with the
emergency, the motor patrolman may report his progress to
the central station and to other motor-patrol units in the area.

Thus the patrolman may directly solicit the assistance of
other patrol units in the vicinity, and not lose valuable time
by relaying the request for help through the central-station
transmitter. Two-way radio communication thus makes mo-
bilization almost instantaneous by increasing the speed with
which patrol strength may be concentrated at crucial points.

Conditions change very rapidly in emergencies. Originally
reported as a minor disturbance, a situation may suddenly as-
sume the proportions of a felony, and require a speedy ex-
change of information and orders, with headquarters and
with all mobile patrol units in the area. An officer dispatched
to a vacant lot on a report that an intoxicated man is lying
there, may arrive to find a man brutally clubbed and left to
die — "taken for a ride," in gang parlance. Or, officers arriv-
ing at the scene of a reported murder may discover the blood-
stained body of a woman lying on the bathroom floor, a victim
of a fatal lung hemorrhage. Within the space of a few mo-
ments, a simple traffic-accident report may involve the entire
patrol force in the search for a hit-and-run driver, wanted
for manslaughter. A motor-patrol car detailed to the investi-
gation of three suspicious characters loitering in the vicinity,
finds a bank robbery under way. On another occasion, "It is
murder, not suicide !" — and the man hunt begins.

Examples are legion. The actual facts and circumstances
seldom coincide with the original report of information given
the department in a hurried call over the telephone for police

180 Police Communication Systems

assistance. A radio patrolman arriving at the scene of trouble
may discover that additional man power is needed to handle
the situation. Through direct conversation, he can mobilize
immediate assistance, and later, if necessary, divert the flow
of help in his direction to highway control points, at the same
time directing the central station to get outside departments
into action. Thus the patrol operating time is drastically re-
duced, and in a most flexible manner the motor patrol force,
either as individuals or as a unit, functions with a minimum
loss of time.

Two separate but related applications of two-way radio
patrol communication can be recognized. In one form of or-
ganization, only patrol sergeants or other field commanding
officers are equipped with portable transmitting apparatus.
In emergencies, these officers, by virtue of their localized con-
tact with the situation, may direct the individual patrol cars
under their command to the best advantage, maintaining at
the same time a direct contact with headquarters. This ar-
rangement represents a special type of decentralization in
which, for the duration of the emergency, radio control is
temporarily vested in the field commanding officer, subject of
course to the receipt of additional instructions and informa-
tion from the main transmitter at headquarters.

The system employed by the Massachusetts State Police is
typical of this first method of control. The transmitter is built
into a six-cylinder, one and one-half ton truck, capable of a
speed of sixty miles per hour. Transmitting equipment is of
the master oscillator type, with a normal power output of 50
watts, and 100 per cent modulated. In operation, it is main-
tained in zero beat with the main transmitting stations on the
frequency of 1574 kilocycles by a receiver-monitor arrange-
ment.

Provisions have been made for setting up the station any-
where. These include a sectional 55-foot mast, a gasoline-
driven power supply, and a coil of special cable so that com-
mercial power may be used if within reach. The transmitter
has a range of from twenty to twenty-five miles in calling

Radio Patrol Operation 181

patrol cars, and will afford two-way communication with the
nearest main station from any point in the state. The truck
is equipped with riot guns, tear gas, searchlights, and other
emergency apparatus.

Operation of this system has proved very successful in lo-
calized police actions, such as a man hunt and other opera-
tions which attend the commission of violent crimes. The
equipment can be sent to the scene, be set up, and serve on the
spot as a temporary headquarters, from which may be directed
the action of all cruisers detailed to the hunt, without tying
up the state-wide radio system of fixed transmitting stations.
If some town or community is put out of communication by
fire, flood, riot, or other disaster, the truck can be driven into
the area and serve as a two-way telephone channel from that
area to any of the fixed stations. According to the Massachu-
setts State Police, the equipment has proved its value on
numerous occasions, including that of a disastrous flood in
western Massachusetts, and also the well-known McMath kid-
naping on Cape Cod in May, 1933.

The police of foreign countries are also making effective
use of this innovation in communication. In England, in both
London and Nottingham, two-way communication equipment
is employed. In Italy and other European countries as well,
police two-way radio communication is rapidly assuming ma-
jor importance in the control and direction of the force.

The Massachusetts equipment is a portable affair, but pro-
vision is made for its installation at certain points. Equipment
is also now available which will permit broadcast from a mov-
ing vehicle, thus eliminating the necessity of setting up an
antenna and other equipment at a fixed location. Regardless
of the equipment used, it is significant that this first method
of two-way communication operation introduces what may
be termed the mobile police station, and so temporarily, for
the duration of the emergency, decentralizes control of the
force.

In the second method of operation, portable transmitters
are installed in all patrol car units, or as many as practicable,

182 Police Communication Systems

making possible a complete two-way communication system
between headquarters and all mobile units of the patrol sys-
tem.The second system may be combined with the first, partic-
ularly in emergency situations, in order to facilitate control
of the force at the scene.

One manufacturer has made available to police depart-
ments a complete installation, comprising all transmitting
and receiving equipment necessary for a two-way radio com-
munication system. Main or headquarters station consists of
a radio telephone transmitter and a suitable station receiver.
Likewise, each of the cruising cars is equipped with both
transmitter and receiver. All transmitters and receivers are
adjusted to one frequency and are locked in that position.
Each cruising unit in the city area is capable of receiving and
sending messages from and to the central headquarters sta-
tion, and communication can be established between moving
cars over distances varying between one-half mile and two
miles, depending upon the topographical features of the area.
Communications are handled by what is known as the simplex
method ; that is, a switch is provided so that the operator is
in either a receiving or a sending position. This maybe further
explained by reviewing the following example of a typical
police call :

BAYONNE HEADQUARTERS, CALLING CAR NO. 4. REPORT POSI-
TION, K.

Operators in all cars are normally required to have their
equipment set in the receiving position, which enables them
to hear all calls originating either from headquarters or from
another car. The instant the operator in car No. 4 hears this
call, he waits for the terminating designation, which is the
letter "K," then throws his switch to the send position and
replies as follows :

CAR NO. 4, REPORTING FROM 16TH STREET AND THE BOULE-
VARD, K.

This message when received at headquarters can be used
either for checking position or for ascertaining the particular
car that is nearest to the scene of action. Assuming that car

Radio Patrol Operation 183

No. 4 is nearest the scene, headquarters continues the dis-
patching instructions, which may be of this nature :

CAR NO. 4, PROCEED IMMEDIATELY TO 10TH STREET AND AVE-
NUE C, AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT REPORTED, K.

Car No. 4, while in motion toward the indicated location,
acknowledges the order by sending :

CAR NO. 4 REPORTS RECEIVING ORDER, PROCEEDING TO DESTI-
NATION, K.

Upon reaching 10th Street and Avenue C, the officer finds
that an ambulance is urgently needed, so car No. 4 calls head-
quarters :

CAR NO. 4, CALLING HEADQUARTERS, SEND AMBULANCE AND
PATROL WAGON TO 10TH STREET AND AVENUE C, URGENT, K.

Headquarters replies :

O. K. CAR NO. 4, AMBULANCE AND PATROL WAGON BEING SENT
OUT IMMEDIATELY, K.

The police ambulance and patrol wagon are at once dis-
patched to the scene, and car No. 4, after taking care of its
regular duties at the scene of the accident, reports back in
service for further orders.

The central-station transmitter employed for this installa-
tion is similar to the high-frequency transmitter previously
described. The mobile-station transmitter has a rated power
output of 4.5 watts. Repeated experiments and practical
working installations have shown that this power is adequate
for almost all mobile applications, whether in police, aircraft,
or marine work. The receiver is an extremely sensitive unit
and provides loud-speaker reception, except in aircraft in-
stallations, in which headphones are used in order to elimi-
nate exterior noise.

With slight changes, this equipment is standard for all po-
lice applications. In automobile installations, the control unit,
which embodies the loud-speaker, volume control, and con-
trol switches, is mounted on the steering post of the car. This
places the loud-speaker directly in front of the operator and
gives him convenient access to all controls. The rest of the
equipment is mounted in the rumble-seat compartment, in the

184 Police Communication Systems

trunk, or under the dashboard, depending upon the make and
model of automobile in which the installation is to be made.

A complete installation of the high-frequency two-way com-
munication system can be made for a fraction of the cost of an
ordinary one-way communication system operating on the
usual police frequencies. Since the high-frequency spectrum
is best adapted to two-way radio communication, manufac-
turers provide complete installations, including the central-
station transmitter, and portable transmitter and receivers
for the mobile patrol units. The portable transmitter and car
receiver are built into one compact unit.

As an effective instrument for greater patrol efficiency,
two-way radio communication is assured a brilliant future
in police service. In a recent statement, an internationally
known police authority commented upon this new facility as
follows : "I have studied the operation of the two-way ultra-
high-frequency radio telephone system. This equipment does
everything that can be asked for by any police department.
In my opinion, the use of two-way radio telephones is inevi-
table in police work, and within a short time, the present one-
way communication systems, which do not permit the police
cars to talk back to headquarters, will become obsolete." Po-
lice officials in various sections of the country are seriously
considering its immediate adoption. Much developmental
work has been carried on by the police themselves. By June 1,
1937, the Federal Communications Commission had issued
licenses for mobile or portable stations as shown by the list on
pages 185-190.

SECRECY IN POLICE OPERATIONS

Secrecy is fundamental to the success of both military and
police operations. Premature publication of details connected
with criminal investigation has thwarted the police on occa-
sions without number. When radio was adopted as an arm of
police communication, secrecy received much serious consid-
eration, since, in radio transmission, information is radiated
to all points of the compass. Any person possessing a suitable

Radio Patrol Operation

185

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE AS
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location
fixed

Number
mobile
or
portable

Power

(watts)

Fre-
quency
(kc.)*

W6XKW

City of Alameda

Alameda, Calif

(7)

W6XFE

City of Alhambra

Alhambra, Calif

(9)

City of Ann Arbor, Mich. . .

None

(4)

W6XMW

City of Arcadia

Arcadia, Calif

(2)

W3XBD

City of Atlantic City

Atlantic City, N.J...

(11)

City of Auburn, N. Y

(5)

VV3XGL

City of Baltimore, Md

Mobile

(1)

City of Bay City, Mich

Mobile

(6)

W2XCJ

City of Bayonne

Bayonne, N.J

(9)

City of Beaumont, Tex

Mobile

(4)

VV2XIF

Borough of Belmar

Belmar, N.J

(1)

Bergen County, N.J

Mobile

(4)

City of Berkeley, Calif

Portable-mobile

(3)

W3XBA

City of Bethlehem

Bethlehem, Pa

(6)

W6XID

City of Beverly Hills

Beverly Hills, Calif. .

(12)

City of Birmingham, Ala. .

Mobile

(2)

Town of Bloomfield, Conn.

Portable-mobile

(5)

W1XAO

City of Boston

Boston, Mass.

(78)

1500

1 plus

35600

VV1XAX

Town of Brookline

Brookline, Mass

(7)

City of Buffalo, N.Y

Mobile

(6)

W6XJK

City of Burlingame

Burlingame, Calif. . .

(7)

State of California Dept.

Motor Vehicles, Calif.

Highway Patrol

Portable-mobile

(2)

W1XCE

City of Cambridge

Cambridge, Mass. . . .

(7)

W8XAQ

City of Canton

Canton, O

(11)

W9XIE

City of Cape Girardeau. . . .

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

(1)

2&5

W9XHX

Carondelet Township

Carondelet Town-

ship, Mo

(2)

2&3

City of Cedar Rapids, la. .

Portable

W9XGD

City of Chicago Heights . . .

Chicago Heights, 111.

(4)

W8XCP

City of Cleveland

Cleveland, O

(12)

100

County of Cleveland, Okla.

Mobile

(3)

W4XBN

City of Clinton

Clinton, S. C

(1)

Town of Cohasset, Mass. . . .

Mobile

(1)

W3XFG

Borough of Collingswood . .

Collingswood, N.J...

(2)

W6XOR

County of Contra Costa. . .

Martinez, Calif

(6)

250

W2XIX

Township of Cranford

Cranford, N.J

(3)

City of Cranston, R.I

Portable-mobile

City of Dallas, Tex

Mobile

(2)

W1XE

Town of Darien

Darien, Conn

(2)

W8XAE

City of Dayton O

Mobile

(1)

W2XDD

Borough of Deal

Deal, N.J.

(4)

W8XAO

City of Dearborn

Dearborn, Mich

(1)

* (1) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100.
(2) 30100. (3) 33100. (4) 37100. (5) 40100.
(6) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100, 86000, to 400000, 401000 and above.

186

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE AS
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call

letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location
fixed

dumber
mobile
or
portable

Power

(watts)

Fre-
quency

(kc.)*

City of Des Moines, la

Portable-mobile

(3)

W8XBB

City of Detroit

Detroit, Mich

(8)

150

Metropolitan Police Dept.,

District of Columbia. . . .

Portable-mobile

(2)

County of Douglas, Kan. . .

Mobile

(1)

W9XEC

Dupage County

Wheaton, 111

(1)

300

W2XCT

Town of Eastchester

Eastchester, N. Y... .

(2)

W2XK.I

City of East Orange

East Orange, N. J

(6)

W9XIY

City of Elgin

Elgin, 111

(5)

W2XQ

City of Elizabeth

Elizabeth, N.J

(9)

W9XDN

City of Elmhurst

Elmhurst, 111

(1)

City of El Paso, Tex

Portable-mobile

(4)

W5XAC

City of Enid

Enid, Okla

(2)

W9XNA

City of E vanston

E vanston, 111

(11)

W9XEH

CityofEvansville

Evansville, Ind

(6)

W1XEW

City of Everett, Mass

Portable- mobile

(6)

City of Fall River, Mass. . . .

Portable-mobile

(6)

W2XKZ

Borough of Fan wood, N. J.

Portable-mobile

City of Flint, Mich

Portable-mobile

(11)

W4XCK

State of Florida. State

Road Dept

Portable

1000

City of Fresno, Calif

(6)

4, 5

W2XMA

Incorporated village of

Garden City

Garden City, N.Y...

(6)

W9XKP

City of Gary

Gary, Ind

(6)

W2XMS

Town of Greenburgh

Greenburgh, N. Y. . .

(3)

W8XIS

City of Grosse Pointe

Grosse Pointe. Mich.

(4)

W8XJA

Township of Grosse Pointe

Grosse Pointe, Mich.

(12)

W8XF

City of Hamilton

Hamilton, O

(6)

150

W9XCS

City of Hammond

Hammond, Ind

(13)

100

W3XBJ

City of Harrisburg

Harrisburg, Pa

(5)

W2XGK

Town of Harrison

Harrison, N.Y

(6)

W1XHC

City of Hartford

Hartford, Conn

(2)

150

W8XBQ

City of Highland Park

HighlandPark.Mich.

(7)

W1XFQ

Town of Hingham

Hingham, Mass

(2)

W5XBO

City of Houston

Houston, Tex

(6;

W1XDW

Town of Hull

Hull, Mass

(6)

W2XFA

City of Jersey City, Dept.

of Public Safety

Jersey City, N. J

(33)

100

1, 2, 3,

31900

W9XMM

City of Joliet

Joliet, 111

(3)

W9XCA

City of Kansas City

Kansas City, Kan... .

(22)

100

City of Kansas City, Mo

(31)

7.5

W2XGP

Borough of Kenilworth, 111.

Portable-mobile

W9XJJ

Village of Kenilworth

Kenilworth, 111

(1)

(1) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100.

(2) 30100. (3) 33100. (4) 37100. (5) 40100.

(6) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100, 86000, to 400000, 401000 and above.

Radio Patrol Operation

187

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE AS
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location
fixed

Number
mobile
or
portable

Power

(watts)

Fre-
quency

(kc.)*

City of Kokomo, 111

Mobile

(4)

7.5

Department of Metropoli-

tanPolice, Lafayette, Ind.

Mobile

(2)

W9XQQ

Lake County Sheriff's Of-

fice, City of Lake Forest,

(6)

111

Mobile

(1)

W9XOY

City of Lasalle

Lasalle, 111

(2)

100

County of Lasalle, 111

Mobile

(3)

W9XMR

City of Lawrence

Lawrence, Kan

(2)

City of Leavenworth, Kan.

Mobile

(1)

W6XEH

City of Long Beach

Long Beach, Calif....

(13)

100

W2XJP

City of Long Branch,

Dept. of Public Safety. . .

Long Branch, N.J...

(6)

W3XFB

Borough of Longport

Longport N J.

(2)

City of Los Angeles, Calif. .

Mobile

(4)

100

W6XPA

Sheriff's Department, Los

Angeles County, Calif...

BelvedereDist.,

Calif

(H)

W1XDT

City of Manchester

Manchester, N. H. . . .

(5)

Commonwealth of Massa-

chusetts, Dept. of Pub-

lic Safety

(10)

100

W1XLA

Metropolitan District Com-

mission of the Common-

wealth of Massachusetts .

Boston, Mass

(8)

500

W1XBY

City of Medford, Mass

(6)

W6XFY

City of Merced, Police

Dept

Merced, Calif

(1)

City of Miami, Fla

Mobile

(13)

16.5

W4XG

City of Miami Beach

Miami Beach, Fla —

(3)

W2XHQ

Township of Millburn

Millburn, N.J

(3)

W6XDL

City of Modesto

Modesto, Calif

(3)

100

W8XFH

City of Monroe

Monroe, Mich

(2)

W6XHR

City of Monrovia, Police

Dept

Monrovia, Calif

(2)

W3XET

Town of Morristown

Morristown, N.J

(2)

W8XLB

City of Muskegon, Mich —

Mobile

2,3,5

W4XAU

City of Nashville

Nashville, Tenn

(11)

City of New Brunswick, N.J.

Portable-mobile

(5)

W1XFH

City of New London, Conn.

(1)

W2XKR

City of New York

New York, N.Y

(1)

W3XDA

Borough of North Plainfield

Plainfield, N.J

(2)

W1XHY

Town of Norwood

Norwood, Mass

(1)

W2XLV

Town of Nutley Police

Dept

Nutley N.J.

(3)

(1) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100.

(2) 30100. (3) 33100. (4) 37100. (5) 40100.

(6) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100, 86000, to 400000, 401000 and above.

188

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE AS
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location
fixed

N umber
mobile
or
portable

Power

(watts)

Fre-
quency

(kc.)*

W6XIA

Village of Oak Park, 111
City of Oceanside
State of Ohio
City of Oklahoma City,
Okla
County of Oklahoma, Okla.
City of Omaha, Neb
City of Ontario, Calif.,
Police Dept

Mobile
Oceanside, Calif
Mobile

Portable-Mobile
Mobile
Mobile

(12)
(2)

(4;

(3)
(3)

(2)

15
2.5
25

.5
25
5

2
3,4
1

3
1
1

W6XGM
W9XIG
W6XLC

W9XPA

County of Orange, Calif.. . .
City of Ottawa
Palm Springs Police
Protection Dist
City of Park Ridge
City of Pasadena, Calif.,
Police Dept.

Portable-mobile
Ottawa, 111

Palm Springs, Calif. .
Park Ridge, 111

(1)
(2)

(13)

4.5
100

36
15

100

1
1

W9XBA
W9XGC
W6XJU

W6XQK
W6XBF

Peoria Police Dept
City of Peru
City of Petal uma
City of Philadelphia, Pa. . .
City of Phoenix, Ariz.,
Police Dept
City of Piedmont
City of Piedmont

Peoria, 111
Peru, 111
Petaluma, Calif

Portable-mobile
Piedmont, Calif

(13)

(i;

(2)
(3)

(7)
(5)

100
50
10
10

10
500
5

6
1
3,4
5

2
3
1

W2XFU
W1XLW

W8XEP
W2XAJ

City of Plainfield
Town of Plymouth Police
Dept
City of Pontiac
City of Port Jervis, N. Y. . .

Plainfield, N.J

Plymouth, Mass
Pontiac, Mich

(5)

(2)
(8)
(1)

40
50
.5

1
3
2,3

City of Portland, Ore.,
Dept. of Public Safety

(6)

W2XGC
W3XFZ
W1XEO
W1XBL
W9XLS
W2XNK

City of Poughkeepsie.N.Y.
Borough of Princeton
City of Providence, R.I —
City of Quincy Police Dept.
City of Racine Police Dept.
City of Rah way

Princeton, N.J

Quincy, Mass
Racine, Wis
Rah way N.J.

(1)
(2)
(1)
(8)
(7)
(3)

100
15
7.5
150
25
5

1
4,5
2,5
1
1
5

W4XCE

City of Raleigh

Raleigh, N.C

(25)

W9XB
W9XPF

Village of River Forest
City of Rochester
CityofRockford, 111... ..

River Forest, 111
Rochester, Minn

(4)
(1)
(2)

100
5
10.5

5
1
1

W2XIJ
W2XEN

Rockland County
Borough of Roselle

New City, N. Y
Roselle N.J.

(22)
(2)

250
25

2,3

W2XOL

Village of Rye

Rye, N. Y.

(6)

(1) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100.

(2) 30100. (3) 33100. (4) 37100. (5) 40100.

(6) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100, 86000, to 400000, 401000 and above.

Radio Patrol Operation

189

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE AS
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call

letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location
fixed

Number
mobile
or
portable

Power

(watts)

Fre-
quency

(kc.)*

W6XLR
W9XQI

City of Sacramento, Calif.,
Police Dept
City of Saginaw, Mich
City of St. Charles Police
Dept.

St. Charles, Mo.

(D
(16)

(1)

10
10

1
2

W9XKC

City of St. Joseph
St. Louis Metropolitan
Police Dept

St. Joseph, Mo

(12)
(7)

50
15

3
3

W1XEL
W4XAC

W6XHG
W6XHE

City of Salem
City of Salisbury
Salt Lake City Corporation
Town of San Anselmo
City of San Bernardino,
Calif
City of San Buenaventura,
Calif

Salem, Mass
Salisbury, N. C

San Anselmo, Calif.

(2)
(2)
(6)
(3)

(D
(4;

25
20
10
5

10
10

1
1
2
1

3
2

City of San Diego Calif

(28)

W6XGC
W6XKR

City of San Gabriel
City of San Mateo

San Gabriel, Calif....
San Mateo, Calif.

(3)
(2)

50
5

1
1

W6XHO
W1XFT

W8XEC

City of Santa Barbara
City of Santa Rosa
Town of Scituate
City of Scranton Police
Dept.

Santa Rosa, Calif....
Scituate, Mass

Scranton, Pa.

(6)
(2)
(2)

(4)

7
10
20

100

2
1
4

W2XKW
W1XOU

Town of Secaucus
Town of Sharon

Secaucus, N.Y
Sharon, Mass.

(2)
(1)

15
5

1
3

W6XLE

City of Signal Hill

Signal Hill, Pa.

(1)

4 5

W9XGE

City of Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls, S. D..

(1)

7 5

W9XOV
W1XHM
W8XBT

City of Spokane
City of Springfield
City of Springfield
City of Springfield

Springfield, 111
Springfield, Mass. . . .
Springfield, O

(9)
(2)
(10)

(12)

10
50
50
50

1
1
3
1

W9XIH

City of Streator

Streator, 111

100

W6XIZ

City of Syracuse, N. Y.,
Dept. Public Safety
City of Tacoma, Wash.,
Police Dept

Mobile

(D
(6)

5
5

1
1

W4XDG
W9XHG
W3XEK

City of Tampa ,Fla
City of Terre Haute
Citv of Trenton

Mobile
Terre Haute, Ind
Trenton, N. J

(D
(D
(12)

16.5
25
100

1
1
1

City of Tulsa

(7)

W6XGG
W5XBI
W2XHW

Turlock Police Dept
City of Tyler

Turlock, Calif
Tyler, Tex
Union N. J.

(2)
(5)
(3)

5
30

7 5

1
3.4
5

W2XCA

City of Union City

Union City, N.J

(5)

(1) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100.

(2) 30100. (3) 33100. (4) 37100. (5) 40100.

(6) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100, 86000, to 400000, 401000 and above.

190

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE GENERAL EXPERIMENTAL SERVICE AS
MUNICIPAL POLICE STATIONS — Concluded

Call

letters

Licensee

Transmitter
location
fixed

Number
mobile
or
portable

Power

(watts)

Fre-
quency

(kc.)*

W8XIX

CityofUtica N.Y.

(1)

2 3

W3XF
W2XJK
W6XFZ
W9XPO
W2XIO
W2XJA
W9XDQ

City of Ventnor City
Borough of Verona
City of Visalia
City of Waukegan
Town of Westfield
Town of West New York . . .
City of Wheaton

Ventnor City, N. J...
Verona.N.J
Visalia, Calif
Waukegan, 111
Westfield, N.J
West New York, N.J.
Wheaton, 111.

(3)
(2)
(2)
(3)
(3)
(5)
(2)

25
50
10
15
25
25
25

1
4
3
1
5
3

W8XGE

City of Wheeling

Wheeling, W. Va. . .

(3)

W9XJD

City of Whiting

Whiting, Ind

(2)

City of Wichita, Kan
City of Wichita Falls Tex

(24)
(2)

4.5

2 5

W8XLV
W2XIC

City of Williamsport
Township of Woodbridge. .
City of York Pa

Williamsport, Pa
Woodbridge, N.J....

(2)
(3)
(2)

25
25
25

W8XIF

Ypsilanti Police Dept.

Ypsilanti, Mich.

(2)

* (1) 30100, 33100. 37100, 40100.
(2) 30100. (3) 33100. (4) 37100. (5) 40100.
(6) 30100, 33100, 37100, 40100, 86000, to 400000, 401000 and above.

receiver might listen to police broadcasts. The probability
that criminals would exploit this opportunity to their advan-
tage was obvious.

In the early use of radio in law enforcement, many police
officials viewed the problem with anxiety. At the 1924 conven-
tion of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, a
committee was appointed to prepare a suitable code for police
use, in order that information might be transmitted without
the possibility of its being intercepted and used for criminal
purposes.

The story has been frequently told of an apartment-house
burglar in Chicago who had taken the precaution to tune the
receiver in the apartment to the police broadcast frequency.
Neighbors reported to the police their suspicions of a bur-
glary and the radio dispatcher immediately went on the air
with an alarm broadcast, "Burglar operating in apartment
on sixth floor at 5364 Main Street," and ordered squad cars
to the scene. Hearing the message, the burglar is said to have

Radio Patrol Operation 191

written a note of thanks for the warning, pinned it on the
radio, and made a leisurely departure before the officers ar-
rived.

The police were hard pressed for a solution to this apparent
problem. Some departments began their radio operations with
the use of telegraphic radio transmission instead of voice
broadcast. This method is still employed in a large degree in
foreign police radio systems, particularly in Europe, where
the patchwork of international boundary lines conspires to
make greater the need for secrecy.

In addition to the secrecy inherent in a coded message, there
were other advantages in the use of a radio telegraph trans-
mitter. Telegraphy is more accurate than telephony. A word
written down, as it invariably is with telegraphy, usually has
only one meaning ; in a telephonic message, two words sound-
ing alike may carry different meanings. The same difficulty
applies to numerals, as, for example, in transmitting an auto-
mobile license number or a street address. With telegraphy,
the operator has a definite and continual check on a plain lan-
guage message as he writes it down. In telephony it is often
necessary to spell difficult words letter by letter. Nine times
out of ten, for example, the word "ink" will not be understood
unless sent in the following manner : "I" for Isaac ; "N" for
Nellie ; "K" for King. Further, with a given total power in-
put, the cost of telephone transmission, which possesses only
25 per cent of the range of a telegraph transmitting station,
would be 20 per cent higher than that of the telegraph trans-
mission. The maintenance cost of a telegraph transmitter is
also somewhat lower than that of the telephone set, since the
latter requires more complicated apparatus.

Telegraphy thus has several advantages over speech broad-
cast ; nevertheless, voice transmission, so far as police service
is concerned, possesses the cardinal virtues of simplicity and
speed in actual operation, and it has become the universal
practice in this country to use speech broadcast in the control
of radio patrol cars.

Secrecy obtainable in voice broadcast. — Any form of com-

192 Police Communication Systems

munication is adaptable to code methods. In police service, it
is a simple matter to code streets, numbers, crime classifica-
tions, and other information so as to avoid detection. Several
departments have developed suitable codes for this purpose.
In 1933, the city of Milwaukee had three milk strikes. The
seriousness of the situation may be appreciated when it is
realized that Milwaukee receives from 550 to 600 truckloads
of milk daily from the surrounding territory. It was found
that strikers were equipped with short-wave receivers tuned
to the police frequency and this, according to the sheriff, made
it very difficult to cope with the situation in the first strike.
In the second and third strikes, a code was used, based on a
numerical assignment to strategic highway points. The num-
bers were reversed daily and the necessary secrecy in messages
to deputy sheriffs patrolling the highways was successfully se-
cured. Thus far, however, the use of the code system has been
rather limited because there is a small additional interval of
lost time in the coding and decoding of messages. To that
degree, coding defeats the all-important purpose of a police
radio system, namely, the reduction of delay. In an emer-
gency, time is the vital factor and no operation should be ad-
mitted into the communication procedure which increases the
operating-time interval.

For the solution of this problem, should it eventually
assume serious proportions, the police are depending upon
the radio engineer. In the process of transmission, it is possi-
ble to transpose and alter current values from the speech
input system and modulation stage so that the message will
be unintelligible when received with an ordinary receiver,
even though tuned to the carrier frequency. This method is
sometimes referred to as "scrambling" and involves the use
of a specially designed receiver, rather elaborate and costly
in construction and installation. Both military authorities
and the police have thus far found this solution impractical.

Virtually absolute secrecy in voice broadcast may be ob-
tained through the use of a transmitter in which a low radio
frequency is impressed on the carrier wave, resulting in a het-

Radio Patrol Operation 193

erodyne effect. The beat frequency is then modulated by the
regular speech input system. In other words, the transmitter
continues to operate on its assigned frequency of, say 2,422
kilocycles per second, in accordance with the Federal license
authorizing its operation. The licensed carrier frequency,
however, is not modulated directly by the energy received
from the speech input system ; on the contrary, it is affected
by a superimposed lower radio frequency resulting in a heter-
odyne beat note or secondary carrier wave which carries the
audio frequency variations. This is known as the double mod-
ulation system, and it is impracticable, if not altogether im-
possible, for an outside receiver to detect the conversation ;
the receiver may tune in on the primary carrier frequency,
as in ordinary reception, but for all practical purposes the
speech modulation is inaccessible. Police cars may receive the
conversation without difficulty if equipped with proper re-
ceiving apparatus. According to military authorities, one of
the surprising by-products of this system is the almost com-
plete absence of static and other interference usually encoun-
tered in radio reception. Here again, however, elaborate and
costly receiving equipment is required.

It is believed, nevertheless, that the engineering approach
to the problem of secrecy offers greater promise than any
other method, so far as the control of police patrol cars is con-
cerned. Police communication officers interested in this phase
of police broadcast should not overlook the resources and ac-
complishments of the United States Signal Corps in this field.
With respect to both 'code and specially designed equipment,
this force of able men has made many significant contribu-
tions to secret communication.

Secrecy not absolutely essential. — So far as the records in-
dicate, only in rare and isolated instances has the absence of
secrecy in police broadcast defeated the purposes of police
radio patrol. Some departments are of the opinion that sys-
tems providing a measure of secrecy are desirable if they are
mechanical in principle, rather than patterned along code
lines.

194 Police Communication Systems

However, there is a growing sentiment among police offi-
cials generally that the number of times that police transmis-
sions are used for improper purposes is far outweighed by the
salutary effect of widespread reception by the general public.
In support of the opinion that secrecy in police broadcast
is not a pressing problem at the present time, it should be
pointed out that public reception of crime alarms has given
the community a new conception of the police department,
its responsibilities and its operation. A collateral result has
been a marked increase in the number of persons reporting
crimes and other irregularities to the police, who would other-
wise have kept silent. Many police officials are inclined to
regard this situation as decidedly advantageous to the police
department.

In view of the revolutionary changes that occasionally take
place almost overnight in radio equipment and technique, it
is entirely possible that new uses and applications in the po-
lice field will create a greater future need for communication
secrecy. Conceivably, changes in the conditions affecting law
enforcement may also bring this about. With the demand,
however, will come an engineering solution to the problem
which will afford the secrecy that may be necessary to defeat
criminal detection of the police message.

THE RADIO-EQUIPPED MOTORCYCLE

Manufacturers of motorcycles in this country have kept
abreast of the times in developing radio receiving equipment
which could be operated successfully on both solo motorcycles
and side-car machines. With the side-car or tandem arrange-
ment the receiver is usually mounted in the side car just to
the rear of the passenger's seat cushion. The loud-speaker unit
is installed directly on the tank of the motorcycle between
the handle bars, so that its volume is directed toward the
driver. On the solo machine, the receiver is mounted on a
luggage carrier to the rear of the driver.

Motorcycle radio equipment. — Standard automobile receiv-
ers with slight modifications may usually be adapted to use

Radio Patrol Operation 195

on motorcycles, although manufacturers are now placing on
the market receiving equipment specifically designed for mo-
torcycle installations. Clear daylight reception at speeds of
from thirty to forty miles per hour, within a radius of from 15
to 20 miles of a 400-watt station, is regular performance. With
a less powerful station, the effective service radius is natur-

Motorcycle for police use, equipped with a short-wave radio receiving set.

ally somewhat reduced. At many stations, satisfactory day-
light reception has been obtained over distances of 50 miles
or more. With this equipment, broadcast can easily be heard
above the noise of downtown traffic.

A few of the departments employing radio-equipped motor-
cycles in patrol operations are Des Moines, Iowa ; Davenport,
Iowa ; Milwaukee City and County, Mich. ; Omaha, Neb. ; San
Francisco, Calif.; Dallas, Tex.; Fort Worth, Tex.; Waco,
Tex. ; Beaumont, Tex. ; El Paso County, Tex. ; Birmingham,
Ala. ; Santa Barbara, Calif. ; Arizona Highway Patrol, Wash-
ington State Patrol, and Kansas City, Mo.

196 Police Communication Systems

In most of these cities, radio-equipped motorcycles supple-
ment the work of the regular radio patrol cars. As a rule, the
area is divided into motorcycle patrol zones, with one machine
assigned to each zone. The primary duties of radio motor-
cycle patrols are the observation of traffic and the investiga-

Radio-equipped motorcycle and side-car unit with armored construction.
Shields fold down while officers are on patrol duty. Note handles which
may be pulled quickly to snap shields into place. Shields are equipped
with bulletproof glass and provided with portholes for barrels of re-
volvers or shotguns.

tion of all automobile accidents. In one city, two machines are
assigned exclusively to what is known as the Wreck Investi-
gation Squad. Motorcycle officers are also frequently used
in crime emergencies where a rapid concentration of police
strength is required.

RADIO-EQUIPPED POLICE PLANES AND BOATS

The strategic value of the airplane in police service is easily
recognized. As a speedy observation and pursuit unit, it pro-
vides the police with a new force in the detection and sup-

Radio Patrol Operation 197

pression of crime. The possibility of aerial police was first
officially recognized in June of 1914, when Chief C. E. Se-
bastian, then Chief of Police at Los Angeles, Calif., recom-
mended, on the floor of the twenty-first annual convention of
the International Association of Chiefs of Police, that the use
of airplanes be extended to police service in both urban and
rural areas. He drew attention to the performance of the
United States marines and soldiers at Vera Cruz, Mexico, a
short time before, in which their aerial units were employed
with telling effect. Airplanes dispatched from Vera Cruz cir-
cled over the camp of the Mexican Federals, photographed
them and their entrenchments, obtained valuable and accu-
rate maps of roads, trails, and streams, and returned safely
to headquarters, all within a short period of time. Giving his
recommendations a local application, he cited two California
instances wherein police planes would have been of great as-
sistance to the police and the sheriff's men in the pursuit of
bandits. In one instance, the bandits escaped into the desert
and were captured after three days ; in the other, they were
never caught. In both affairs, the use of the airplane would
almost certainly have assured speedy capture.

In 1914, communication was very different from communi-
cation in 1925. Chief Sebastian was hard-pressed for some
form of communication between the plane and the ground
force. In signaling to and from mobile units at that time, some
type of visual or audible system was necessary. With the tele-
phone and telegraph, both sending and receiving terminals
were anchored to fixed points, with land wires as the trans-
mitting medium. E/adio was just beginning its spectacular
career of development in military service at the outbreak of
the World War, and had not yet reached the stage where com-
munication with mobile units was a practical affair. The Chief
summed up the communication problem with the statement :
"With the wigwag or other signaling device he [the aviator]
could easily communicate with pursuers trailing a fugitive
along the highways or streets, and effectively direct their
movements."

198 Police Communication Systems

Today, radio telephone conversation between planes, and
between plane and ground force, either at fixed points or in
cruising cars, is an accomplished fact. In February, 1931, Ed-
ward P. Mulrooney, Police Commissioner of New York City,
was sitting in his office at headquarters. A. W. Wallander, a
captain of police, was cruising over the city at an altitude of
2000 feet.

"What do you see ?" asked Mr. Mulrooney.

"Miles of waterfront and plenty of motor traffic," replied
Captain Wallander. "It is beginning to snow up here," he
added.

It was necessary to convince the officials gathered together
for the demonstration that the Captain was not speaking over
conventional telephone lines. The experiment gave official
sanction to the already established fact, that a flying police-
man might telephone to headquarters as easily as the police-
man on the beat.

Whatever the form of transportation, radio communica-
tion, with its elimination of land wires, provides a flexible and
sure means of contact with the mobile unit. For several years,
two-way radio telephone has been employed for dispatching
and directing the movements of mail and passenger planes.
With respect to the engineering problems, model equipment
is now available for two-way communication with all aircraft.
Radio transmitters and receivers for use in aircraft have been
developed by several manufacturers.

Since in air-mail and passenger service, continuous two-
way communication at all times is required and since the prin-
cipal airports of the United States are about 200 miles from
each other, a reliable communication range of about 100 miles
is required of equipment designed for aircraft service. Range
of this distance can be obtained through the use of ground-
station transmitters of at least 400 watts power and aircraft
transmitters of at least 50 watts power, both completely mod-
ulated. In radio telegraphy, because of the greater ease with
which code messages can be received through static, noise,
and other interference, 200 watts of power is sufficient for

Radio Patrol Operation 199

ground-station use and 20 watts for aircraft transmitters. Re-
cent developments in high-frequency radio communication
equipment will undoubtedly result in a substantial decrease
in the power required at both the fixed and the mobile aerial
stations.

Modern conditions confronting the police have opened up
a promising opportunity for the radio-equipped airplane in
police service. Mobs and other large-scale movements in a city
can be watched and the operations of the police directed in
accordance with reports from aircraft observers who have the
advantage of a bird's-eye view. Problems that involve the reg-
ulation and control of traffic in large cities, when seen in broad
perspective more readily lend themselves to intelligent solu-
tion. In the pursuit of escaping fugitives, Chief Sebastian's
dream becomes a reality, for officers cruising overhead at
from eighty-five to two hundred miles an hour may converse
directly with the ground force and effect a rapid concentra-
tion of motor patrol units at crucial points. Augmented and
equipped with powerful searchlights, aerial observation be-
comes almost as practical by night as during the day. In times
of disaster, the radio-equipped plane has no competitor in
making a swift and accurate survey of the territory affected.
The observer, constantly in direct two-way communication
with headquarters, through his reports and instructions pro-
vides an intelligent basis that makes possible the most effec-
tive distribution of the force and its equipment.

The New York City Police Department now has an organ-
ized police air force, and the departments of many other cities
are prepared to place observers in the air at a moment's no-
tice. The airplane is rapidly coming within the price range of
the automobile and the time is not far distant when the cost
of a flying unit suitable for police work will be comparable to
that of a satisfactory motor car. This will be an important
factor in extending its sphere of practical usefulness in police
service.

Where departments are unable at the present time to pur-
chase and maintain this type of equipment, arrangements

200 Police Communication Systems

may easily be made in advance for its use in emergencies. Air-
ports are so numerous today as to be almost without number.
Virtually every city in the country has within or near its
boundaries one or more municipal or commercial landing
fields, where will be found every type of flying equipment.
Police departments, particularly in the larger communities,
should undertake negotiations with the owners of radio-
equipped planes, so that one or more units may be pressed
into service without delay when the occasion arises. The
greater number of our police departments already include
among their personnel, officers who are licensed pilots and
experienced observers. All departments should have one or
more such officers.

In the radio control of police boats, no serious engineering
problem is presented. Two-way radio communication with
vessels at sea was a practical affair even before 1910, and mari-
time radio communication has now for some time been an
accomplished fact. In cities situated near large harbors, riv-
ers, or lakes, where fast boats afford the criminal additional
avenues of operation and escape, suitably equipped police
boats are maintained. These craft are in constant communica-
tion with headquarters and are therefore immediately avail-
able for any emergency service. Radio installations aboard
police boats are of course governed by maritime regulations,
which apply to the use of radio on any vessel afloat. In New
York Harbor, San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound, and numer-
ous other places, the radio-equipped police boat is daily per-
forming a distinct service in law-enforcement activities.

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE

It is difficult to consider the remarkable strides of police
communication in the past six years without realizing the
astonishing influence that radio communication has already
exerted upon modern patrol methods and technique in a re-
markably short time. It cannot be doubted that further sig-
ficant advances in the radio control of patrol operation are to
be expected in the near future.

Radio Patrol Operation 201

Fundamental research of all types is moving forward. The
abstract discovery of today is the practical contribution of
tomorrow. The basic science of electromagnetic radiation and
the dependent applied science and technique of radio com-
munication are likely to undergo even more notable develop-
ments. Radio communication has not yet reached the peak
of its power or usefulness.

At the present time, many new devices and methods stand
at the threshold of practical communication in police service.
Reduction in the size and weight of transmitters and receiv-
ers has made it possible for the patrolman to include his radio,
along with baton, revolver, flashlight, and handcuffs, as part
of his personal equipment. In England, the individual officer
is now equipped with a transmitting and receiving equipment
that is variously known as the "Sam Browne," or the portable
or pocket radio. Several departments in this country are now
experimenting with it.

Development of the English portable transmitter and re-
ceiver for this purpose is credited to H. W. Adey, a London
radio expert. The combined equipment is no larger than a
small lantern and weighs less than five pounds. A hook is pro-
vided on which to sling the apparatus from the officer's belt.
Comprising a two-tube transmitting and receiving set, the
equipment is said to have an effective service radius of from
ten to twenty miles. The loud-speaker unit is built into the
officer's helmet and is connected with the receiver by a flexible
wire, inconspicuously placed. The loud-speaker is a unique
affair, in that audible reception of messages is conveyed by
vibrations through the skull instead of through air as the
immediate transmitting medium. The equipment is battery-
operated from a 45-volt unit, which has been reduced to a
size somewhat smaller than the open hand.

In England, also, W. L. P. Dean has perfected a pocket
radio receiver weighing only 1 pound 8 ounces and measuring
6 by 4 by 1 inch, which is designed to fit easily into an ordi-
nary uniform pocket. Successful tests were recently con-
ducted with this equipment at Brighton, England, in the

202 Police Communication Systems

presence of Mr. Charles Griffin, Chief Constable, Mr. Dean,
the inventor, and P. C. Redgrave, of the Brighton force, who
was formerly a radio operator at sea. Messages sent out in
ordinary speech from a transmitting station at the eastern
end of the Brighton front were clearly heard five miles away.
The success which has attended these and other tests of port-
able radio equipment presage the introduction of this new
form of radio reception on a wider scale. Thus equipped, the
foot patrolman is able to flash important crime information
from his beat to headquarters and to cruising patrol units,
who in turn may broadcast the information to other members
of the force. Descriptions of wanted men, together with the
details of the crime they have committed, could be circulated
to policemen over a wide area within a few seconds after the
crime is discovered.

The possibilities of this new development may be better ap-
preciated when it is realized that, up to the present time, all
radio patrol equipment has been mounted in automobiles in
such manner as to become essentially a part of the car itself,
much the same as the speedometer, starter, and other acces-
sories. It is therefore necessary that one or more officers re-
main in the immediate vicinity of the machine at all times. In
Los Angeles and other cities, where two officers are assigned
to each patrol car, definite instructions are issued to the crew
requiring the presence of at least one officer within earshot of
the car's radio equipment during the entire tour of duty. In
communities where the radio patrol car is manned by one of-
ficer, the patrolman must frequently be beyond range of the
loud-speaker when leaving the car for response to calls. With
portable equipment, officers may dismount at will for tempo-
rary patrol on foot, or to make assistance calls, yet remain in
constant communication with headquarters. The individual
policeman carries his communication system with him wher-
ever he goes.

Additional communication facilities in the patrol car, be-
sides two-way radio contact, are an inevitable future develop-
ment, since this unit is destined to assume to an increasingly

Radio Patrol Operation 203

greater degree the aspects and purposes of a mobile police
station. A wide field is open for the installation and use of
devices which automatically provide a written and visible
record of the received message or communication in the pa-
trol car. The cathautograph, a radio pen that broadcasts a
written message, has already been developed. The sending ap-
paratus is much like a slate upon which one writes with a
pencil-shaped stylus. The written message is instantly re-
ceived on a small phosphorescent screen which can be in-
stalled on a desk, in an automobile, or in an airplane.

The radio-controlled typewriter is now a practical instru-
ment of communication. This device operates much the same
as the teletypewriter, with the exception that land wires are
eliminated and the ether becomes the transmitting medium.
With the radio typewriter, it would be possible to broadcast
the license number and description of a stolen car, for ex-
ample, with the assurance that it would be received simul-
taneously in typewritten form by any number of patrol cars.
Selective devices may also be provided so that messages may
be received by one or more cars to the exclusion of all others.
This instrument will undoubtedly be so simplified and re-
duced in cost that its use in patrol operations will f ollow as a
matter of course.

Telephoto and television are both awaiting opportunity for
more extensive use in police service. Ships at sea now receive
the daily newspapers in facsimile by these methods. Weather
charts of the North Atlantic are broadcast to navigating offi-
cers at frequent intervals. Recently an entire copy of a tabloid
newspaper was flashed across the Atlantic by means of fac-
simile apparatus. This type of equipment has been installed
in army planes for the purpose of sending maps and other
pictorial information without the necessity of the plane's
returning to its base. The possibilities of these new develop-
ments in communication stagger the imagination. Neverthe-
less, modern communities may look forward to the early
application of many of them in advanced patrol operations.

CHAPTER VI

THE

KEGIONAL POLICE COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

THE RECENT GROWTH of regional police coordination in the
United States rests upon two sets of conditions, involving
(1) communication policy and (2) the complex police prob-
lems associated with the detection and suppression of modern
crime.

The limited number of radio frequency channels available
for police use has made necessary an extension of the oper-
ating scope and service of individual transmitting stations.
A Bulletin of the Federal Communications Commission, re-
lating to this matter, states in part :

The specific frequencies available for use by police radio stations are
set out in the Commission's Rules and Regulations. As there are only
eight frequencies available, the Commission is confronted with the neces-
sity of providing for their greatest possible use.

After considerable study, it was decided that the entire country should
be divided into zones, and that all cities within a zone should share the
use of the same frequency. In this way it is possible to duplicate fre-
quencies in different zones, and at the same time provide for an efficient
system of operation within each zone.

There is a belief on the part of some police administrations that a
separate frequency should be assigned to each municipality. With only
eight frequencies available, such a system could not possibly be as
efficient as the zone system of allocation.

For example, in one metropolitan area, there are nineteen cities lo-
cated in eighty districts, nearly all of which are within twenty miles
of the center of the district. Therefore, if different frequencies were
assigned to each municipality, the adjacent police departments would
lose the advantage of being notified of crimes committed in neighboring
cities, with a consequent delay in the apprehension of criminals who suc-
ceeded in making their escape from one city to another.

Cities in areas such as that referred to above are encouraged to organ-
ize the metropolitan district type of radio service.

It is known that some applicants desire a metropolitan area system
of communication, but cannot obtain agreements from all the cities

[204]

The Regional Communication System 205

within their area. The Commission regrets that it cannot offer any im-
mediate solution to such problems.

The Commission's plan must provide for the granting of radio facili-
ties to every police department, regardless of whether or not it may
desire radio service at the present time. This latter aspect of the Com-
mission's plan is often overlooked by applicants when applying for
facilities. The fact that no other city in the vicinity of the applicant's
city desires immediate radio service cannot be accepted as proof that a
neighboring city will not subsequently apply for radio service. There-
fore, exceptions to the rules cannot be authorized.

In the interest of reduction of interference, an allocation of power
based on population was selected in preference to an allocation based on
the area to be served. Municipalities having large populations need more
power than those of less populous areas because of the greater attenua-
tion of the radiated energy due to building construction. It has been
determined after careful study that most of the small municipalities
which occupy greater geographical dimensions than some of the larger
cities are not handicapped with the transmission difficulties usually pres-
ent in the more populous districts.

The amount of power that may be licensed is specified in Eule 329.
Where two cr more cities desire to cooperate, the power is computed on
the basis of the population of the entire area to be served.

Power limitation is a function of the limited number of
frequency channels which may be allotted for police use. The
maximum amount of power that can be assigned to the respec-
tive police stations is based upon the latest Census figures for
cities or state subdivisions.1 This power limitation is of course
specifically designed to lessen interference on the available
police frequency channels and permit a maximum geographi-
cal distribution of licensed police transmitting stations. But
this limitation resulted in the installation of transmitters of
insufficient power to cover effectively the area to be served. In
the average city of 85,000 to 100,000 population, it would be
a rare engineering feat, indeed, to obtain adequate coverage
with the 50-watt transmitter to which such a city is restricted.
This condition, an outgrowth of frequency limitations, has
led to the consolidation of service areas into regional systems
of police radio communication.

1 Power allocation tables may be obtained by addressing the Federal
Communications Commission, Washington, D. C.

206 Police Communication Systems

At least three outstanding surveys have been conducted
recently in the United States, in an effort to present the ad-
vantages of regional coordination of police man power and
equipment. Under the supervision of August Vollmer, former
President of the International Association of Chiefs of Po-
lice, David G. Monroe,2 of the University of Chicago, made a
study of the Chicago metropolitan area, analyzing the factors
which indicated the desirability of a consolidation of the po-
lice facilities in that area. Bruce Smith,3 an able critic of
police administration, recently prepared a regional police
plan for Cincinnati and its environs, undertaken in the be-
lief that police service in southwestern Ohio and northeast-
ern Kentucky could be substantially improved by a program
of joint action affecting all police units in the area surround-
ing Cincinnati. A third survey4 was completed in 1933 under
the direction of the Sheriff's Office in Los Angeles County, as
a basis for the formulation of a plan whereby the Los Angeles
police transmitter might be used by all police units in the
entire county.

Mr. Smith showed that the very limited territorial juris-
diction of police forces in the Cincinnati region often pre-
vented effective police action, and that a sharp break with the
past must some day be made if major improvements in service
were to be realized. He pointed out that police protection that
is now being provided by rural communities was established
at a time when the most commonplace of modern facilities
were not available. The area included in the Cincinnati sur-
vey involved 6 counties, comprising 51 townships and 13 mag-
isterial districts, with 12 cities and 65 villages superimposed
upon them. Each of these governmental units maintains some
sort of police establishment, so that in the whole region there
are 147 police agencies, each independent of the others, and
all of them overlapping more or less. They are distributed

2 David G. Monroe, Chicago Regional Survey.

3 Bruce Smith, A Eegional Police Plan for Cincinnati and Its En-
virons.

* The Sheriff's Office., Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles
County Survey.

The Regional Communication System 207

ewer 2045 square miles of compact territory, with a total pop-
ulation of almost 1,000,000 inhabitants.

The Chicago metropolitan region is not composed of many
huge and self-sufficient police forces, but is a great mass of
698 relatively small units, independently operated, which
singly are too often unable to provide the protection neces-
sary in this modern era of crime. The need for scientific coor-
dination of police activity in such a situation becomes vitally
apparent. Municipal forces are of course responsible for the
protection of the public welfare within the villages. State
police have assumed this function on the highways, and the
sheriff's deputies attempt to offer protection over an entire
county that is outside of municipal limits. Park police and
forest-preserve police have their individual functions. Thus
police protection becomes characterized by the individuality
of many small forces, each force attempting in its own way
to meet its individual problems, and the region as a whole is
without any general or comprehensive means of combating
the crime within its borders.

Within the boundaries of Los Angeles County lie forty-
three incorporated cities and many areas in unincorporated
territory which, because of density of population, present the
aspect of cities, so far as police protection is concerned. Sev-
eral of these cities and areas are contiguous and none of them
is separated by more than six or seven miles from some other.
It follows that a crime may be committed in one city and,
since a speed of fifty miles an hour no longer attracts atten-
tion on the highways, the criminal escaping in an automobile
is in another city in ten minutes or less. Within an hour the
offender may pass through several cities in the area.

The Cincinnati survey showed that, although the 147 police
agencies in that area were independent of one another in a
political sense, they could readily be made interdependent in
matters of routine and emergency police work. Thus, the city
of Cincinnati, with its more extensive police facilities, can
profit substantially from any plan which will make police in-
formation and genera] information concerning crime through-

208 Police Communication Systems

out the area quickly available to its own police force. It can
profit also from any means of rapid communication which
may be set up whereby reports of offenses can be relayed to
the most remote parts of the region.

Of special significance would be the control of strategic
points of egress from the area by making possible the direct
observation of the various radial highways and railways in
emergencies. The tangled skein of highways and railroads
which begins in Cincinnati and spreads out into the surround-
ing area is typical of the facilities that are at the disposal of
the criminal in every section of the United States. In the Cin-
cinnati region, all the main highways can be placed promptly
under observation at twenty-three control points. Each rep-
resents a place where some form of twenty-four-hour police
service is available. The provision of direct communication
lines to these twenty-three points would make possible the
surveillance of all public and private highway traffic flowing
over main arteries. Main railroad lines serving the region
could also be placed under observation in emergencies. For
the most part, such control points are the same as those pro-
vided on highways, a total of twenty-eight being required to
cover, in this Cincinnati region, the improved highways, rail-
roads, and ferries taken together.

The smaller communities may profit through coordination
of their protective and investigating work with that of the
metropolitan department. The latter can provide services in
training, in criminal identification, in the operation of modus
operandi systems, and can function as a communication cen-
ter. All these are services which are now completely lacking
in nearly all the other police agencies and which the smaller
police forces, whether acting alone or collectively, could never
hope to provide for themselves.

THE REGIONAL, COMMUNICATION PLAN

Eegional coordination is in large part a function of com-
munication facilities. At present, commercial telephone and
telegraph lines represent the only quick method of commu-

The Regional Communication System 209

nication between separate and independent police units. Such
facilities, however, merely tie together the headquarters offi-
ces and do not immediately reach the patrolman on his beat.
Long-distance telephone communication is a luxury for most
of the small forces and the expense involved has handicapped
its use. The Chicago survey revealed a typical situation.

The Cook County highway sheriff's office force is the largest
of all the sheriffs' police staffs and has been established pri-
marily as a coordinating agency to assist citizens in their
problems. The highway force is centered in three headquar-
ters in the region, one at Morton Grove, one at Home wood,
and another at Willow Springs. All three stations are within
a radius of approximately fifteen miles from headquarters in
Chicago. There is no way by which the three may keep in
touch with one another, or with headquarters in Chicago, ex-
cept by telephone. No private line exists, and so the ordinary
pay-station telephone is used by the stations. A call from the
Morton Grove station to Chicago costs fifteen cents, and a call
from Homewood, twenty cents. The officer calling must pay
telephone charges in advance. Owing to the rather peculiar
financial status of the county, some of the men have not been
reimbursed for several years for charges which they have
paid.

It was also found that among municipal chiefs as well,
there was a dearth of long-distance telephoning. Village coun-
cils invariably frown upon large long-distance telephone bills.
A village chief who incurred a toll bill of $1.20 was informed
by council members that, unless he could be more careful with
village funds, he would have to seek a new position. The data
collected from village police chiefs brought out the fact that,
in more than fifty departments, councils were constantly mak-
ing some complaint concerning police expenses. Naturally,
coordination between municipal police chiefs remains more
or less a local matter; communication between far separated
points rarely takes place except by letter.

Even where coordination by telephone between closely ad-
jacent points is attempted, the unavoidable delay is fatal to

210 Police Communication Systems

good police work. The police official in a given community
must telephone to other police departments when broadcast-
ing an alarm. After this time-consuming process has been
completed, many minutes and perhaps hours may pass before
the effective strength of the several police forces in the area is
acquainted with the information. Meanwhile, a criminal has
the choice of half a dozen or more excellent roads of escape,
and this generally means that a police chief must call a dozen
or more departments in the surrounding area in order to
guard strategic highway control points. The perpetration of
one bank robbery necessitated forty minutes of telephoning
to inform the police officials within five miles of the crime. By
the time half a dozen police departments were on the lookout,
the robbers' car and its occupants were safely under cover
twenty-five miles away.

The Cincinnati survey directed attention to the speed and
efficiency of the teletypewriter in police communication, and
recommended the extension of the Cincinnati police teletype-
writer service to the twenty-eight communities in that area.6
A typist seated in the police station at Cincinnati types the
details of a gas-station robbery, the message being automati-
cally recorded in printed form by receiving machines in all
the stations in the region. Thus, accuracy of information is
combined with the speed of the electric current, and an alarm
may be spread over a wide territory within a few seconds.

A few years before the Chicago survey was made, a step
toward mechanical coordination was taken when a teletype
hook-up was established between Chicago and three neighbor-
ing cities, namely, Oak Park, Evanston, and Winnetka. Plans
are now being considered to link the entire region in a tele-
type network, through which seventy-two police forces in the
area will be connected with the Chicago police department,
and a switchboard in Chicago will make possible coordination
between sheriff and municipal police. The ideal plan contem-
plates the coalescing of the entire region in Indiana, Illinois,
and Wisconsin, through the designation of the county seats as

5 See Chapter VII, "The Police Teletype Network" (p. 242).

The Regional Communication System 211

the centers of the respective county police stations, each cen-
ter being connected to Chicago by a direct trunk line. If a gas
station has been held up in a small town in DuPage County,
for example, that town will at once telephone the information
to county headquarters, which in turn will teletype the in-
formation to Chicago. From that point, of course, the alarm
with pertinent description and information will be spread
without loss of time throughout the entire area. If a bank
robbery has been committed in Kane County, within a few
seconds DuPage County officials can know of it and block
every road leading from Kane County into Chicago. Thus
will Chicago become the switchboard for the entire region.

The teletypewriter is a remarkable medium for meeting the
requirements of fast communication between police stations
in the regional system. However, the station is merely a point
of transfer for the crime report. It is when the individual
patrolman has received the information and has taken up his
post at a highway control point or other strategic place, that
the regional machinery really begins to function in the emer-
gency. Both the telephone and the teletypewriter are limited
to communication between fixed stations. The radio, by elimi-
nating the necessity for land wires as the transmitting me-
dium, has provided the ideal link between the station and the
mobile patrol force.

THE REGIONAL RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

One of the most important developments in the field of police
radio has been the extension of the service area of the munici-
pal police radio system to include adjacent jurisdictions.
Under such an arrangement, a single police transmitter may
be made to serve a dozen or more police departments within
the area concerned. For example, the transmitting station of
the Police Department at Berkeley, Calif., dispatches all
broadcast traffic for police agencies in the counties of Ala-
meda and Contra Costa, including all city police departments
and sheriffs' offices. With proper telephone and teletype fa-
cilities to expedite the receipt of calls from outside depart-

212 Police Communication Systems

merits, and a competent dispatching organization, effective
and adequate communication is available for all mobile units
in the two counties.

The cost of radio transmitting equipment is another factor
in the consolidation of radio operation. A modern police radio
transmitter is a comparatively expensive instrument. Many
police departments, particularly in the smaller communities,
could ill afford such an expenditure. The installation of a
central transmitter for the combined area is actually a step
toward economy; for it is only necessary that outside depart-
ments equip their cars with the necessary receiving appara-
tus, and this is a comparatively inexpensive affair. As a rule,
the central station makes no charge to the smaller community
for the broadcast service, because of the benefits that accrue
to the larger department in the increased police efficiency
throughout the area.

Experiments conducted by the Cincinnati Police Depart-
ment indicated that police broadcasts sent out from that city
could easily be received at all points within the police region.
It was in August, 1930, that radio became possible as a new
method of regional intercommunication in the Chicago area.
Originally planned only as a means for directing the move-
ments of the force within the city, the almost immediate ac-
tion of neighboring towns has now made the radio station a
regional coordinator. Within the short span of a year and a
half, forty-one towns have radio-equipped cars cruising in
the region.

With its three transmitters, the Chicago Police Department
now flashes signals to forces throughout the area. WPDC
broadcasts to nineteen police departments to the west ; to the
south and southwest, WPDB, the south-side station, sends out
its messages to police forces in ten communities ; on the north
side, WPDD keeps twelve communities in touch with events.
From Lake Forest to the north and Harvey to the south near
the Indiana border, and Villa Park far to the west, there is
maintained a swift coordination of police strength in this
area by day and by night.

The Regional Communication System 213

By June, 1930, only seven months after the installation,
the number of regional broadcasts had jumped to 1345 for
that month. Of this total, Evanston received 470, Oak Park
212, Maywood 175, and River Forest 77. At the beginning of
1931, sixty-six radio-equipped cars were operating in the
region, exclusive of the city of Chicago.6

The organization of a police regional radio system has cer-
tain legal aspects. Prior to an assignment of additional trans-
mitting power on the basis of the increased population served,
the Federal Communications Commission requires that all
municipalities and jurisdictions represented in the total pop-
ulation figure subscribe to written agreements or contracts
covering the projected regional communication service. An
essential part of the agreement is that all contracting parties,
with the exception of the one obligated to supply broadcast
service to the area, indicate their willingness to forego any
future application to the Commission for the right to operate
a transmitter. Thus, in return for the usual grant of increased
power to the region, the Commission's problem of police
frequency and power distribution is appreciably simplified
through a reduction in the number of potential applicants
for station licenses. Such agreements or contracts are further
desirable with respect to the individual police forces con-
cerned in the regional merger, since they are a record of the
transaction and afford a stable and businesslike basis for the
future operation of the system.7

0 Toward the close of 1937, approximately eighty-five such regional
radio systems were in active operation in the United States. Among the
stations serving a plurality of police forces were those of Atlanta, Ga. ;
Beaumont, Tex.; Berkeley, Calif.; Buffalo, N. Y.; Chicago, 111.; Cin-
cinnati, Ohio ; Cleveland, Ohio ; Dallas, Tex. ; Dayton, Ohio ; Denver
Colo.; Detroit, Mich.; Flint, Mich.; Fresno, Calif.; Honolulu, T. H.
Houston, Tex. ; Indianapolis, Ind. ; Kansas City, Mo. ; Kokomo, Ind.
Lexington, Ky. ; Louisville, Ky. ; Milwaukee, Wis. ; Minneapolis, Minn.
Oklahoma City, Okla. ; Omaha, Neb. ; Portland, Ore. ; Eichmond, Ind.
Rochester, N. Y. ; St. Louis, Mo. ; St. Paul, Minn. ; Salt Lake City, Utah
San Francisco, Calif. ; Sioux City, Iowa ; Syracuse, N. Y. ; Washington
D. C. ; and Wichita, Kan.

7 For specimen contracts, see Appendix 2, p. 489.

214 Police Communication Systems

THE REGIONAL SYSTEM AND THE RURAL POLICE PROBLEM

One of the most immediate advantages of the regional com-
munication system has been increased effectiveness of the
police power in rural areas, because most of the regional sys-
tems extend a broadcast service to members of the sheriff's
force and to other agencies that are charged with the policing
of those areas. This is extremely fortunate, since the large,
sparsely settled sections lying outside the jurisdiction of mu-
nicipal police forces have for the most part been left exposed
to the incursions of criminals and other infractions of law
and order. The scheme of police organization now obtaining
in rural areas is often quite inadequate to meet modern re-
quirements; but rural political subdivisions may minimize
the effects of this condition by establishing rural patrols and
bodies of criminal investigators, coordinated in action by
means of the regional organization of communication facili-
ties. If this work is well and thoroughly performed, the ab-
surd patchwork of county, township, village, and city police
forces will become less ineffective during the years that must
yet pass before the whole medieval pattern is swept away and
a more rational system substituted.8

The signs which point to this as an eventual development
become increasingly clear. In Iowa and in Illinois a state-
wide system of rural vigilantes has been organized, sig-
nalizing, according to one commentator, the collapse of the
sheriff-constable regime as a device for police protection. In
many other states a movement is rapidly gaining headway to
merge the smaller counties and towns so that a basis may be
laid for governmental action along a wider front. State police
forces are an accomplished fact. Everywhere is found a grow-
ing recognition of the need for larger governmental units in
order that more adequate police services may be organized.

In 1932, the author made a questionnaire survey covering
seventy-three counties and one state, and representing, in all,
thirty-two states, for the purpose of ascertaining how far

8 Bruce Smith, op. cit.

The Regional Communication System 215

communication facilities are employed in rural police service.
In most of the states reporting, police protection in the rural
areas outside the limits of incorporated cities and towns is
given chiefly by the sheriff and his deputies. Some towns and
townships have their own constables and a few states have
state police organizations which police the rural areas, and
the sheriffs cooperate as much as possible with these law-en-
forcement agencies.

The organizations through which the sheriffs meet their re-
sponsibility for the maintenance of law and order and the
apprehension of criminals fall roughly into three classes. In
thirteen of the counties reporting, the sheriff and all his depu-
ties gather at one central station, from which they respond to
all calls. In twelve counties, part of the sheriff's force is sta-
tioned in a central office, and the rest of the force is decen-
tralized and scattered throughout the county. In some large
counties, including Los Angeles and San Bernardino coun-
ties, Calif., regular substations are maintained. In others, the
paid full-time deputies are centralized in one station, and
special deputies who may be paid for the time in which they
actually perform police duties, or may not be paid at all, are
scattered throughout the area. These special deputies look af-
ter small matters that require attention and take charge of
more important matters until the sheriff or his regular deputy
arrives.

As the rural law-enforcement agency, the sheriff does not,
as a rule, depend entirely upon the resources of his own office.
If constables are available in his county, and they usually are,
the sheriff attempts to keep in close touch with them. In a few
counties the constables are deputized and in one, Los Angeles,
the constabulary is a regular part of the sheriff's office. The
sheriffs also, as has been mentioned, make an effort to work
in cooperation with the police departments of the cities and
towns in their county, and keep in close touch with local state
police organizations, — if there are any, — even using their
communication facilities, as is done in New York. Even if the
state police are only highway patrolmen, the sheriff usually

216 Police Communication Systems

cooperates with them ; a few sheriffs reported that the high-
way police were deputized and took general charge in emer-
gencies until a regular deputy arrived.

In two states, Nebraska and South Dakota, there are state
sheriffs who aid the local sheriff in meeting unusual prob-
lems. Finally, in some states, especially in the Middle West,
vigilante committees have been organized, usually as a pro-
tection against bank bandits. These committees work in close
cooperation with the sheriff and take orders from him. In
some places the vigilance-committee members are deputized.

The survey showed that the telephone is almost the sole
instrument of rural communication. Through the telephone
the sheriff receives calls for help, communicates with his depu-
ties at home or at stations isolated from the central office, and
receives calls and reports from deputies who are out on calls
or on patrol. The telephone and the automobile are the two
typical communication and transportation facilities of the
rural police. The ordinary sequence of law enforcement in the
county is the reception of a call coming into the sheriff's office
over the telephone, and a response by the sheriff or his deputy
in an automobile.

A few sheriffs have made special arrangements with the
telephone company for a more rapid handling of emergency
police traffic. It is surprising that more sheriffs have not done
so. The sheriff of Montgomery County, Ohio, in which Dayton
is situated, has divided it into four zones. Through a prear-
ranged plan, the telephone operators, on being given the num-
ber of any of the four zones, promptly call all the deputies in
that zone and connect them with the sheriff's office. In three
counties in Iowa, the sheriffs have arranged with the tele-
phone company that, when need arises, the telephone opera-
tor shall mobilize the various vigilance committees in towns
throughout the area, and put them in touch with the sheriff's
office. In another county in Iowa, calls to and from the sheriff's
office are given priority.

The telephone is also the sole means employed by members
of the sheriff's office to keep in touch with the central station

The Regional Communication System 217

when they are away on their duties. In some counties the
sheriff requires his men to report regularly to the office when
out on duty, using whatever public or private telephone is
most conveniently available. Ordinarily, these are the public
telephones in gasoline stations, restaurants, garages, and
other similar places. In only one of the counties reporting,
Fayette, Ohio, has a system of call boxes been installed for the
use of these cruising deputies; this installation is a recent
result of the Cincinnati regional police communication plan
previously discussed.

The teletypewriter is little used, apparently, by the sher-
iffs of the United States. Only one sheriff — of Los Angeles,
Calif. — reports the use of a teletype system for intracounty
communication, direct teletype lines connecting his main of-
fice in Los Angeles with the nine substations in the county.
Only two states, Oregon and California, report connections
between the sheriff's headquarters and the state teletype-
writer systems. The sheriff of Lane County, Ore., stated that
he was being connected with the Oregon state system, then
in process of installation, and the sheriffs of twenty-one coun-
ties in California reporting gave the information that they
were either already connected with the state teletypewriter
system, or had access to its facilities through some other office,
or were planning to be connected. Only one of the six sheriffs
from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut
who answered the questionnaire mentioned the use of the tele-
typewriter systems with interstate connections. In the United
States generally, the teletypewriter has not begun to reach its
stride in the rural police communication scheme.

Radio communication, the survey indicated, is rapidly be-
coming of major importance in rural police protection. Most
of the seventy-five or more regional radio systems now in op-
eration provide for radio broadcast to the cars of sheriffs or
county police. Several sheriffs reported the independent op-
eration of their own transmitters, and others indicated an
intention of installing their own equipment. Some of these
radio-equipped cars are connected with a state radio system ;

218 Police Communication Systems

for example, those controlled by the sheriffs in Michigan,
which has adopted a state police radio system by law. The
Buckeye Sheriffs' Association of Ohio plans to install a state
radio system similar to the Michigan network, and two Ohio
sheriffs, of Montgomery and Clark counties, respectively, in-
dicated keen interest in this development. The sheriff of Lane
County, Ore., also stated that his state contemplated the in-
stallation of a state radio system, in addition to the teletype
system then being installed.

Probably the most thoroughgoing study of the rural police-
communication problem that has ever been made, was com-
pleted in 1933 by the Sheriff's Office of Los Angeles. The
results of this survey confirm present indications and defi-
nitely point the way toward a growing use of radio-equipped
patrol cars in rural areas. This survey further emphasizes
the fact that, in the future development of regional police
communication systems, full recognition must be given to the
needs of the rural section.

The size of the police problem facing the sheriff of Los An-
geles County and the consequent need of an efficient system
of communication, can be more easily understood if the to-
pography of his territory is considered. Los Angeles County
covers an area of 4115 square miles. Nearly one-half of the
northern part is extremely mountainous, dry, and barren,
and has few communities that are connected by good roads.
On the west, the county is bounded by eighty miles of sea-
coast, along which are scattered ten beach cities of vary-
ing population, one of 50,000 and another of 150,000. In the
southwestern part is the harbor district. To the east near the
foothills are large residential sections through which run sev-
eral main arterial highways leading eastward into the neigh-
boring state of Arizona. The total population of the county
in 1930 was 2,208,000, more than half of which is in the metro-
politan area of the city of Los Angeles. Within the county
are scattered forty-four incorporated cities with populations
ranging from 2300 to more than 1,200,000. Of these forty-
four cities, more than thirty are within a radius of approxi-

The Regional Communication System 219

mately twenty miles of the center of the city of Los Angeles.

The population is mixed, the principal foreign nationals
being Mexicans, Russians, Italians, and Japanese. The people
engage in a variety of occupations, chief among which are
farming and gardening, manufacturing, shipping, and oil
production. The rapid growth of the county in recent years
and its development in all lines of profitable activity, the
constantly increasing population both American and for-
eign, and the favorable climatic and other conditions for con-
tinuous and easy movement back and forth within the county,
have all presented crime possibilities and serious crime
problems.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, at the time of the
survey, had already been organized on a regional basis. A
central division was placed in the city of Los Angeles, and
nine substations were distributed in various sections of the
county. These substations are the outposts of the sheriff's de-
partment and through them communication is had with the
citizens of the area. Through them, also, the greater number
of crime reports are obtained and many of them investigated.
The duties of the personnel of the substations include the
patrolling of the area assigned to the station and the investi-
gation of almost all the misdemeanor cases occurring, and of
felony cases directly assigned to them by the central office.

Since the general office, the chief administrative officers of
the department, and the central record division are in Los
Angeles, the principal communication problem of the sheriff's
department was the devising of a system which would be a
speedy and reliable communicating medium between the cen-
tral station and the various subdivisions. For its communi-
cation requirements, the Sheriff's Office relies primarily upon
the teletypewriter system. This network consists of twenty-
two machines, two of which are placed in each of the nine
substations, and a main battery of four in the division of rec-
ords and identification of the central office. The substation
machines, which are equipped for both sending and receiving
messages, are connected with the bureau by direct private

220 Police Communication Systems

telephone lines. Three of the main batteries in the record divi-
sion are equipped for both sending and receiving messages
from substations, and one, known as a broadcasting set, is
connected with all stations through a specially arranged and
constructed control board, making it possible to broadcast to
any one or to all stations at the same time.

That the teletype system has many marked advantages over
other usual communication methods is amply demonstrated
by the equipment in the Sheriff's Office. It is particularly
adapted to the needs of substations in obtaining accurately
such information as criminal records, automobile license num-
bers, house numbers, and other concrete information from the
central office, for the use of investigators.

All reports required between the substations and the cen-
tral office are speedily and accurately sent over the teletype
machines with less labor than was formerly required for typ-
ing the reports and mailing them. A general alarm may be
broadcast to all stations over the system instantly ; if sent by
telephone as in the past, it would take two men at least thirty
or forty minutes to transmit it. Further, the teletypewriter
permits substations to communicate with one another through
the control board in the main office. Moreover, information
sent by this means, being in print, is more accurate than in-
formation transmitted by telephone ; also a permanent record
of each communication is made. The sheriff's teletype system
is connected with the California state network, and all im-
portant messages received over the state-wide system are sent
either to all substations or to those which might be particu-
larly concerned.

The telephone is still indispensable in the receiving of
complaints and reports from citizens concerning matters of
interest to the sheriff, and for all communication by the de-
partment with outside persons. It is also a means of keeping
in touch with the 152 constables who police the townships of
the county.

Rural sections in comparison with metropolitan areas pre-
sent a wide divergence in patrol conditions. In the cities are

The Regional Communication System 221

to be found a more or less concentrated population, telephones
that are readily accessible at all hours, relatively small patrol
areas with consequent short distances to the scenes of crime,
and paved and lighted streets with house numbers promi-
nently and frequently placed. These conditions lead to quick
arrival of help when need arises, and to short hauls in trans-
portation of prisoners. They also permit the immediate re-
turn to patrol duty and the frequent appearance of a patrol
car at any given point. The conditions prevailing in the ter-
ritory which the sheriff is called upon to protect are very
different. The patrol areas are large and irregular, densely
populated in parts but with wide reaches of sparsely settled
territory, infrequent house numbers mostly indiscernible
from a car in the street, no roadside telephone system re-
served for police use, comparatively few private telephones
available (virtually none after midnight) , dirt roads, and, in
many places, little or no street lighting over wide areas.

With the advantage of the use of the Los Angeles police
transmitter, the sheriff's survey was carried forward on the
nights of Saturdays and holidays, since these periods showed
the greatest criminal activity and so yielded the greatest num-
ber of calls per night worked. In the course of these studies,
several of the sheriff's substations were used as headquarters
at various times, but most of the work was done from Sub-
station No. 2, in Belvedere, as that proved to be the most ac-
tive district.

The answering of one hundred radio calls, together with
the patrol duty involved, was arbitrarily decided upon as a
sufficient test to yield reliable data upon which to base sound
conclusions relative to the future possibilities of this type
of radio organization and procedure in the solution of the
rural police-communication problem. One hundred and six
calls were responded to and recorded in the course of the
study. Fair weather, fog, and rain were among weather con-
ditions contended with.

Further studies relative to time elements and methods were
carried on in the control room in the Los Angeles City Hall,

222 Police Communication Systems

from which the Los Angeles Police Department radio calls
are sent, and in the transmitting stations of both Los Angeles
and Pasadena. In addition, time and interval studies were
made in the night hours with private receiving sets.

The work in the field was done by two staff members of
the Bureau of Efficiency, who carried credentials permitting
them to ride in any sheriff's car at any time. They usually
worked in company with the sheriff's deputy who had the
direction of the radio patrol survey from its inception and
authority to direct the handling of calls with respect to radio
in all substations. Thus, though at the beginning of the survey
there were available but three cars equipped with radio re-
ceivers, it was possible to take one or more of these machines
with its crew to any substation and test out the need for, and
possible results to be obtained by, the use of radio cars in that
district, without in any way disturbing the routine opera-
tion of the substation. The scope of the study was thus made
county-wide.

Usually the the work was started at 4 :00 P.M., and con-
tinued until 6 :00 A.M. the following morning. When the radio
patrol car left the station at the beginning of a patrol period,
the time was noted and the speedometer reading taken. When
a call was received for that car, the call was given its proper
serial number for identification, and the data were recorded
under the following heads : (a) time of call; (6) elapsed time,
from receipt of call to arrival at destination ; (c) car location
(at time of .call) ; (d) call location (scene of crime) ; (e) na-
ture of call (burglary, holdup, disturbance, or whatever) ;
(/) disposition (arrest, warning, or whatever) ; (g) miles per
run. At the end of the patrol the time was noted and the speed-
ometer again read. All "elapsed time" intervals were deter-
mined by a stop watch to the nearest second, on each run made.

In this phase of police work, each case, if considered in-
dividually, is surrounded by a specific set of circumstances
which have a definite bearing upon the time intervals in-
volved. Thus, consider two radio calls requiring runs of equal
distances. One may find the car returning to the station with

The Regional Communication System 223

several prisoners who must be disposed of before the run
can be made ; to the other, the car may be free to respond at
once. One call may involve an auto accident clearly visible to
an approaching police car at a distance of several hundred
feet ; the other may require the locating of a residence in a
district where the houses are set far back from an unlighted
street or roadway, making a search on foot necessary in find-
ing the proper address.

Clearly, the element of time elapsing between the receipt
of a call in the car and the arrival at destination is a widely
variable quantity, with respect to field conditions alone.

A total of fifteen nights or parts thereof was devoted to
patrol, in which 126 hours were spent on the roads and 939
miles were traveled. This time includes all stops and delays
of every sort and indicates that an average of 7.45 miles was
traveled for each hour, or 59.60 miles per 8-hour watch. A
total of 192.95 miles was traveled in responding to 106 calls.
The average speed while on the run on call response was 23.02
miles per hour. The maximum length of run was 12.50 miles,
requiring 23 minutes 12 seconds, and the minimum distance
and time were each zero. These minima came about because
the car, in the course of its regular patrol duty, arrived at
the scene of the trouble coincidentally with the receipt of the
call directing it to go there. This occurred twice in the course
of the work.

The total mileage (939) and that part of it run in response
to calls (192.95) indicate that 20.55 per cent of the mileage
covered by a radio car would be spent on the run in response
to calls. The rest is chargeable to patrol duty, prisoner trans-
portation, transportation incident to accidents, trips to hos-
pitals necessitated by transportation of accident victims, and
other routine matters.

Analysis of the 106 runs with respect to length of time pass-
ing between receipt of call and arrival at destination showed
that 12 calls required 1 minute or less ; 11 required more than
1 minute but not more than 2 minutes ; 20 required more than
2, not more than 3 minutes ; 20 required more than 3, not more

224 Police Communication Systems

than 4 minutes; 28 required between 4 and 8 minutes ; 12 re-
quired between 8 and 15 minutes ; and 3 took more than 15
minutes. Analysis of all runs with respect to cause showed 38
different types of report received. Calls originating under the
head of "Disturbance" were 19, "Auto accidents" 9, "Fight"
8, "Burglary" 7, "Go to your station" 7, "Call your station"
5, "Fire" 4, "Investigation of a car" 4.

Data on the time passing between receipt of a complaint in
a substation and the broadcast to a radio car were noted as
opportunity offered, and were supplemented by substation
records. The average was 1 minute 58 seconds ; the maximum,
14 minutes 0 seconds ; the minimum, 0 minutes 30 seconds.

Using the average time interval between the receipt of the
call and the broadcast (1 minute 58 seconds) and the average
interval between receipt of call and arrival at destination (4
minutes 45 seconds), it was found that the average time that
a citizen may expect to wait between the registering of his
complaint with a substation and the arrival of a radio car at
his door was 6 minutes 45 seconds. This time would of course
be longer in the larger, sparsely settled districts. The sum of
the minima as given above indicated that a car may arrive at
the scene of a crime 30 seconds after the complaint reaches a
substation. The sum of the maxima indicates a remote possi-
bility of 37 minutes 12 seconds. These figures are given as the
extremes, since it is very unlikely that either all the maximum
or all the minimum elements would concentrate in any one
occurrence.

This part of the survey proved convincingly that through
the use of radio-equipped patrol cars a metropolitan type of
police service can be extended to rural sections. In sparsely
settled rural districts where patrol areas must necessarily be
large, an average operating-time interval of 6 minutes 45 sec-
onds represented a drastic reduction in the customary delay
between the time that a citizen registered a complaint and
the arrival of officers in response.

Los Angeles County authorities next cast about for a police-
operated transmitter capable of meeting their requirements.

The Regional Communication System 225

Within the immediate area police transmitters were located
at both Los Angeles and Pasadena. The city of Los Angeles
operates a 400-watt De Forest transmitter, using energy from
the city's Bureau of Power and Light. A gasoline-operated
auxiliary-power unit is maintained at the station in order to
ensure continuous operation in the event of a temporary fail-
ure of the regular power supply. The transmitter cost $7200 in
very close competitive bidding, and the maintenance charges
are about $200 a month. To operate this station two operators
and one relief man are employed for each 8-hour shift. All
are police officers receiving $200 a month and the monthly
payroll is therefore $1800. In addition to this station payroll,
various clerks and dispatchers are employed in the control
room at the City Hall.

The Los Angeles Police Department at the time was broad-
casting for twenty other cities, three of which were in Orange
County and the rest in Los Angeles County. As previously
noted, it also broadcast the sheriff's calls in the experimental
period covered by this survey.

The Pasadena transmitter is in a penthouse on the roof of
the Pasadena Hall of Justice. The equipment is an installa-
tion of 500 watts capacity, but is limited by license allowance
to the use of only 100 watts. The broadcasting is done by re-
mote control from the Desk Sergeant's office on a lower floor.
The calls are not repeated by the station operator, as in the
Los Angeles system, but are put on the air twice by the same
man. The Pasadena station broadcasts also for the cities of
South Pasadena, Arcadia, and Sierra Madre ; it also had an
agreement at the time to broadcast for the city of San Marino,
but no radio cars had yet been placed in operation. The sys-
tem used in Pasadena is fundamentally the same as that used
in Los Angeles, but much less elaborate, as the entire radio-
car fleet comprises only eleven patrol cars and one ambulance.

Several alternatives were presented as a solution of the
transmitter problem. With forty-two incorporated communi-
ties in the county, assume each department to be equipped
with a transmitter, but all on different frequencies or wave

226 Police Communication Systems

lengths. The broadcast from the city in which the crime is
committed is received in its own patrol cars and in no others.
The result is a circumscribed area of effective service, for,
once the criminal passes the limit of that city, he is free to
make his identification difficult or impossible so far as radio
pursuit or detection is concerned. Now assume that each city
concerned operates a transmitter, but all on the same fre-
quency. Here is introduced the interference and delay oc-
casioned by the efforts of various units to get on the air at
the same time. This, however, is not necessarily the most im-
portant drawback, though circumstances may readily be im-
agined under which delay might become serious.

True, through a signal arrangement between the different
transmitting units, the air might be cleared for the broadcast
of a major-crime alarm, but this requires time and is subject
to both confusion and delay. The greatest drawback to success
under such an arrangement, assuming that it were permitted
by the Federal Communications Commission, — which is un-
likely,— is that the factor of power would be so restricted as
to limit the radius of audible broadcast. A criminal could
within a short time pass out of the field covered by the trans-
mitter of the city wherein the crime was committed. This is
clearly illustrated by the Pasadena station, which is operat-
ing with only 100 watts power under a power restriction of
the Commission. Pasadena calls are so faint that they are fre-
quently inaudible in the Belvedere district, and elsewhere in
the county at no great distance from the transmitter.

Obviously, independent broadcasting by political units in
a limited area fails of its purpose. When one considers the
problems faced in the transmission of crime alarms and other
police matters over an area and under such conditions as are
found in Los Angeles County, with its population of 2,200,000
and its numerous communities the interests of which in police
protection are fundamentally the same, it is clearly seen that
the establishment of an independent transmitter plant is not
a proper solution. In respect of practicability, such a plant
could only add complication to a situation wherein simplicity

The Regional Communication System 227

and unity are synonymous with efficiency and success. In re-
spect of economy, the answer is even more clear.

Both the city of Los Angeles and the city of Pasadena in-
formally indicated through their radio departments a will-
ingness to broadcast sheriff's calls should the county set up a
radio-car service. The work could be done by Los Angeles
with no addition to personnel nor alteration or rearrangement
of equipment. In Pasadena some changes would be necessary.
Los Angeles would do the work on the basis of a small charge
for each call ; Pasadena's suggestion was to prorate the total
cost of transmitter maintenance.

The saturation point of the Los Angeles transmitter was
an important consideration, since it was necessary to deter-
mine whether it would be able to accommodate the additional
broadcast traffic from the sheriff's office. The number of sher-
iff's calls for January, 1933, was 383, an average of about 13
a day. For February, 1933, the total was 411, with a daily
average of 15. When one is considering these figures, it must
be borne in mind that the sheriff's experimental radio cars
were working in the more active substation districts. With
the entire county brought under radio-car patrol, it was esti-
mated that the number of sheriff's calls under present crime
conditions would not exceed 1200 a month.

On a basis of 1200 a calls a month, or even twice that num-
ber, the cost to the county if the broadcasting were done by
either Los Angeles or Pasadena would be considerably less
than the single item of transmitter-station payroll if an in-
dependent transmitter was installed. The question of whether
or not the county should install its own transmitter was
clearly answered in the negative.

The question arose, How much of the twenty-four hours of
the day was actually consumed by police broadcasts ? In other
words, What percentage of the time is the air occupied f or,
How nearly has the saturation point been approached over a
reasonable period ?

Studies indicated that the period of greatest activity was
from about 8 :00 P.M. to 1 :00 A.M., and several tests were run

228 Police Communication Systems

in order to determine as nearly as possible the maximum de-
gree of saturation to be expected under present conditions.
Finally the test run of the night of March 4, 1933, from 8 :10
P.M. to 1 :15 A.M. was selected as showing the maximum traffic.
The data derived from this test were as follows : Date of test,
March 4-5, 1933; duration of test, 5 hours 3 minutes, or
303 minutes ; times on air — Los Angeles 114, Pasadena 19 ;
elapsed time on air — Los Angeles, 168 minutes 48 seconds ;
Pasadena, 3 minutes 3 seconds ; total elapsed time on air, 171
minutes 51 seconds ; percentage of time air was occupied, or
degree of saturation, 56.72.

The Los Angeles transmitter at that time was broadcasting
an average of about 15,000 calls per month, this figure in-
cluding some 400 sheriff's calls, the calls of twenty smaller
cities, and the Orange County Fruit Patrol calls. The test de-
scribed above indicated that this load plus the Pasadena load
brought about, at maximum concentration, a saturation of
but 56.72 per cent. Should the number 'of the sheriff's calls
be increased to 1200 a month (adding 800 calls to the fig-
ures shown by the test), the degree of saturation would be
increased to only 59.72 per cent. It was evident that a serious
condition of crowding did not exist, nor would it exist with
a normal increase in calls for a long period to come.

Possessing marked advantages over all other forms of rural
policing employed up to the present time, the radio-equipped
patrol car gives a speedy and efficient protection to the resi-
dents of rural sections. Formerly, under the Los Angeles
County patrol system, two kinds of service were offered to
the public by the sheriff's substations : that of the "call car,"
and that of the "patrol car" or "prowler." The call car with
its crew remains at the station until a call or complaint is re-
ceived, whereupon it makes the run and takes care of the
emergency. Once away from the station, however, all contact
with the unit is lost until, its work completed, it returns to the
station, possibly to be dispatched at once to another point
only a short distance from the location of the first call, or, it
may be, to stand by at the station for hours until its next call

The Regional Communication System 229

comes. This stand-by service is of course necessary; yet it
should be noted that during the stand-by hours — which are
many — nothing is being done in the way of active protection
for the public.

The prowler, on the contrary, being constantly on patrol,
is thus always actively engaged in protecting the public. It is
not, however, constantly in touch with its station, but it re-
ports in by telephone occasionally, or returns to the station
with prisoners, in the course of its regular duty. The value of
the prowler lies entirely in the control of such crime or other
trouble as may be detected by the eyes and ears of the crew.
It is entirely possible that there may be desperate need for
this car a short block from its location, yet the crew, though
fully alert, may be in complete ignorance of the fact.

Neither the call car, nor the prowler, nor both together,
though fully performing their several functions, constitute a
very efficient weapon against crime. In order to secure per-
formance of the two functions of prompt response to calls
and at the same time patrol of the area, a minimum of two
cars and two crews to man them was required by each sub-
station.

Contrasting rather sharply with this type of service is that
given by the radio car. Practically speaking, it is a patrol car,
since it performs all the functions of a patrol unit or prowler ;
but it also performs all the functions of a call car, since it can
be dispatched at any time, and from any point on its patrol,
in response to an emergency. One radio car with its crew
therefore does the work of two cars and two crews under the
old system.

On the assumption that radio patrol would be made a part
of the Los Angeles sheriff's service, a plan was proposed for
the preliminary setup of patrol areas and the assignment of
cars and personnel. It was recognized that the appearance of
radio patrol in a district would probably cause rather decided
changes in the crime situation, particularly in respect to its
amount and distribution. Some of these changes might be
sufficiently pronounced to warrant a readjustment in equip-

230 Police Communication Systems

ment distribution, hours of patrol, boundaries of patrol areas,
and other distributional factors. The ninety-eight men needed
for radio patrol were to be drawn from the already employed
forces of the nine substations, outposts, and constabulary
when the new plan should go into effect ; hence no increase in
the salary budget was involved.

It was estimated that for the ten districts there would be
required 21 radio-equipped cars for active service, two stand-
by or relief cars, and one car for the officer in command of the
radio patrol — a total of 24 cars, each equipped with a receiv-
ing set. The sheriff's department already had 57 cars, so the
automotive requirements were well taken care of in advance.
Three additional receivers were to be provided as stand-by
sets for emergency replacement service, and a receiver at each
substation to permit of checking broadcasts with respect to
time and accuracy. Such equipment would also make it possi-
ble to keep the substations constantly informed of all the
crime broadcasts that went out through the Los Angeles trans-
mitter.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office has set the pace in
harnessing modern communication to the requirements of
rural police protection. In more than 100 scattered sections
of the United States where metropolitan police areas are now
served by radio broadcast, the surrounding rural sections
should be receiving the benefit of like service. It is significant
that all counties employing radio-equipped cars have a large
city within their borders ; for example, in Monroe County,
N. Y., is Rochester; in Cook County, 111., is Chicago; in
Marion County, Ind., is Indianapolis; in Wayne County,
Mich., is Detroit ; in Hamilton County, Ohio, is Cincinnati ; in
Franklin County, Ohio, is Columbus; in Doubles County,
Neb., is Omaha ; and Campbell County, Ky., although it em-
braces no large city, is a part of the Cincinnati regional devel-
opment.

The Regional Communication System 231

STATE- WIDE SYSTEMS

Iii its regional application, the service is not limited merely
to a control of the patrol forces of surrounding municipalities
and rural districts. There are now in operation state-wide
regional police radio systems, which provide broadcast serv-
ice to state police organizations and other police agencies
throughout a wide area. Such extended regional communi-
cation plans usually depend upon the prior existence of an
organized state police force, since the mosaic of political divi-
sions and subdivisions over such a large territory would other-
wise make the organization of police activities on a scale so
comprehensive, quite difficult under present conditions. Most
states, however, maintain a state highway patrol, and this
unit is serving admirably as the basis for projected state-wide
radio systems. The situation is, of course, ideal in those terri-
tories where a regular state police organization is maintained.

Until June 1, 1937, licenses for the operation of state police
transmitting stations had been issued by the Federal Commu-
nications Commission as shown in the list on pages 232-235.

The most direct use of radio communication as a state-wide
regional coordinator of police activities is to be found in
Michigan, where, in 1929, an act was passed by the state legis-
lature providing for a state-owned and -operated radio broad-
casting station for police purposes only. Since the date of its
installation, the Michigan state police radio system has made
an enviable record and continues to operate as one of the most
formidable weapons in the hands of the police for the detec-
tion and suppression of crime in that state.

In the other states mentioned, the application of state-owned
stations to a state-wide system of police radio communication
has not been quite so evident. The Commonwealth of Penn-
sylvania, through the Pennsylvania State Police, operates a
broadcasting station for state business only. Station WBAK
is on the broadcast band and functions as a broadcast station.
Pennsylvania does not operate any radio patrol cars. Owing
to the size of the state (45,000 square miles) , it has been found

232 Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
STATE POLICE STATIONS

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter location

Fre-
quency
(kc.)

Power

(watts)

KADJ

*State of California, Dept.
of Motor Vehicles

Sacramento Calif

1682

1000

KAPA

Same

Portable-mobile

1682

KAPI
WDSP

WAKJ
WAKQ

Same
State of Delaware, High-
way Dept

State of Florida
Same

Grass Valley, Calif

Station No. 2 Highway
Police, County of New
Castle, Del
Duval County. Fla
Tallahassee Fla

1682

1698
1698
1698

250
350
350

WAKR

Same

Pensacola Fla.

1698

350

WARS

Same . .

Orlando, Fla.

1698

350

WAKT

Same....

Tampa, Fla.

1698

350

WAKU
WAKZ
WQPC

Same
Same
State of Illinois, Dept. of
Public Works and Build-
ings

Fort Myers, Fla
West Palm Beach, Fla

Chicago 111

1698
1698

1610

350
350

1000

WQPD

Same

Duquoin, 111.

1610

1000

WQPF

Same

Emngham, 111.

1610

1000

WQPG

Same

Sterling, 111.

1610

1000

WQPM
WQPP
WQPS
WQFE
WQPW

Same
Same
Same
State of Indiana
Same

Macomb, 111
Pontiac, 111
Springfield, 111
Seymour, Ind
Columbia City, Ind

1610
1610
1610
1634
1634

1000
1000
1000
1000
1000

WPHE

Same

Indianapolis, Ind

1634

1000

WPHS

Same

Culver Ind.

1634

1000

WPHU

Same

Jasper, Ind.

1634

1000

KACC

State of Iowa

Fairfield, la.

1682

500

KACD

Same. .

Atlantic, la.

1682

500

KGHO
KNFN
KNFO
WAKY
WEVN

Same
Same
Same
Maryland State Police
Same

Des Moines, la
Waterloo, la
Storm Lake, la
Portable-mobile
Belair Md

1682
1682
1682
1698
1698

1000
400
400
250
250

WHWN

Same

Laurel, Md.

1698

250

WMSC

*Same .

Cumberland, Md.

1698

250

WMSE
WMSF
WMSH
WMSW

*Same
*Same
*Same
Same

Easton, Md
Frederick, Md
Conowingo, Md
Waldorf Md

1698
1698
1698
1698

250
250
250
250

WWSG

Same

Salisbury Md

1698

250

WMP

Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts, Dept. of Public
Safety

Framingham, Mass

1666

1000

Construction permit issued.

The Regional Communication System

233

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
STATE POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Call

letters

Licensee

Transmitter location

Fre-
quency

(kc.)

Power

(watts)

WPEL
WPEV

Commonwealth of Massa-
chusetts, Dept. of Public

Safety
Same

W. Bridgewater, Mass
Portable

1666
1666

1000
50

WPEW
WRDH

WRDP
WRDS

Same
State of Michigan

Same
Same

Northampton, Mass
Houghton Heights, Mich.

Paw Paw, Mich
East Lansing, Mich

1666
1642

1642
1642

1000
1000 N
5000 D
1000
1000 N

KNHD

KIUK

KRNP
WPGC

Bureau of Criminal Appre-
hension, State of Minne-
sota
State of Missouri, Highway

State of Nevada
State of New York

Redwood Falls, Minn
Jefferson City, Mo

Reno.Nev
So. Schenectady, N. Y.

1658
1674

1634
1658

5000 D

400
1000 N
2500 D
1000
1000 N

WNAH
WANI
WANJ

*State of North Carolina. . . .
*Same
*Same

Raleigh, N.C
Williamston.N.C
Swannanoa, N.C

1706
1706
1706

5000 D
1000
1000
1000

WANK

*Same

Salisbury, N. C

1706

1000

WANL
WPGG

WPGQ
WPHC

*Same
State of Ohio, Dept. of
Highways, Div. of High-
way Patrol

Same
Same

Elizabethtown, N. C

Findlay.O
Nr. Columbus, O
Nr. Massilon, O.

1706

1682
1596f
1682
1596f
1682

1000

500
400
400

WPHK
WPHT

Same
Same

Nr. Wilmington, O
Cambridge, O

1596f
1682
1596f
1682

400
400

WQFT
KOHA
KOHB

Same

State of Oregon, Police and
Highway Dept
Same

Portable

Astoria, Ore
Baker, Ore

1596f
1682
1596f

1706
1706

400

50
10

KOHC

Same

Coquille, Ore

1706

KOHD

Same

The Dalles, Ore.

1706

KOHE

Same. . .

Eugene, Oregon

1706

KOHF

*Same. . . .

Portable-mobile.

1706

KOHG

Same

Grants Pass, Ore

1706

* Construction permit issued.

t Denotes conditional and temporary on this frequency.

234

Police Communication Systems

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
STATE POLICE STATIONS — Continued

Poll

Fre-

v^Elli

letters

Licensee

Transmitter location

quencv
(kc.)'

(watts)

KOHH

*State of Oregon, Police and

Highway Dept

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHI

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHJ

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHK

Same

Klamath Falls, Ore

1706

1000

KOKL

Same

La Grande, Ore

1706

1000

KOHM

Same

Milwaukie, Ore

1706

KOHN

Same

Bend, Ore

1706

KOHO

*Same

Portable -mobile

1706

KOHP

Same

Pendleton, Ore

1706

KOHR

Same

Roseburg, Ore

1706

KOHS

Same

Salem, Ore

1706

1000

KOHU

Same

Burns, Ore

1706

KOHV

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHW

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHX

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHY

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

KOHZ

*Same

Portable-mobile

1706

WAMF

Commonwealth of Penn-

sylvania, Pennsylvania

State Police

Portable-mobile

1674

500

WBA

Same

Harrisburg, Pa

190

300

WBR

Same

Butler, Pa

190

300

WDX

Same

Wyoming, Pa

190

300

WJL

Same

Greensburg, Pa

190

300

WMB

Same

W. Reading, Pa

190

300

WPSP

Same

Harrisburg, Pa

1674

1000

KGZE

City of San Antonio and

Stateof Texas

San Antonio, Tex

2482

500

KNFC

State of Washington, Dept.

of Fisheries

Vessel "Governor Isaac I.

Stevens"

2490

KNFD

State of Washington, Dept.

of Fisheries

Vessel "Governor John R.

Rogers * '

2490

KNHA

Same

Vessel "Governor Eliza P.

Ferry"

2490

KACB

State of Washington, High-

way and Patrol Dept

Portable-mobile

2490

KACG

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KACH

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KACQ

Same

Kalaloch, Wash

2490

KACW

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KADU

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KGHA

Same

Portable-mobile (snow-

plow)

2490

Construction permit issued.

The Regional Communication System

STATIONS OPERATING IN THE EMERGENCY SERVICE
STATE POLICE STATIONS — Concluded

235

Call
letters

Licensee

Transmitter location

Fre-
quency

(kc.)

Power

(watts)

KGHB

State of Washington, High-

way and Patrol Dept. . . .

Portable-mobile (snow-

plow)

2490

KGHC

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KGHD

Same

Seattle, Wash

2490

KGHE

Same

Snoqualmie Pass, Wash. . .

2490

KGHQ

Same

Chinook Pass Wash

2490

KGHR

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KNFG

Same

Olympia, Wash.

2490

KNFK

Same

Bellingham, Wash

2490

KNFL

Same

Shuksan.Wash

2490

KNFQ

Same

Sky komish, Wash

2490

KNFR

Same

Mobile (snowplow)

2490

KNFS

Same

Portable-mobile

2490

KNFT

Same

Mobile (snowplow)

2490

KNFU

Same

Mobile (snowplow)

2490

KNFV

Same

Mobile (snowplow)

2490

KNFW

Same

Mobile (snowplow)

2490

KNFX

Same

Ellensburg, Wash

2490

KNFY

Same

Bear River Camp, Wash. .

2490

KNFZ

Same

Hells Crossing Camp,

Wash

2490

KNGA

Same

Satus Pass Camp, Wash. . .

2490

KNGB

Same

Yakima, Wash

2490

KNGC

Same

Vancouver, Wash

2490

KNGD

Same

Walla Walla, Wash

2490

KNGQ

Same

Wenatchee, Wash

2490

KNGR

Same

Spokane, Wash

2490

KNGZ

Same

Ephrata.Wash

2490

impossible to signal from any one centrally located transmit-
ter to patrol cars throughout the state. The impracticability
of such an arrangement, it is said, for the Pennsylvania State
Police and state-wide broadcasts has been demonstrated.
Pennsylvania's problem, however, like those of several other
states now interested in a state-wide radio communication
plan, is not impossible of solution.

The essence of the problem is the definite limit to the ef-
ficient coverage of a radio transmitter. Its effective service
radius is rigorously circumscribed by frequency and power
factors, as well as other conditions affecting radio transmis-

236 Police Communication Systems

sion in general. It is the opinion of radio engineers that a large
state, such as perhaps Kansas or Oklahoma, could not be ade-
quately served by even a high-powered station placed in its
center, because of the failure of the ground wave to carry re-
liable transmission to all corners of the state at all times of
the day and night, in all seasons, and under all conditions.

The general principles governing use and operation of mu-
nicipal police stations may also be applied to state police sta-
tions. The frequency available for use by a state police station
may be determined by inquiring at the office of the Commis-
sion, since frequencies have been allocated to states in the
same manner as to the areas for municipal police stations.
The maximum power which may be authorized is 5000 watts
sunrise to sunset and 1000 watts sunset to sunrise.

The establishment of a state police radio system is a much
more complicated problem than the establishment of a mu-
nicipal police radio system. In order to be of maximum utility
a state police radio system should be able to reach police of-
ficers wherever located within a state at any hour of the day
or night. In order to achieve this result with the minimum
number of stations and the least expenditure of funds a field-
strength survey of the state is most desirable. In all prob-
ability the cost of making such a survey will be more than
repaid by resultant savings. For instance, there is around each
radio station a territory known as the "fading wall," in which
fading is so intensive that irrespective of power the signals
from that radio station are of very little utility. It is, there-
fore, unnecessary to provide for the emission of any amount
of power greater than that required to provide twenty-four
hour service at the inside boundary of the fading wall. If as a
result of a field-strength survey it is found that this range can
be achieved by the proper use of a 1000- watt transmitter the
installation of equipment capable of greater emission would
be unnecessary and uneconomical.

A promising relief for this situation is afforded through
the engineering of a transmission system in which a plurality
of transmitters of comparatively low power are distributed

The Regional Communication System 237

throughout a state and connected to a central control point
by direct remote control lines or by the conventional teletype-
writer network. As previously noted, installations of this type
are already in operation in both Chicago and New York, where
the metropolitan area to be covered precludes the use of only
one transmitting station.

With a sufficient number of low-powered transmitters
placed at strategic points throughout a state, an alarm could
be spread out over teletype lines simultaneously to the decen-
tralized control points, and from there broadcast to mobile
patrol units over the entire area within the space of a few
minutes. With such a system in operation, the strength rep-
resented by the combined police forces of the state could be
mobilized, placing highway control points under surveillance
or taking other necessary measures, without loss of time. Here
again, two-way radio communication becomes a necessary link
in the modern police system. With mobile units equipped with
portable transmitters, officers indirect pursuit or otherwise in
possession of vital information, would be in constant commu-
nication with their local station, by which means additional
facts and information would be exchanged and teletyped
ahead for broadcast to other cruising units in the area. These
mobile police stations have been found of great utility in con-
nection with the establishment of temporary state police head-
quarters to cope with local emergencies such as might arise
in connection with a fire, flood, earthquake, or similar gen-
eral disturbance. In at least one state, mobile state police
units are equipped with radio transmitters for use in com-
munication with police headquarters when patrolling remote
roads and areas otherwise not furnished with communication
and in which an emergency might arise. Thus, teletype for the
simultaneous relaying of information between fixed points
combines with broadcast to mobile units, to provide a regional
system capable of covering any area, regardless of size.

Under modern conditions, the police problem has become
so complex that no one community may ever again hope to
cope singlehanded with the criminal and his operations. The

238 Police Communication Systems

times call for a merger of interests on a scale which will per-
mit the effective coordination of police action along a wide
front. The situation in and around Chicago, Cincinnati, or
Los Angeles is not unlike that of almost every other section
of the United States-. Everywhere, cities and communities are
nested so closely within compact areas that, considering their
identity of interest and objectives, it is surprising indeed that
their resources have not before this been combined into a
powerful, unified government of metropolitan proportions.
Meanwhile, until some greater transformation takes place, po-
litical boundary lines must be, in some measure, swept aside.
The crime rate of a given community is, in large degree, a
function of the territorial unit, of which it is only a part.
With more than seventy-five regional radio communication
systems already in operation, and their number constantly
growing, the means are rapidly being adapted to the end
desired.

THE USE OF MAPS

The regional police-communication system is dependent for
its full success upon the existence of a plan for concerted ac-
tion. Coordination is the very essence of the regional police
system and is its only objective. Police forces in a regional
organized area have an opportunity to develop in advance an
adequate plan of operation, so that in emergencies the com-
bined force can be quickly mobilized and placed in the field
as one powerful unit. The value of maps in planning the fast-
est possible concentration of patrol strength is so marked as
to rank them among the most important of all communication
accessories. Every patrol movement (and this is as true for
the individual community as for the region) involves the in-
spection or surveillance of given areas, and it is important
that the police have exact information immediately available
with respect to the terrain, the location and kind of arterial
highways, laterals, streams, railroads, bus lines, streetcar sys-
tems, canals, ferries, bridges, underbrush and forested areas,
mountain passes, buildings, and factories, as well as other
similar information. In the control and dispatching of patrol

The Regional Communication System 239

cars in the regional area or in the individual community, the
preparation of satisfactory maps is the only possible means
of cataloguing this important information so that it will be
instantly available when an emergency arises. Such maps are
also of invaluable assistance in the normal distribution of the
patrol force and equipment.

Police departments may gain much by a study of the many
various uses of maps in military service. Besides their obvious
value in open warfare and in military campaigns, they are
employed daily by military students in the solution of tac-
tical military operations. The thoroughness with which the
military force makes use of them is shown by the enormous
amount of detail which is recorded on military maps. Refer-
ence to a military map will therefore suggest many points of
value. Military and police service have much in common and
the greater number of military hazards are also present in
the organized patrol of a regional area as well as in the polic-
ing of a single community.

Aerial photographs, when properly taken, serve many of
the purposes of maps and are in many ways even more use-
ful than maps. They supply to the untrained person much
of the information that the trained mind reads from a topo-
graphic map and, in addition, supply details and relations
that an ordinary map cannot depict. Aerial photographs have
the advantages of range of action and wealth of detail and
they are extremely useful when the accurate location of ob-
jects is desired.

Photography from the air had been developed and used in
a limited degree before the World War, but with very few ex-
ceptions the work was done from kites, balloons, and dirigi-
bles. Aerial photographs of European cities had been used in
the illustration of guidebooks and some aerial photographic
maps of cities had been made, notably by the Italian dirigi-
ble-balloon service. Kites had been employed with sr.ccess to
carry cameras for photographing such objects as active vol-
canoes, the phenomena of which could be observed with spe-
cial advantage from the air, and which were usually situated

240 Police Communication Systems

far from balloon or dirigible facilities. In this prewar work,
some scientific knowledge had been gained concerning photo-
graphic conditions from the air. Aerial photography made its
greatest strides, however, in the war. Photographs taken from
airplanes were used extensively in the construction of maps
of enemy territory. Extremely useful maps were produced in
this manner, containing an immense wealth of detail which
could not have been recorded in any other way.

The volume of work performed by the photographic sec-
tions of the military air service steadily increased until, to-
ward the end of the war, it was truly enormous. The aerial
negatives made every month in the British service alone num-
bered scores of thousands, and the prints distributed in the
same period numbered in the neighborhood of a million. The
task of interpreting aerial photographs became a highly spe-
cialized study. An entirely new activity — that of making
photographic mosaic maps — usurped first place among topo-
graphic problems. Toward the close of the war, scarcely a
single military operation was undertaken until aerial photo-
graphic information had first been obtained.

The strategic importance of aerial photographs in military
service should convince even the most skeptical of its many
practical uses in police service. In warfare, aerial photog-
raphy has been depended upon to discover the objectives for
artillery and bombing, and to record the results of subsequent
"shoots" and bomb explosions. The exact configurations of
front-, second-, third-line, and communicating trenches, ma-
chine-gun and mortar positions, the "pill boxes," organized
shell holes, listening posts and barbed-wire entanglements,
were all revealed, studied, and attacked entirely on the evi-
dence of the airplane camera. An ordinary map of a city or
rural area is, if it is complete, a labor of years. A modern city
is always dangerously near to growing faster than its maps.
An aerial map, however, can be produced in a few hours.
Paris was mapped on 800 plates in less than a day's actual
flying. Washington was completely mapped in 2% hours with
fewer than 200 exposures, and recently in Rochester, N. Y.,

The Regional Communication System 241

only one hour and twenty minutes and a total of eighty-two
exposures were required. In most cities there are professional
aerial photographers who are experts in this type of work
and who invite consultation on such projects.

The police emergency is forever characterized by the de-
mand for rapid and intelligent action. The communication
system provides the means by which members of the decen-
tralized force may be informed of the emergency, but the
problem does not end there. The area concerned must be
carefully anatyzed, control points identified, police hazards
and other information segregated and classified in a system-
atic manner, and the rapid concentration of patrol strength
PLANNED, if the communication system is to yield the results
for which it was designed, and which it is capable of giving.
Maps of the beat, precinct, division, of the entire city, and
of the larger surrounding area, are an excellent basis for the
formulation of such plans.

CHAPTER VII
THE POLICE TELETYPE NETWOEK

rnpiELETYPEWRiTiNG is typewriting by wire. The distance,
J. whether a few feet or the width of a continent, makes no
difference ; the results are the same — accurate, fast, and re-
liable transmission of orders and information from one point
to another.

The uses of teletypewriting are many. It gives rapid and
continuous service to newspapers and meets the demands of
financial organizations for a flexible and foolproof mechanism
in the handling of transactions that are frequently of world-
wide importance. It fits into the methodical, ceaseless grind of
the economic world, supplying an invaluable communication
facility for all the fields of industry and manufactures and
for commerce. The teletypewriter is to be found at landing
fields of the national airways and in the weather-bureau of-
fices and radio stations of the United States Department of
Commerce, where it is used to transmit weather information
that is important to the safety of air navigation. Since its first
introduction into police work in 1922, its use in law-enforce-
ment activities has expanded rapidly, and it has consistently
proved its worth in the solution of two major police-communi-
cation problems, namely, contact between headquarters and
substations, and interdepartmental communication.

The teletypewriter is an electrical machine into which are
built the keyboard, carriage, and certain other parts of the
typewriter. When a sending machine is connected by means
of telephone circuits with other machines equipped for re-
ceiving, it controls the equipment in such a way that any
message written on the sending machine is instantly repro-
duced in typewritten form at all receiving terminals. There
are machines for sending, machines for both sending and re-
ceiving, and equipment designed for receiving only. Land-
wire connections are made over leased telephone lines or
privately controlled circuits. The service may be installed and

[242]

The Police Teletype Network 243

maintained by the telephone company in much the same man-
ner as telephone service.

The teletype machine is of two kinds, the page printer, and
the tape printer. The page machine accommodates stationery
8l/2 inches wide, either in a long continuous roll or in sepa-
rate sheets ; when rolls are used, the paper is fed automatically
into the machine. An original and several carbon copies may
be made on either the transmitting or the receiving machine,
or on both of them. If an error is made when sending with a
page machine, it can be crossed out at the sending station and
the correction will be made simultaneously at the receiving
terminal. The tape machine types on tape, and automatically
feeds the tape from a roll. The tape is three-eighths of an inch
wide. Any work that can be done on the conventional type-
writer, such as reports, messages, orders, statistics, and simi-
lar material, can also be done on the teletypewriter. The kind
of work to be done determines the choice between the page
and the tape printers. In police work the page printer is pre-
ferred, since it types the transmitted and received messages
in a convenient form for filing and record purposes.

The capacity of the machine is from 40 to 60 words a min-
ute. When an operator types a message on a transmitting tele-
typewriter, the sending mechanism converts the letters of the
alphabet, also the necessary typewriting functions, such as
paper feeding, carriage returning, and spacing, into groups
of electrical impulses. These groups of impulses, originated
at the sending machine, are transmitted over telephone cir-
cuits by means of different current values. The signals re-
ceived over the line actuate selecting devices in the receiving
machine corresponding to the transmitted character and
cause this character to be reproduced.

The selecting code apparatus which causes the receiving
machine to print employs five signal elements for each char-
acter. This five-unit code device, worked out in terms of two-
current values over the connecting telephone lines, provides
thirty-two possible combinations. For example : let A repre-
sent one current value and B the other; one of the possible

244 Police Communication Systems

combinations is therefore A— B— B— B-B, another would be
A— B— B— B— A; and so on. One of the five-unit combinations is
assigned to each of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet, leav-
ing six combinations for the typewriter functions. Combina-
tion 27 causes the type mechanism to space without printing.
Combination 28 returns the carriage when the end of the line

Switchboard and associated teletypewriter : Harrisburg installation,
Pennsylvania State Police teletype network.

is reached; 29 feeds the paper upward. Combination 30 op-
erates the shift key, and combination 31 moves the shift, so
that, as in an ordinary typewriter, two sets of characters on
the type bars are available for use. Combination 32 permits
a receiving station to "break" or stop the sending operator
when the receiving station desires to answer. If receiving-only
machines are used, this last combination unit is not needed.
Since only one signal element can be sent over the line at a
time, the five elements representing each character must be
transmitted in succession. In order that five signal elements
shall be properly identified at the receiving end of the line,
the receiving mechanism runs in synchronism with the send-
ing machine ; thus each of the five signal elements controls

The Police Teletype Network 245

the proper selecting element in the receiving device. The
sending and receiving mechanisms are driven by fractional-
horsepower motors running at the same speed. The speeds are
controlled either by the nse of governors or through the
installation of synchronous motors. These motors, which run
continuously while the teletypewriters are in use, drive the
transmitting and receiving mechanisms through friction
clutches. The transmitting and receiving machines, however,
are restrained from operating by mechanical arrangements
which are released when the first line signal is received. In
order to accomplish this starting function, the five selecting
signal elements are therefore preceded by a signal element of
a current value opposite to that of the line in idle condition.

The receipt of this first signal at the receiving teletype-
writer starts the printing cycle. The five selecting elements
which follow the starting signal select the proper character
and cause it to be printed. Following the selecting impulses,
a seventh signal element is transmitted over the line, which
causes the receiving mechanism to stop at the completion of
the printing cycle. When the next group of signals is received,
the cycle is repeated.

Under this arrangement, the receiving mechanism does not
start until the first impulse is received, and it stops at the
completion of the cycle. The sending and receiving mecha-
nisms thus remain in synchronism only for one printing cycle.
Teletypewriters are usually arranged to type at 60 words a
minute, or, roughly, 6 letters a second, and synchronism can
be accomplished without rigid requirements in respect to the
speeds of the teletypewriter motors.

Besides simplifying the manner of maintaining synchro-
nism, the start-stop principle makes it possible for two sta-
tions to communicate irrespective of the distance between
them, or of the lag introduced into the signals by interven-
ing circuits or apparatus. The selecting signal elements are
always transmitted and received in the same time relation to
the start impulse which controls the beginning of the print-
ing cycle.

246 Police Communication Systems

In the design of teletype systems for police use, special ar-
rangements are frequently required in order to meet condi-
tions peculiar to police operations. There is, for example, a
starting and stopping arrangement when communications are
to be intermittent. Service is thus made available at any mo-
ment without the necessity of continuous operation. Another
arrangement of particular value in police work is the use of
a loud alarm that is provided for patrol booths or other places
where the officer is not always within hearing distance of
the usual calling signals. Special switchboards are available,
equipped either with keys or with cords and plugs, and de-
signed to meet the requirements of a particular police organ-
ization. In state-wide systems, the stations are frequently
divided into zones, with each zone under the control of an in-
dividual switchboard. In crime emergencies, when it is desira-
ble to make a state-wide broadcast from general headquarters,
what is called a seizure circuit may be set up, whereby the
operator at headquarters may take control of, or seize, the
broadcasting circuit of any or all zones throughout the area
covered by the network. There are also acknowledgment cir-
cuits (which permit stations to acknowledge the receipt of a
message) , selective calling arrangements, and various systems
of laying out circuits so that some stations may send, some
send and receive, and others receive only.

If teletype connections are few and messages infrequent,
only the individual machines and interconnecting lines are
required. As the scope and use of the service enlarges, it is
necessary to set up a central exchange for convenience in
making the desired connections. The teletype switchboard ful-
fills this purpose. At zone headquarters, or in the central divi-
sion offices of a police department, a specially designed PBX
switchboard may be provided for the dispatching of teletype
messages.

The first switchboard designed for broadcasting informa-
tion from a central station to outlying stations was a 24-line
radial system which supplied one-way transmission, the out-
lying stations being equipped with receiving-only machines.

The Police Teletype Network 247

This type of switchboard may be used by one or two operators,
depending upon the volume of message traffic. The next step
in teletype switchboard development was taken by the New
York Police Department, in which each borough headquarters
broadcasts both to its own local precinct stations and to other
borough headquarters. (The complex system of the New York
police will be described later under a discussion of precinct
systems.) New arrangements were incorporated into teletype
construction, including the acknowledgment key and the gen-
eral broadcast or "break" key.

A later development provides for intercommunication be-
tween outlying stations. This cannot be accomplished merely
by connecting the two lines together at the switchboard, be-
cause teletypewriter operations require that the line current
be held to approximately a constant value. A simple connec-
tion of two lines would change their impedance and thus the
current flowing, so that the insertion of a single-line repeater
is required at the switchboard. An experimental installation
in a large industrial concern was found to be satisfactory.
With this sj^stem, the outlying stations are equipped for send-
ing as well as receiving, and PBX may be called by operating
a key at the outlying station. The central operator then con-
nects the calling station to any other desired. Broadcasting is
also provided for, as in the older installations.

Frequently, it is desirable to send a message to a station
when no attendant is present. For this purpose, it is necessary
to have some means of starting the motors of the machines
at substations from the headquarters switchboard. The trans-
mitting circuit or a second channel may be used to do this.
Modifications are often required of the standard switchboard,
because of special conditions in certain organizations.

THE TELETYPEWRITER IN POLICE SERVICE

Combining the speed of the telephone with the accuracy of the
printed word, the teletypewriter has become an established
and vital link in the police chain of communication. Through
the rapid transmission of information to a single point, or

248 Police Communication Systems

simultaneously to any number of stations, it often supersedes
the telephone and supplements the functions of the radio com-
munication system. It holds promise of continued expansion
as a means for rapid communication between headquarters
and substations in metropolitan police systems, and for the
solution of many territorial communication problems which
confront the police.

THE MUNICIPAL SYSTEM

In the decentralized form of police organization to be found
in large metropolitan departments, the teletype network is
an effective instrument for the coordination of a far-flung
force into one composite unit. Between headquarters and sub-
stations it supplies a rapid and accurate system of communi-
cation.

As an aid to administrative activity, it makes possible the
speedy and reliable transmission of departmental orders, in-
structions, personnel notices, important announcements, or-
ders concerning the distribution of the force and equipment,
and other information, from the executive branch of the de-
partment to commanding officers at substations. By the same
means, substations may quickly dispatch crime summaries,
daily, weekly, and monthly reports, statistical reports, per-
sonnel information, and other data concerning the individual
district or precinct to central headquarters, where this infor-
mation may be used in correlating the needs of the police
department and directing its operations to the best advan-
tage. The time required for the transaction of such routine
business is thus reduced to a minimum with the result that
the demands of the emergency may be promptly and ade-
quately met.

In emergencies the teletype system is an effective agency
for the prompt dissemination of crime information and oper-
ating instructions to substations. It offers a ready means for
dispatching detailed descriptions of missing or wanted per-
sons, lost, found, and stolen property, stolen automobiles,
crime reports, and other emergency information.

The Police Teletype Network 249

A call for police assistance arriving in the central complaint
room may or may not require radio broadcast, depending en-
tirely upon the situation reported. In either event, however,
the teletype system comes into play most effectively. This is
best illustrated by tracing two typical calls. A citizen in a
hurried report over the telephone informs the police operator
that his store has just been entered and robbed by three men
who escaped in an automobile. Details of the crime are given
in brief and without delay to all patrol units, by radio broad-
cast. A supplementary message is then sent out to all substa-
tions by teletype, containing a more detailed report of the
crime, together with such other information as may be help-
ful to commanding officers in directing the men working out
of their respective stations. The second call may be a com-
plaint of a barking dog in one of the precincts, or some other
matter not requiring broadcast by radio. Such reports, of
wrhich there are many in the course of an average tour of po-
lice duty, are quickly relayed by teletype to the stations of
the districts in which the reports originate, and are there
assigned to patrol officers for investigation. Working between
the two extremes illustrated, the teletype system provides for
an unobstructed flow of both routine and emergency message
traffic, and is an effective agency of commmunication in ad-
ministrative activities, besides.

The teletype system of the police department of Baltimore,
installed in October, 1930, is fairly representative of the mu-
nicipal network. The equipment used in this installation con-
sists of one 10-line, two-way switchboard, and nine page-type
sending and receiving machines. Two of these machines are
at heaquarters and the remaining seven in the precinct sta-
tions, which are placed at strategic points throughout the city.
The control arrangement permits headquarters to send a mes-
sage to any one of the precinct stations individually, or to any
group, or to all the precincts simultaneously. Not more than
two communications to or from headquarters may be in prog-
ress at the same time. The precinct stations may communicate
with each other through the headquarters switchboard, but

250 Police Communication Systems

such communications are limited to one at a time. Not more
than two district stations may be connected with each other
at the same time. There are fourteen substations throughout
the outlying sections of Baltimore. These offices, under the
supervision of the district stations, make use of the telephone
in conveying urgent messages to headquarters, whence flashes
may be broadcast over the entire city through the teletype
system.

The San Francisco Police Department owns arid maintains
a teletypewriter system comprising a 20-line switchboard, two
page-type sending and receiving machines, and seventeen re-
ceiving-only sets, all set up within the city limits and main-
tained by the city's Department of Electricity. The city owns
its own circuit facilities, with the exception of one cable pair
(extending between the Hall of Justice and the Bay view Po-
lice Station) which is provided by the telephone company at
its customary charges for such facilities. The circuit is oper-
ated on a speed basis of 40 words a minute, and ordinarily all
stations are connected by the circuit, although the switch-
board is arranged for individual or group selection.

Teletype service has been in operation in the Boston Police
Department since 1927. This facility permits the Boston Po-
lice Headquarters to transmit typewritten messages instan-
taneously to all its twenty-one divisional stations scattered
throughout the city. Headquarters makes use of page-type
sending and receiving equipment; substations are equipped
with receiving-only machines. The neighboring communities
of Arlington, Brookline, Cambridge, Medford, Melrose,
Quincy, and Somerville have connected their police depart-
ments by teletype with the Boston system, and have also estab-
lished communication among themselves.

In the early part of 1929 a teletype system was put in oper-
ation by the Buffalo Police Department. It consists of two
page-type sending and receiving machines installed at gen-
eral headquarters and sixteen receiving-only machines in-
stalled respectively at each of the sixteen precinct stations in
Buffalo. By means of a radial switchboard, headquarters can

The Police Teletype Network 251

send message traffic to any one, or to a selected group, or to
all the precinct stations simultaneously. Various kinds of po-
lice information, such as descriptions of missing persons, in-
formation concerning lost or stolen articles, orders for arrest,
general reports, and general alarms are transmitted over this
network with accuracy and dispatch.

The installation in the New York Police Department is
necessarily more complex, but is none the less effective. New
York is divided into five boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, the
Bronx, Queens, and Richmond. For each borough there is a
separate police command with a headquarters office. General
police headquarters for this great metropolitan area is sit-
uated in Manhattan, and the precincts in this borough are
controlled directly from general headquarters. The other four
boroughs are divided into precincts, each with a police station,
and connected with the borough headquarters by teletype.

There are 109 page-type machines in the New York system,
which provides for two-way teletypewriter service between
general police headquarters and the four outlying borough
police headquarters, and one-way service from each borough
headquarters to its associated precincts, traffic squads, and
special service points. At general headquarters, four receiv-
ing-only machines handle messages from borough headquar-
ters, and one receiving-only machine at each of these borough
stations handles messages from general headquarters.

In each borough headquarters a switchboard with tie lines
permits two- way service between each borough station and the
receiving-only sets in its associated precincts. Each switch-
board has associated with it two sending-receiving machines,
one normally used for one-way service and the other for two-
way communication. The functions of these machines may be
interchanged, or one set may serve both purposes if desired.
The system provides the following services : (1) switchboards
enable the operators to select and send messages to any one
machine, to a group of machines, or to all machines connected
with the switchboards ; (2) two-way communication is facili-
tated between general headquarters and the other four bor-

252 Police Communication Systems

ough headquarters ; (3) one-way communication is facilitated
between each borough headquarters and each precinct in the
borough ; and (4) the receiving-only machines on the one-way
lines are equipped with a switch for operation of a line lamp
at the sending station in acknowledgment of the receipt of a
message.

The teletypewriter is used in the New York Police Depart-
ment for the transmission of messages pertaining to crime
emergencies and the transaction of routine business such as
descriptions of persons, information regarding lost or stolen
property, orders for arrest, general reports, subpoenaing pa-
trolmen to appear at the various courts, and adjustments and
assignments of the police force.

The information transmitted is of two kinds : first, that of
general importance to all divisions of the force, transmitted
by general headquarters to the other boroughs, from which
points it is communicated to the precincts, if they are in-
volved ; and second, that of concern to one borough only.

Messages classed as alarms are numbered serially, starting
with January 1 and ending with December 31, of each year.
This numbering arrangement, acting as a check, enables pre-
cinct commands to be sure of receiving all alarms, and facili-
tates cancellations when necessary. The average daily number
of crime alarms transmitted over this system is eighty, exclu-
sive of routine messages, reports, and instructions.

The value of the municipal system, however, is not limited
to rapid, local police communication. The greater number of
municipal installations are connected by direct wire with
territorial teletype networks, so that the municipal system be-
comes an important unit in a larger and more comprehensive
system of police communication. In the regional coordination
of police activities, the teletypewriter occupies an enviable
position as an agency for the instantaneous communication of
emergency alarms to fixed points over a large area.

As indicated in an earlier chapter, in the ultimate solution
of the problems attending radio transmission over wide areas
teletype networks will doubtless be used for the dissemination

The Police Teletype Network 253

of crime information to fixed stations strategically placed in
the regional area, from which points the alarm will be broad-
cast to mobile patrol units in the immediate territory by low-
powered transmitters placed at the individual teletype con-
trol points. The regional teletype system also affords a means
for rapid clearing of routine reports and information, activi-
ties connected with criminal identification, and other similar
details, which must otherwise suffer the delay of handling by
mail, or the expense of transmission by commercial telegraph.

COUNTY TELETYPE SYSTEMS

The teletype installation in Essex County, N. J., is of particu-
lar interest, for it ties not only with the New Jersey state-wide
system, but also with the New York City system. With Newark
as headquarters, twenty-two municipalities in the county are
joined together through the teletypewriter. Through Newark,
connection may be made with New York City, and, since the
New Jersey state zone headquarters are in Newark, police
forces of Essex County enjoy the facilities of a very extensive
communication network.

Another county teletype installation which is connected
with the New York City system, and which shows how
promptly a regional system may be set up through the con-
necting of municipal, county, and state systems, is that in
Nassau County, Long Island. The Nassau County police are
responsible for patrolling all sections of the townships in that
county not included within the limits of incorporated villages.
At the request of certain of these villages, it has undertaken
to police them also.

The Nassau County Police Department is divided into six
precincts, with county headquarters at Mineola. The system
consists of a 20-line switchboard at Mineola headquarters,
from which two-way circuits, terminating in sending and re-
ceiving instruments, extend to each precinct headquarters.
Two machines are provided at the switchboard for operating
purposes. The switchboard is so arranged that the operator
may select and send or receive messages to or from any station

254 Police Communication Systems

connected in the circuit. Messages may also be sent simultane-
ously to a selected group of stations or to all stations in the
system.

Through the cooperation of the Nassau County police, the
police departments of a number of incorporated villages in
the county are also connected with the county switchboard.
These villages contract for the machines and connecting cir-
cuits, which are operated in much the same manner as the
precinct circuits, previously described.

The Nassau County system is connected with the New York
City police network by two one-way circuits. The circuit from
the Mineola switchboard to New York City terminates in a
receiving-only instrument at Manhattan headquarters, and
a circuit from that point terminates in a receiving-only in-
strument at Mineola.

Messages or alarms received at any county patrol station
are telephoned to precinct headquarters, and the message is
transmitted to county headquarters over teletype lines. If the
cooperation of New York City is desired, the message may be
teletyped to Manhattan headquarters.

THE STATE-WIDE TELETYPE NETWORK

The Pennsylvania system. — The first state-wide police tele-
typewriter system was set up by the Pennsylvania State Po-
lice on December 23, 1929. The system comprises 110 machines
operating continuously and connects 95 cities and 100 loca-
tions within the state.

The territory is divided into four zones, with central head-
quarters at Harrisburg, the state capital, and zone headT
quarters at Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and Wyoming. The
equipment at each of these places consists of a 24-line-capacity
radial teletypewriter switchboard and its associated appara-
tus, to which are connected one regular and one emergency
page-type sending and receiving machine. In addition, one
receiving-only instrument is placed at each of the zone head-
quarters and three at central headquarters. All other stations
are equipped with receiving-only machines. Nine main chan-

The Police Teletype Network 255

nels radiate from Harrisburg to various parts of the state so
that messages may be sent simultaneously to all stations on
the system or, if desired, to stations on any one or more of
these main channels which may be selected. Branch channels
radiate from each of the zone headquarters so that each in-
dividual station may send to the other station in its zone. The
channels between zone headquarters and central headquar-
ters are arranged for simultaneous transmission in both
directions.

The system functions as follows : A police officer in a town
where a crime has been committed, telephones details of the
emergency to his zone headquarters. Zone headquarters, by
means of the teletypewriter, dispatches the information to
all points within the zone and to central headquarters at Har-
risburg. The information, upon its receipt at Harrisburg, is
edited and, if important enough, is transmitted over the other
channels, or such lines as may be selected, to distant parts
of the state. Matters of general interest arising in the state
police department at Harrisburg can be sent from that point
to all other stations on the system.

A desirable and interesting result of the teletype installa-
tion is the closer cooperation secured between state and local
police in Pennsylvania. Most of the installations connected
with the system have been set up in municipal police head-
quarters, so that state-wide crime news becomes readily avail-
able to local police departments as well as to the state police.

The first incident to occur after the installation of the
Pennsylvania state teletype system was the theft by two men
of a large black sedan with green wheels, from a garage in
South Philadelphia. Ten minutes after the robbery, a message
went out from the City Hall over the local teletype system
and to central headquarters in Harrisburg, from which point
it was transmitted throughout the state. The message, desig-
nated by the police code as General 89-Ph 18, read as follows :

GENERAL 89 PH 18 MARCH 12 ARREST 2 YOUNG WHITE MEN-
NO. 1 MAN 28 YEARS 5 FT 8 IN 150 LBS THIN BUILD LIGHT

256 Police Communication Systems

CAP BLUE OVERCOAT THIS MAN HAD REVOLVER NO. 2 MAN 35

YRS 5 FT 8 IN 135 LBS LIGHT OVERCOAT AND LIGHT SOFT HAT

RUDDY COMPLEXION WANTED IN THE 25 TH POLICE DIST PHILA

FOR HOLDUP AT POINT OF GUN 10 :30 THIS P M IN THE SOUTH
FOURTH STREET GARAGE LOCATED AT 1822 SOUTH FOURTH
STREET AND LARCENY OF A HUPMOBILE STRAIGHT EIGHT
SEDAN BLACK BODY GREEN WHEELS PENNA LIC NO. AND EN-
GINE NO. UNKNOWN LATER MESSAGE WILL FOLLOW.

Iii the pocket of a state trooper leisurely patrolling the main
highway through Greensburg there was soon reposing a typed
description of a black sedan with green wheels, two men, one
with a gun. A car drew up before a roadside restaurant and
the occupants, two men, went in for refreshments. Ten min-
utes later, the following message was received over the tele-
type system at the City Hall in Philadelphia :

STATE POLICE AT GREENSBURG PA HAVE ARRESTED TWO MEN
SENT OUT ON GENERAL 89 PH 18 AS WANTED IN THE 25TH POLICE
DIST PHILA FOR LARCENY AND HOLDUP PLEASE ADVISE.

Three hours after the commission of the crime, just the length
of time that it took the two men to drive the stolen sedan
across the state, they were taken into custody and arrange-
ments were made to return them to Philadelphia for inves-
tigation and trial. This incident, taken from actual police
records, is typical of the use that is made of the teletype sys-
tem of police communication.

The New Jersey system. — The New Jersey State Police net-
work spreads out from five teletype switchboards. There is one
at state headquarters in Trenton, and one at each of the zone
headquarters, in Newark, Morristown, Freehold, and Ham-
montown.

The state headquarters board has a capacity of ten circuits.
One-way circuits extend from it to police stations in the vi-
cinity of Trenton. These circuits terminate in receiving-only
machines. Two-way circuits extend from state headquarters
to zone headquarters. The outward path of these two-way cir-

The Police Teletype Network 257

cults ends in a receiving-only instrument at zone stations.
The return line from each zone station terminates in a re-
ceiving-only machine at state headquarters. Two sending and
receiving teletypewriters are connected to the switchboard
at the state headquarters, one of which is available for emer-
gency use.

By operating the proper switching keys on the switchboard,
the state headquarters can broadcast over any or all of the
circuits extending from the board, that is, to any group of
stations, or to all stations on the one-way circuits, or to any
or all zone headquarters. Besides this selective broadcasting,
the state headquarters may, by the operation of a timing key,
automatically seize all circuits, including those extending
from all zone headquarters switchboards, for the broadcast-
ing of general alarms. When this timing key is operated, the
sending machines at all zone stations are automatically re-
moved from the sending circuit, thereby preventing the in-
terruption of the message from state headquarters by the
sending of another message from any zone station.

Switching keys at state headquarters permit the establish-
ment of connections between zone headquarters through the
switchboard at state headquarters. Switchboards at the zone
stations each have a capacity of eighteen key-controlled one-
way circuits. These circuits extend through the zone to police
stations, where they terminate in receiving-only machines.

Connected to the switchboard at zone headquarters are one
regular sending and receiving, one spare sending and re-
ceiving, and one receiving-only machine. By operation of the
switching keys on the switchboard, a message may be trans-
mitted to any group of stations connected with the board.
All messages originating at zone headquarters are also trans-
mitted over the two-way circuit to the receiving-only tele-
typewriter at state headquarters, so that the central station
has complete supervision over all alarms broadcast over any
part of the system.

The California network. — California was quite ready for
the installation of a state-wide police teletype system since

258 Police Communication Systems

there was already at Sacramento, the state capital, a well-
established central bureau and clearinghouse for police in-
formation, namely, the Division of Criminal Identification
and Investigation. The annual reports of this Division reveal

i STATE Or CALIFORNIA

DEPARTMENT Or PENOLOGY |

DIVISION Or CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION

TELETYPEWRITER SYSTEM !

California police teletype network.

the scope of its activities and the invaluable assistance that it
gives to California peace officers. Because of its position as a
state-wide clearinghouse for police information, the Division
was the logical nucleus for a comprehensive police teletype
network, which now comprises twenty-four stations.

The Police Teletype Network 259

The equipment of the system consists of fifty-one page-type
sending and receiving machines and four receiving-only in-
struments, connecting seventeen cities in California and one
in Nevada, at forty-five locations. Operation is at a rate of
40 words a minute, and for the twenty-four hours of the day.

There are three control points in the system : the offices of
the State Division of Criminal Identification and Investiga-
tion at Sacramento, headquarters of the Police Department
of San Francisco, and the Sheriff's Office at Los Angeles. At
these three points, specially designed cord-type switchboards
are provided, from which radiate eight circuits connecting
fourteen sheriffs' offices at as many county seats and seven
police departments in California, also one city in Nevada,
and two locations for the State Motor Vehicle Department.

Each of these switchboards permits a maximum of three
two-way connections at one time. Provision is also made to
permit of one-way transmission from any one of the three
switchboards to all other stations of the entire system. In con-
junction with switchboard equipment at the three control
points, there are two service and one spare page-type sending
and receiving teletypewriters, with one page-type receiving-
only machine for monitoring purposes, which is used in con-
nection with the through trunking circuit between the three
control points. At the Sacramento control station, two moni-
toring receiving-only machines are used for this purpose.

In order to facilitate expansion of the system, other city
and county police organizations throughout the state have
been invited to connect with the system at their own expense.
The telephone company will provide such connections under
separate contracts with each respective police and sheriff's
organization concerned. Under this sort of arrangement, sev-
eral more cities will soon be connected with this system. Plans
are under way for the extension of the network until every
county seat and principal city in California will be part of
the system.

The matter sent over the system falls into two classes : first,
the message, and second, the broadcast. The message concerns

260 Police Communication Systems

information in the hands of one department which, it is be-
lieved, would be of interest to another force ; or it requests in-
formation which the receiving department may be able to
give. It is usually of interest only to the sending and receiving
departments, although, because of the kind of circuits used,
it is received at all stations through which pass the wires con-
necting the sending and receiving stations. The broadcast con-
sists usually of a description of a person, a vehicle, or other
property wanted by the department sending the broadcast.
Broadcasts may be sent only by the three switchboard sta-
tions called "control stations," and they are sent simultane-
ously to all stations on the system. In the first ten and a half
months' operation of the system, to June 30, 1932, 51,111
messages were transmitted over the network, in addition to
4230 all-points bulletins. These bulletins were sent from a con-
trol station to all other stations on the circuit simultaneously,
and represented the equivalent of approximately 80,000 ad-

ditional messages.

THE REGIONAL SYSTEM

Municipal, county, and state teletype systems form the basis
for widespread regional networks, and these in turn must, by
the very nature of things, eventually constitute the founda-
tion for a national police-communication system. Consider,
for example, the New York municipal system. Direct teletype
connections exist between Manhattan and the Connecticut,
New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania state-wide tele-
type networks, thus establishing a five-state regional police
communication system. A wide net can be flung out very
quickly, since it is possible within the space of a few minutes
to spread, in typewritten form, an alarm which would effec-
tively cover this vast area.

The communication committee of the Northwest Associa-
tion of Sheriffs and Police recently authorized an extended
survey of the Pacific Northwest, with the object in view of
developing plans for an interstate teletype system. The terri-
tory covered by the survey included the states of California,
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah, to-

The Police Teletype Network 261

gether with the Province of British Columbia. Since Cali-
fornia, Oregon, and British Columbia are already operating
state-wide systems, the dream of a Pacific Coast and Pacific
Northwest network for police service may soon become a
reality.

On June 18, 1931, at the International Anti-Crime Confer-
ence held in Seattle, Wash., an effective demonstration was
given of the possibilities of the teletypewriter in interstate
police communication and of the ease with which police de-
partments thousands of miles apart could almost instantly
spread information over vast areas that would facilitate
prompt identification and apprehension of criminals. An in-
ternational network of telephone lines, covering 7000 miles,
carried messages from the conference to twelve states, a Cana-
dian province, and fifteen cities scattered in various places
across the continent. It was also demonstrated that, within
three minutes after the report of an important crime was re-
ceived by a police department, a crime summary of 120 words
could be placed in the hands of law-enforcement officers in
hundreds of cities. It should be noted, incidentally, that
neither the number of stations nor the distance between them
hinders the speed or efficiency of a communication.

In view of the growing importance of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation at Washington, D. C., the significance and
prophecy contained in this demonstration should set the pace
for a future development when regional police networks will
have been welded together in a national and even interna-
tional police-communication plan.

TELETYPE MESSAGE ROUTING AND RECORD PROCEDURE

Exactness in operating and recording procedure is prerequi-
site to the systematic use of teletypewriter facilities. In the
municipal system, individual departments may work out pro-
cedures to meet their particular requirements. In the terri-
torial networks, however, such as state and regional systems,
the operating and record practices should be uniform through-
out the system. Uniformity indeed is imperative if the tele-

262 Police Communication Systems

type communication system is to perform the services for
which it is designed.1

The teletypewriter offers the authority and reliability of
the printed message at both the sending and receiving termi-
nals. Responsibility is definitely fixed by means of the printed
form, and efficient record procedure becomes a comparatively
simple matter. The teletypewriter supplies at all receiving
stations an exact duplicate of the message typed on the send-
ing machine.

The secrecy of communication possible with the teletype-
writer commends it as a safe and expedient instrument. Since
the sending and receiving mechanisms are on police property,
and since the circuits are controlled by the teletypewriters
and switchboards, no one without authority can possibly have
access to any part of the system. The intervening wires be-
tween a sending and receiving machine cannot be tapped.
Despite the distance which may separate machines, the mes-
sages sent over them can be kept as secret as a whispered con-
sultation between detectives in police headquarters.

The population of a community has little or no relation to
the need for teletypewriter service. An opinion too often pre-
vailing, that only the police of the larger cities may profitably
make use of modern communication facilities, is quite con-
trary to the truth. With the access to lines of a territorial net-
work radiating out to small communities placed at strategic
points in the area, the small police force of the township or
village, individually powerless to cope with a major crime
emergency in its vicinity, is supported by the potential
strength represented by the entire network. Furthermore, the
small local force becomes an effective unit in the regional sys-
tem, ready to act immediately upon the receipt of emergency
crime information from teletype control points. Thus the po-
lice function becomes a reciprocal one, and both the individual
community and the territory as a whole benefit through the
coordination of their activities.

1 See Appendix 6, p. 508, "New York State Teletype System, Operat-
ing and Eecord Procedure."

The Police Teletype Network 263

In the large metropolitan system, the teletypewriter may
become an agency of decentralization through the provision
of a speedy and reliable means of communication between
headquarters and substations for the relaying of administra-
tive, routine, and emergency message traffic. Moreover, the
metropolitan department, through its connection with county,
state, and interstate systems, shoulders an even greater re-
sponsibility to surrounding police forces than does the small
community. As a large identification center and depository for
criminal records, the metropolitan organization can greatly
assist the smaller departments in the area, bringing to bear
upon given situations the full strength of its facilities for the
detection and suppression of crime.

With the speed, flexibility, and accuracy provided through
a teletype communication system, criminal identification be-
comes a weapon of growing importance in law enforcement.
Suppose, for example, that a man makes application for a
peddler's license at the city hall, and that he is suspected by
detectives stationed there of being a former convict. Through
the teletypewriter, it is possible to make inquiry about him,
have the detailed records of the man examined, and receive
full information concerning him within a comparatively few
minutes.

There was, as a matter of fact, an actual incident of this
kind, in which events happened so rapidly that the man un-
der observation never suspected that anything was amiss.
One detective chatted casually with the suspected man in a
city hall corridor, while another dispatched a teletype mes-
sage to the State Bureau of Identification, some seventy-five
miles away. A reply clearing the man was received within
fifteen minutes, and the two detectives showed the man the
office that he had been looking for without revealing their
connection with the police force. The utility of the teletype-
writer in practical police service is strikingly illustrated by
the teletype message exhibits shown in Appendix 7 (p. 523),
which were taken directly from the files of the New Jersey
State Police teletype system. These exhibits are designated in

264 Police Communication Systems

series, each series giving the complete communication history
of an actual police case under investigation.2

There is some evidence of failure on the part of the police
departments within an area served by teletype communica-
tion to make adequate use of these facilities. The teletype-
writer, with a transmission rate of from forty to sixty words
a minute, can handle a tremendous volume of message traffic
in the course of twenty-four hours, and police departments
that have this facility available should make the most of it.
The organizations at central control points should give the
proper instructions to the forces in all the communities that
are served directly or indirectly by teletype lines, and encour-
age its use as a major police-communication facility. Besides
improving law-enforcement activities in the local community
and in the territory at large, such a policy will draw favorable
attention to the need for teletype networks in other sections
where the police have not yet been able to obtain appropria-
tions for the installation of this equipment.

The teletypewriter system will carry information to the
receiving instruments, but unless provision is made for its
distribution to patrol units, it will be of little value in the
prevention and detection of crime or in the apprehension of
criminals. It is here that the interlocking functions of the
various police communication units are brought into play.
Through radio broadcast and the recall and beat telephone
systems, the crime report may be placed promptly in the
hands of the individual motor and foot patrolmen, who, in

2 Exclusively police-controlled teletype systems are now in operation
in the United States as follows :

Municipal systems: Albany, N. Y., Baltimore, Md., Boston, Mass.,
Buffalo, N. Y., Chicago, 111., Cincinnati, Ohio, Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit,
Mich., Evanston, 111., Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles, Calif., Minneapo-
lis, Minn., Newark, N. J., New York City, Norfolk, Va., Omaha, Neb.,
Philadelphia, Pa., Pittsburgh, Pa., Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Calif.,
Seattle, Wash., St. Louis, Mo., Washington, D. C., Winnetka, 111., and
Worcester, Mass.

County systems: Essex County, N. J., Hudson County, N. J., Los An-
geles County, Calif., Nassau County, N. Y., Union County, N. J., West-
chester County, N. Y., St. Louis County, Mo.

State systems: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

The Police Teletype Network 265

the last analysis, must represent the department on the front
lines of action.

In modern police organization, whether municipal, county,
or state police administration, the basic unit of operation is
the individual patrol area or beat. Upon these decentralized
units rests the structure of the entire organization. The tele-
type receiving instrument is only a point of relay in the chain
of communication between the victim or complainant and the
patrol unit or units which may be of assistance to him. From
that point, lines of communication must be open and avail-
able for immediate transfer of the information to members
of the patrol force. Until the patrol or operating strength of
the department is in possession of the essential information,
all speed and efficiency of communication up to that point has
been of little avail.

All indications point to a greater use of the teletypewriter.
The time is not far distant when interconnecting systems will
make it possible for all the police forces of the country to unify
their strength in the detection and suppression of crime
through the facilities of a national communication network.

Improvements in design and reduction in cost of units may
make it possible to place receiving machines on the beat for
the distribution of printed orders and information to mem-
bers of the patrol force. Already the radio-controlled type-
written message in a cruising patrol car presents no difficulty.
Two-way radio communication, now being rapidly adopted
by police departments, may be followed by two-way radio-
controlled typewriter service between the patrol car and the
central station, and between the patrol cars themselves.

CHAPTER VIII

BURGLAR- AND HOLDUP-ALARM
SYSTEMS

THE FIRST TRUE SAFE was introduced in New York in the
early part of the nineteenth century, and soon afterward
the race began between the safe-builders and the safe-burg-
lars. Unfortunately, the cause of righteousness has not always
been victorious, for the sciences and technical knowledge in-
vested in the construction of burglar-proof safes were soon
prostituted to the use of the expert cracksmen. When burglars
worked with crude implements, only a minimum of ingenuity
was required to frustrate them. The modern burglar, who
comes to his work with gas-flame equipment generating 6000
degrees of heat at the tip and capable of biting its way through
a 12-inch plate of steel at approximately 2600° Fahrenheit,
presents a far different problem. The modern bank vault is
the final expression of scientific knowledge and technique in
the design and construction of an enclosure for the safe-keep-
ing of money and other valuables, yet it is not impregnable.
As an example of the desperation, hard labor, and skillful
direction employed in planning a bank attack, the methods
used in the burglary of a Pacific Coast bank are illuminating.
Apparently led by a structural engineer, architect, or some-
one familiar with the premises, the building construction, and
the vault arrangement, safe-burglars tunneled for at least
ten days through earth and concrete preparatory to drilling
through a bank vault. These tireless workers entered the man-
hole of a storm drain, some five feet in diameter, at a point
more than a mile distant from the bank. Right in front of the
institution, they cut a hole two feet in diameter through the
six-inch concrete wall of the drain and burrowed forty-six
feet underground, excavating two tons of earth which they
piled back into the drain, where the water washed it away.
The tunnel ended in a vertical shaft under the inner vault,
which was at the farther end of the bank floor. Here the burg-

[266]

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 267

lars drilled a hole upward through the twelve-inch reinforced
concrete floor of the vault in which the funds of the bank
were kept. The particular spot where they cut into the vault
was the only space on the vault floor that was not covered by
heavy index-file trucks, which were rolled into the vault by
bookkeepers at the close of each day's business. Had the
burglars deviated from their course by one foot, they would
have found themselves underneath either the steel floor of
the outer vault or one of the file trucks. They knew the route,
for the tunnel turned on a five-degree bend from the thirty-
foot point, indicating that their original course was changed
in order to break through at the one free place.

For half a century, vault construction remained almost un-
changed in protective strength. Some modifications were
made to offset the introduction of nitroglycerin as a weapon
of attack and mechanical details were refined, but the vaults
as constructed were considered more or less satisfactory. Sud-
denly the appearance of the cutter burner, the fluxing rod,
the electric chisel and hammer, and even the oxygen pipe, in-
troduced almost overnight a hazardous menace that necessi-
tated equally revolutionary changes in the structural design
of vaults.

Prior to 1920, the materials used in security- vault walls,
unless the walls were of extreme thickness, were given a
secondary importance. In the smaller vaults, brickwork was
frequently used and occasionally concrete with a few steel re-
inforcing bars. Most of the larger and more important vaults
were of concrete heavily reinforced. In all of them, however,
a steel lining constituted the chief resistance to attack.1

The principal weapons used in an attack upon a safe were
drills, explosives, and the torch. Vault engineers and vault
manufacturers accordingly concentrated their efforts on the

1 The National Bureau of Casualty and Surety Underwriters, in its
Manual of Burglary, Theft and Robbery Insurance, defines a vault of
the highest classification that they have established, No. 10, as follows :
"No. 10 Vault — lined throughout with steel at least l1/^ inches thick, or
of non-reinforced concrete or stone at least 54 inches thick, or of rein-
forced concrete or stone at least 27 inches thick."

268 Police Communication Systems

development of linings which should combine, in several lay-
ers, drill-resisting materials with other materials designed to
resist burning. These thicker linings cost more both in mate-
rials and in fabrication. The various combinations were tested
in the manufacturers' shops and laboratories, but few, if any,
extensive tests were attempted under conditions simulating
an actual criminal or mob attack.

In 1920, preparatory to its program of branch-bank con-
struction, the Federal Reserve Bank began a series of tests
under the direction of Alexander B. Trowbridge, their
consulting architect, in an effort to establish the relative re-
sistance of all the known types of vault wall and lining con-
struction, and to rate these resistances in terms of cost. The
Federal Eeserve tests were undertaken not to discredit any
material or method, but merely to establish the relative values
of materials available for vault construction.

The test walls were constructed by a reputable contractor
under careful supervision, and the linings were built and sub-
mitted by leading vault manufacturers. Concrete consisting
of carefully graded fine and coarse aggregates and fairly rich
in cement was found to offer some resistance to all three
methods of attack — drills, explosives, and the flame — pro-
vided that the steel reinforcement extended entirely through
the walls and at right angles to the direction of attack.

Further experiments were conducted in the following year
and details of vault-wall construction were determined which
provided an increased protection, but in all of them penetra-
tion was effected under time tests. It is therefore a matter of
record that the most modern bank vault, representing as it
does the ultimate development in protective enclosures, is
susceptible to penetration by the burglar equipped with ade-
quate tools. In such a state of affairs, the burglary hazard of
mercantile establishments, where the barriers to entry are
much less formidable, may be readily appreciated. The jew-
elry store, the theater, and other commercial institutions are
liable to attacks not only by the professional but by the ama-
teur as well, since the locks on doors, windows, skylights, and

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 269

other points of entry, as well as the cracker-box safes and
strongboxes usually found in these establishments are easily
mastered by even the most unskilled operator. The ordinary
home is known among burglars as a "knockover," so simply
and easily may entry be effected.

There is a point, moreover, at which an increasing invest-
ment in material resistance to attack ceases to be profitable.
Vault construction is costly and it mounts rapidly as the
effectiveness is increased and the complexity of the devices
multiplied. It isn't necessary to go far afield in order to dis-
cover that burglar-resisting materials can never be more than
burglar-delaying materials. If the burglar has time enough —
and by that is meant no more than a few hours — it is safe to
say that no commercially practicable construction is impreg-
nable against him.

THE ALARM SYSTEM

Nevertheless, whatever ingenuity can devise to delay the
burglar must be applied. But the mere prolonging of the safe-
cracker's or burglar's task is not protection. This delay must
be so taken advantage of as to prevent the robbery. Obviously
the first necessity, therefore, of modern burglary protection
is an adequate alarm system which will deliver a signal to a
source of help. Many banks invest thousands of dollars in
massive steel vault equipment, chiefly for the purpose of im-
pressing customers, and perchance the burglar, but spend
nothing for alarm protection. The lack of economy, the actual
loss, indeed, that is incurred through overinvestment in ma-
terial resistance is rapidly becoming apparent as the value of
the protective services afforded by the comparatively inex-
pensive alarm system is being more and more appreciated.
With an efficient alarm system, a pasteboard box may be made
more nearly burglar proof than a modern bank not so pro-
tected.

Simply stated, an alarm system consists essentially of a
mechanical or electrical device, usually a combination of
both, which will automatically produce a warning signal at
some specified point simultaneously with an unauthorized ap-

270 Police Communication Systems

proach or entry to premises so protected. The alarm system
holds a key position in the modern police-communication
plan. Notification of the attack is instantaneous, and, by vir-
tue of that fact, the first two of the four periods2 that occa-
sion delay are at once eliminated. With direct lines from the
exciting mechanism to the source of help, there is no need
for a telephone call. Generally speaking, when the crime is
burglary, there is seldom anyone who can make such a call.
Through the alarm system, the request for assistance is auto-
matically synchronized with the attack, and radio-equipped
patrol cars may be concentrated in the vicinity almost before
the perpetrators of the crime have had an opportunity to be-
gin their work.

Before considering further the means which may be suc-
cessfully employed for protection against burglary, it is
necessary to inquire into the nature of the offense, since it
possesses certain characteristics which have a direct bearing
upon the design of alarm protection equipment.3

Burglary is a crime of stealth in which the first essential
of success is the undetected entry, and the second is the ele-
ment of time. After arrival at the premises, the intruder must
have time to overcome all barriers that oppose his entry. In
effecting the entry, he may have to touch and move a window,
a door, a transom, a skylight, and use his hands on locks and
other protective devices ; and this opens up a wide field in the
design of burglar-alarm equipment.

Because of its speed and silence of operation, the electrical
circuit is the basis for all modern alarm-protection systems.
The function of that part of a system of electrical protection
which embraces defense against burglary is to sound or turn
in automatically an alarm in the event of (1) the opening
of any door, transom, window, skylight, show window, coal
chute, or other means of possible entry (the system may be
extended to include floor, ceiling, and wall areas) ; (2) an

2 See p. 157.

8 See Uniform Crime Reporting Manual, Part I, "Classification of Of-
fenses," for variations in definitions of burglary and robbery among the
different states.

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 271

attack on the vault walls, ceiling, floor, or door by torch, ex-
plosives, or other means; (3) an attempt to open the vault
door at other than the regular hours, or in any other irregular
manner; (4) an attack on any part of safes, desks, strong-
boxes, or other enclosures for money and valuables; (5) an
attempt to cut the wires forming part of the alarm installa-
tion; or (6) any tampering with any part of the alarm in-
stallation.

All modern alarm systems consist essentially of (1) appa-
ratus for manually or automatically setting the alarm cir-
cuits into play — the exciting mechanism; (2) transmission
lines between the protected area and the point of alarm des-
tination; and (3) visual or audible signal apparatus at the
alarm terminal or destination.

BURGLARY DETECTION DEVICES

CONTACTING SURFACES

The simplest of all expedients designed to frustrate the burg-
lar, that of contacting surfaces, is familiar to layman and
expert alike. All devices in this category consist primarily of
two electric contacts, the disturbance of which will actuate the
alarm circuit by one of two methods, the open circuit and the
closed circuit.

The open circuit. — In principle the open circuit is exactly
what the name implies. This rudimentary form of electrical
protection includes the exciting unit, which in the circuit is
the open contact, a source of current supply, and the terminal
alarm-signal device. Its most significant function, however,
is the opening of the circuit at the location of the contacts.
Normally, no current flows through the alarm circuit. Con-
tact surfaces are attached at doors, windows, skylights, and
other strategic points in such manner that the unauthorized
entry of an intruder will bring the two surfaces together,
thus completing an electrical connection which closes the cir-
cuit and permits a flow of current to the terminal alarm sig-
nal. Although the open circuit is the most simple of all in
design and construction, it has the serious disadvantage that

272 Police Communication Systems

the circuit wiring may be cut or otherwise tampered with,
resulting in a complete paralysis of the system.

The closed circuit. — In the design of modern alarm systems
generally, the closed circuit possesses marked advantages
over the open circuit. It overcomes the principal weakness of
the open circuit because the alarm signal is thrown into op-
eration by an opening of the circuit. Any tampering with or
cutting of alarm-circuit wires therefore results in an instan-
taneous signal at the alarm terminal.

Relays or galvanometers installed in this circuit to start
the alarms are so adjusted that any marked increase in re-
sistance with a consequent decrease in current value, or any
decrease in resistance with a consequent increase in current
value, causes them to operate. The function of these relays is
to transform into alarms the breaks or grounds on the elec-
trical wiring that are caused by mechanical interference.
They consist of an electromagnetic coil, responsive to changes
in potential, the armatures of which close circuits of bells,
lights, and other registering or indicating devices at the alarm
terminal.

Such devices must be sensitive enough to respond to com-
paratively small changes of current value. They perform a
function somewhat similar to that of a gauge on a pressure
system. The movement of a sensitive gauge will indicate small
fluctuations of pressure, plus or minus. All approved burglar-
alarm relays are designed on a like principle, and the circuit
becomes what is known as a balanced circuit. This arrange-
ment offers effective protection against any attempt to "short-
cut" the wires, substitute false lines, or any other method of
circuit attack, since such disturbances would immediately up-
set the balance or equilibrium of the circuit and result in an
alarm.

The galvanometer is perhaps more sensitive, but it is some-
what sluggish in action as compared with the relay. However,
there is no great difference in their efficiency, and either type
is used, depending upon consideration of battery sources and
circuit. Where relays are used, they are in duplicate, one re-

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 273

lay being used as an overload and the other as an underload.
The galvanometer is equipped with contacts on either side of
the armature, so that a movement of the armature in either
direction will short an alarm.

The contact form of exciting mechanism may consist of con-
tact springs on doors and windows, tin-foil circuits on glass,
wooden screens carrying concealed wiring, and wall protec-
tion consisting of lacing wire imbedded in wooden strips or
foiling pasted on asbestos wall-covering material. These de-
vices depend for their operation primarily upon the mechan-
ical displacement of some part of the circuit, and they are
particularly well adapted to the modus operandi employed
in most forms of criminal entry.

Two general methods are used in the installation of the
contact type of alarm-exciting mechanism in a bank or com-
mercial vault, In one a grillwork of cables is used, and in the
other the protective material is a lining. Where the grillwork
installation is used, lead-covered wires or cables are imbedded
in the masonry when the vault is built, tests being maintained
continuously during their installation, and also during the
pouring of concrete. The wires are generally set at approxi-
mately three-inch centers and are connected in different cir-
cuits, depending on the size of the vault, in such manner that
no two wires of the same circuit are adjacent to each other.
Linings are installed either on the outside or on the interior
of the vault (the interior lining is better adapted to existing
structures) in the form of a special sensitive material de-
scribed as an "open and closed circuit lining," which in turn
is covered by light steel plates to protect it against accidental
penetration. Another form provides wires protected by some
form of envelope other than steel, such as plaster, or other
fairly firm material.

Anyone familiar with the characteristics of hard concrete
knows that the cutting or breaking of this material requires
the use of a sledgehammer, drill, or explosives ; the forcing
of a vault without breaking cables or penetrating the lining
is not even probable. This method of protection, however, is

274 Police Communication Systems

apt to be expensive and generally has been superseded by the
use of sound- and heat-sensitive detectors installed on the in-
terior of the vault.

SOUND-SENSITIVE DETECTORS

The evolution and perfection of the microphone in the tele-
phone and radio industries made available a most effective
instrument for burglary protection. These devices are ex-
tremely sensitive to sound waves of even low amplitude, and
are now in wide use in modern alarm systems designed for
protection against vault attacks.

Microphone detectors may be secreted at various places in-
side the bank, but are usually placed within the vault proper.
Although the vault walls provide effective insulation against
ordinary noise disturbances, these instruments are adjusted
to pick up the slightest noise, and any attempt on the vault
is promptly transmitted to the detectors, whether the attack
is made by chiseling, drilling, or explosion. This type of de-
tector is so sensitive that it is set in operation by the sounds
produced by burning-tools, such as the acetylene torch and
the electric arc. The slightest contact of the vault door, floor,
ceiling, or walls, with hammer, drill, explosive, or other tool
is sufficient to operate the sensitive microphone and speed the
alarm to its destination.

HEAT-SENSITIVE DETECTORS

These devices have been widely adopted in fire protection,
and they are excellent aids to burglary protection. A heat-
sensitive detector is most useful when the burglar, in his at-
tack upon the safe, vault, or other enclosure, employs the
oxyacetylene torch, oxygen pipe, electric arc, or other heat-
generating accessories which are the usual tools of the pro-
fessional. It generally makes use of the familiar principles of
either the thermostat or the thermometer. It is installed in-
side the vault or other enclosure, where any fractional-degree
rise in the surrounding temperature is sufficient to throw the
alarm circuit into play.

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 275

THE PHOTOELECTRIC CELL

This comparatively simple and powerful electrical protec-
tive device promises to play an increasingly important role
in the design and installation of modern alarm systems. With
a slight improvement in equipment and technique so as to se-
cure the projection of these light rays over greater distances,
its use will increase by leaps and bounds. It is adaptable to
any standard current supply, and any number of positions
can be protected from one control point.

The modern photoelectric relay, as used for commercial and
industrial purposes, consists of a caesium-type photoelectric
tube, the signal from which is amplified by a triode tube. The
units are generally arranged to operate on an alternating
current, a transformer supplying the necessary voltages for
the various parts of the circuit. When light falls on the cell,
the half- wave pulsating direct current in the plate circuit of
the tube rises. Conversely, as the light reaching the cell de-
creases, the plate current drops almost instantaneously. An
electromagnetic relay in the plate circuit is therefore oper-
ated each time the plate current changes. Relay contacts may
be used to control any sort of local circuit, such as alarm sig-
nals, electric lights, motors, power switches, electric counters,
door-openers and other devices, all through the mere change
in the illumination falling upon the photoelectric cell.

In operation, this device is controlled by the illumination
intensity of a beam of light falling upon its surface. A con-
centrated beam of light may, through the use of mirrors, be
made to travel over a predetermined area, and its interrup-
tion by any object will cause a change in the output current
of the light-sensitive cell. This change in output current re-
sults in the operation of the signal circuit proper. It is thus
possible to blanket a protected object or interior with a screen
of light of any desired shape. Penetration of the light wall by
any object puts the alarm circuits into play.

Through the use of cells susceptible to the rays of invisible
light, and certain light filters, it is possible to make the entire

276 Police Communication Systems

control invisible. No object brought into the path of these
rays can be seen as illuminated or casting a shadow. Such
light walls of "black light," unknown and invisible to the in-
truder, automatically operate alarm circuits when penetrated
or interrupted in any way. A system of this kind, in which
invisible light rays are the basic principle of operation, is
used to protect the Shah of Persia's jewels, which form part
of the Persian Art Exhibition at Burlington House, in Lon-
don. Two ornamental pedestals stand in front of the show-
case that holds the Shah's jewels ; one contains the lamp which
projects the ray of invisible light, and the other holds what
is termed the radio-visor bridge, or photoelectric cell unit.
There is no outward sign of any protection, all the mechanical
parts of the apparatus being concealed.

When, from any cause, the beam is obscured, a silent alarm
is carried to predetermined points from which armed assist-
ance may be instantly dispatched. As the ray gives no indica-
tion of its presence, it is impossible for the burglar to know
where or how the device is installed. Any attempt to pass or
reach beyond the invisible-ray barrier is thus frustrated. A
finger, or the tip of an umbrella, is sufficient to break the cir-
cuit and send in an alarm. Any point of approach, such as
windows, doors, staircases, corridors, or the approach to a
safe, can be similarly guarded with photoelectric equipment
already available. Two of the most recent installations in
England were made at the International Exhibition of Per-
sian Art and the Scottish Art Exhibition, but the system has
already been installed in government offices, banks, ware-
houses, town and country houses, as well as numerous mer-
cantile establishments.

RADIO-FREQUENCY CIRCUITS

The radio-frequency circuit is designed to detect and re-
port the approach of an object through the amplification of
changes in the inductive and capacitive characteristics of the
surrounding air. A similar device makes use of changes in the
electrical fields surrounding the object to be protected against

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 277

approach. Application of the radio circuit to alarm installa-
tions is based upon the fact that, if an object is brought near
an oscillating circuit which is not shielded, changes occur in
the tuning of this circuit. Such changes, known to all radio
experimenters as being due to body capacity, cause very defi-
nite variations in the current characteristics of the circuits.
These variations may be easily amplified and used to move
the necessary relay apparatus. Essentially, the movement of
an object, or any other variable factor in relation to the sensi-
tive apparatus, causes a variation in the self -inductance or ca-
pacity of the oscillating system. This, in turn, brings about a
variation in the period of oscillation, which is reflected in the
operation of relays associated with the signal circuit proper.
Experimentally, it has been possible with this type of appa-
ratus to detect the presence of objects as they came within a
radius of twenty feet.

Almost any scientific device that is sensitive to a fluctu-
ation or change in surrounding normal conditions can be
adapted to alarm-installation purposes. A student at North-
western University, for example, recently constructed a burg-
lary-detection device in which two heavily charged electrical
coils were so disposed in a door frame that the intervening
space was blanketed by a strong magnetic field. The passage
of a person with a revolver or other metal object concealed
in his clothing would put the alarm circuits in operation.
Many other applications of this and similar apparatus are
possible. The field of burglary-detection equipment presents
to designers a rare opportunity for the refinement and per-
fection of alarm technique and operation.

In respect to the crime of robbery, however, the design of
the exciting mechanism is more complicated, because, pri-
marily, of the inherent characteristics of the crime. Robbery
is an offense against both person and property. It has all the
essential elements of larceny, with the additional requirement
that the property must be taken from the person of the vic-
tim or from his immediate presence, and against his will, by
means of force or fear. Let us therefore consider as briefly

278 Police Communication Systems

as possible some of the conditions surrounding robbery be-
fore taking up the types of alarm protection against robbery
that are in more or less common use.

The hazard of interior robbery captures the public atten-
tion because of the ingenuity of the attacks and the hazard to
both property and life. The very methods of modern business
make shops, theaters, banks, gas stations, and similar estab-
lishments easily accessible and susceptible to daylight rob-
bery.

A question that disturbs the ordered thoughts of almost
every banker is, How can he keep the doors swung wide in
public welcome and still keep out the gunman? He invites
personal consultations more than ever before, and this has
stimulated architects and manufacturers of bank equipment
to lower the counter screen; also to decrease the barriers be-
tween teller and depositor. (Likewise, the broad exposure of
small retail premises to daylight raid is a direct result of
modern relations between merchants and their customers.)
As a guard against repeated holdups, one bank decided to
keep its doors locked at all times.4 Depositors must show the
proper credentials before they can enter, and strangers are
kept waiting at the door until they can be looked over by the
town constable.

The comparative ease and suddenness with which the day-
light robbery may be carried out has attracted the attention
of the underworld. Many erstwhile professional burglars and
criminals in other lines of endeavor have turned to robbery
as a fruitful field, since they have felt that the risk and the
labor are less when they can strike quickly, with drawyn guns,
and jump into a waiting automobile with the loot. The bank
bandits of today rank among those criminals who rarely act
on an impulse of the moment, but rather plan their crimes
with the utmost care. Advance scouts are usually detailed to
"case" the premises, and they are chosen not to participate in
the actual holdup, but for their ability to analyze and report
upon the strong and weak points in the routine, personnel,

4 State Bank, Georgetown, 111.

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 279

alarm equipment, and whatever police protection the bank
may have. Time, secrecy, and fear are the essential elements
in successful robbery. Where bonds, money, and other valu-
ables are objectives, the criminal must strike fast and dis-
appear quickly. The main requirement is speed.

Burglary, generally speaking, is an attack against prop-
erty, and robbery is an attack against both person and prop-
erty. It is essential in robbery that the criminal approach the
victim personally, and by means of force or fear complete the
crime. The average time required to complete a bank robbery
is less than two minutes ; a burglary may be a matter of a few
minutes or, again, an entire week-end. A study made in 1923
of 150 bank robberies in Los Angeles revealed that, in almost
every one of them, the offense was committed in less than three
minutes. Furthermore, the burglar encounters any number
of physical barriers in effecting entry; the daylight bandit
walks through an open door.

The problem of placing the robbery-alarm circuits in op-
eration is therefore more involved than is that of the burglar-
alarm. In most of the holdup-alarm installations, the "touch
off" is accomplished by means of contact devices such as push
buttons and f ootrails placed at convenient points in the bank
interior. There are many variations of this device, but they all
require manual or pedal operation, usually by the victim.

This method of originating the alarm signal, although bet-
ter than no protection at all, is open to serious criticism, since
the victim may have to risk his life in order to send in the
alarm. Bandits invariably warn their victims to this effect,
and bank employees have been wounded and killed upon mak-
ing suspected movements toward an alarm control button.

Another serious disadvantage of the manually operated
alarm is the involuntary paralysis of the victim in the pres-
ence of extreme danger. Even though the opportunity may
be afforded, the alarm has failed to come through in many
bank robberies, because of the inability of fear-struck victims
to function normally.

There is one method, however, that has been widely en-

280 Police Communication Systems

dorsed by police officials as an effective exciting agent for a
robbery-alarm system. Wherever used, it has functioned with
great success. Although it is a form of manually operated
contact, this device removes the responsibility for setting the
alarm circuits in play from the victim and places it upon the
shoulders of the bandit. This is accomplished by so placing
circuit contacts as to take advantage of the normal physical
movements of the bandit in the course of his ordinary move-
ments within the bank. The design and the placing of these
contacts make an interesting problem, since there is involved
a study of criminal psychology and the modus operandi of
robbery in general, in order to select the points where these
traps are likely to be disturbed.

Since the object of attack in bank robbery is invariably
currency, most of these devices are built into specially de-
signed currency trays, drawers, or other containers for money
and other valuables. One instrument now available makes it
possible for the employees, while actually carrying out the
commands of the bandit, to start an alarm without attracting
attention. Important elements in this system, which has a re-
markable record of efficiency, include a cleverly concealed
button on cash drawers so placed that the cashier can press
it when he opens a drawer ; also a false bottom so arranged
that a slight pressure downward when removing the bills will
flash the alarm. Other arrangements provide for carefully
concealed springs in currency trays so disposed that the re-
moval of currency therefrom excites the alarm circuit. Such
trays usually contain dummy stacks of currency and are
placed at a conspicuous spot near the teller's window.

The possible applications of this principle to holdup-alarm
installations are almost unlimited.

ALARM-TRANSMISSION LINES

Connecting lines of communication between the exciting
mechanism and the alarm terminal or destination usually
take the form of direct-wire circuits, and they should be so
arranged that there shall be no tampering with them. Such

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 281

lines, if available, may be leased from the telephone com-
panies, or they may be installed. Each connecting circuit and
its associated equipment, both on the protected premises and
at the alarm destination, should be under constant electrical
supervision, so that a failure of any part of the system will
be automatically indicated. Authorities have estimated that
about 20 per cent of the value of an alarm system lies in the
apparatus, and that the remaining 80 per cent is a function
of expert supervision and care of the equipment. The con-
tinued efficient operation of any alarm system is entirely de-
pendent upon this supervision and maintenance.

Transmission of the alarm signal to its destination is not
restricted to independent land wires specially installed or
leased for alarm-system purposes. There has recently been de-
veloped a system — known as the multifold carrier current
control system — which may entirely revolutionize the use of
land- wire communication facilities. By means of it, the alarm
signal may be transmitted to its destination over existing
power and telephone lines ; and this, of course, would result
in a very large reduction in the cost of installation and opera-
tion. The arrangement provides for a small and inexpensive
vacuum-tube circuit on the protected premises, capable of
transmitting frequencies of from 1500 to 3000 cycles. It is
only necessary to connect the output of this instrument to
the conventional telephone or light socket, thus eliminating
the necessity for installation of alarm-system transmission
lines. The receiving element at the alarm terminal consists
of a tuned circuit and relay, which will respond to the trans-
mitted frequency, and which, again, is connected to the com-
mercial telephone or power lines. In a typical situation a
transmitted frequency of say 2500 cycles is superimposed over
the 60-cycle lighting current. This 60-cycle frequency has no
effect whatsoever upon the received alarm signal, nor do the
alarm frequencies interfere in any way with the operation
of the power-line service. This absence of mutual interfer-
ence is also shown where telephone lines are the transmitting
medium.

282 Police Communication Systems

Destination of the alarm may be defined as the point at
which an alarm signal makes itself manifest. This is a highly
important point, since there seems to be an inherent weakness
in this respect in a large number of alarm installations. There
are two general types of system and destination : one is the
centralized system, in which the alarm signal is silently trans-
mitted direct to police headquarters, or to a police substation,
or to a central commercial alarm agency, which sends its own
armed riders, and in turn relays the news of the alarm to the
police ; the other system provides for the sounding of a loud
alarm on the premises, either inside or outside, or both, so
that everyone in the vicinity may hear it.

The local or loud alarm consists of a loud gong installed on
the outside of the place to be protected, usually in front in
order to attract the attention of a maximum number of peo-
ple, and connected to suitable push buttons arranged at con-
venient points inside. Numerous alarm installations employ
this device, which is mounted high enough above the sidewalk
to forestall ordinary tampering. Those who advocate the use
of the local alarm base their opinions in large part upon its
value in the frustration of both burglary and robbery, since
experience has brought to light the fact that no burglar or
bandit can "stand up" against the sound of a large gong or
bell in the immediate vicinity. The desire for a safe escape at
any cost becomes irresistible. It is a matter of record that
many bank robberies and burglaries have been frustrated
through the use of this device.

The local alarm, however, has certain fundamental weak-
nesses which cannot be overlooked. In large cities, the alarms
receive scant attention ; the sound does not carry any appre-
ciable distance, arid the nearest policeman may be several
blocks away when he is needed.

Again, if the burglar sets off a local alarm system, he hears
it just as soon as anyone else, and usually can escape without
detection. In combating the holdup, local alarms are even less
effective. In holdups, criminals work fast, depending a great
deal on the fear of the employees. Employees quite naturally

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 283

are reluctant to sound an alarm when they are looking into
the face of a criminal with a loaded revolver in his hand. In-
deed, it may be foolhardy to do so ; from nervousness or vin-
dictiveness the intruder will very likely shoot. Still another
disadvantage is the inevitable assembling of a crowd, imped-
ing the police and increasing the hazard of injury and death
to innocent bystanders. But the disadvantage of the local
alarm which commends it to the museum is the fact that al-
though it may frustrate the completion of the crime, it in-
variably frustrates the efforts of the police to apprehend the
criminals. The moment the alarm is sounded, the bandits are
on their way to cover ; the police have little chance to make
the necessary arrests, and as a result there must be long and
detailed investigation before the case is finally disposed of,
the cost of which falls, of course, upon the community.

The local or outside alarm owes its continued existence to
its very low initial cost. It is the cheapest form of alarm in-
stallation and it frequently proves in the end to be the most
expensive. The underwriting companies regard it as of a very
limited value, and some of the large companies do not give
any consideration to it or make any allowance for its use.

In the centralized system of alarm control, a silent alarm
signal is transmitted to some distant point, remote from
the scene of the crime. The terminal signal device may be
installed in adjacent or near-by offices or business establish-
ments, from which, when the alarm signal is heard, a message
may be telephoned to the police. In other installations, the
alarm system is wired direct to the central offices of privately
operated alarm-system companies, which maintain motorized
armed patrols ready for immediate response to an alarm.
Such organizations generally have direct-wire connections
with the police department, in order that the police, too, may
be promptly notified.

One alarm-system company has 117 central stations and
gives a centralized alarm protection service to more than 300
large municipalities in different parts of the United States.
Besides burglar- and holdup-alarm service, these organiza-

284 Police Communication Systems

tioiis have developed an organized supervision of night
watchmen, who are frequently the victims of holdups. If the
watchman's activities are supervised by a central station,
armed guards are instantly dispatched if the hourly report-
ing-in signal is delayed. Criminals are often familiar with
this fact, and when they raid a factory or building thus pro-
tected they may force the watchman to make his regular round
of signals. To meet this situation, central station operating
companies install on the watchman's route "emergency" sta-
tions which look just like the ordinary ones. But the emer-
gency boxes are operated only in the event of a holdup, and
a signal from one of them ensures quick action by the guards
at the central station and the local police. The intruders have
DO way of knowing that a call for assistance has been sent.

Many banks and commercial institutions, particularly in
the smaller cities, are rapidly adopting the type of installa-
tion in which all alarm-transmission lines are wired direct to
police headquarters. In respect to police efficiency, this is the
most desirable of all the types of alarm installation, and the
design of alarm systems will in the future probably follow
this pattern.

Up to the present, the advantages of alarm service have
been available for only a selected kind of property, and muni-
cipal governments have not always felt that, in order to give
a specialized service, they could properly use taxes allocated
for general police protection. Moreover, city governments
are subject to periodic change, and succeeding administra-
tions may well have different policies. All the varying opin-
ions of changing administrations and the lack of continuity in
policy and program have, in some measure at least, retarded
the development of a centralized police control of alarm sys-
tems and have provided the opportunity for the expansion of
commercially operated alarm companies. The privately oper-
ated companies deal with their clients on a commercial basis,
and give an excellent service. The apparatus is kept in perfect
condition, staffs of experts are maintained to see that the cir-
cuits are properly supervised and operated, and trained per-

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 285

soiinel at the central stations respond to the alarms with a
minimum of lost time and motion. Nevertheless, this sort of
protection is properly a police function in the interest of the
whole community, and the responsibility for the pursuit and
arrest of the criminal rests upon the police department. In
the interest of law enforcement, therefore, the present shar-
ing of this function with a private agency serving a special
group in the community must some day give way to a new
order, in which the alarm-protection network of the commu-
nity will become an integral unit in the police communication
system.

THE FALSE ALARM

A false alarm is the result of an accidental or deliberate oper-
ation of the alarm system without justifiable cause and in the
absence of any criminal approach. From the beginning of
alarm installations, the false alarm has been a characteristic
weakness of all protective systems, and it has come to be ac-
cepted as an inescapable evil.

Alarm systems are so designed that breaks, grounds, or
crosses between the two sides of the circuit will occasion sig-
nals. Despite the use of the best material and the greatest
care in installation and supervision, false alarms are bound
to occur. The unit of an electrical alarm system, such as
lacing-wire, and wire used in screens and wall protection,
must be of small gauge, so that it cannot be handled without
breaking ; otherwise, wires might be spread or otherwise ma-
nipulated so as to afford entrance to protected premises. The
only effective method of protecting show-window glass is to
paste foil on its surface, and the gauge of this foil must be
such that it will rupture when the glass is broken.

All this delicate wiring is exposed to accidental trouble.
Window washers and workmen making repairs about the
premises may accidentally rupture the alarm circuit. Water
leaking from pipes or blowing in from rainstorms may cause
short circuits. Even rats and mice have been known to
occasion alarms. Corroded contacts, defective insulation,
inefficient or defective relays, weak or broken springs, trans-

286 Police Communication Systems

mission-line trouble, short circuits, alarm-terminal defects,
and numerous other circuit factors may operate to cause a
false alarm. Yet this hazard may be minimized, if not com-
pletely eliminated, by the selection right at the start of an
alarm system manufactured by a reputable and responsible
company, and expertly installed, supervised, and maintained.

Carelessness of employees in protected banks and other
institutions causes a large number of false alarms. Proper in-
struction and educational work will do much to eliminate this
hazard. It not infrequently happens that all the employees
are not properly informed about the system of protection pro-
vided. The author, with several other officers, once responded
to a false bank alarm which affords an interesting commen-
tary. Of five bank tellers and clerks, only two knew the
locations of all the alarm contact buttons. Besides the hazard
which this implied in the event of a robbery, there was also
the likelihood of a larger number of accidental contacts.

Some authorities advocate imposing a penalty upon the
person responsible for this sort of false alarm. In view of the
risk and hazard that is connected with the response to an
alarm, this proposal does not appear so radical when all
aspects of the question are weighed. The imposition of a small
penalty by the personnel officer of the institution concerned
would undoubtedly help to eliminate the evil.

A certain police department had been annoyed by the fre-
quent arrival of false alarms. These became so numerous that,
as a temporary respite from the unnecessary dispatching of
the armed guards, the desk sergeant adopted the practice of
telephoning the institution in which the alarm originated as
a means of reducing the number of interruptions to patrol
activity. Usually, this meant only the recording of another
false alarm. But on one occasion a bank robber answered the
telephone, and in response to the desk sergeant's inquiry,
"Everything 0. K.?" replied, "Everything 0. K." In this
happy state of freedom from further molestation the crimi-
nal completed his robbery in a leisurely manner with a safe
escape from the premises assured.

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 287

It is an unwritten police law that an incoming alarm is to
be considered genuine and summary action taken, until the
contrary fact is known. The discipline and practice gained by
answering false alarms may be of great value in the formula-
tion of tactical patrol plans of operation. The drill will indi-
cate to commanding officers weak points in the scheme of
emergency-patrol operation and point the way to improve-
ment— a revision of dispatching procedure, perhaps, or of
the routes of patrol concentration, covering plans, and other
important aspects of emergency work. An alert organization
may develop from this erstwhile annoyance much useful
strategy.

Repeated false alarms may also result, however, in a "let-
down" in morale or in what may be termed "fighting inter-
est." In this respect the false alarm is a dangerous affair. The
suspicion that the alarm is probably false makes for relaxed
vigilance and a dissipation of alertness and other qualities
essential in facing a potential emergency. Then, too, it is to
be remembered that an alarm response involves a rapid con-
centration of patrol units closing in on the location at speeds
far above the average for city thoroughfares, with attendant
hazards to life and property. False alarms cause a needless
exposure to these risks. The objections to false alarms are far
greater, of course, both in respect to public interests and the
efficiency of the police department, than any value that these
alarms may have as a school of instruction.

THE UNDERWRITERS' LABORATORIES, INC.

The establishment of a nationally recognized agency for the
examination, testing, and rating of alarm equipment has been
of great service. By setting up a standard and uniform sys-
tem of rating, this organization has exerted a wide influence
in the improvement of alarm devices and of the services de-
pendent upon their operation.

Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., chartered by the state
of Illinois in November, 1901, is authorized to establish and
maintain laboratories for the examination and testing of de-

288 Police Communication Systems

vices, systems, and materials for the purpose of reporting
thereon to insurance organizations. The corporation was es-
tablished and is maintained by the National Board of Fire
Underwriters for service, not for profit.

The insurance interests which pay the burglary and holdup
losses are keenly interested in alarm systems. Field under-
writers, not being experts in electrical equipment, proved un-
able to determine whether or not an alarm system installed
on a risk was of sufficient value to merit recognition in the
form of reduced premiums. In 1925, the National Bureau of
Casualty Underwriters requested the Underwriters' Labora-
tories to set up standards for, examine, and pass upon burglar
and holdup alarm systems for which the owners wanted rec-
ognition in the amount of the insurance premium. Under this
arrangement, a company proposing to install an alarm sys-
tem must take the devices to the Laboratories, and these
devices must pass certain tests and requirements before the
recognition is granted. In the awarding of a contract for an
alarm installation, therefore, a comparison of the relative
merits of the various systems as reported by the Underwrit-
ers' Laboratories should be the decisive factor. Some systems
just barely "get under the wire," so far as the corporation
is concerned, and others give protection far in excess of its
standards.

The object of Underwriters' Laboratories is to determine
by reasonable, practical, and independent investigation, the
relation of devices, systems, and materials to life, fire, and
collision hazards, and to theft and accident prevention. Dur-
ing the past ten years this work, undertaken as one means
of reducing the enormous and disproportionate loss of life
and property by fire, theft, and accident, has done much to
improve the electrical design, electrical supervision, tamper-
proof qualities, and maintenance of alarm systems. Besides
separating alarm systems in respect to types, the corporation
further classifies them in respect to grade or merit, Grade A
being the highest classification. Individual installations may
vary still further in respect to extent or completeness.

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 289

The comprehensive testing; equipment of the Laboratories
in the hands of its staff and of experienced engineers affords
exceptional facilities for the work that the corporation has
undertaken. Its long experience and the methods used for
keeping in close touch with manufacturers, users, inspection
bureaus, and other sources of practical information have
secured a wide acceptance of its standards and recommenda-
tions. The great potential value to banks and similar institu-
tions of its accumulation of sound research data will only be
realized, however, as the pressure of insurance companies and
public opinion creates a demand for safeguards against rob-
bery and burglary that are designed to meet the numerous,
individual hazards.

Annual lists of devices approved by the Underwriters' Lab-
oratories are widely distributed, also semiannual supplemen-
tary lists of the manufacturers whose devices are listed. The
devices are subject to appropriate inspection by the corpora-
tion's inspectors and engineers. It is the consensus among
police officers that 110 alarm equipment should be purchased
that has not been approved by the Laboratories.

Comment should be made, however, upon the approval and
recognition by the Underwriters' Laboratories of the outside
gong or local alarm installation on the premises — a logical
result of the close relationship existing between the testing
agency and the insurance companies. With respect to the in-
surance risk, frustration of a burglary or robbery constitutes
protection since loss of the insured property has been pre-
vented. Law enforcement requires, in addition, apprehension
of the lawbreaker. Mere frustration of a crime does not solve
the larger problem of reducing the potential crime total of a
community, which continues as a direct threat to insured
risks of all kinds. Elimination of the opportunity to commit
crime must be supplemented by treatment of the desire to
attack. Certainty of arrest and speedy disposition of cases in
the trial court are important elements in any broad program
of crime prevention and detection. This broader view must
eventually lead to a combination of the two interests, and to

290 Police Communication Systems

the concentration of alarm-communication facilities in the
police department as the law-enforcing agency of society.

Insurance companies give substantial discounts on pre-
miums for burglar-alarm systems of both the local and the
centralized types that have been installed on bank vaults,
and for some classes of systems installed on mercantile prem-
ises, depending, of course, in all installations, upon the com-
pleteness of the wiring. The certificate of the Underwriters'
Laboratories appears on between fifteen and twenty thousand
alarm installations in various sections of the country. This
in itself would seem to indicate that it is either necessary
or profitable for the merchant or bank to install some form of
alarm protection.

Obviously, the economic saving effected through the instal-
lation of an efficient alarm system depends somewhat upon
the size of the risk, or its value in dollars and cents, if we elim-
inate from the equation altogether the value of life. It is gen-
erally considered in insurance circles and among those who
have benefited through alarm installations over a long period
of time, that the saving on insurance premiums alone is suffi-
cient to pay for the maintenance of the protection and give a
return of 6 per cent on the investment therein, with amortiza-
tion of the entire cost of the equipment over a comparatively
short period of years. With continuing improvement in alarm-
system equipment and technique, this economic return will
become greater.

Robbery protection is a newer development, in which, also,
the human element and ingenuity of the robber plays a larger
part. Underwriting companies have not thus far been inclined
to give as substantial recognition to robbery-alarm systems as
to burglary-protection equipment. Premium rates for insur-
ance against robbery are a simple but illuminating story, and
a fair index as well to the changing trend in bank robbery.

Nine years ago the night burglary hazard in banking was
so much greater than the daylight robbery hazard that insur-
ance premiums for robbery risk ranged from one-fourth to
one-half of the burglary rate. Until 1918, the holdup coverage

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 291

was "thrown in" with the burglary and robbery policies for
good measure. Today the reverse is true, and in some states
the gap between premiums on the two risks has steadily wid-
ened. Authentic reports show an increase in bank robberies
from 143 losses in 1921 to 292 losses in 1928 and 402 losses
in 1930 ; interior or store robbery losses mounted from 550
claims in 1921 to approximately 3000 in 1927. Stated in an-
other way, there is about one holdup each hour in every day
that commercial institutions are open for business.

It is significant that one of every three bank burglaries
attempted in the past two years has been frustrated; or at
least the loss has been from damage done, and not in money
or securities. If experience means anything, science and in-
vention have caught up with the burglar, and many bankers
in making their selection of the protective devices thus made
available have shown at least the same care that the burglar
shows in his preparation for the attack. This is not true in re-
spect to the banker's defensive measures against daylight
holdups directed against undermanned or unguarded banks.
In contrast with the banker's efforts in foiling one out of
every three burglary attempts, he fares considerably worse
against the robber : the records show that only one holdup is
frustrated out of every seven attacks. Moreover, the average
haul in a bank holdup is much greater than in a burglary.

BANK ROBBERIES : HISTORICAL NOTE AND CONTRAST

Two of the earliest recorded bank robberies in Iowa were the
work of two gangs apparently independent of each other.
About six months later, a succession of bank burglaries began
throughout the state. As these crimes were run down, the per-
petrators were found to be typical of the old-time bank burg-
lar, whose custom it was to loaf on his takings.

All the members of both organizations were sent to prison.
Later, with the assistance of friends on the outside, the mem-
bers of one gang shot their way out of jail, killing the sheriff's
son, but they were captured and sent to prison for life.

Just a little later the Federal government, cooperating

292 Police Communication Systems

with the St. Louis Police Department, rounded up and sent
to the penitentiary some twenty-eight members of the Col-
beck, Cuckoo, and Egan gangs, thereby bringing to a close a
long and desperate series of bank robberies. Still later, there
was encountered in Illinois a gang of between fifty and a hun-
dred bank burglars and robbers, who were more or less of the

SYNDICATED BANK ROBBERIES FROM DECEMBER 1, 1925, TO DECEMBER 1,
1932, IN SEVEN MIDWESTERN STATES*

State

Number
of
robberies

Number
of bandits
partici-
pating

Number
convicted

Number
bandits
killed

Loss

Citizens
or officers
killed

Amount
recovered

Indiana. . . .

$ 398,245

f Cashier

Illinois

23,500

1 killed;

j officer

[wounded

Iowa

244,022

Michigan.. .

358,000

$ 90,000

Nebraska. . .

2,305,000

583,000

Ohio

584,000

75,000

Wisconsin. .

1,293,700

319,000

Total

7 states...

140

$5,206,467

$1,067,000

* Source: Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 23 (1933), p. 799.

old school. This almost unheard-of organization of so many
thieves with wide criminal experience did not bear any ear-
marks of a national organization, as their activities were
mostly confined to the state of Illinois. These men engaged in
what is termed "independent bank robbery." The losses sus-
tained by their activities were heavy, but they pale into insig-
nificance when compared with the amount of loot obtained by
bank-robbery syndicates (see the accompanying table).

By the year 1925, the police realized that each year a few
bank robberies were taking place in the middle western states,
with losses generally running at from $100,000 to $500,000.
Furthermore, in each of these robberies, it was evident that
the premises had been well surveyed and that the holdup had

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 293

been committed by men of a different type from the partici-
pants in independent bank robbery. These bank robbers con-
stituted in fact a syndicate, and were rarely apprehended.

The participants in syndicated bank robbery are an older,
more vicious type of person and as a rule they have long crim-
inal records. They spare no expense in equipping themselves
with every possible weapon of defense, including machine
guns, tear gas, automobile smoke screens, and other devices.
They are strongly intrenched politically, and usually have
very definite protective arrangements with some high officials
in the city from which they operate. They retain corrupt
criminal attorneys and maintain a large sinking fund for the
defense of any of their members who may get into trouble. If
one of the organization is arrested in any city on the North
American continent, the best criminal attorneys in the city
appear, as if by magic, to defend them. This policy, together
with their powerful political connections, often makes extra-
dition impossible.

Despite this challenge, up to the present time only a small
percentage of banks have taken advantage of the protection
afforded by the alarm installation. The number is so small, in-
deed, that it makes but little impression on the bank-robbery
problem, with the result that insurance premiums against
robbery attack in many places have reached extravagant
levels. Bank managements are beginning to realize, however,
that it is just as necessary to seek the services of a protective-
equipment engineer as it is to consult an architect, record-
system expert, or the agent of any other specialized service in
connection with bank operation.

Next to banks, jewelry stores present the greatest hazard
so far as robbery and burglary are concerned. When the Jew-
elers' Security Alliance was organized fifty years ago, the
only method used by criminals in stealing jewelry was safe
burglary. For about twenty-five years the Alliance limited its
service to the combatting of that crime, and it almost suc-
ceeded in driving safe burglars out of business so far as jew-
elry stores were concerned.

294 Police Communication Systems

The criminals who formerly robbed safes, however, devel-
oped other plans for attacking jewelers, and the crimes of
window-smashing, sneak theft, holdup, and burglary, with-
out attack upon the safe, began to be so numerous that the
jewelers were obliged to take note of them in their plans of
protection. The larger part of the work of this Alliance at
the present time is concerned with the crimes of holdups and
sneak theft.

The accompanying table (p. 295) throws considerable light
upon the crime problem from the jewelers' viewpoint and in-
dicates the opportunities that exist in this field of engineering
protection.

To the losses sustained by banks and jewelry stores must
be added the enormous total of money and property obtained
through the burglary and holdup of mercantile establish-
ments in general. Information travels rapidly in the under-
world and attacks are generally made where safeguards are
known to be inadequate. Since the most expert attacks are
directed against the greatest hazards, banking institutions,
jewelry establishments, pay offices, and other places where
large quantities of valuables are kept, should be equipped
with the best and most complete forms of protection avail-
able. The average criminal possesses too keen a sense of prison
humor to risk detection and arrest by attacking premises
which are known to be protected. If, in ignorance of the true
situation, he makes such an attack, the rapid arrival of an
armed patrol force soon brings him to an inglorious end.

Besides theft, there are two other hazards against which the
alarm system may provide a full measure of protection. In
both fire and riot, money or valuables may be subject to de-
struction or confiscation ; in such contingencies, the alarm sys-
tem is in a preferred position to summon assistance in the
shortest possible time.

The advent of radio communication in modern patrol serv-
ice has added to the potential value of the alarm system and
will prove very helpful in the centralization of alarm-com-
munication facilities at police headquarters. Where, as with

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems

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296 Police Communication Systems

the alarm circuit, the request for assistance is synchronized
with the attack, operating-time intervals undergo a drastic
reduction, and, when supplemented by radio broadcast, it
becomes possible to officers to be at the scene of the crime in
ample time to take the most effective action. That the future
design and installation of alarm systems may be largely in-
fluenced by these considerations is evidenced by a number of
developments in this field which point toward a more complete
utilization of the possibilities offered by radio communica-
tion. For example, police experts and radio engineers have
been giving attention to the development of automatic radio-
alarm systems which shall be most direct in their operating
sequence. In one such system, the contact or exciting device
sets in operation a phonographic pickup apparatus at the
bank, which is wired direct to the speech-input system of the
police transmitter. The procedure at this point is similar to
the use of electrical transcriptions by commercial broadcast-
ing stations. The recorded wording on the transmitting record
consists of a brief message announcing trouble at a given
bank or other location, in code or otherwise. This message is
repeated continuously until the alarm is manually shut down.
Circuit arrangements in the system are such that, when the
alarm goes into play, all other lines to the transmitter are
automatically cleared, giving the alarm boadcast priority
over all other police traffic.

In this arrangement there is a decentralization of patrol
control in which, for the moment, all detours are eliminated
and communication is direct between the victim or premises
attacked and the radio-equipped mobile patrol force. Al-
though the alarm passes through the transmitting equipment
at headquarters, the radio dispatcher is immediately elimi-
nated from the scheme of operation and the effect is the same
as if the victim or premises were equipped with an individual
transmitter. Patrol cars equipped for two-way communica-
tion on arrival at the scene of action may instantly convert
the entire patrol force into one powerful unit to form a cor-
don in the vicinity, blockade exits, or take whatever action is

Burglar- and Holdup-alarm Systems 297

required. Yet this is merely an introduction to the potentiali-
ties of electrical protection, and but faint indication of the
role to be played by alarm and communication systems in the
police service of tomorrow.

CHAPTER IX

COOBDINATION OF THE POLICE
COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

THE POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM comprises a series of
closely interlocking operations, each function dependent
upon and contributory to the others, the whole coordinated
into a systematized plan. The primary purpose of the system
is reduction of delay, whether between the commission of a
crime and the apprehension of the law-breaker or between the
occurrence of the emergency and the required police action.
Toward this end, proper provision should be made in the rules
and regulations of the police department for the orderly and
uniform use of all the available facilities that are essential to
this purpose. The operation of the switchboard, use of the re-
call and beat telephone systems, and all the other functions of
the various communication units should be the subjects of
concise orders from the Chief's office. Only by such definite
and comprehensive instructions can the separated units be
brought together in the necessary cooperation. Furthermore,
since the communication system is an integral part of that
larger organization, the police department, the men responsi-
ble for its administration must take cognizance of the rela-
tionships of the communication system to other branches of
the department. Some of these relationships it will be well to
consider in detail.

LINE DECENTRALIZATION

In modern police administration, in England and America,
there has gradually been accepted the far-reaching princi-
ple : Decentralize wherever you can, centralize only when you
must. In decentralization a large city is subdivided into police
divisions, and these into police precincts ; the precincts are in
turn divided ultimately into the fundamental unit of police
operations, the police beat, to which a patrol officer is as-
signed. Various considerations govern the determination of
the size of these subdivisions. No division or precinct should

[298]

Coordination of the System 299

be so large that the commanding officer will find it difficult to
maintain discipline and morale and 'fix responsibility among
his police officers. He should have full knowledge of the crim-
inals and potential offenders living in the area and should
also establish friendly relations with the respectable and law-
abiding members of the community. No fixed rule can be laid
down, but a population of 50,000 is usually considered the
maximum for the station commander who would give the po-
lice protection and service that is needed.1

Decentralization would be impossible without some means
of communication between a station and its force distributed
on the beats. Yet centralization of all the police strength at a
central headquarters would obviously be hazardous and im-
practicable. The communication system acts here as a means
of control that makes possible the distribution of police
strength throughout an area. Two divergent opinions appear
at this point. There are those who think that the communica-
tion system should be completely decentralized, with a cer-
tain measure of control over their respective areas delegated
to the substation commanding officers; and there are those
who think that all control should be centralized and all lines
of communication converge at central headquarters.

THE CENTRALIZED POLICE-COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

In the centralized police-communication system there is a
complete concentration of all authority, all control, and all
functions in one central administration, the Central Commu-
nication Bureau, which is usually at central headquarters.
This concentration implies a complete unification of the com-
munication system as opposed to a comparatively loose assem-
blage of quasi-independent parts. The control of all lines of
communication — visible and audible signal recall systems,
beat telephone systems, telephone, teletype, radio, and incom-
ing reports and complaints — are completely centralized at
police headquarters. Communication out of precinct stations

1 See Report of the National Commission on Law Observance and En-
forcement (1931).

300 Police Communication Systems

is limited to telephone and teletype contact with headquar-
ters, and the control of beat patrol forces is centralized at the
one control point.

The ultimate test of a communication system is the emer-
gency, and the measure of its efficiency is the speed with which
police strength may be concentrated in a given quarter. In
emergencies, the centralized or highly unified communication
network relays the alarm to the points of control with no loss
of time. Lines of communication are direct. Orders and in-
formation may be transmited to every corner of the city with
dispatch, and mobilization of the patrol strength becomes a
comparatively simple matter. The instructions are given in-
telligently, the officer having in mind the proximity of par-
ticular units of the patrol force to the place of action and to
the strategic points to be covered, and possessing also a good
general knowledge of the man power and equipment avail-
able and its disposition throughout the entire area. Further-
more, because of the wide perspective of operation, the officer
in the centralized bureau can supervise the movements of this
scattered force, in whole or in part, to the best advantage.

Centralization of all facilities in one office is economical be-
cause it makes unnecessary much of the duplication of person-
nel, labor, equipment, and appliances. The peak traffic loads
of the districts counterbalance one another in a central office,
bringing about an automatic adjustment of communication
traffic and thus doing away with excess personnel. Officers
can easily be shifted to points where there is a pressure of
work, supervision and inspection can be more easily done and
at less cost, and uniformity in technique and operation are
more easily secured.

Centralization almost invariably develops specialization,
for which there is great need in modern communication tech-
nique. In the small, decentralized substation bureau, the offi-
cers must perform all the communication functions, and they
have little opportunity for specialization; a large force of
men almost instinctively breaks up into specialized groups.
In thus specializing, however, these men have the background

Coordination of the System 301

of the wider and more extensive experience obtainable in a
large and comprehensive communication bureau. They come
to appreciate the general police communication plan in terms
of a city-wide crime-fighting organization. Their entire at-
tention is directed toward this one purpose of conquering
crime. They have the facilities wherewith to make practical
tests of every new improvement as it appears, and they are
constantly studying to make their own contributions to the
solution of the problem of crime. These are the dividends of
specialization.

CENTRALIZATION AND RECORDS

Every police force maintains some sort of record of the of-
fenses that come to its attention, of the action taken, and of
the persons apprehended and their disposition, together with
a wide variety of other facts that have to do with depart-
mental duties and functions. These records may be divided
into two general categories : first, those that are routine, for
example, a patrolman's report on the condition of a broken
sewer-cover with a notation of the action taken ; and second,
and far more important, those reports pertaining to crime
and criminals and other subjects which have a definite bear-
ing upon police administrative policy. Current information,
for example, concerning the number, place of occurrence,
type, and time of known offenses is correlated with distribu-
tion of the patrol force, plain-clothes investigators, and crime-
prevention officers according to police district, post, month,
day, and hour. In these reports there are also accumulated
descriptions of persons and property, and accurate statistics
on the amount of crime within respective areas — indispens-
able data in the detection, apprehension, and identification
of offenders. These various data concerning crime will often
be suggestive of studies that may lead to better handling of
situations and to a reduction of crime in the areas studied.
Honestly and accurately recorded from day to day, and sum-
marized in monthly and yearly reports, they are invaluable
as a basis for departmental reorganization, administrative
strategy, and long-range crime prevention.

302 Police Communication Systems

So far as centralization or decentralization of the police
record division is concerned, the advantages lie with centrali-
zation. That all information should be concentrated in one
place and thus be easily, quickly, and completely available is
indeed almost imperative in modern police administration.
The centralized record system will be found in many modern
police departments. There the necessarily separate parts of a
record can be coordinated, and the responsibility for the work
be placed upon a single subordinate executive.

The correlation of function and close cooperation that is es-
sential between all parts of the modern police department is
particularly needed between the communication bureau and
the record division. By far the greater part of the complaints,
reports, and information received by the police department
comes over the lines of communication. A comparatively small
percentage of these may be delivered personally at the com-
plaint desk, but this desk is essentially a unit in the communi-
cation system. The communication bureau is thus the first,
although a temporary, custodian of information in any form
that it may take, and as such is directly responsible to the
record division for its accuracy, safekeeping, and certainty
of transfer to the commanding officer of that division. Theo-
retically, and it so works out in practice, the record division
delegates this authority for temporary custody of records to
the communication bureau. Advocates of the centralized com-
munication system therefore believe — and rightly — that the
record division should have a supervising control over com-
munication. They also point out that, in the centralization of
communication facilities, if one single control point were lo-
cated in the functional area of record operations, the record
division would immediately secure such control.

The reception of reports and complaints involves the as-
signment of officers for their investigation and disposition.
In modern police administration, these assignments are sim-
ultaneous with the reception of the report and they are al-
most invariably transmitted over communication lines to the
officers whose beats they concern. Decidedly, the record divi-

Coordination of the System 303

sion is interested in these assignments. It is concerned not
only with the certainty of receiving an accurate copy of the
original report, but also with the prompt filing of reports by
the investigating officer and a final disposition of all the rec-
ords in a case as soon as possible.

In self-defense, if for no other reason, the division must
possess a supervising control over all agencies in the organi-
zation that have to do with record procedure. It is therefore
a logical opinion that communication facilities and activities
should be centralized, with the focal point of control under
the watchful eye of the record division.

A centralized communication system makes possible the
collection of uniform and accurate records ; it also eliminates
the possibility of collusion between substation commanding
officers and the men out on patrol. If the report or complaint
must come through the central office for assignment of action
thereon, it is quite likely that the record will be as nearly ac-
curate as it is possible for records to be.

A decentralized system of communication, on the contrary,
may easily result in the corruption of a police record system
and reduce, if not destroy, its efficiency. In an impartial sur-
vey of the Chicago Police Department in 1931, by the Citi-
zens' Police Committee, the separation of the communication
system from the record division was definitely condemned,
and comment was made as follows :

Available means of communication and records must of necessity be
closely articulated. A centralized system of crime records requires a cen-
tralized system of communications in order that citizens' complaints
and the reports of police officers may be promptly placed under official
control and assignments for investigations judiciously effected.

The Illinois Bell Telephone Company provides a means of communi-
cation from the general public through both the listed subscribers' num-
bers and the general police emergency type of communication. Thus,
a citizen's emergency call might be connected with any of the several
police districts in the telephone exchange area from which the call origi-
nated. This condition sometimes caused considerable delay in relaying
the call to the proper district and prevented prompt action by the de-
partment in meeting an emergency.

Decentralized handling of criminal complaints also rendered accurate

304 Police Communication Systems

crime accountings extremely difficult. Both have been remedied by the
installation of a central complaint room switchboard, where city-wide
calls for police assistance are now directly connected and promptly dis-
tributed.2

In a projected plan of departmental reorganization, incor-
porated as a part of this survey, these two administrative
units were therefore brought together under a single com-
mand. Accordingly, it was recommended that the teletype
transmitters, which had been at some distance from the rec-
ord division, should be installed in a room adjoining the cen-
tral complaint room, thus greatly expediting and improving
the service. All other means of communication employed by
the police were to be centralized, making possible a central
clearinghouse for all citizens' complaints, which in turn de-
termines the method to be used in communicating them to the
various police units directly concerned.

The centralized communication system has certain prac-
tical limitations, however, which become evident as the de-
partment grows in size and the volume of business increases.
Too great a degree of centralization may produce a clumsy,
unmanageable machine, since the larger the force, the greater
the opportunity for delay. The disadvantages of a completely
centralized police communication system are in large part
the advantages of decentralization.

THE DECENTRALIZED POLICE-COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

In a decentralized organization, the various units are per-
mitted to operate with as little interference from the central
authority as is compatible with good service : administrative
powers and functions are transformed from a higher to a
lower authority. In a decentralized police communication sys-
tem, reports and complaints are received at substations and
are assigned from that point to beat officers in the individual
area controlled by the substation. It must naturally follow
that to the individual station is delegated the control of com-
munication equipment used between the station and the

- Citizens' Police Committee, Survey of the Chicago Police Depart-
ment (1931).

Coordination of the System 305

beats, in order to expedite the operation of the decentralized
patrol force.

Decentralization, of course, has its limits : complete decen-
tralization would simply be a collapse of the whole police
organization. Decentralization implies, rather, that any de-
cision should be made at the lowest point in the organization
at which the person deciding possesses all the facts neces-
sary for a sound decision. In other words, decentralization
is not properly a matter of delegation but of function ; the
man who possesses the facts should be the man to decide. If we
begin with a rigid headquarters control and an organization
strongly centralized, it would, despite the form of control,
work toward decentralization through the gradual adoption
of local areas of activity.

Decentralization in line organization, as has been indi-
cated, is a generally accepted principle in police service. To
centralize highly the communication system is to negative to
a great degree the advantages obtained through modern line
decentralization. Such decentralization is attainable only
through the facilities of communication, and if the adminis-
trative pattern of the communication system is the converse
of the patrol plan, it will be realized at once that two widely
divergent principles of organization are in serious conflict.
Such a paradoxical arrangement may even undermine a de-
partment's control of its patrol force.

Excessive centralization of decision wastes the resources of
the organization. In all departments there is an abundance of
ability to handle routine matters. By localizing the responsi-
bility for local decisions, the interest and initiative of sub-
ordinate commanding officers and the men they control are
increased. The commanding officer is in direct control of the
men in his area and their responsibility to him is clearly de-
nned. This localization of control and responsibility deepens
the interest and loyalty of the men, with the result that the
neighborhood benefits in the quality of its police protection.

Police service has undergone a tremendous change in the
last two decades. With the coming of the automobile, rapid

306 Police Communication Systems

means of communication, and the expanding application of
the social sciences, the policeman is no longer merely a puni-
tive agent of the government ; in the greater project of crime
prevention he has responsibilities for the social welfare far
beyond those of any other person in the community. He is
likely to be the only representative of the government that
the newcomer in town knows. His desire to prevent crime
may lead him to activities seemingly remote from his proper
sphere. For example, one officer fostered the construction of
playgrounds in his district, organized competitive sports, and
found other means of providing good outlets for the leisure-
time energies and activities of youngsters. The interest and
initiative that led to this constructive activity are a result of
the decentralized plan in which responsibility for the care
of an individual administrative area is placed upon one com-
manding officer, who in turn shares this responsibility among
the men on the beat. Where this responsibility is taken from
the commanding officer, as it is in a highly centralized or-
ganization, interest and morale decline, since there is little
incentive toward those extra activities which distinguish
modern police service from the service of a decade ago.

Further, in the decentralized arrangement, precinct offi-
cers, being conversant with the characteristics of the area un-
der their jurisdiction, may control the patrol force to better
advantage than is done in a centralized system in which all
control and orders emanate from a central headquarters.
Many crimes are local, requiring a special and detailed knowl-
edge of neighborhoods and their people. Certain classes of
criminals tend to operate in restricted localities rather than
over an entire city. The communication system is intimately
interwoven with the local aspect of the crime problem and
the plan for movement of the patrol force.

The precinct commanding officer gains an intimate knowl-
edge of the people who reside in his area. He is thus in a posi-
tion to become thoroughly acquainted with the crime, vice,
and traffic conditions within the district assigned to him for
protection. Moreover, responsibility can be fixed only where

Coordination of the System 307

the territory or police problem is decentralized to a point
where a single subordinate commanding officer can grasp the
situation. Because of the certainty and intelligence connected
with this form of control, discipline is encouraged, and the
police campaign against crime and corruption within a given
district is strengthened.

DECENTRALIZATION AND THE RECORD DIVISION

How about the record administration under a decentralized
system? The answer to this question is difficult, and yet it
would seem fundamental to success that reports should be
received in the first instance by the station which is expected
to give attention to them. Since the report is received in its
original form, the opportunity for error in transmission is re-
duced, and no time is lost in dispatching assistance.

It is true that the position and functions of the record divi-
sion must be correlated with other branches of police activ-
ity, particularly communication. But if, in establishing this
correlation through a centralized communication system, we
paralyze the efficiency of the patrol force, the plan must be
abandoned. In the last analysis, the record division is de-
pendent upon the patrol force for the material without which
it could not function. Furthermore, the physical delivery of
police protection is a patrol responsibility — and this is the
ultimate objective of the entire department.

The record division is one of the tools or instruments em-
ployed, but it is the patrol force that acts. According to ad-
vocates of the decentralized plan, the requirements of patrol
service are primary, and all other considerations are second-
ary. The integrity and correctness of the reports can be tested
from time to time by a system of inspection, as all other police
activities are, and if any falsification of records is found, the
offender may be dismissed or demoted. No mechanical scheme,
whether centralized or decentralized, can ever ensure abso-
lutely correct records ; that depends upon the personnel, and
no administrative mechanism can overcome a weakness in
personnel.

308 Police Communication Systems

In some cities, notably Los Angeles, record routine has
been adapted to the decentralized plan in such manner as to
achieve an effective control over the recording of police ac-
tion in response to a complaint. When a complaint is received
by the precinct station, for example, assistance is immedi-
ately dispatched, either through the station or through the
communication division. At the same time, the record divi-
sion at Central Headquarters is asked to give the precinct
station a number to apply to the complaint. At this time, also,
headquarters is told of the complaint. The allotted number
automatically becomes a charge against the precinct station
until the record division is in possession of complete infor-
mation and records on the case, as well as a report of its
final disposition. Obviously, this arrangement affords the
record division a very satisfactory supervision over record
procedure.

The territorial distribution of communication facilities is
unavoidable. The physical distribution of equipment in large
cities is so immense that centralized control is impracticable.
The volume of transactions may become too great for one bu-
reau to handle efficiently. Decentralization both relieves the
central authority and utilizes the greater familiarity of the
subordinate officers with local conditions, to the more effec-
tive exercise of the agencies of control. Adequate safeguards
must always be present, however, to counterbalance the re-
sulting hazards of comparative isolation. Excessive decen-
tralization means a scattering of strength, and sometimes a
jealous lack of cooperation with consequent dissipation of de-
partmental effectiveness. Faulty control may easily permit
of collusion between precinct commanders and beat officers,
resulting in suppression or falsifying of records and their
uselessness except as evidence against the officers involved.

COMBINATION METHOD OF CONTROL.

In actual practice, organization experts have come to agree
that both centralization and decentralization have their ad-
vantages and their defects, and that neither complete ceil-

Coordination of the System 309

t.ralization nor complete decentralization is desirable. Each
system must borrow from the other until an organizational
equilibrium is established, the proportions of the combina-
tion depending upon the purposes of the organization and the
conditions under which it must carry out those purposes.

In Berkeley, Calif., for example, population,3 area, and
other factors have not required a territorial decentralization
into police precincts. There is one police station ; all lines of
control radiate from that point, and so do the lines of com-
munication. Normally, there is no necessity for any interme-
diary form of control between headquarters and the beat. In
extreme emergencies, patrol officers in cars equipped for two-
way radio communication that happen to be at the scene of
action may relieve headquarters of the control function for
the duration of the emergency.4 This novel and effective form
of decentralization is a collateral development of two-way
radio communication and is now being adopted by many po-
lice departments. Fundamentally, however, the communica-
tion system in Berkeley is spread out upon a centralized
pattern.

The complaint desk, joint auxiliary of the communication
and the record systems, is centrally placed at headquarters,
where it is easily accessible to the public, to members of the
record division, and to other staff members of the depart-
ment. The telephone exchange board is placed opposite the
complaint desk and in the same room. All incoming calls of
whatever origin or kind are received at this exchange — a com-
plete centralization in this one respect. The exchange board
accommodates direct lines to the offices of all departmental
staff members. Intercommunication lines similarly connect
the exchange board by direct wire with other municipal of-
fices, including the fire department. Direct telephone facili-
ties are also maintained between this exchange and the central
offices of near-by police departments.

Approximately ninety police-box telephones are distrib-

3 Population, 86,000 ; area, approximately 10 square miles.

4 See page 318.

310 Police Communication Systems

uted at strategic points over police beats in all sections of the
city, all of which feed directly into the telephone exchange
board. Through the distribution of red-light signals through-
out the city, it is possible to recall any individual officer, any
group of officers, or all officers simultaneously. Geographical
selection is further provided by means of signals that may
be flashed in a particular section or beat. The recall control
mechanism is in the same room with the exchange board and
is adjacent thereto, so as to be conveniently available for
rapid operation by the exchange-board operator.

The radio microphone is directly in front of the telephone
operator, with remote-control equipment of the transmitter
within easy reach. Furthermore, the lines of all the bank and
burglar alarms that are installed in Berkeley are routed di-
rectly to the exchange board. Sending and receiving teletype
machines, which connect the communication bureau with out-
side departments and with the state-wide and Pacific Coast
networks, are installed in the same room. On top of a twenty-
one-story office building in the city is a powerful siren which
may be operated by remote control — a button conveniently
near to the operator. This signal is designed for city-wide
alarms, such as disaster, catastrophe, or other grave situa-
tions.

Here is presented a compact laboratory of communication
facilities and an excellent example of the centralized system.
All lines of communication focus at one point, thus centraliz-
ing the control of a decentralized patrol force. Mobilization
of the patrol force is rapid in emergencies, and the criminal
finds that his operations in the city of Berkeley are attended
with more than ordinary hazards.

The centralized communication system is a natural instal-
lation in the comparatively small city in which all lines of
control may be concentrated at one point. It is where popula-
tion, area, and other factors force a territorial decentraliza-
tion of a city into administrative areas and the establishment
of precinct stations that communication planning becomes
a real problem. The necessity for an intermediary form of

Coordination of the System 311

control — the precinct station — between headquarters and the
beat increases the complexity of the situation.

Let us enlarge our consideration of the Berkeley communi-
cation system, and assume that this city is only a suburb or
precinct in a greater metropolitan area. This is a not unlikely
situation at some future time, since Berkeley is one of twenty
or more closely adjacent communities lying along the shores
of San Francisco Bay. Separated mostly by imaginary and
meaningless political boundary lines, the cities of San Fran-
cisco, South San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda,
Hayward, San Leandro, Emeryville, Albany, Piedmont, El
Cerrito, Richmond, and others, practically constitute one
great metropolitan area. The densely populated residential
sections of one community merge into those of an adjacent
city so completely that the unsuspecting motorist finds him-
self violating a half-dozen traffic codes in as many different
cities within a short interval of fifteen or twenty minutes. The
combined population and area of this entire district would
of course dictate a thoroughgoing plan of territorial decen-
tralization. Assuming, for purposes of discussion, that San
Francisco was chosen as central headquarters, what plan of
communication would serve effectively such a gigantic organ-
ization ? Obviously, a coalition of the centralized and decen-
tralized forms of control must be devised.

At central headquarters would be the record division cov-
ering the entire area. Development of the necessary record
forms, technique, and procedure would be a comparatively
simple task. Appropriate inspection and investigation of per-
sonnel would disclose any irregularities in records and sug-
gest the means for their elimination. By such administrative
expedients it would be possible to give the record division the
assurance, to which it is entitled, that the established stand-
ard of record procedure is being maintained. Through con-
solidated daily sheets, monthly, annual, and special reports
submitted by the commanding officers of the various admin-
istrative areas, the central headquarters would be kept con-
stantly informed concerning the state of affairs in these

312 Police Communication Systems

districts. From the accumulated information on file at head-
quarters, the statistical staff might make studies and prepare
statistical analyses showing the problems of crime that were
encountered and the effectiveness of the police in solving
them. Thus, through the aid of a highly centralized record
division, administrators would be enabled intelligently to
formulate policies for the efficient administration of the met-
ropolitan department.

With respect to the communication system, conditions
would be entirely different from the highly centralized sit-
uation described for Berkeley as an independent municipal-
ity. There would be a huge metropolitan police area in which
the police line organization was decentralized into twenty or
more police divisions, each in turn decentralized into pre-
cincts, and these again, into police beats. A commanding offi-
cer would be in charge of each precinct, and his responsibility
for policing his precinct would be analogous to that of the
chief of police of an ordinary community.

Control in such an organization must be a decentralized
function, but the unity of the organization remains ; and the
phenomenon which preserves the organization intact is the
reverse flow of responsibility over these same lines of control.
According to the theorem of communication, namely, that
the lines of communication must always parallel those of ad-
ministrative control, wherever control is decentralized, at
that point the lines of communication must also be decentral-
ized, and wherever a central point of control is set up, there
also should be set up a central control of communication.

In order to accommodate the reverse flow of responsibility,
all avenues of control must converge gradually to the central
point where is placed the authority that, by means of decen-
tralization, assigns to the organizational units their respec-
tive functions. There must be this central point of control,
which is of course the central headquarters, remote though it
may be from local areas of activity. And finally, in order to
complete the application of the theorem of communication, a
central communication bureau must be set up at the central

Coordination of the System 313

division headquarters. At the central communication bureau
are all the auxiliaries of communication, including the cen-
tral complaint desk, telephone exchange, office intercommu-
nication system, teletype sending and receiving machines, ra-
dio remote-control equipment, central division beat telephone
network and recall system, alarm system, and disaster signal.
Placed near enough to the record division to permit of ade-
quate supervision are the central telephone exchange board
and complaint desk, the agencies for receiving reports, com-
plaints, and information which demand police attention. Suf-
ficient data are obtained by the desk officer and operator to
fill out the original report form, and the information is im-
mediately given a serial number and routed to the record di-
vision. The central complaint room has an absolute control
over the assignment of complaint serial numbers, and pre-
cinct stations are required to call either the record division or
the desk officer to get a serial number for each report or com-
plaint that may be received directly at such stations.

DECENTRALIZATION VERSUS CENTRALIZATION AND POLICE CALLS

The public instinctively considers central headquarters as
the logical point of call when sending in an emergency or rou-
tine request for police assistance. In Chicago and in many
other large cities, the report of a barking dog and the hurried
notification of a holdup or murder are alike received at the
central complaint room in general police headquarters, re-
gardless of the geographical origin of such reports in the met-
ropolitan area. The police foster this attitude of the public.
In some large cities, indeed, the police have at various times
conducted educational programs in an endeavor to make the
public more conscious of the centralization at headquarters.
The fact is emphasized that there is only one point at which
calls for police assistance are received, and only a single po-
lice telephone number is given to the general public.

Advocates of decentralization point out that, in such cen-
tralization, time is lost in transferring the information to the
point where action is needed. They direct attention to the

314 Police Communication Systems

fact that a more definite establishment of precinct stations as
police centers and the cultivation of neighborhood confidence
in their personnel and equipment would do much to shift
a large part of police business to precinct stations. It is at
this point in the metropolitan communication scheme that the
two forms of control can be utilized as alternative methods of
operation.

In respect to the receipt of the original request for police
assistance, the centralized arrangement in which all calls ar-
rive at the central complaint room more nearly meets modern
requirements. Confusion on the part of the public is elimi-
nated, since there can be but one emergency police telephone
number. With adequate personnel in the central complaint
room and properly organized operating procedure, a large
volume of traffic may be handled with a minimum of delay,
and, through direct telephone and teletype facilities, traffic
may be dispatched to individual precinct stations with little
if any loss of time.

Moreover, the radio communication system, by virtue of its
function in the emergency mobilization of patrol strength, is
necessarily a highly centralized affair. Even the kind of equip-
ment used in radio communication suggests the installation
of a central transmitter. Indeed, until recently, engineering
difficulties would have been encountered if an attempt had
been made to install broadcast equipment at each precinct
station. There were also to be considered frequency-channel
limitations and cost of equipment, as well as other factors.
Such a decentralized arrangement seems really unnecessary,
as modern police transmitters are capable of covering large
metropolitan areas from one centrally located point. Where
plurality of transmitters was employed in order to obtain ef-
fective coverage, as in the Chicago installation, the control
remained centralized, as all alarms were broadcast through
microphones at the central complaint room.

The introduction of high-frequency radio systems into po-
lice service has in large part eliminated these various objec-
tions. The cost of this specialized equipment is comparatively

Coordination of the System 315

low and the problems connected with limitations of frequency
channels and with interference have been circumvented by
new methods of transmission. The use of this new equipment
has been extended to mobile stations that have been installed
in police cars as a means of decentralizing control of patrol
cars for the duration of an emergency. Even during such
operations, it is to be noted, headquarters maintains a con-
stant check on all mobile broadcasts, so that control is contin-
uously maintained. If precinct stations were thus specially
equipped, a similar check against their broadcast operations
would be a simple matter.

When police radio service was begun, questions arose re-
specting the record system and control over investigations.
In some police departments there was a strong tendency to
make the radio a controlling factor in police administration.
In Chicago, for example, it was originally planned to install a
central switchboard at police headquarters for that sole pur-
pose, since the success of crime broadcasting by radio de-
pended upon an expeditious relay of citizens' complaints.

The immediate effect of this plan, had it been put into exe-
cution, would have been to create a new and independent
agency within the police department, which would have
controlled completely the greater part of the criminal com-
plaints. But since the police radio system was used only for
broadcasting those major crimes which require emergency ac-
tion, by far the greater number of citizens' complaints, many
of which were of a grave character, would have been put to
one side and there would have been no control whatever over
their investigation. As now installed and operated, the new
central switchboard is an integral part of the central com-
plaint room, and its operator exercises an important influ-
ence in the expeditious handling of all complaints, and in the
administrative control over their investigation.

Thus, in the metropolitan system of police communication,
calls for police assistance and the broadcast of emergency re-
ports, as well as the routine dispatching of ordinary traffic
to precinct stations, are not only centralized but are also satis-

316 Police Communication Systems

factorily under the supervisory direction of the record divi-
sion. Up to the present time it has been the practice to restrict
radio broadcast to reports of what are classified as emer-
gencies— holdups, fights, murders, assaults, and other serious
disturbances.

The use of radio service, however, is expanding and in a
number of police departments neighborhood quarrels, bark-
ing dogs, ordinance violations, disturbances of the peace, and
other happenings formerly classified as minor complaints are
receiving the same service that is accorded the stickup and
the burglar. With the inevitable development of this wider
use, there will come a more urgent need for centralization of
this facility under the supervision of the record division.

The police department's teletype network is again a cen-
tralized unit with lines radiating out from headquarters to
all precinct stations. Two conditions might easily convert it
into a decentralized system. In the large metropolitan area
that we have contemplated, it might be necessary to set up
divisional stations, each controlling a number of precinct
stations. To the present central division headquarters in the
city of Oakland, Calif., under such an arrangement, would be
delegated the control of the present precinct organization in
that city. This would require a teletype network between cen-
tral division headquarters and divisional stations — a form of
decentralized control.

Several attempts have been made to determine the feasibil-
ity of supplementing beat telephone equipment by teletype
receiving machines. Such equipment distributed on beats
would be under the direct control of the precinct station and
would represent a true decentralization of this facility.

The metropolitan system, as so far described, is a highly
centralized machine, with the incoming calls for police as-
sistance, teletype, and radio under the absolute control of the
central complaint room. It is now necessary to consider those
communication facilities which become decentralized at ex-
actly the same point as the organization itself, namely, the
precinct station. These facilities include, principally, the beat

Coordination of the System 317

telephone and the recall systems. The services rendered are
intimately interwoven with the police administration of the
precinct, and under present conditions it would be a mistake
to centralize them at general headquarters.

The commanding officer of the precinct is held responsible
for the policing of the precinct area — a responsibility which,
by the very nature of organization, invests him with the con-
trol of the force in that territory. By the same token he must
be provided with a ready means of communication between
the station and the dispersed members of the patrol force un-
der his command. This means of communication he finds in
the recall system, which, operated under his direction, gives
him control of the precinct force through his ability to signal
to any individual officer, any group of officers, or to all offi-
cers in the district simultaneously. Prompt action by the of-
ficer on the beat is thus assured not only on local complaints,
but also on reports transferred to the precinct station from
the central complaint room.

Through the beat telephone network, both the precinct com-
manding officer and the members of the patrol force may, if
necessary, communicate with each other without delay. Regu-
lar reporting-in schedules are established, usually at one-hour
intervals, and the calls of the various officers are staggered,
so that the commanding officer has an almost continuous con-
tact with the available patrol force. The beat telephone also
supplements the signaling system, and thus makes possible
rapid communication with the station when the recall system
is in use.

The precinct complaint desk is unavoidably, in some meas-
ure at least, a decentralized unit, since many reports and com-
plaints are made direct to precinct stations. These reports
concern not only the precinct, but also matters of immediate
interest to other precincts or to the entire police department,
as well as information which may concern one or more outside
departments. The appropriate police action is assigned for
each report or complaint, and is accounted for to the record
division at central headquarters. Adequate safeguards assure

318 Police Communication Systems

the uninterrupted flow of accurate and complete records to
the record division.

In some cities burglar- and holdup-alarm system lines are
routed to precinct stations, where they are connected to the
police communication system. However, since radio commu-
nication with mobile patrol units provides a most rapid mo-
bilization of patrol strength and makes possible its immediate
concentration in any quarter, it is logical that all alarm lines
should terminate in the central complaint room, with its
facilities for the dispatching of emergency alarms.

The introduction of two-way radio communication has been
accompanied by an entirely new development in the decen-
tralization of patrol communication. Upon its arrival at the
scene of an emergency, a patrol car equipped for two-way
communication may take charge of the situation for the dur-
ation of the emergency, and direct other radio-equipped pa-
trol cars in the vicinity. Exits from the locality of the crime
location may be cut off, roads blockaded, a cordon formed, and
descriptions and other information pertinent to the crime
broadcast direct from the patrol car that is at the scene of
action.

This recent development in patrol service is destined to
become an important factor in the general scheme of police
decentralization. It is in accord with the fundamental assump-
tion that any decision should be made at the lowest point in
the organization at which are available all the facts necessary
for a sound decision. Two-way radio communication thus in-
troduces a refinement in decentralization in which headquar-
ters temporarily relinquishes control of a part or all of the
police force and an individual patrol car becomes the direct-
ing agency. In an emergency, indeed, the decentralized unit
may request the help of headquarters in relaying assistance
to outside departments.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the communication
system of a metropolitan police department is a combination
of the centralized and decentralized plans of organization.
The advantages claimed for each plan are met, in large part,

Coordination of the System 319

in the combination of modifications of both. If developments
of the past twenty years are any guide for the future, the
present trend of police service is toward greater decentraliza-
tion, with the individual patrolman and his radio-equipped
patrol car acquiring an increased significance as the ultimate
unit of police protection.

COMMUNICATION RECORDS

Prerequisite to the proper coordination of communication
facilities is the maintenance of complete and dependable rec-
ords of the activities of this service. Communication records
are primarily of two kinds: (1) the crime-record form em-
bodying the information set down on the "original complaint
form" and (2) the record form that concerns the operation
and maintenance of the communication system.

Fundamentally, as we have seen, the record division and
the communication system are inseparable in their actual
operation. The communication system is therefore vitally
interested in the procedure followed in setting down the
original information obtained at the time that the call for
police assistance is received. This procedure is as follows : At
the moment that a report arrives in the central complaint
room, the operator gets from the complainant sufficient infor-
mation to start the investigation and officers are dispatched
on the assignment. At this point record procedure begins. It
is a fundamental rule in modern police service that a perma-
nent record shall be made of all matters coming to the atten-
tion of the police which require investigation. It is therefore
essential that a standard record form be used to accommodate
the original information. The record designed for this pur-
pose is known generally among police departments as the
original complaint form, the shape, size, and arrangement of
which are not material to this study. It might be pointed out,
however, that the general lack of uniformity among police de-
partments in this respect has been, at times, and with dispro-
portionate seriousness, a definite handicap.5

5 See Appendix 9, p. 537, for forms used in communication records
and procedures.

CHAPTER X

POLICE COMMUNICATION UNDER
DISASTER CONDITIONS

POLICE DEPARTMENTS are usually so busy administering cur-
rent business that they give little thought to the planning
of police procedure for times of disaster or catastrophe, such
as great earthquakes, fires, floods, or tornadoes, or for times
of social disturbance, such as race riots, strikes, and political
upheavals. Furthermore, they may function for years with-
out ever being faced by the pressing problems which a great
earthquake, fire, or flood brings ; and this tends to lull them
into a false sense of security — false because no community
can be certain that it will not be the scene of the next disaster.
And at just these times the police function has its greatest
importance. Police departments have not yet learned the
lesson which military men know well, namely, that effective
work in times of stress and danger requires careful and de-
tailed planning beforehand. Since the tasks facing a com-
munity at a time of catastrophe fall into two main divisions,
the best organized plans are decentralized into two main
parts. Division A deals with the protection of persons and
property, rescue work, and the preservation of peace and
order. Government officials, including the staffs of the vari-
ous city or county departments, are made responsible for this
work, and in it the Army, National Guard, reserve officers,
the American Legion, and other veteran organizations can be
of the greatest aid. Division B, which deals with public relief
and rehabilitation, is usually taken care of by the local chap-
ter and national offices of the American Red Cross, wTith the
aid of other charitable and social service organizations.1

Cooperation and unified administration are secured
through an executive committee known as the coordination
committee or emergency council, consisting usually of the

1 The San Francisco, Calif., Berkeley, Calif., and Pasadena, Calif.,
disaster plans follow this model.

[ 320 ]

Under Disaster Conditions 321

mayor, city manager (if any), chairman of the local chapter
of the American Red Cross, and sometimes of several other
officials such as members of the legislative body and the heads
of service clubs and other organizations that are participating
in the disaster work. Some disaster plans may not distinguish
so clearly two separate divisions, but the two kinds of work
to be done are provided for in substantially the same manner.2

In all disaster plans the police department has the general
police duties of maintaining order, protecting life and prop-
erty, directing traffic, and caring for the lost and found. The
police are also expected to aid other officials, make prelimi-
nary surveys of the extent of the disaster, and cooperate with
the Army and the National Guard if these agencies are called
upon. All these regular police duties assume unusual and
difficult proportions. Traffic control especially becomes diffi-
cult, because of the large number of people who seek to escape
from the ruined area and the large numbers who seek to enter
it, either from anxiety for the welfare of friends and relatives
or out of mere idle curiosity.

The protection of property from looting, and especially the
guarding of banks and other places where funds and valua-
bles are kept, are duties which the police are .immediately
called upon to assume. To mobilize the men on the force, to
get data on the extent of the disaster, to summon aid and
make reports to other officials, to keep in touch with the de-
centralized patrol force and direct its efforts, require com-
munication facilities of the highest order. Unfortunately, it
is just at this time, when communication is of paramount im-
portance, that the regular channels of police communication
are likely to fail.

In disasters of major importance, such as earthquakes or
tornadoes, the telephone system is usually paralyzed.3 The

2 For example, see the Los Angeles Disaster Belief Plan. Charts of
all the plans adopted in California may be found in Disaster Relief 1932
(Disaster Belief Commission, American Legion, Department of Cali-
fornia).

3 In the San Francisco earthquake and fire, all but three of the tele-
phone exchanges were burned and of the 50,000 telephones in operation

322 Police Communication Systems

destruction of power stations and power lines, or the shutting
off of power in the ruined area in order to prevent fires and
accidents, may cause the total failure of the police signaling
and radio systems. Destruction of telegraph and telephone
facilities may make it impossible to summon aid from the out-
side when the assistance is vitally needed.

In the few disaster preparedness plans that have been for-
mulated, scant attention has been paid to the communication
need ; some of the plans dismiss the subject with a cursory pro-
vision on the chart for a messenger service, or a message cen-
ter, that relies upon the aid of Boy Scouts, motorcyclists, and
airplane pilots. In others, the appointment of representatives
of the telephone and telegraph companies on the executive or
advisory committee is considered solution enough for the
problem of providing adequate communication.

Private organizations interested in predisaster planning
usually mention their own need of communication facilities.
Thus, in Disaster Relief 1932, the California Department of
the American Legion briefly mentions the necessity of pro-
viding for communication. The Red Cross disaster manual*
provides for the appointment of a subcommittee on transpor-
tation and communication, whose membership should include
such persons as railroad officials, officials of taxicab compan-
ies, and representatives of the Travelers' Aid Society and the
local automobile club. The predisaster duties of this group
are to make a survey of the transportation and communica-
tion facilities within the chapter's jurisdiction, to make a
survey and inventory of the airplane and radio facilities of

before the fire, not one was in working order after the fire had been
brought under control. Of 83,000 telephones, 1 toll and 19 local exchanges
in Tokio, the earthquake destroyed 52,000 telephones, the 1 toll and 15
local exchanges, and the four exchanges not destroyed were put out of
commission. Telephone service was badly impaired in the St. Louis tor-
nado of September, 1927, thus hindering the carrying out of a previously
prepared plan for summoning policemen to duty in emergency by tele-
phone. For a recent description, see Joseph A. Gerk, "How the St. Louis
Police Department Met and Handled a Great Disaster," Proceedings of
the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 35th Convention, June,
1928, p. 106.

4 Disaster-preparedness and Eelief, pp. 38-41.

Under Disaster Conditions 323

the community, and to establish contact with and enroll the
services of members of the "Army Amateur Radio System"
and the Navy's "Naval Communication Reserves." This Red
Cross manual lays a much greater emphasis upon transporta-
tion than upon communication.

These communication plans, drawn up for the respective
organizations which they are intended to serve, lack the com-
prehensiveness which would make them adequate for a dis-
aster plan of the community as a whole. They also lack the
flexibility necessary to put them into operation without delay.
Their functioning, as a rule, depends upon the assembling of
a cumbersome array of committees whose first duty is to start
the activities of the organization they represent. By this time,
hours may have elapsed since the disaster occurred.

Manifestly, the police department of a city cannot depend
upon the plans of these agencies for communication during a
disaster. From the moment a catastrophe strikes the commu-
nity, the police function is paramount, and a communication
system which will fit police requirements is imperative. More-
over, this police-planned system can be made to fulfill the
communication needs of all the agencies cooperating in the
disaster project and thus achieve a unity in the governmental
activities that is sadly lacking at present.

The procedure that is now described and recommended has
never been included, so far as I know, in any predisaster sys-
tem of planning. It may seem to some to be more elaborate than
is necessary and too costly in time and effort to be practical.
But no community is in a state of preparedness unless the
plan provides for the ultimate in disasters — the destruction
of the whole city or the greater part of it. Such cataclysms, as
we have seen, do occur frequently enough to justify — indeed,
to demand — the most careful planning in advance of their un-
expected appearance. Preparation for the worst will afford
adequate preparation for the less serious contingencies. More-
over, although the plan involves the initial expenditure of
considerable effort and some funds, once this expenditure has
been made the routine maintenance of the plan is not difficult,

324 Police Communication Systems

and neither the initial outlay nor the upkeep is beyond the
resources of an ordinary police department.

As the first step in the preparation of the disaster commu-
nication system, the police department should make a com-
munication survey of the community.

Aside from the commercial telephone and telegraph com-
panies, the facilities of which will be the mainstay of com-
munication if they are not destroyed or paralyzed, the chief
reliance in time of disaster must be upon radio communica-
tion, since its operation is independent of land-wire connec-
tions. The location of all commercial radio broadcasting and
code stations, their sources of power, and their possession or
nonpossession of emergency power-supply units which can be
utilized in the event of the destruction of the regular power
plants and lines, should be carefully ascertained and cata-
logued. Too much reliance cannot, in time of disaster, be
placed upon commercial broadcasting stations. They would
undoubtedly cooperate to the best of their ability, but most of
their time on the air is contracted for long in advance, and
since their use cannot be commandeered by the local authori-
ties, any interference with these regular programs would
mean a financial loss for which it would be necessary to com-
pensate the station. Their use, therefore, might involve an
expense which it is possible to avoid. There is available, how-
ever, a most prolific source of communication equipment,
skill, and interest, namely, the amateur radio operators.
Every city and town in the United States can boast of radio
amateurs. These men are licensed by the United States De-
partment of Commerce, which each year publishes a list of
amateurs holding licenses, together with their call number,
type of station, and other pertinent information.5 A complete
survey should be made of the amateur radio equipment within
the police jurisdiction, including the number of operators, the
location and type of equipment that each possesses, the source
of power upon which each set depends, and any independent

5 This publication may be obtained by addressing the Superintendent
of Documents, Washington, D. C.

Under Disaster Conditions 325

auxiliary source of power supply. Special note should be
made of the location of amateurs who own portable transmit-
ters and licenses for their operation.

From among the available amateur personnel, the police
should organize a police communication reserve to be used in
times of emergency.6

Several years ago it occurred to both Army and Navy offi-
cials that the amateur radio operators of the United States
could be utilized to great advantage as a communication re-
serve and at the same time serve as a valuable training ground
for the military and naval establishments. Accordingly, they
organized the "Army Amateur Radio System" and the "Naval
Communication Reserves," two nation-wide groups of ama-
teur radio operators ready to serve at a moment's notice.

The territorial organization of both these groups is based
upon the regular Army and Navy organization. The entire
Army Amateur Radio System is controlled by a master con-
trol station at Fort Myer, Va., and operated by remote control
stations. In each state in a corps area a control station super-
vises all the army amateurs in the state. Each state is also di-
vided into districts, with district control stations from which
the work of the individual amateur members of the system in
that district is directed. Similarly, the Naval Communication
Reserves are under the supervision of the senior central sta-
tion at Washington, D. C. Each Naval district forms a district
communication reserve and contains two amateur stations
with a naval call, one being the control station and the other
functioning as an alternate control station. The district re-
serve is, in turn, divided into sections consisting of a large city
or some other geographical area, and each section is decen-
tralized into a number of units, each comprising a varying
number of amateur radio stations.7

0 The willingness of the amateurs to aid in disaster work is shown by
a news item in which the East Bay section of the American Radio Eelay
League offered their services to the city manager of Oakland, Calif., in
the event of an unforeseen emergency which would cripple existing com-
munication facilities. This attitude is typical of the entire organization.

7 As a concrete example, the Naval Communication Eeserves in the

326 Police Communication Systems

Weekly drills are held in both systems, starting from the
lowest units of the network and progressing until the corps
area or naval district is reached. The Naval Communication
Reserves on the West Coast hold a weekly drill between San
Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, and
Honolulu, covering several naval districts. Frequent national
drills are held by both organizations to test the speed and pre-
paredness of the members.

The value of these two reserve organizations has been
proved in many situations. The work that the local organiza-
tion of the reserves is in a position to perform is well illus-
trated by two incidents that occurred in California in 1932
and 1933. When a sudden flood swept down the Tehachapi
Pass, spreading death and destruction in its wake, members
of the Army Amateur Radio System at Bakersfield, Calif.,
by means of portable radio equipment established contact
between the place of the disaster and Bakersfield, when all
other facilities of communication were disrupted. In. Janu-
ary, 1933, heavy snows tore down three miles of telephone
poles at Palm Grove, Calif., cutting off all communication
with that small community. An army amateur radio operator
established communication with Los Angeles and so made it
possible to stop automobiles from setting out along the roads
which were blocked with snow, and to obtain supplies which
were badly needed. For three days all communication between
Palm Grove and other cities went through the amateur station.

The potential value of these organizations in times of dis-
aster was recognized by the National Red Cross, which in
1930 developed a plan by which its national headquarters,

12th District cover northern California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.
The control station is situated in San Francisco, the alternate station is
in Oakland. Section 1 comprises Oakland and the east shore of San Fran-
cisco Bay and has four units; Section 2 covers San Francisco and its
peninsula, with four units ; Section 3 is the San Joaquin Valley, and
includes three units with two others planned; Section 4 is the Santa
Clara Valley and Coast, with four actual and one planned units ; Section
5 covers northern California and contains six units ; Section 6 comprises
Nevada and has two units ; Section 7 is the state of Utah, with one unit
at Salt Lake City, and Section 8 is the state of Colorado, in which are
located two units.

Under Disaster Conditions 327

area branch offices, and local chapters could utilize these re-
serves in sending1 messages when normal lines of communica-
tion are inoperative.8

No attempt is made by either the Army or the Navy to en-
roll all amateur radio operators in its reserve organization.
Since the Naval Communication Reserve, unlike the Army
Amateur Radio System, is composed of regularly enrolled
Naval Reserve members, subject to call to the regular naval
service in time of need, every member of this organization
must meet the rigid physical requirements for enlistment in
the Navy. This prevents many fine radio amateurs from join-
ing the service. These requirements do not operate in the
Army Amateur Radio System, a strictly civilian organization.

Both systems attempt to enroll only a sufficient number of
amateurs to make up a complete communication reserve in
each section of the country. Of all the amateurs available,
choice is made of those having the best equipment and the
most suitable location. A locality may therefore have many
more competent operators than are required or utilized by
the Army and Navy systems. The police department thus has
a greater amateur radio reserve to draw from than the entire
group represented by the members of these two systems.

The police communication reserve should include those
amateurs living in the police jurisdiction who are best quali-
fied by experience, and who have the best equipment. Every
attempt should be made, however, to include in the police
communication group some members of the Army and Navy
Amateur Reserves. Conversely, all the regular police radio
operators who can qualify should enroll in one or the other
of the military communication reserves. The police and mili-
tary systems will not conflict, but will rather supplement each
other.

The primary purpose of the police network is to set up
or maintain complete intracity or -district communication.

8 American National Bed Cross, Annual Report, June 30, 1930, p. 29.
Annual Report, Chief Signal Officer of Army to Secretary of War, 1930.
Annual Report, Secretary of the Navy, 1930.

328 Police Communication Systems

Through its interlocking membership in the two military
networks, it will be able to provide intercity and interstate
communication. The use of members of the military commu-
nication reserves in the police communication system would
not be allowed to interfere with their duties in these organi-
zations. In emergencies where the military forces are not
called upon for assistance, the use of these men in the police
communication reserves would give them valuable practical
experience.

In grave situations where military strength is required to
supplement the regular police force, the use of these amateurs
by the Army and the police would very often be the same in
scope and in purpose. In serious situations that require the
establishment of martial rule there would of course be no con-
flict, since in such contingencies the military would entirely9
supplant the police force in maintaining order in the com-
munity.

Besides the amateur radio network, which should serve as
the backbone of the disaster communication system, the com-
munication survey should not overlook other valuable sources
of aid. Almost all the existing disaster plans provide for a
message center to supplement other communication facilities.
This center can make use of Boy Scouts as messengers and
signal agents, since many scouts are proficient in the art of
wigwag signaling. Lists of persons with motorcycles and auto-
mobiles who are willing to cooperate in the formation of a
motor unit for communication and other purposes, should be
prepared.

Airplanes can be very useful in times of disaster in survey-
ing the devastated area, in transmission of messages, and in
carrying passengers and bringing aid to isolated victims.10 A

9 In respect to members of the Naval Communication Eeserves, the
situation is slightly different ; its members are regularly enrolled Naval
Eeserves, whose first duty, under the law, is to the Navy. This difference,
however, would obtain only in a disaster that made necessary a call to
duty by the Navy.

10 The great value of airplanes in disasters has been clearly demon-
strated in several catastrophes, including the New England flood of
1927 and the southeastern floods of 1929. The Bed Cross has developed

Under Disaster Conditions 329

number of police departments have already included the air-
plane as part of the departmental motor equipment, and have
equipped these planes with two-way radio communication ap-
paratus so that direct contact is possible between the plane
and police headquarters and the ground force.11 Where the
police do not own airplanes, a survey should be made of the
civilian and commercial airplane resources of the community
and a list made of those which would be available for use in
times of disaster.

The survey should also include the extensive communica-
tion resources of railroad companies whose facilities serve the
area covered by the disaster plan. Inquiries addressed to the
major transportation companies in the United States have
brought assurances of their willingness to cooperate with the
police authorities in situations where normal communication
facilities are disabled. In the words of R. D. Starbuck, Execu-
tive Vice-President of the New York Central Lines, "In the
event of a major catastrophe, the railroad company would of
course take immediate steps to restore its own lines of com-
munication which are necessary in the operation of its trains,
and under such conditions would cooperate with the police
authorities in the use of such communicating system to the
extent of its capacity pending the reestablishment of regular
lines of communication."

Disaster communication preparedness is not finished when
the organization of the communication reserves has been com-
pleted. The organization is valueless unless it is kept up to
date and in working order by frequent drills and constant

what is known as the Red Cross Air-Ground Message Code, which, in the
absence of radio equipment, may be used by members of the Air Corps
of the United States Army and other aviators for communication with
marooned populations in a devastated area. For this code, see the dis-
aster manual of the Eed Cross, App. IX, p. 70.

11 In 1930 the New York City Police Department created an air service
division equipped with 4 amphibian planes and 1 land plane, and em-
ploying 12 pilots and 24 mechanics. This experiment proved successful
and the division has been continued. In 1931 the personnel was reduced
to 6 pilots and 14 mechanics, but more miles were flown and more flying
hours were recorded than in the previous year. See Annual Report of
the Police Department of the City of New York, 1930, pp. 63-65 ; ibid.,
1931, pp. 169-170.

330 Police Communication Systems

revision of the lists. The necessity of frequent drilling of the
police amateur reserves cannot be overemphasized, for such
drills are essential in keeping up the interest of the members
and giving them the practice that will ensure their proper
functioning in time of need. Both the Army Amateur Radio
System and the Naval Communication Reserves drill once each
week and hold national and special operations frequently.
The police communication reserves would do well to follow
this practice.

The lists containing the names and addresses of persons
who have volunteered to give aid or equipment in the event
of disaster must be periodically revised for changes of ad-
dress, etc. Practice in operation should be had at varying
intervals for the benefit of certain volunteer organizations,
such as the Boy Scouts, who should be given opportunity to
participate in mimic emergencies. The remaining personnel,
for whom periodic drilling would be impracticable, should be
assembled several times a year, and, in between times, litera-
ture should be distributed by mail in order to maintain their
interest and to keep them well acquainted with the work that
they have undertaken to do in an emergency.

How much special equipment for disaster communication
should a police department own ? When all regular communi-
cation facilities have been destroyed, the police communica-
tion problem approximates that of military communication
in the field. To meet this need the Army uses the following
facilities : wire communication, including the telephone and
telegraph, the radio, visual signaling, messengers, and hom-
ing pigeons.12 Theoretically, it might be maintained that a
police department should be equipped with all the facilities
used by the Army in order to be completely prepared for dis-
aster communication. Practically speaking, this would be im-
possible, and it is also unnecessary.

12 U. S. War Department, Training Regulations, No. 160-5, "Signal
Communication for All Arms and Services." For a complete description
of military communication equipment and practice, see the following:
Basic Field Manual, Vol. IV, Signal Communication; Signal Corps Man-
ual, Vol. I, Signal Troops; ibid., Vol. II, Signal Corps Operation.

Under Disaster Conditions 331

Some may hold that the police do not need any special dis-
aster communication equipment, because, in any major con-
tingency, the military forces are usually called out and they
can supply adequate communication facilities both for them-
selves and for the police ; until the military forces arrive, the
radio facilities of the police communication reserves, and per-
haps of the police department, will suffice. This idea, which
is more or less generally held, involves no expenditure by the
city concerned and shifts the burden of disaster communica-
tion upon another agency of government, and so may appeal
to those who hold the pursestrings of the community, and
who may be inclined to overlook other considerations.

Great disasters or extreme emergencies in the United States
have almost always found either the Federal troops or the
National Guard on the scene.13 When these forces arrive, they
bring with them the facilities for maintaining peace and order
in the district, including, of course, necessary communica-
tion equipment. Some time may elapse, however, before these
forces reach the place where they are needed. Requests for
Federal troops are usually made to the governor or legisla-
ture of a state and such formalities take time."

Even if the proportions of the disaster are so great that the
corps area or local commander of troops will take action on
his own responsibility and without awaiting orders, the troops
may be stationed at some distance from the stricken area and
thus not be instantly available. The National Guard may be

18 From the time of the adoption of the Constitution of the United
States to 1925 Federal troops have been used in the suppression of do-
mestic disturbances on more than one hundred separate occasions. See
Military Aid to the Civil Power, General Service Schools, Fort Leaven -
Avorth, Kan., 1925. Examples of the use of the National Guard are in-
numerable.

14 For a discussion of the legal basis of military aid to the civil power,
and the occasions on which the Army and National Guard will render
such aid, see War Department, Army Regulations, 500—60 ; Military Aid
to the Civil Power, General Service Schools, Fort Leavenworth, Kan.,
1925 ; and publications of the National Guard of the several states, such
as Employment of Troops of the California National Guard in Disaster,
Special Regulation No. 3, prepared by the 40th Division Staff, State of
California, Office of the Adjutant General, Sacramento, Calif., January
1, 1928.

332 Police Communication Systems

called out, but it may not possess all the necessary communi-
cation equipment. In this interval, unless the police are pre-
pared with sufficient equipment, the community is exposed to
the dangers of inadequate police protection.

There are other considerations to be borne in mind. Al-
though the military forces have always been and are ready to
assist in cases of genuine need, there is a justified feeling
among Army officials that the civil authorities are sometimes
too prone to shift their burdens and responsibilities upon the
military when this is not absolutely necessary. They feel that
a little planning and foresight on the part of the police au-
thorities would enable them to handle alone, or with the aid
available in the community, many situations which the mili-
tary force is now called upon to cope with.

The unprepared state of most communities and of their
police departments for a disaster would lead one to suspect
that there is much truth in this opinion. A police department
with a well-prepared plan of disaster communication, supple-
mented by equipment necessary to the operation of the plan,
would insure itself against such criticism. The total amount
of special equipment required is not large and the cost is well
within the means of any community large enough to need a
disaster preparedness plan.

Some of the methods of communication used by the Army
in the field are provided in the disaster communication plan,
while others are of so limited usefulness that it would be im-
practicable to include them. Messenger service is provided
for through the use of Boy Scouts and men equipped with
motorcycles and automobiles. Visual signaling in a limited
way can be furnished by the Scouts who are skilled in the use
of the wigwag and any grown men in veterans' organizations
who may be trained in such work. Some disaster plans have
set up a simple code of audible signals using factory whistles
or special sirens located at strategic points.15

15 The Providence, R. Iv disaster plan provides for sending signals to
relief workers by factory and locomotive whistles, should telephone com-
munication be destroyed. Berkeley, Calif., is provided with a powerful
siren placed on top of the tallest office building in the city, to assemble

Under Disaster Conditions 333

More elaborate provision for visual and audible signals is
impracticable because of the limited usefulness. The police
might even use homing pigeons if arrangements had been pre-
viously made with some fancier's loft. Pigeons will not stay
away from their home loft more than seventy-two hours, and
their use is attended with some difficulty, so that it is not ad-
visable to depend upon them except under extraordinary con-
ditions.

Wire communication by telephone and telegraph, and
radio, remains to be considered. Undoubtedly field telephones
and telegraph sets would be of great benefit to the police in
disasters. Satisfactory transmission over field telephones
ranges from nine to twenty miles, depending on various fac-
tors such as type of wire used, insulation, and construction.
Field telegraphs may use the same lines as the telephone, and
they have a much greater range than telephones over the same
circuit.

Field telephones and telegraphs are easily constructed, for
the wires may be strung hastily on all sorts of objects, or may
be laid upon the ground.10 Telephones must of course be of the
local battery type to be usable in the field. This type of tele-
phone is no longer used commercially except in some rural
areas, and it is doubtful whether the telephone companies
stock local battery telephones at all or in sufficient quantities
for the police to rely upon their stores in case of need.

Neither can the police borrow field communication equip-
ment from the Army, which is completely equipped in this
respect, but which cannot lend to other agencies any equip-
ment from its storehouses without specific authorization from
the Secretary of War. If the military forces were called out,
they would bring their field telephones with them, as they
did in San Francisco in 1906, and the police would be invited

the police and fire departments in times of emergency. If the buildings
were not destroyed and the power lines were intact, this would prove very
effective.

18 When the telephone company was reestablishing temporary service
after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, a line from one of the in-
tact exchanges to the Ferry Building was strung along buildings and
posts of all kinds, and even dropped into the street slots of the cable cars.

334 Police Communication Systems

to make use of them. But in disasters where the police can
cope with the situation alone, this Army equipment will not
be available.

The police will therefore be forced to buy field telephone
equipment if they are to count upon its use in emergencies.
The expense that the purchase of field telephone and telegraph
equipment would involve, and the fact that radio equipment
would in all probability fill the communication needs of the
police in a disaster, make it inadvisable to include field tele-
phone equipment in the emergency plan.

By a process of elimination we have narrowed down the
special equipment necessary in the emergency police com-
munication plan to the radio equipment. For communica-
tion with the outside world, and for communication with all
strategic points in the devastated area, the only equipment
needed is the necessary number of high-frequency portable
radio transmitters. The police communication reserves satisfy
the requirements of the first function, and this arrangement
is supplemented in any one of a hundred or more cities in
which police departments are already equipped for one-way
radio communication with the patrol force. Standard police
transmitters may be employed for communication over lim-
ited territorial distances, since in some places this equipment
has an effective service radius of a hundred miles or more.

At least one portable transmitter is needed by each depart-
ment to serve as a central control for the police amateur radio
reserve net in periodic drills and emergencies. In cities with
a large area, it may be desirable to have several portable trans-
mitters placed at various strategic points.

The rapid expansion of two-way radio communication in
regular police patrol service is providing the basis for a
powerful and effective system of communication between
headquarters and the affected area in disaster or other emer-
gencies. With high-frequency transmitters installed in patrol
cars, these flexible units are constantly in two-way com-
munication with headquarters, and with other patrol cars so
equipped. Where necessary, each car may be stationed at a

Under Disaster Conditions 335

strategic point to function as a decentralized police station,
issuing orders and instructions direct from the scene of ac-
tion, and at the same time keeping headquarters thoroughly
informed of the state of affairs in the area. Ordinarily, these
cars may be permitted to continue to patrol the area, since
two-way communication may be carried on en route equally
as well as at the fixed post.

Through this extremely flexible avenue of communication,
all direct police functions may be competently discharged,
and the work of relief and rehabilitation facilitated. The
ability to place two-way patrol communication in the field
gives to the police department a large measure of desirable,
if not absolutely necessary, control over all postdisaster op-
erations.

Regardless of the division of the disaster plan into two
major parts providing separately for the usual police duties
and for relief and rehabilitation, the operations are so closely
related that their proper coordination is dependent upon the
existence of one central directing authority. Up to the point
where martial rule is declared, the fundamental nature of the
police duties suggests no other alternative than to lodge that
authority at police headquarters. Any other organizational
arrangement must lead to confusion and delay at a time when
rapid action is most imperative.

The provision of power supply for transmitters is impor-
tant. Patrol-car transmitters, of course, are operated by
batteries and generators installed in the car and so they are
independent of any commercial source of current supply. The
greater number of central-station transmitters, however, re-
ceive their power from the commercial mains and, in the
absence of auxiliary power equipment, would immediately
become inoperative if either the power plant or transmission
lines are destroyed or paralyzed. Many radio-equipped de-
partments are providing themselves with gasoline-driven gen-
erators, battery units, and other similar equipment which can
be promptly placed in operation should the commercial power
fail. Because of the dependence which must be placed upon

336 Police Communication Systems

radio communication under disaster conditions, no depart-
ment should delay in making provision for this auxiliary
equipment. Its cost of installation is comparatively low, yet
in time of dire need it is literally beyond value. Attention
should also be directed to the possibilities of the multifold
carrier current control system of communication over com-
mercial light and telephone lines under disaster conditions.
The chief usefulness of this system lies in the fact that even
though grounds and broken and short circuits may have oc-
curred in these lines as a result of the disaster, the transmis-
sion of signals may go through just the same.

Quite apart from the catastrophe or calamity arising from
physical causes, a disaster communication organization may
prove of great usefulness in social disturbances, such as prison
outbreaks, race riots, industrial disorders, and political up-
heavals, which may break out at any time and prove destruc-
tive to both life and property. The events of the last few years
have shown how frequently such disturbances occur and how
necessary it may be for the police to be prepared in advance
to meet them. In many of these situations, violence has been
lessened and communication has been provided through the
ordinary police-communication facilities. With these events
we are not here concerned. When, however, such disturbances
involve widespread destruction of property, including the
destruction or crippling of the communication facilities of
the city or of the police, or of some other essential utilities of
the community, the problems facing the police would be iden-
tical with those attendant upon destructive flood, earthquake,
or fire.

CHAPTER XI

COMMUNICATION AND DISTANT
IDENTIFICATION

r I IHE FIRST KNOWN scientific observation on finger ridges
A was made in 1686 by Malpighi, the father of the science
of histology and a professor of anatomy at the University of
Bologna, who tersely alluded to the ridges which "describe
different patterns." In 1823, J. E. Purkinje, a professor of
anatomy at the University of Breslau, in a Latin thesis com-
mented upon the diversity of ridge patterns connected with
the organs of touch and even evolved a vague differentiation
of these patterns1 into nine varieties.

In order to lessen the difficulty of dealing with large collec-
tions, Sir E. R. Henry, Commissioner of Scotland Yard, Lon-
don, devised a simple, yet comprehensive system of classifying
and filing prints. His system was successfully introduced into
England and Wales in July, 1901, and it forms the basis for
the present system of fingerprint identification in the United
States.

According to the Henry system, all fingerprint impres-
sions are divided into the following types of patterns : loops,
twinned loops, central pocket loops, lateral pocket loops,
arches, tented arches, whorls, and accidentals. By means of
these patterns, together with the ridges intervening and sur-
rounding two fixed points, known as the core and the delta,
a classification for the ten fingers is developed. This classifi-
cation permits the filing of fingerprint records in sequence,
without reference to name, description, or crime specialty of
the individual, and, with some amplification and extension in
the larger fingerprint bureaus in the United States, enables

1 See Criminal Identification, by J. Edgar Hoover, Director, Federal
Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice, Wash-
ington, D. C. The interested reader is also referred to a number of other
publications dealing with the identification functions of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, obtainable on request.

[337]

338 Police Communication Systems

the fingerprint expert in a bureau containing millions of
prints to establish an identification in less than five minutes.

Following the general introduction of this infallible system
of identification, individual police departments immediately
began the organization of fingerprint bureaus in which were
catalogued and filed the prints of persons arrested locally.
This limitation to the classification and filing of a few hun-
dred local fingerprints inevitably proved a serious handicap.
For the local bureau, operating independently and for all
practical purposes isolated from other police identification
bureaus, could not meet the demands of the department in
the search for criminal records of arrested suspects who had
come in from other places. Therefore, when the idea of ex-
changing fingerprints between the bureaus of neighboring
police departments was introduced, its importance was at
once appreciated by both the police and the criminal. This
turning point in identification procedure marked the begin-
ning of a rapid expansion in the functions and effectiveness
of the individual identification bureau.

The identification bureau of each police department, in-
stead of taking only one set of fingerprints of all persons ar-
rested within its jurisdiction, took three or more, sometimes
as many as thirty, depending upon the number of depart-
ments with which prints were exchanged. One print, properly
classified and recorded, was "searched" and filed in the local
bureau. The others were mailed to the outside police depart-
ments with which agreements had been made. Thus these po-
lice departments soon built up in their respective bureaus of
identification comprehensive fingerprint files containing the
records and prints of all known criminals or suspects in the
territory covered.

But this plan, too, had limitations. Migratory criminals,
the most elusive and dangerous of all criminal classes, sel-
dom confine their operations to a localized area. They know
no boundary lines and the state-wide and interstate scope of
their activities is common knowledge. To meet this situation,
there were two alternatives. The system of fingerprint ex-

Communication and Identification 339

changes could be extended to cover a large area, or all the
police agencies in a given state might pool their identification
resources in a centralized clearinghouse for criminal infor-
mation. The first alternative was obviously impractical. The
exchange of fingerprints among police departments within a
comparatively small area was an economical and useful de-
vice, but when extended to include more than eight or ten
police departments, it became cumbersome and unwieldy.

The nature of the problem, together with the advantages
of centralizing criminal records, led to the creation of the
state bureau of identification, to which all police agencies in
the state might subscribe, and to which each department for-
warded the fingerprints and records of all persons arrested
and wanted. Thus was formed a huge centralized depository
of criminal information covering a wide territory. One has
only to glance at the annual reports of any one of these or-
ganizations to appreciate their value to society in the modern
battle against crime.2

It was a natural development from this point to the crea-
tion of a bureau of identification which would serve the police
departments of the country on a national scale. The United
States Department of Justice had established a fingerprint
bureau at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, Leaven-
worth, Kan., in 1904, which at first contained the fingerprints
from Federal prisons only; but its operations were soon
expanded by the maintenance of a free exchange service
whereby criminal records were received and circulated among
a growing list of contributing police officers. Earlier, the In-

2 Twenty-five state bureaus of identification are now in operation, and
their number is constantly growing. Existing organizations are situated
at: Albany, N. Y. ; Austin, Tex.; Baton Rouge, La.; Bismarck, N. D.
Boston, Mass. ; Charleston, W. Va. ; Concord, N. H. ; Des Moines, Iowa
Harrisburg, Pa.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Lansing, Mich.; Lincoln, Nebr.
Little Eock, Ark. ; London, Ohio ; Oklahoma City, Okla. ; Phoenix, Ariz.
Pierre, S. D. ; Providence, E. I. ; Ealeigh, N. C. ; Sacramento, Calif.
Salem, Ore. ; Salt Lake City, Utah ; Santa Fe, N. M. ; Springfield, 111.
St. Paul, Minn. ; Trenton, N. J. ; Walla Walla, Wash. ; Windsor, Vt.

Also see Appendix 10, p. 552, for condensed summary of Report of
the Activities of the California State Division of Criminal Identification
and Investigation, for the biennial period ending June 30, 1936.

340 Police Communication Systems

ternational Association of Chiefs of Police, which embraces
in its membership the heads of police departments of all the
principal cities of the United States and Canada, had, in 1896,
founded a bureau at Washington, compiling Bertillon rec-
ords. As its members began adopting the fingerprint system
of identification, this bureau gradually acquired a valuable
collection of fingerprint records.

The growing and insistent demand by police officials
throughout the country for one system of cooperation on a
national scale finally resulted in the creation of the Identi-
fication Division, which was placed under the jurisdiction of
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In 1924, this newly or-
ganized Division received and consolidated in Washington,
D. C., the records of both the National Bureau of Criminal
Identification and the Leavenworth Penitentiary Bureau,
and since its creation has shown a remarkable growth and
development.

On May 31, 1937, it possessed 7,236,270 fingerprint records
of actual current value and 8,457,284 name index-cards. More
than 9000 law-enforcement agencies throughout the United
States and foreign countries were submitting prints to the
Bureau on that date. The degree to which law-enforcement
officials utilize the services of this huge clearinghouse for
criminal records is indicated by the following statistics cover-
ing the activities of the Bureau during the fiscal year 1935.

Free from political control and under the able leadership
of Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, its Director, the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, by its record of achievement, has demon-
strated that it has no equal anywhere in the world. Through
its Identification Division it has placed at the disposal of the
police throughout this country a centralized reservoir of
criminal records and information that has increased the ef-
fectiveness of police service in every community.

More than 5375 fingerprint records are now received daily
by the Identification Division and each inquiry is answered
by letter within thirty-six hours of its receipt. All peace of-
ficials are invited to avail themselves of the information con-

Communication and Identification 341

tained in the files of this Division. Its service is given to all
legally constituted law-enforcement agencies, free of any
cost ; in fact, fingerprint cards and franked envelopes for the
transmission of records to the Washington office are supplied
free of charge.

Generally speaking, the methods of criminal investigation
employed in the United States are similar to those followed
by law-enforcement agencies in foreign countries. Finger-
prints, photographs, modus operandi files, ballistics, hand-
writing, scientific laboratory analysis, and anthropometry are
used in various combinations to form the basis of criminal
identification in all the civilized countries of the world. In
order to cope with the international criminal, many foreign
bureaus now cooperate with the Federal Bureau of Investi-
gation, in an international exchange of criminal identifica-
tion data.3

Separated by comparatively great distances, these bureaus
must be in intimate contact with one another in order to facil-
itate the intercommunication of criminal records and infor-
mation with speed and dispatch. And the police department,
immediate benefactor of this gigantic identification machine,
must have at its disposal adequate facilities for rapid com-
munication with identification centers, including more par-
ticularly the state and national bureaus, local police bureaus,

3 One of the activities of the Federal Bureau of Investigation which
has attracted widespread interest and contributed materially to the
cause of more effective law enforcement throughout the world is its reg-
ular exchange of fingerprints with the identification bureaus of foreign
countries. This project was instituted in March, 1932. Since that time
the superintendents of identification bureaus in Accra (Gold Coast
Colony), Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados,
Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Canada, Ceylon, Chile,
China, Colombia, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Danzig, Denmark, Dutch East
Indies, Egypt, England, Estonia, Federated Malay States, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Holland, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq,
Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, New
Zealand, Norway, Nyasaland, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portu-
gal, Pretoria, Republic of Panama, Roumania, Scotland, Sierra Leone
(Africa), Southern Rhodesia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
Uruguay, and Yugoslavia, as well as the superintendents of identifica-
tion bureaus of all the territories and possessions of the United States,
such as Hawaii, Canal Zone, Alaska, Philippine Islands, Puerto Rico,
and Virgin Islands, have participated in this activity.

342 Police Communication Systems

and those of the penal institutions. Communication facilities
which may be employed for this purpose include correspond-
ence, the long-distance telephone, the telegraph, teletype, tele-
photo, and television.

Actual fingerprint cards, which can be sent through the
mails, present always the most definite and tangible means
for positive identifications. Because of the accuracy and cer-
tainty of this method, it is employed almost exclusively. With
the actual prints of a suspect in the hands of the fingerprint
expert, an intelligent search may be instituted, and an accu-
rate and absolute determination made of its identity with
other fingerprints on file. In the periodical forwarding of
fingerprint exchanges, the mails afford a slow but reliable
means of contact. The spectacular development of air-mail
service in the United States has done much to reduce the de-
lay entailed by correspondence ; special delivery and regis-
tered mail services are also employed where additional speed
or certainty of delivery must be assured.

The mails, however, do not meet fully the requirements of
the police for speed of communication in criminal identifi-
cation routine. They will eventually be used, particularly in
important matters, only as a means for confirmation of com-
munications already forwarded in other ways which offer
maximum speed plus a reasonable degree of accuracy.

It is agreed among experts that it is possible to make an
approximate fingerprint identification in a long-distance tele-
phone conversation. In a detailed two-way discussion, the
formula, pattern, ridge characteristics, and other details of
individual prints, the identity of criminal histories on file,
and the comparison of personal descriptions, may be said to
afford a basis for probable identification. This method, how-
ever, possesses the serious disadvantage of extremely high
cost, particularly over great distances, and is used only rarely.

The commercial telegraph systems, particularly the West-
ern Union and the Postal Telegraph companies, are pecul-
iarly fitted to serve the police in emergencies when the rapid
communication of a message between two or more distant

Communication and Identification 343

points is required. Their lines penetrate into every corner of
the country and over cables to every part of the world, form-
ing a network of communication available at comparatively
small cost.

The police teletypewriter network possesses all the advan-
tages of the commercial telegraph systems with the additional
merit that it is operated and controlled by the police them-
selves, and is used exclusively for police purposes. An earlier
chapter (Chap. VII) has afforded some idea of the widespread
adoption by the police of the teletypewriter as a major in-
strument of communication.

The telephotographic system of communication is one of
great promise in the field of distant identification. Known to
the layman as a method of transmitting pictures by wire, tele-
photo makes possible the transmission of a facsimile of a set
of fingerprints from one point to another, irrespective of the
distance which may separate them. Obviously, this method
approximates the actual comparison of the original prints.
Identification experts, in the Identification Division at Wash-
ington, D. C., and elsewhere, have officially acknowledged the
accuracy of identification of fingerprints transmitted by this
method. Telephotography has passed the experimental state
and is today a practical means of communication. In 1925,
coast to coast telephoto operating circuits and equipment
were placed in operation. The system is chiefly useful in the
transmission of information in which form and arrangement
are the essential factors. In this category, so far as the police
are concerned, fall criminal fingerprints, handwriting, photo-
graphs, and certain forms of evidence.

It is to be recognized, however, that the elements of time
and expense are of dominating importance in the electrical
transmission of pictures. Present telephoto facilities are to
be used only where the information must be received with
greater speed than is possible through more economical
methods of communication. The urgency of obtaining accu-
rate information must be matched against the cost of elec-
trical transmission, which at present is somewhat greater than

344

Police Communication Systems

Pictures received over the Australian telephoto system:
a, enlarged photograph of a fingerprint ; b, enlarged sec-
tion of a picturegram print in which the scanning lines
are clearly visible.

Communication and Identification 345

the cost of telephone conversations occupying the same length
of time. The average time required to transmit a set of finger-
prints is approximately seven minutes.

Telephotograph service, or the transmission of pictures by
wire, permits the transmission, over wires connecting any
two points, of photographs, fingerprints, portraits, printed
matter, lithographs, process prints, manuscripts, mechanical
drawings, X-ray pictures, letters, messages, or, in fact, any-
thing that can be photographed. Commercial telephoto serv-
ice has been discontinued recently and all telephoto facilities
have been leased to press organizations. A complete list of
subscribing newspapers may be obtained from the Associated
Press.

Telephotographic transmission, however, is commercially
in its infancy. It is the history of all communication devel-
opments that, in the introductory stage, their general use is
attended with expense. Improvement in equipment and op-
erating technique will inevitably come and, with it, a reduc-
tion in the operating cost which will be reflected in a more
nominal charge for its use. Expansion of telephoto facilities
to include a greater number of key cities would undoubtedly
follow quickly upon a demand for this form of communica-
tion traffic and further reduce its selling price to subscribers.
When this happens, its increased use by police departments
is indicated by the need for a more complete unification of
criminal identification on a state and national scale.

The position of radio communication in respect to distant
identification is a matter of speculation. The presence of other
equally effective communication facilities for the purpose in
mind, such as the telegraph and the teletype, and the prob-
able expansion of telephotography, may divert attention away
from radio, so far as distant identification is concerned. It
should not be forgotten, however, that almost every achieve-
ment by means of land wire can be duplicated by radio trans-
mission. Radio is a versatile instrument and has already been
employed in picture transmission and in the simultaneous op-
eration of typewriters at distant points. It might conceivably

346 Police Communication Systems

displace both land-wire telephotography and the teletype-
writer within a comparatively short time.

There is also the possibility of a police-controlled chain of
radio stations operating in the higher frequencies and on or-
ganized traffic schedules. Although no definite progress in
this direction has been observed, the police have been aware
of the possibilities of a network of this type since 1920, when
Commissioner James Higgins, of Buffalo, N. Y., presented a
plan before the International Association of Chiefs of Police
for an intercity radio system of police communication. In
fact, radio was first considered by the police as a possible so-
lution to the problem of interdepartmental communication.
Its potential value in connection with distant identification
is obvious.

Television should not be overlooked in any consideration of
distant identification. A device that intrigues the imagina-
tion with its possibilities, it may, overnight, slip through the
barriers that retard its commercial development and become
of major importance in social contacts. The ability to "show
up" a line of living suspects simultaneously in fifty or more
cities throughout the country would certainly be embarrass-
ing for the criminal. It is not difficult to foresee the time when,
by means of television, an identification expert in Portland,
Ore., and identification officials at Washington, D. C., may,
as though side by side, make an actual comparison of two sets
of criminal fingerprints, together with the accompanying pho-
tographs, descriptions, and criminal histories.

The chief physical difficulty in the development of televi-
sion is the necessity of transmitting many more image ele-
ments than any physical means now available can generate,
transmit, or recover. The number required is not yet agreed
upon, but the indications are that it must be very much higher
than anything yet attained.

In the transmission of sound, apparatus which will faith-
fully transmit the voice of a single person will transmit
equally well all the voices of a chorus or the myriad tones of
a symphony. The case of television is different. As the num-

Communication and Identification 347

her of faces is multiplied, the complexity of the apparatus
and the transmission facilities must likewise be increased.

The problem of developing and constructing television ap-
paratus to handle satisfactorily extended scenes, such as the
presentation of a group of criminal suspects, an athletic
event, public ceremonies, of performances in theaters, is still
unsolved. When the means are discovered or developed, it
seems inevitable that the cost must be relatively high as com-
pared with any other form of electrical communication.

The two-way television system which is in experimental op-
eration by the telephone company transmits only a single face
in each direction, yet it uses communication facilities which
would carry about fifteen telephone conversations. The cost
of performing this relatively simple television task would, on
a commercial basis, be many times that of ordinary telephony.
The cost of transmitting extended scenes by television must,
so far as the communication-channel cost is concerned, be tens
or even hundreds of times greater than satisfactory sound
transmission. The future of television is therefore, in large
measure, an economic question. When the public wants it suf-
ficiently to be willing to make it profitable, it will undoubt-
edly become a commercially practical affair.

The most economical and satisfactory communication faci-
lities at present available for distant identification are, there-
fore, the police teletype and commercial telegraph networks.
Of these two, the police-controlled teletype system is the most
practical.

The problem, then, is to find a satisfactory method of de-
scribing a set of fingerprints in message form so as to make
identification possible in the absence of the original finger-
prints at the point of comparison.

The desirability of identification by wire quickly became
apparent after the widespread adoption of fingerprint iden-
tification. The subsequent establishment of centralized clear-
inghouses for criminal information at once made available
to police departments exceptional facilities for fingerprint
identification, but there was this limitation : a positive iden-

348 Police Communication Systems

tificatioii was dependent upon a comparison of the two sets
of prints side by side. This involved a serious delay because
of the necessity of forwarding prints by mail to the central
bureaus.

In any alternative procedure, it will be observed, probabil-
ity replaces certainty in the identification of fingerprints. It
is fundamental in fingerprint identification that no method
can take the place of actual print comparison in establishing
absolute identity. This basic factor must enter into any plan
for distant identification. When two sets of fingerprints, iden-
tical or not, which are filed at different points become the sub-
ject of communication by whatever means available, the hope
for absolute identification must be abandoned. The degree of
probability of identification is quite another question.

It is at this point that confusion arises. Unwittingly, vari-
ous exponents of distant-identification systems have defeated
their own ends by setting up the impossible objective of posi-
tive identification. A proposed plan is rejected or filed away
in the archives of peace officers' associations for future refer-
ence because of the uncertainty of the identification which
may be made thereby. Another system, which according to its
sponsors will give absolute accuracy of identification, is too in-
tricate and involved for practical application, and meets the
fate of its predecessor. An ideal to be useful must be possible
of achievement. Positive identification, desirable though it
may be, is impossible of attainment in any present and prac-
tical system of distant identification, and it should therefore
be abandoned as an objective, so that it may not continue to
retard the development of this important matter.

A reasonable degree of probability is all that is required.
Even in the actual comparison, side by side, of two sets of
fingerprints that are apparently identical, the conclusion in
respect to positive identification is governed by the laws of
probability. Balthazar, who used one hundred possible com-
parison details in each print for purposes of calculation, esti-
mated the chances of error as one in a figure that would extend
the entire width of this page. Practically, any number of de-

Communication and Identification 349

details from thirty to a hundred might be used as the basis for
expressing mathematically the probability of a print's being
duplicated. Galton, whose figures are much the lowest of all
investigators in this particular field, places the chance of
duplication as one in sixty-four billions, which is four times
the number of fingers in the world, counting the number of
human inhabitants as 1,400,000,000, a recent estimate.

The entire thesis of fingerprint identification rests upon
this degree of probability. The purpose in distant identifica-
tion is to establish a reasonable probability of identification,
sufficient for just cause to hold a suspect pending actual ex-
amination and comparison of the prints. With this apprecia-
tion of the limits of the problem, it is possible to consider by
what method the distant identification of fingerprints may
be made.

Here the coded message is of unlimited usefulness, its func-
tion being, not secrecy, but rather accuracy and economy in
transmission. The principal elements of fingerprint classifi-
cation and identification lend themselves admirably to de-
tailed description. It would be possible, for example, for a
fingerprint expert to describe a set of prints so completely
that another expert, many miles away, might intelligently
search his files and make an identification. The distant-identi-
fication code makes possible detailed analysis and at the same
time reduces the length of the message so that the cost of
transmission, even over commercial telegraph lines, is negli-
gible. Thus, an ordinary ten-word message may contain in-
formation enough concerning a set of fingerprints to establish
an identification with a degree of certainty approximating
that of actual comparison of the original prints.

Police generally have recognized for some time the need
for a code that would serve this purpose. More than twenty
years ago, Thomas H. Guthrie, Secretary of Police of Co-
lumbus, Ohio, copyrighted a code for distant identification,
copies of which he sent with an accompanying letter to police
departments in more than five hundred cities in the United

350 Police Communication Systems

States. In this circular letter, dated October 10, 1906, Guthrie
said in part:

I am enclosing herewith a copy of my police telegraph code, a glance
at which will convince you that this is the thing that has long been
needed by the police departments of this country. ... I have furnished
500 of the leading cities of the United States with a copy of this code
(a list of them is enclosed), and in a very short time expect to have at
least 1000 of them in use. This will necessitate the publication of new
lists of cities using them, from time to time, and one of these lists will
be furnished you each time.

A code of this kind would be useless to you or any other department
if you were not kept informed of other departments that were supplied
with them ; therefore, the only way to successfully handle an enterprise
of this kind and to keep other departments informed concerning the
various cities using them, is to handle the business from a central office.
The time is opportune for the police departments of this country to work
in unison, and this is a step in the right direction.

For various reasons, Guthrie's plan failed of widespread
adoption ; but the ground was broken. Speaking at the 1922
convention of the International Association of Chiefs of Po-
lice, Chief Quigley, of Rochester, N. Y., brought the subject
into the foreground, pointing out that no satisfactory system
had yet been developed which would make it possible to wire
fingerprint classification in such a way that identification
could be made or denied immediately. When the classifications
were supplemented with Bertillon measurements, a greater
degree of accuracy was obtainable, but the procedure involved
was clumsy and uneconomical. At that time there was another
difficulty. Since the system was comparatively new, the time
in which to train men in this field was very short, and con-
sequently there were only a few fingerprint experts in the
United States. Fingerprint identification had yet to become
the highly specialized police function that it is today ; but it
did not take long to do it.

The speedy and almost incredible expansion of the use of
fingerprints as the principal means for criminal identifica-
tion in police service made more apparent the necessity for
a suitable identification code. Unintelligible telegraphic re-
quests to the central bureaus, asking for information or iden-

Communication and Identification 351

tification of some individual who was being held in custody,
were received daily, such as, for example : WIRE RECORD JAMES

MCPHERSON ONE ULNAR OVER ONE ULNAR OO OVER OO TWELVE

OVER TEN. To such a communication it was difficult for the
bureau to give a helpful reply. The information contained in
the message was insufficient for an identification or even a
verification of one, since from two to a hundred or more sets
of fingerprints might bear this same classification or an ap-
proximate one. The primary, as given in the foregoing tele-
gram, indicates that all ten digits are loop patterns ; the first
subclassification shows both index prints to be ulnars; and
further shows that the index prints have more than nine ridge
counts and that the middle fingers have more than ten. The
only actual ridge count given by the communication is that
of the right and left little fingers. Quite clearly, the mere
transmission of a fingerprint classification formula is insuffi-
cient for identification purposes.

The solution of the problem lay in the formulation of a
definite code, by which a single word or combination of words
would indicate the type of pattern and the individual ridge
counts, and give an accurate description of distinctive pat-
tern or ridge peculiarities and characteristics in such manner
that an intelligent search might be made in a central bureau,
regardless of the number of prints on file.

The Jorgensen system. — The subject of distant identifica-
tion had also received attention abroad. In 1914, Haakoii Jor-
gensen, Assistant Commissioner of Police in Copenhagen and
Lecturer at the University of Copenhagen, in an address de-
livered at the First International Police Conference in Mon-
aco, presented a system by which it was possible to create a
fingerprint formula supported with sufficient detail to make
possible an identification at a distant point. In this classifica-
tion of fingerprints, Jorgensen used the ordinary fingerprint
glass specially ruled so as to divide the print into definite seg-
ments to which were assigned permanent numerical values.
This was the working basis of the system. In 1916 a textbook
on distant identification appeared and courses of instruction

352 Police Communication Systems

were offered at the Danish Police School. By January, 1917,
there was published the first fingerprint lexicon, containing
the coded fingerprint classifications of more than 7500 pro-
fessional criminals.

By 1922 Jorgensen's system had been successfully demon-
strated and the identification bureaus of Amsterdam, Geneva,
Berlin, Stuttgart, Dresden, Munich, Hamburg, Vienna, and
Warsaw expressed their willingness to cooperate in working
out a plan for the international identification of criminals
through the adoption of this system.

In the plan that he presented, Jorgensen made use of the
fingerprint identification technique that had been developed
by Henry, Vucetich, Roscher, Daae, and others, and also of
the Oloriz-Aguilera system of distant identification. Funda-
mentally, his technique was much the same as that employed
in modern single fingerprint systems, in that the individual
print was decentralized into definite sectors. Each sector,
bearing an individual code designation, could then be con-
veniently described with respect to peculiarities of ridge for-
mations and detail by numerical code assignments to eyes,
forks, terminating ridges, deltas, and other ridge character-
istics, and to their position in the individual sector. General
fingerprint patterns, including whorls, loops, arches, tents,
accidentals, central pocket and twin loops, were also given
permanent code numbers. It was therefore possible to con-
struct for any given set of fingerprints a standard numerical
formula which would be identical with that for the same set
of prints classified at another place. Jorgensen's technique
differed from the others mentioned in that the formula con-
tained in code form such complete and detailed information
concerning pattern and ridge data that fast and positive
identification was certain even though search was made in
files containing 100,000 prints or more. The formula consisted
of figures only, thus avoiding any linguistic complications.

Following the adoption of Jorgensen's code by the Inter-
national Police Conference held in New York in 1923, an ef-
fort was made to introduce the system into American police

Communication and Identification 353

practice, with the use of either telegraph or telephone. At
that time some twenty-four fingerprint experts chosen from
various sections of the country, and including William F.
Hoffman, now Chief of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Identi-
fication, met at New York City to receive instruction in the
system and its operation. Hoffman later described it as pro-
viding a practical and positive, but too intricate, means of
identification ; and because of its intricacy and the consequent
difficulty of application in actual practice, the system never
came into widespread use in America.

Jorgensen's plan really contemplated a world- wide finger-
print identification system and the establishment of a central-
ized international bureau to which the police of the various
nations would forward fingerprints of known criminals whose
activities were international in scope. To illustrate : An inter-
national criminal, Alexander Magindoff, alias Johann Goff-
mansky, alias Valentine Zargensky, alias Anton Lubinoff, was
fingerprinted in Budapest after the World War, and a copy
of his fingerprints was sent to the International Distant Iden-
tification Bureau in Copenhagen. This man was born in Mos-
cow in 1881 ; he had previously been convicted twenty-five
times, in Paris, Lyons, Hamburg, Berlin, and Budapest. He
was again arrested in 1924 in Belgium, under another alias.
The Belgian Ministry of Justice telegraphed to the Interna-
tional Bureau at Copenhagen for information and promptly
received word that Magindoff was an international criminal
and that his fingerprints would be found in Budapest. Full
information was obtained from the police authorities at Bu-
dapest, and a dangerous crook was kept in custody.

After this centralized bureau was in full operation, it was
Jorgensen's plan that each year an annual catalogue or lexi-
con was to be published, which should contain the code classi-
fication of thousands of known international criminals, and
which was to be distributed to all participating nations and
departments. Thus it would make possible the immediate
identification of recorded criminals without the necessity of
cabling to the central bureau.

354 Police Communication Systems

The efforts of Jorgensen represent the first serious attempt
in police hjstory to make criminal identification possible on
an international scale. But his plan, with its detailed coding
technique, secured accuracy at the expense of simplicity, ap-
parently a necessary evil associated with any attempt to base
a plan upon the analysis of the single fingerprint. This con-
dition has delayed the development and adoption of single
fingerprint systems in the United States, and has resulted in
a disappearing interest in the plan proposed by Jorgensen.
Had he realized that, in distant identification, absolute ac-
curacy is not a prerequisite, and that probable identification
is sufficient justification for holding a suspect pending com-
parison of the actual prints, he might have reduced his system
to simpler terms and made its acceptance more likely.

Furthermore, through the establishment of a uniform sys-
tem of fingerprint classification and identification, Jorgensen
sought to bring order into a confused international situation
where various systems were in use. Captain Golden, of the
New York City Police Department, in a comprehensive sur-
vey of criminal identification systems, found the Klatt sys-
tem in use in Germany, the Jorgensen system in Denmark,
and in Italy a system devised by a Dr. Gasti. In the Bureau
of Identification in Brussels, classification and filing was done
by a combination of several methods. In South American
countries and in Spain, the Vucetich system was employed
almost exclusively. The Parisian police used a combination
of the Vucetich and Henry systems, and in Vienna the iden-
tification system was based on the Windt-Kodicek idea. In
Norway, the Daae system was in operation, and in parts of
Germany he found the Roscher system in use. The United
States and England had adopted the Henry system exclu-
sively. In presenting his system, therefore, Jorgensen was
requiring the wholesale abandonment of twenty or more sep-
arate fingerprint classification and filing systems that had
already been put in operation at the expense of much time,
study, and work. Enthusiastic though convention delegates
might be, the objection to change at home was a factor to

Communication and Identification 355

be reckoned with. Inertia is a powerful force and difficult
to overcome in the inauguration of any sweeping reform or
change.

The Collins system. — Jorgensen was followed by Charles
Stockley Collins, who for many years was in charge of the
Fingerprint Bureau of New Scotland Yard. Collins was
aware of the urgent need for a uniform code system in the
telegraphic transmission of the fingerprint formula. He de-
veloped, in 1914, a code for this purpose, but accompanied
it with the caution that a "recognition" made solely by means
of a code would at the most supply a "strong suspicion" and
should never be relied upon absolutely ; that it should be con-
firmed subsequently by comparison of the actual fingerprint
impressions. He held, however, that an identification by this
method should be sufficient justification for delay of release,
sentence, or even trial, until confirmed or rejected by such
comparison. In 1921, he issued a revised edition of his code.
His system showed improvement in technique in this field,
and its comparative simplicity, in contrast to the systems
originated by Jorgensen and others, made it more easily
adaptable to actual practice.

Collins essentially employed the fingerprint terminology
set forth in Henry's epochal Classification and Uses of Finger-
prints, dividing his code into two main parts. The first part
dealt with types of pattern, ridge counts, and ridge tracings,
and the other part concerned the location of ridge character-
istics. In preparing a code classification, the prints are con-
sidered in standard sequence : right thumb, index, middle,
ring, and little finger ; left thumb, index, middle, ring, and
little finger.

Part I of the system assigned definite code letters to pat-
tern types, and it is possible to transmit an entire fingerprint
classification formula in two words of five letters each, the
telegraph companies allowing five letters to each word in code
messages. When coding loops, the standard ridge count be-
tween the core and delta is inserted after the code letter, as,
for example, D9 (ulnar loop with a ridge count of nine).

356 Police Communication Systems

When coding whorls of central pockets which classify as in-
ner or outer, the number of ridges intervening between the
extended ridge of the right delta and that of the left delta are
added to the code letter, as G4 (whorl — inner, with ridge
count of four) . This count is determined in exactly the same
manner as when ascertaining whether a whorl is inner or outer
under the standard Henry system of classification. A tele-
graphic identification on the basis of Part I of the Collins
System, although not absolute, would alone, under ordinary
circumstances, be considered sufficient ground for holding a
suspect pending further investigation and actual comparison
of prints.

In Part II of the system, Collins went farther, in an en-
deavor to supplement the actual formula by a simple method
of coding definite ridge characteristics. Up to this point, no
special glass or equipment is necessary, other than the ordi-
nary fingerprint glass. For the purpose of coding peculiari-
ties of ridge detail, he adopted a somewhat different plan of
sectorizing the field than that employed by Jorgensen. Across
the glass and near the center, two very fine horizontal parallel
lines were drawn, six millimeters apart, which were joined
together in the center by a third line perpendicular to both.

Whereas letters are used for coding types of patterns, nu-
merals are applied to the coding of ridge characteristics, and
only four identifying peculiarities of fingerprint ridge for-
mation are considered, the pure ridge, the terminating ridge,
the bifurcation, and the eye. When coding the formula of a
set of fingerprints, it has never been found necessary to tele-
graph the ridge characteristics of the entire ten fingers; the
coding of about fifteen characteristics was more than suffi-
cient. Usually, the selection of only one of the ten individual
prints provided more than the necessary information. The
coding of ridge detail is always preceded by the code letter
of the digit selected. Additional detailed instructions cover
the position of the reading glass when coding the ridge char-
acteristics of the individual types of patterns and there is
also given a brief outline of the procedure to be followed.

Communication and Identification 357

Collins not only made a monumental contribution to the
science of fingerprint identification, but also at the same time
laid the foundation for a workable single fingerprint system,
which continues to interest all students of criminal investiga-
tion and identification.

As explained by Collins, the system does not make possible
absolute identification, even when the formula is supple-
mented with coded ridge characteristics. In fact, he makes the
entirely correct assumption that a positive identification is
unnecessary. Telegraphic identification through the use of
this code should possess a sufficient degree of probability in
identification to justify the authorities in holding a suspect
in custody until the actual prints of his fingers can be com-
pared with those on file.

TheWilder-Wentworth code. — In 1918, Harris Hawthorne
Wilder, Professor of Zoology in Smith College, and Bert
Went worth, former Police Commissioner of Dover, N. H.,
compiled and published their treatise 011 the subject of Per-
sonal Identification. Included in this comprehensive work is
a fingerprint-communication code by which it is possible to
transmit intelligently by telegraph or other means of com-
munication sufficient detail for a tentative identification. The
system, in practical trial, has proved entirely satisfactory,
and a number of police departments have used it to great ad-
vantage for urgent communication with the national identi-
fication center at Washington, D. C., and with state bureaus
of identification. In this code, the types of pattern are ar-
ranged alphabetically, and the separate pattterns under each
are arranged, as far as possible, with the number of ridges
in numerical order. The code words are also in alphabetical
arrangement, to be more readily found when translating a
message.

In coding under this system, the fingers are considered in
standard sequence, as on the regular uniform fingerprint
card:

Et thumb Et index Et middle Et ring Et little

Lf t thumb Lf t index Lf t middle Lf t ring Lf t little

358 Police Communication Systems

A typical Wilder- Wentworth code message describing a set
of fingerprints taken from a suspect, would be as follows :
Wordy Ladle Upright Wagon When

Travel Arbor Celery Always Buddy

The bureau or department receiving this message would refer
to its code in much the same manner as to a dictionary and
in a few minutes complete the translation and resolve the
classification. The formula given is a comparatively unusual
formula combination, and the average bureau would find very
few prints bearing exactly the same classification. This for-
mula may sometimes be considered sufficient, without supple-
mentary information, to constitute a tentative identification.
With the additional detailed data that is supplied by this ten-
word message, however, a probable identification may be es-
tablished irrespective of the size of the bureau or the number
of fingerprints on file.

The Wilder- Wentworth code also accommodates Bertillon
measurements and personal description. The use of this sec-
tion of the code is generally limited at present to the trans-
mission of hair color, eye color, height, weight and age, and
identifying marks, as the Bertillon system has been largely
superseded by fingerprint identification.

Distant identification offers important aid in tightening po-
lice control over the freedom of movement of enemies to the
public safety. Facilities for its use are available, both state
and national, and are increasing steadily, particularly the
police teletypewriter networks. The Wilder-Wentworth code
seems to meet the requirements of the situation, at least as
a beginning, since it successfully ignores the more intricate
details of single-fingerprint classification systems. In view
of the importance of this matter, the establishment of a dis-
tant identification communication plan, including the na-
tional and eventually the international adoption of a uniform
code, is a project that, it seems, is quite within the province
of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and it is
to be hoped that summary action will soon be taken.

Communication and Identification 359

ARREST BY WIRE

Closely associated with distant identification is the problem
of the telegraphic warrant. A warrant may be defined as a
writ issued under the hand and seal of a magistrate or other
person empowered by statute to issue warrants, authorizing
an officer to arrest the offender involved. Fundamentally, the
so-called telegraphic warrant, or request for arrest by tele-
gram or other means of communication, does not meet these
requirements, since it is essentially a reference to the original
document, and is not primarily endowed with the arresting
authority.

Since the criminal of today may cross county, state, and
even international bundary lines as easily as the law-abiding
citizen, and does so, the status and validity of the telegraphic
request for the arrest of an offender or fugitive are of more
than ordinary significance. If the arrest of a fugitive criminal
were to depend on the efforts of an officer with a warrant trail-
ing him from one jurisdiction to another, few such fugitives
would be brought to justice. Although some cases may toler-
ate the delay incident to forwarding the original warrant by
mail, more frequently than not time is the decisive factor and
it is then that the telegraphic warrant becomes an effective
instrument in the hands of the police.

A recent survey4 disclosed that, in a number of states, stat-
utes have been enacted recognizing the telegraphic warrant
as a legal instrument, and in others its validity is in effect
denied. The matter has been wholly neglected in some states,
where neither statutes nor judicial decisions are on record
concerning the rights of a peace officer when acting upon au-
thority derived from such requests. Judicial decisions are as
various as the states in which they have been rendered, as
are also the statutes which have thus far been enacted. A num-
ber of important decisions have been handed down which di-
rectly empower the police officer to act upon telegraphic ad-

4 This survey was based on replies to direct inquiries addressed to the
attorney general in each state.

360 Police Communication Systems

vice.5 However, it has been held by some courts that an arrest
made upon the authority of a telegram is wholly at the peril
of the officer making it, and that a telegram affords 110 reason-
able ground to believe that the person named in the telegram
is guilty of the offense or that he intended to commit any of-
fense which would justify his arrest.

Officers of the law are responsible in every jurisdiction for
any unnecessary infringement of the rights and privileges of
another person. If an officer, through negligence or misinfor-
mation contained in a telegram or other communication, ar-
rests and detains any person not guilty of any offense, he is
personally liable for the wrongful act.

The paradoxical circumstances surrounding the telegraphic
warrant have been a source of inconvenience and embarrass-
ment to police officers for many years, and the ends of justice
have often been defeated for lack of authority to act. There
is need for a uniform definition by the various states of the
validity of this type of warrant. In the present confusion,
forty-eight different interpretations may glorify the worn-
out theory of states' rights, but they may also tie the hands
of that body of men to whom the communities in forty-eight
states must look for police protection.

Telegraphic advice within a state would concern that state
alone, but the escape and migration of criminals is frequently
interstate in character and therefore a fit subject for Fed-
eral regulation. Bringing this phase of the problem under the
jurisdiction of the Federal government would result in the
adoption of uniform procedure covering not only interstate
arrest by wire, but extradition procedure as well. Recent
events seem to reveal a definite trend in that direction.

Despite present legal barriers, sound public policy de-
mands that a fugitive from justice be arrested immediately

5 Brown vs. State, 62 New Jersey Law, page 695 ; State vs. Sage, 99
New Jersey Law, at 236 ; Cabell vs. Arnold, 86 Texas 102, 23, S. W.
645, 22 L. E. A. 87; Burton vs. New York Central & Hudson River Rail-
road (1911) (this refers to warrant dispatched by teletypewriter),
147 App. Div. 557, New York; Koscielski vs. State, 199 Indiana 546,
158, N. E. 902 ; Hangar vs. State, 199 Indiana.

Communication and Identification 361

upon receipt of official information from the place in which
the offense was committed, and that the prisoner be held a
reasonable time until a formal demand may be made for ex-
tradition. A fugitive, as here contemplated, is one who, hav-
ing committed an offense contrary to the law of a state, takes
refuge in another jurisdiction.

Peace officers are generally inclined to honor a telegraphic
request from an outside department for the arrest of a fugi-
tive, even though there may be no legal sanction for so doing.
Fortunately, there has been little or no abuse of this unwrit-
ten understanding and there has been built up among police
departments a mutual confidence, professional in nature,
which is conducive to cooperation in such cases.

Some care should be exercised in framing a telegram for
the arrest of a person at a distant point. Brevity should not
be achieved at the expense of accuracy and completeness of
information. The message should contain, besides informa-
tion concerning the offender's probable whereabouts, the fol-
lowing data :

(1) Offender's name and aliases, if known.

(2) Description: hair color, eye color, height, weight, age, and any
special marks of identification such as scars, tattoo marks, limp, or
speech defects.

(3) Nature of the crime for which the offender is wanted.

(4) Fingerprint classification, if known.

(5) If the fugitive is known to be a desperate character, the arresting
officers are entitled to receive that information.

Such messages should always be followed by a confirming air-
mail letter, giving full and complete particulars. Upon being
informed that the prisoner is under arrest, the inquiring de-
partment should lose no time in sending an officer with the
proper legal instruments for the return of the accused to the
jurisdiction where he is wanted.

CHAPTER XII

THE MODERN POLICE COMMUNICATION
SYSTEM

WE HAVE CONSIDERED the separate facilities that enter into
a communication system. Let us now consider, in a
broader perspective, three modern communication systems as
complete administrative units. Two of the systems discussed
represent two types of police organization — the large metro-
politan area where administration is decentralized, and the
city of smaller population and area where the police activi-
ties are centralized. The third system described is a projected
plan of communication for the small community.

THE POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM : LOS ANGELES
THE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

Before the Administration, the Central Detective Division,
and the Central Record Division of the Police Department
were moved to the City Hall, the switchboard of the police
department was in the Central Police Station on First Street.
It was served by telephone number Michigan - — , and
operated by girls who monitored each incoming call and
transferred it to the department concerned. Under this ar-
rangement it was necessary for the calling citizen to repeat
the information twice and sometimes of tener, as his call was
transferred from one person to another. The switchboard was
connected by lines with the City Hall switchboard, and the
lines were used for interdepartmental business calls between
personnel of the City Hall and the Police Department.

When the decision was made to move these three divisions
(formerly called bureaus) of the Police Department to the
City Hall, the matter of telephone service, space for the
switchboard, and so forth became important. The City Hall,
when built, was so arranged that one dial-type telephone ex-
change or switchboard sufficed for the telephone needs of all

[ 362 ]

The Modern System 363

the city departments in the building1, and ample space for
expansion had been allocated near this switchboard.

At first, a separate switchboard for the Police Department
in its own quarters was thought necessary, but this involved
a problem in the allocation of floor space and rather large ex-
pense in construction changes.

At this point in the planning, the telephone company engi-
neers were requested to submit plans showing how best to
move the Police Department telephone exchange, at the least
cost for removal and installation and also for construction
changes. After several conferences with the police, the fol-
lowing plan was accepted and the system installed.

(1) An addition to the City Hall exchange made possible
the police use of the dial-type switchboard serving the City
Hall, and the expense for the alteration was very much less
than would have been incurred had a separate switchboard
been installed.

(2) There were installed in the Police Department, at the
City Hall, two double-faced switchboards (8 operator posi-
tions), much the same as those used by department stores for
receiving orders. Locally, these are called "complaint tur-
rets" or "complaint boards," and are used only for receiving
requests, complaints, and information from citizens. Each
switchboard requires from one to four operators, depending
upon the volume of traffic. The apparatus is operated from
two sides, facing each other, and there are two operators on
each side when calls are frequent. A call can be shifted from
one side to the other if necessary. The switchboards can be
connected directly with outside lines for receiving complaints
or information, or with the office lines for transferring* calls,
and they are so arranged that any operator can answer and
call any police division or substation directly.

The telephone central lines of "Michigan" are connected
directly with these complaint boards, enabling citizens call-
ing "Michigan" to reach the Police Department without the
services of an intermediary operator. The switchboards are
operated by policemen instead of telephone operators.

1-1

J
H

Q • •

o "^w

O ;

g j

MENT
EPOET

ADORES

ELES POLICE DI
COMPLAINT BO

O H

LOS AN
CENTEA

O
O

N
o

o
o

The Modern System 365

If the call is for help or advice, usually the advice is given
or the help sent by the switchboard policeman receiving the
call. Occasionally, when the advice sought is too complicated,
the complaint-board operator will transfer the call to that
branch of the Detective Division which handles the particu-
lar kind of crime involved. The remote-control apparatus of
the radio station is in the same room with the complaint
board, and all calls requiring the broadcasting of informa-
tion are dispatched immediately by the operators.

(3) All telephones in the Police Department headquarters,
as well as those of the fifteen police divisions or stations scat-
tered throughout the city, are connected directly to the City

Hall dial switchboard served by Michigan . This enables

the Police Department, the divisional headquarters or sta-
tions, and the City Hall in general, to intercommunicate
directly by dial telephone. They also may obtain city connec-
tions by dialing directly into the telephone company's main
exchange.

(4) All routine and personnel calls for the Police Depart-
ment are received over the Michigan - - lines at the City
Hall dial switchboard, where they are handled by girl oper-
ators. This relieves the police operators on the switchboards
previously mentioned from routine switching or service.

Michigan — — is not listed in the telephone directory as a
police telephone number, but all officers and patrolmen are
specifically instructed to use this number on routine or per-
son-to-person calls. Were the citizens to use this number in
calling the police, their emergency calls would often be de-
layed.

(5) As it was thought probable that some routine police
calls would be received over the emergency line, Michigan

- (different from the Michigan mentioned above),

the telephone company devised a means for their rapid trans-
fer to the City Hall switchboard. By pressing a key, the police
operator on the complaint board transfers the call. He then
disconnects immediately, as the call requires no further at-
tention by him.

366 Police Communication Systems

(6) In order to make possible the most effective handling
of the more important emergency calls (for example, those
relating to homicides and robberies) , special devices were in-
stalled by the telephone company. When the call is received,
the police operator on the complaint board depresses a key
which sounds the alarm bell and at the same time connects
him with a police stenographer in the teletype room ; in this
way a record of the details of the case is made immediately.
The complaint-board operator at once broadcasts a descrip-
tion of the crime over the police radio, and at the same time
the police stenographer who took the report broadcasts the
information over teletypewriters to all divisional headquar-
ters. Thereafter, the patrolmen in radio-patrol automobiles
who may require more information than they were able to
record, call their own divisional headquarters from the police
telephone boxes to ask that the teletype report be read to
them, thereby relieving congestion in the Central Complaint
Room.

The stenographer's telephone is equipped with an amplifier
so that several people may listen to the conversation. In case
of robbery, the police operator on the switchboard, besides
pressing the button for the stenographer, may also press a
control which rings a bell and connects a telephone (equipped
with receiver only) in the Business Office, and in the Robbery
and Homicide Bureaus, where the officer in charge may listen
to the details of the call but cannot in any way interrupt the
conversation. This procedure enables three or more persons
concerned to hear the report of the crime; and further, the
possibility of human error is greatly reduced.

(7) The key arrangement controlling the emergency calls
and the connections to stenographers and bureau heads is
such that when one switchboard operator has established a
connection with the stenographer, others are unable to make
this connection, and interference is eliminated.

The Modern System 367

TELEPHONE SERVICE FOR THE CHIEF OF POLICE

The office of the Chief of Police is provided with key boxes
which enable him or his secretary to talk or hold a conversa-
tion on any one of six lines. Furthermore, there is installed
in his private office a board with twenty push buttons which
give him intercommunicating and conference-calling tele-
phone service with the Assistant Chiefs and the various
heads of divisions. With but one telephone instrument upon
the desk of the Chief of Police, this ability to talk on either
of the telephone systems named is accomplished in the fol-
lowing manner.

(1) Six lines from the City Hall switchboard and the tele-
phone company's central exchange are brought to the key
box in the Chief's private office, and then extended to the
office of his secretary.

(2) When a call arrives on any of these lines, a white lamp
burns in both offices and a buzzer operates in the secretary's
office. When anyone answers — for example, the secretary —
the white light in both offices goes out and the buzzer stops
sounding. Answering is made possible by turning the switch
controlling the particular line to be used. When the line is in
use and the white light is out, a green lamp indicating "line
busy" burns in both offices.

(3) The secretary may transfer any call to the Chief, and
in the event of a second call the secretary, by observing the
green lamp, knows whether or not the Chief has finished his
conversation occasioned by the first call, or if he is otherwise
engaged on the telephone. This saves him the annoyance of
a second call when he is already engaged in telephoning.

(4) The key box in the Chief's office is so arranged, also,
that when all the keys are in a normal or holding position
the Chief may connect his telephone directly with any one
of the twenty intercommunicating telephones by pushing one
of the twenty buttons on the box. At the same time, a signal
lamp burns at the secretary's desk, indicating that the Chief
is engaged on the intercommunicating telephone.

368 Police Communication Systems

(5) The first operation of the button establishes the con-
nection between the Chief and the division desired, and
causes the bell at the division to ring. Bach subsequent oper-
ation of the push button causes the bell at the called station
to ring again.

(6) For conference purposes, as many as ten push buttons
may be operated consecutively, thus connecting ten persons
with the Chief. Connections thus established are broken when
the Chief replaces the receiver on the stand.

(7) Divisions connected with the intercommunicating sys-
tem are unable to connect with the Chief's telephone, all
connections being controlled entirely by him. Any combina-
tion of divisions may be set up by operating various buttons,
and released by replacing the receiver.

An intercommunicating system as outlined for the Chief
of Police is also installed for the Assistant Chief, the Deputy
Chief of Personnel and Equipment, and the Chief of Detec-
tives. Each of these systems connects with the division or
bureau heads with whom the particular officer most fre-
quently desires to communicate.

THE RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

The radio equipment consists of one 500- watt De Forest radio-
phone transmitter, operating on a frequency of 1712 kilo-
cycles. The Police Department has 80 Sparton automobile
receiving sets. In each of the fifteen police divisions into
which the city of Los Angeles is organized, and in several of
the special bureaus at headquarters, a station receiver is in-
stalled. In each of the territorial divisions, the loud-speakers
are attached and installed in the detectives' quarters. The
walls of the transmitter room have been deadened by the
use of a material known as "masonite," which creates ideal
acoustical conditions for transmitting.

When the system of radio communication was first set in
operation, the city was divided into radio patrol districts,
and a street index was provided which would enable the
operator to determine in fifteen or twenty seconds the radio

The Modern System 369

patrol district in which any street and number is situated.
(As there are more than 7500 streets in Los Angeles, it re-
quired the work of five persons for a month to trace and type-
write all the street names and numbers.) It is impracticable
to depend upon the knowledge of any person to direct the
automobiles in the city without such an index. With it, a
stranger in Los Angeles could direct the patrol cars as well
as any one familiar with the city.

The fifteen territorial police divisions in Los Angeles have
definite numbers. Central Division is No. 1, and has six radio
patrol districts numbered 11 to 16. The first digit is the num-
ber of the division, and the second is the number of the radio
patrol post or district. This system is applied throughout the
fifteen divisions, the fifteenth having four radio patrol dis-
tricts, numbered 151, 152, 153, 154. In the divisions bearing
numbers 10 to 15, the first two digits signify the division
number and the third digit the radio patrol district.

Each radio patrol district is divided into two sections, the
second section being designated by the letter W ; for example,
District 11, Sections 11 and 11 W. If the call originates in the
W section, the automobile patrolling that district is called
by using the number 11 W. This indicates to the men in the
automobile that the street will be found in the W section of
their district, and in referring to their map, if they are not
familiar with the street, they know that they must look in
the section named. An added advantage of the divided dis-
tricts is that, if increased police activity is required in a cer-
tain division, additional automobiles may be assigned to the
two sections independently, and called separately, through
the independent use of the numbers 11 and 11 W. Each auto-
mobile assumes the number of the district to which it is
assigned for patrol duty.

By the use of this system each division commander can
determine where any automobile in his division has been dis-
patched to take care of some police matter. If in his opinion
it is a matter of great importance, he can dispatch the divi-
sional emergency automobile to ensure that the call is an-

370 Police Communication Systems

swered even if the message was not received by the men in the
radio patrol automobile designated. By this system, when an
automobile is sent on a call, the number of the division is
automatically included in the broadcast.

Each message is broadcast once from the remote-control
room, which is adjacent to the telephone complaint switch-
board and the teletype room. The message is written and
broadcast again by the operators in the radio station, which
is in an isolated position in Elysian Park. This means that
the entire message is given twice to the patrol cars. The repe-
tition is practiced in order to ensure the receipt of messages.
If during the first broadcast the automobile should be passing
through a particularly noisy area, the patrolmen are in-
structed to turn into a side street away from power lines and
other sources of interference, and listen for the second broad-
cast. The actual reception of broadcast messages has been
approximately 99 per cent.

During the day watch, which is between 10:00 A.M. and
6 :00 P.M., there are two men in each automobile, and it is
assumed that both of these men leave the automobile to in-
vestigate any matter broadcast to them. For this reason, after
a message has been sent to any car, that car is recorded as out
of service until the men notify headquarters that they are
ready for more business. If within this interval another call
for help originates in the same district, the patrol car from
an adjoining district is assigned to the duty indicated.

During the night watch, between 6 :00 P.M. and 2 :00 A.M.,
there were originally three men in each automobile, and one
of them was instructed to remain with the automobile at all
times. Only two men are assigned to each night-patrol car
at the present time, owing to a shortage in personnel. The
messages are broadcast to each automobile in the order in
which they are received, and the cases are investigated by
the patrolmen in the same rotation, or in accordance with
the importance of the message.

The complaint-switchboard room is equipped with a large
map showing all the radio patrol districts. Each radio patrol

The Modern System 371

car is equipped with a duplicate map on curtain rollers, at-
tached'to the ceiling of the car.

When a call is received by a policeman on the complaint
switchboard, he writes the necessary data on a form provided
for the purpose. The form is then passed to the index clerk,
who searches the street index and finds the number of the
district containing the address shown on the form. He writes
the number in the place designated on the form and then con-
sults his work sheet to learn whether or not the radio patrol
car assigned to that district is in service. If the automobile is
on a call and thus "out of service," he writes the number of
the nearest available car in the space for "Squad Car No. — ."
He then passes the form to the radio dispatcher, who broad-
casts the message, stamps the time on the form, and passes it
through a wicket to the disposition clerk. The disposition clerk
places the form in a compartment having the same number
as the automobile to which the message was given.

Upon completion of the investigation, the patrolmen call
the disposition clerk on the telephone and give him the num-
ber of their automobile and a report of what they have done.
He takes the form from its compartment and records on it
their report of the time elapsed between receipt of the call
and arrival at the place to which they were sent, and of the
action taken by them. This action is noted very briefly ; for
example : "Disturbance quieted" ; "One misdemeanor arrest" ;
"Report made," etc.

The main reason for requiring these reports of the disposi-
tion of cases is to be certain that the call has been answered
and the appropriate action taken. If, after a reasonable time,
the patrolmen do not report action taken, they are called on
the air and asked to report by telephone. If they report that
they did not receive the original message by radio, it is given
them by telephone ; but the necessity for this seldom occurs.
Major calls are telephoned also to division detectives, who
likewise respond, thus ensuring action if the radio call is not
received by the assigned radio patrol car.

In accordance with the requirements of the Federal Com-

372 Police Communication Systems

munications Commission, a radio log is maintained, and when
the disposition record is received, the information is entered
as follows : the time the call was dispatched ; the number of
the automobile sent ; the place to which it was sent ; the rea-
son for sending it ; the time used up between receipt of call
and arrival at destination, and the action taken.

Each radio patrol automobile is equipped with a large
loose-leaf book in which are copies of the emergency report
form, a copy of which is shown on page 373. By use of this
form, the recording of a description is reduced almost to the
brevity of shorthand. The officers at the complaint switch-
board also use it in taking a description over the telephone,
and when the information is broadcast the routine order of
the form is followed, so that the patrolmen in the cars can
enter the description point by point on the form in a regular
order.

Copies of all teletype messages with reference to crimes
committed, automobiles stolen, persons missing, and so forth,
are delivered to the radio broadcaster immediately upon be-
ing received by teletype. He broadcasts them to all patrolmen
in radio-equipped patrol cars, and in this manner the force
is kept informed of all police news of general interest.

The radio station has an emergency power unit. This is
necessary because the radio has become an essential part of
the communication system. However, in anticipation of the
transmitter's being shut down for emergency repairs at some
time, all the radio patrol cars in the various districts are re-
quired to call their divisional station at a stipulated time each
hour. By this method, the division has an automobile at its
disposal at least every fifteen minutes. Were radio communi-
cation interrupted, the calls received at the central complaint
switchboard would be relayed to the divisions by telephone
or teletype and transmitted to the patrolmen in the districts
when they make their hourly telephone calls to their respec-
tive division headquarters.

A light delivery automobile has been equipped with a radio
and all the necessary parts and testing devices for servicing

The Modern System

373

Form 391 LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT

EMERGENCY REPORT

Date , 193

Time: m.

Broadcast No.

Location Name of Victim

Xo. of Bandits Name of Concern

CAR USED: YES D No D Make: Unknown D License Unknown D

Type Color Remarks

Direction Bandit (s) Went

DESCRIPTION

(1) Nativity and Smooth Shaven D
Complexion Age Ht Wt Hair Eyes

Mustache D

Bareheaded Q Days' Growth

Hat D Cap D O'Coat D Suit Coat Pants

Color Color Color Color Color

Gun B.S. D N.P. D Automatic D Revolver D Caliber...

(2) Nativity and Smooth Shaven D
Complexion Age Ht Wt Hair Eyes

Mustache Q

Bareheaded D Days' Growth

Hat D Cap D O'Coat D Suit Coat Pants

Color Color.. Color Color Color

Gun B.S. D N.P. D Automatic D Revolver D Caliber

(3) Nativity and Smooth Shaven D
Complexion Age... Ht... Wt Hair Eyes

Mustache D

Bareheaded G Days' Growth

Hat D Cap D O'Coat D Suit Coat Pants

Color Color Color Color Color

Gun -B.S. D N.P. D Automatic D Revolver D Caliber

Amount Secured $

Telephone: (Business) (Residence)

Home Address:

(If held up on street)

REMARKS:

Broadcast to: Teletyped to : Telephoned to : Dispatcher:

374 Police Communication Systems

radio receiving sets. When the patrolmen in any automobile
have radio trouble, they call the complaint switchboard and
the service man is notified by radio to go immediately to the
district calling and take the action necessary to put the equip-
ment back in use.

Service men are required, at the termination of each tour
of duty, to give the Communication Division a record of bat-
teries and tubes replaced and of all repairs made. This infor-
mation is tabulated in order to show the exact annual expense
of maintaining each receiving set in use and thus provide
data upon which to base the budget request for the next suc-
ceeding year.

THE TELETYPEWRITER SYSTEM

The present police teletypewriter system is composed of 42
machines as follows : 38 Model 12 Morkrum-Kleinschmidt
page printers, 2 Teletypewriter Corporation Model 14 tape
printers, and 2 Model 12 Morkrum-Kleinschmidt (Bell Sys-
tem) page printers. Thirty-eight of these machines are owned
and maintained by the city, and represent an investment of
approximately $95,000. The distribution of the 38 city-owned
and the 4 privately-owned machines is as follows :

28 sending and receiving machines, two in each of 13 divisions, and
two at the Central Eecord Division.

3 combination sending and receiving machines, Electrician's Shop,
City Hall.

2 receiving-only machines, one at Wilmington and one at North Holly-
wood, these points being teletypewriter substations.

2 broadcasting machines, Communication Division of Police Depart-
ment, City Hall.

2 intercommunicating machines at Communication Division.

2 intercommunicating machines for state-wide system, Communication
Division at City Hall, leased by the State of California from the Bell
Telephone Company and used for state-wide communication purposes,
being connected with 18 cities and strategic border points in California,
in addition to a connection to Eeno, Nevada.

2 tape printers, Communication Division, City Hall ; one is owned by
the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the other by the Postal
Telegraph Company, both machines being used for sending or receiving
commercial telegraph messages.

The Modern System 375

1 intercommunicating machine at Communication Division, City Hall,
connected with the Sheriff's Department and his nine substations in Los
Angeles County.

As noted in the list, the nine machines last mentioned are
placed at present in spaced position in the Communication
Division of the Police Department. Through this depart-
mental system, consisting of two broadcasting and two inter-
communicating machines, two switchboards, a meter board,
and two generators (one to furnish direct current, the other
as an auxiliary), it is possible to contact by all machines a
total of forty-eight points. A few examples of the system's
flexibility are brought out below :

Four divisions can intercommunicate simultaneously while a fifth is
sending in a report for broadcasting or other purposes, and at the same
time a general teletyped broadcast can be dispatched by the police tele-
type operator to all police divisions and substations.

Four divisions can transmit reports to Police Headquarters simulta-
neously, two on the intercommunicating machines and two on the broad-
casting machines, the latter being converted into receiving machines by
the use of monitor cord plugs.

Messages can be acknowledged in writing, or by means of a flashback
arrangement on the intercommunicating switchboard.

Generators can be changed over, line trouble traced, and voltage in-
creased or decreased by manipulation of switches, cam keys, and rheo-
stats on the meter board.

Individual line readings for voltage and amperage can be taken and
fuses replaced on both switchboards, thus reducing trouble calls for the
repairman to a minimum.

The state-wide intercommunicating teletypewriters are in
operation 16 hours daily, each machine running about 8 hours
a day. Over these machines are received and dispatched the
messages, destined to any one point or to all points, formerly
handled by telegraph, telephone, or air mail. Answers to mes-
sages sent to the State Capitol at Sacramento, regarding mo-
tor-vehicle registration data, and so on, have been received in
from three to ten minutes. On occasion, other points have an-
swered messages immediately.

Outgoing state teletype messages originate either at Police
Headquarters or at a police divisional station. If at headquar-

376 Police Communication Systems

ters, the detail handling them prepares the message in sep-
tuplicate and delivers the seven copies to the Business Office
for approval. After receiving this approval, the seven copies
are sent to the teletypewriter room for dispatching. As soon
as the operator receives it he gives it a number, contacts the
destination point, and dispatches the message. Two copies of
the numbered message are returned to the detail handling the
matter and three to the Business Office, one copy is forwarded
to the Record Division, and the remaining copy is filed in the
teletype room.

If the message originates at one of the territorial Divisions,
it is teletyped to the Communication Division. A messenger
takes it to the Business Office, where seven copies are pre-
pared and the routine just described is followed.

The teletype machines in the Communication Division are
equipped with "ditto" or duplicating ribbons. Upon receipt
of an incoming state-wide message which is in answer to a
message sent by the Department, eight copies are made on the
"ditto" machine and all are delivered to the Business Office,
where they are stamped with the time, date, and police unit
which the message concerns. Three of the copies are given to
the messenger for delivery to the bureau or detail waiting for
the answer, two of these are kept by such bureau or detail, and
the third, bearing the signature of the detail commander, is
returned to the Business Office. A fourth copy is returned
from the Business Office to the teletype room, this copy bear-
ing signed acknowledgment of its receipt. After clearing the
incoming message file in the teletype room, this copy is for-
warded to the Record Division.

Upon receipt of incoming state-wide messages addressed
to "All Points," the messages are edited, and if they do not
contain specific matter calling for assignment, they are given
a broadcast number and immediately dispatched over the
Department's teletype system. A copy is given to the Radio
Room for broadcast to radio patrol automobiles. Copies made
on the "ditto" machine are distributed to all quarters' bu-
reaus. Frequently, all persons concerned are in receipt of an

The Modern System 377

"All Points Bulletin" five minutes after its reception in the
teletype room.

Simplex tape printers. — All Police Department telegrams,
incoming and outgoing, are handled on the tape printers.
These printers have been installed by the Western Union and
Postal Telegraph companies and are connected with their re-
spective main offices. All outgoing telegrams are prepared by
the police branch handling the matter and are sent to the
Business Office for approval and recording. The approved
copy is delivered to the teletype room for dispatching.

Recently the telegraph companies have begun a "timed wire
service," through which it is possible to contact, over the tape
printers, police departments throughout the United States
and dispatch messages to them direct. This is only a one-way
service, however ; its chief advantage is a saving in the cost of
very lengthy telegrams.

Accessory telephones. — By means of a locking device, calls
involving major crimes received on the complaint switch-
board are heard simultaneously by the Business Office, the
Homicide and Robbery Bureaus, and the teletype room.
While the complaint-board operator is asking for and record-
ing on Form 392 or 391 (see pp. 364 and 373) all pertinent
information necessary in order to dispatch the radio patrol
automobiles, these offices listen in and take such action as
comes within their respective spheres. The teletype operator,
also listening in, records the call on Form 392 or 391, and dis-
patches it over the teletype system to all concerned.

The apparatus in the teletype room that is used for such
calls consists of a telephone headpiece, an automatic gong,
and an amplifying device, all installed by the telephone com-
pany. The amplifier controls the tone and volume of the com-
plainant's voice, and by manipulation of a control dial the
voice may be regulated from "ordinary" to "loud" or any
intervening gradation.

All messages dispatched over the interdepartmental tele-
type system are received in written form from headquarters
bureaus, the complaint switchboard, or one of the fifteen ter-

378 Police Communication Systems

ritorial divisions, by way of the intercommunicating machine.
Exceptions to this rule include calls received through the
complaint switchboard or the City Hall central switchboard
concerning missing juveniles or adults, together with emer-
gency case reports and the supplements thereto. Frequently,
radio patrolmen who have responded to an emergency call are
able to supplement the original report with additional infor-
mation after further interrogating the complainant. They
telephone the teletype operator direct and dictate the addi-
tional information, which is promptly teletyped as a supple-
ment to the original broadcast.

Miscellaneous items. — The interdepartmental broadcasting
teletypewriters are equipped with rolls of duplicating tele-
type paper, and the duplicate copy of every message broad-
cast is given to the radio operator, who broadcasts or files the
message, depending upon the nature of its contents. The origi-
nal message is run on the "ditto" machine, a sufficient number
of copies being made to ensure proper distribution to all con-
cerned.

At present only about one-fifth of the messages numbered
by the Division of Records are obtained over the teletype sys-
tem. Additional equipment has been purchased and soon will
be installed. It is then planned to handle all the numbers of
the Division of Records by teletype, the object being to elimi-
nate the many errors occurring as a result of transmitting
messages over telephones. All booking of arrested persons is
handled by teletype, the arresting Division contacting the
Central Booking Office over teletype lines, giving the booking
number, name of person arrested, age, descent, offense, time
and location of arrest, and the name and number of the officer
making the arrest. Subpoenas and warrant recalls are dis-
patched by teletype.

Two additional sets of relays and two intercommunicating
machines are to be installed soon in the teletype room to pro-
vide greater flexibility, eliminate delay, and teletype all Divi-
sional record reports.

Adjacent cities, such as Santa Monica, Culver City, Bev-

The Modern System 379

erly Hills, Glendale, and others, are now receiving the bene-
fit of the Los Angeles police radio broadcasting facilities.
Some of these cities already have appropriated money for the
installation of teletypewriters, but have not decided whether
to connect with the Sheriff's Office or with the Police Depart-
ment. Inasmuch as their radio patrol cars will be dispatched
by the Los Angeles Police Department radio operator, it seems
logical that they should be wired to the Police Department
system, and, as in other cities, teletype their dispatch requests
instead of telephoning them. If this connection is made, du-
plicate teletype rolls would be used, and after an outside dis-
patch was received, it would be a matter of only a few seconds
until the original copy was delivered to the radio operator for
dispatching.

THE BEAT COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

Each of the fifteen territorial Police Divisions in Los Angeles
is equipped with its own police station and complete police
signal and telephone system. It is at this point that communi-
cation facilities are first decentralized. Each of the signal and
telephone systems, except as noted below, consists of the sta-
tion reception and dispatching equipment, boxes, and the
necessary overhead and underground lines.

The police station equipment consists of a motor generator
set (110-volt alternating current; 75-volt direct current),
with a 48-volt storage battery floating on the generator, a
charging and distributing switchboard, a desk with a private
branch exchange, a register, and a reel. Police telephone
boxes, of which there are 500, consist of an outer shell of cast
iron or aluminum alloy, with an inner door of like material
recessed to hold a Western Electric No. 1001-A hand set with
grounded frame on a switch hook. On the inside of the inner
door is a plain make-and-break signal mechanism, adjusted
for one-pull telephone hook-switch, ringer, door-operated
switch, and the necessary terminal blocks, condensers, induc-
tion coil, and other associated equipment.

All overhead lines consist of two No. 12 hard-drawn, triple-
braid, weatherproof copper conductors carried on standard

380 Police Communication Systems

crossarms on the poles of the various public utilities wherever
possible, and suitably transposed. Underground lines consist
of a pair of No. 19 conductors in lead-covered, paper-insu-
lated, filled cables in telephone company ducts. The junction
of underground to overhead lines is made through vacuum-
type lightning arresters and the Western Union type 2500-
volt, 5-ampere fuses. The lines enter Police Division stations
in a cable in an underground conduit and terminate on Cook
terminals with 3-ampere, 2000-volt fuses, heat coils, and car-
bon-block lightning arresters.

Street telephone boxes are placed at the intersection of the
boundary lines of the patrol beats. When the boxes are 011
boundary lines between two or more Divisions, they are
equipped with a rotary switch, the manipulation of which
connects the box with the Division to which the patrolman
wishes to report. These boxes are ordinarily used in the fol-
lowing manner. Each patrolman reports from a box every
hour by opening the box and pulling a lever which causes the
recording of the box number at the telephone switchboard of
his Division and indicates that someone is calling from that
box. The patrolman gives his name and the box number to the
Divisional operator, and if there are instructions for him, the
operator gives them at this time. If there are no instructions,
the patrolman replaces the hand set and the operator causes
the bell in the box to ring twice to indicate that the report has
been received.

The beat telephone system is used by patrolmen in making
reports to their Division about the disposition of cases as-
signed to them by radio broadcasts to patrol cars. The Divi-
sional operator in turn reports to the disposition clerk at the
Communication Division in Central Headquarters. It is abso-
lutely essential that the Communication Division receive the
disposition report, for otherwise it would have no knowledge
that the call had been answered. The disposition report also
serves the purpose of showing that the automobile reporting
is available for further service.

The Modern System 381

THE ALARM SYSTEM

The 0. B. McClintock Company, of Minneapolis, Minn., has
installed and maintains a Police Call Annunciator Alarm
System in the complaint switchboard room of the Los Angeles
Police Department. The system is designed primarily for the
use of banks and large mercantile establishments as a means
of protection against criminal attack. A small fee is paid by
the subscriber to the McClintock Company for installation
and maintenance, and the connecting wires employed are
leased from the telephone company at a nominal cost.

The McClintock Company's experts install and maintain
the equipment in proper working condition both at the Police
Department and at the subscriber's business location. The
subscriber has means of testing the condition of the connect-
ing wires without operating his unit of the system at the cen-
tral switchboard, and if outgoing wires are tampered with
he is notified immediately by the local trouble bell. The sub-
scriber's equipment consists of the control cabinet and the
signaling stations. Alarm-exciting devices used are the Mc-
Clintock pinch-type holdup buttons, the mercury-ring foot-
rail, and other cleverly designed devices placed at strategic
points in the subscriber's place of business, so that in the event
of robbery or other trouble he may signal the Police Depart-
ment with very little effort. If the subscriber is equipped with
a local burglar alarm, arrangement is made for its connec-
tion to the silent alarm system and it is wired direct to Head-
quarters.

Operators are on duty twenty-four hours a day at the com-
plaint switchboard at Central Headquarters, and on receiv-
ing a signal from the Police Call Annunciator, broadcast it
by radio to the patrol cars. In addition, signals received are
also transmitted to the flying squadron of the Detective Bu-
reau of the Central Division, or to the emergency automobiles
of other Divisions. This ensures that the call is answered.

The numbers on the McClintock Police Call Annunciator
form an index to the locations of the subscribers, a list of

382 Police Communication Systems

which is kept for reference under a glass on the complaint
switchboard. This index also shows the radio patrol car as-
signed to a district containing a specific address, which elimi-
nates the necessity of referring to the city-wide index. In
the regular course of business, an alarm coming in over the
McClintock system would be relayed to a car in the vicinity
of the premises attacked within about 10 seconds after its
reception.

THE POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM : BERKELEY
GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL FACTORS

Berkeley, California, is a city of 86,000 people situated on
the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. It is but one of many
cities in the populous East Bay metropolitan area, which ex-
tends over the two counties of Alameda and Contra Costa.
The police problem of the city of Berkeley is not an individual
one, for on the south the boundary of the city coincides with
that of the cities of Oakland, Calif. (300,000 population) and
Emeryville (2,400 population), and on the north, Berkeley
merges into the smaller cities of Albany and El Cerrito. So
closely are the cities of the East Bay area nested together that
their boundaries are merely political, and a stranger would
be unable to determine when he left one city and entered an-
other. Moreover, the whole metropolitan area is tied together
by a highly developed system of lateral and arterial high-
ways, many of the main thoroughfares passing through from
six to ten adjacent communities. It is thus apparent that re-
ciprocal responsibility in public-safety affairs is vested to an
unusual degree in all the municipal and governmental agen-
cies in this area.

The topography of the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay
is such that the police, aided by adequate communication,
have an excellent opportunity to apprehend escaping crimi-
nals. The greater part of the population lives on a narrow
plain between the Bay and the hills to the east. From this
area, the avenues of escape are relatively few and can be
easily closed by the various patrol forces if they are notified

The Modern System 383

quickly of this necessity. To the west, escape is possible only
by means of ferries, and more recently by bridges, all of which
can be placed under surveillance without delay. To the north
and south there are a few major exits, and only two main
highways with minor laterals penetrate the eastern hills.
Thus the effective police blockade of the entire area in crimi-
nal emergencies depends almost entirely upon the speed with
which the police forces in the jurisdictions concerned can
function.

GENERAL COMMUNICATION FACILITIES

The police communication system of Berkeley is composed of
four major separate units, which combine to form a single,
well-balanced operating whole, with all communication ac-
tivities centralized at Police Headquarters. These units are :
(1) the police telephone system; (2) the patrol recall sys-
tem; (3) the patrol radio communication system; and (4) a
silent alarm system for banks and large mercantile establish-
ments. A fifth unit is the general-alarm siren, and a proposed
installation will include sending and receiving equipment to
connect with the state-wide teletypewriter system.

THE POLICE TELEPHONE SYSTEM

Prior to 1925, the police telephone system consisted of fifty-
seven beat stations installed at various places in the city and
connected to a central switchboard at headquarters. In its
stead, a contract was entered into with the telephone company
for the installation of a complete individual telephone system,
consisting of a modern telephone exchange board with a ca-
pacity of 120 circuits at Police Headquarters, and independ-
ent beat telephone units connected with the police exchange
by individual pairs of wires routed through the cables of the
telephone company. The system thus became one in which a
large number of individual telephone stations were brought
under the direct control of the Police Department. Similar in
all respects to the commercial telephone unit, they did not
require commercial exchange service, since they were wired
directly to the new police switchboard. An important condi-

384 Police Communication Systems

tion of the contract was that the system would be maintained
by the telephone company, which, with its corps of trained
telephone experts, was in a position to provide a superior
service. All telephone equipment is leased by the Police De-
partment from the local telephone company on a rental basis.

The new telephone installation comprised the following
equipment : (1) a private branch telephone exchange at head-
quarters; (2) sixty-five beat telephone units appropriately
housed and installed at strategic points throughout the city ;
(3) independent transmission lines connecting each unit with
the police exchange ; and (4) office-inter communicating lines
and equipment and direct leased- wire connections with out-
side departments in the immediate area.

The hub of the system is the new switchboard at police
headquarters, which is connected not only with each beat tele-
phone unit, but also with all outside local, county, and state
telephones, through eleven trunk lines leading to the tele-
phone company's general exchange. Private leased wires con-
nect the police switchboard direct to police headquarters in
eight other cities on the east shore, in addition to the sheriffs'
offices of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and the office
of the District Attorney of Alameda County. Further, all
interoffice telephone communication between the various
divisions and bureaus at headquarters passes through this
exchange board, which also accommodates a direct connec-
tion with the City Hall telephone exchange. A desk sergeant
is in attendance at the police switchboard constantly at all
hours of the day and night.

Two telephones are provided at headquarters to serve the
needs of those officers who may be engaged in confidential
investigations. These units are wired directly to the city ex-
change of the telephone company and do not pass through the
local switchboard.

Since all beat and interoffice telephones are independently
wired to the police switchboard, each pair of arriving wires
terminates in a jack, with which is associated a small pilot
light and connection to a common buzzer. Thus, an incoming

The Modern System 385

call over either the beat or interoffice telephone system results
in both audible and visual signals, which ensures prompt
response at the switchboard. Each jack and pilot light is care-
fully labeled, affording a convenient and accurate index by
which the desk sergeant may, for instance, immediately de-
termine the number and location of the box over which a call
originates.

Beat patrolmen are required to report in to the desk ser-
geant over a telephone at hourly intervals, at which time the
officer receives any instructions that may be pending, and
the sergeant records the time of the call on a time-sheet form
provided for the purpose. Beat officers are also required to
report any interruptions in normal patrol work, such as time
out for lunch, investigations, and other activities which may
temporarily cause them to be unavailable. Notations concern-
ing these irregularities are made on the time sheet in order
that the sergeant in charge may have before him at all times
an accurate picture of the location and distribution of patrol
strength available to him for assignment.

The reporting time of beat officers is staggered, which re-
lieves congestion at the police switchboard. A result of this
arrangement is that, through the system alone, headquarters
is in touch with one or more members of the dispersed patrol
force at very short intervals.

Through the eleven trunk lines leading to the main tele-
phone exchange, adequate facilities are provided for rapid
telephone contact with the community at large, and with the
outside world. There is but one police headquarters and, so
far as the general public is concerned, but one police tele-
phone number. All complaints, reports, and requests for
police assistance arrive over telephone lines at the police
switchboard, or they may be delivered personally to the desk
sergeant at headquarters. The greater number of such reports
are received over the telephone. In any case, the desk ser-
geant is the complaint dispatcher and he immediately routes
the report or information to the division, bureau, detail, or
patrolman concerned.

386 Police Communication Systems

The advantages of this telephone system are apparent. Any
outside citizen may communicate with any particular divi-
sion or official in the department through the single exchange
board, and the officers at headquarters and the patrolmen on
the street may get in touch with any particular person within
or outside the department through the same exchange. To talk
to any person within the city or hundreds of miles away, the
patrolman at the box needs only to lift the receiver and ask
for a connection with the main telephone exchange.

THE POLICE RECALL SYSTEM

The present system of signaling to policemen on duty
throughout the city by means of electric lamps, a system in-
stalled in 1925, was designed by Frank B. Rae, then City
Electrician of Berkeley. The new signaling system consists of
the central office control unit, forty-one red lamps hung over
the center of strategic street intersections and the necessary
connecting wires and circuits. The red-light signal units are
distributed in four loop circuits which together blanket the
entire city. By a new method of wiring, a single relay of spe-
cial design controls all the lamps on any one circuit, so that
but four such relays are necessary to operate the system.
From ten to fifteen light units are placed on each circuit, and
relay circuits are operated from the 110-volt distribution cir-
cuit of the light and power utility, thus dispensing with the
need for storage batteries.

The red-light units are modern Mazda lamps of 200 watts,
enclosed in General Electric Novalux street-lighting fixtures,
in which a Holophane ruby bowl four-way refractor takes the
place of the usual white globe of the ordinary bowl. The ruby
light is clearly visible in the sunlight for a distance of from
2000 to 2500 feet, as compared with from 300 to 500 feet for
the carbon-lamp red-globe combination previously used. The
number of these units is being increased each year in accord-
ance with a well-devised improvement and extension plan.

At the central office, the control box of the signaling system
adjoins the police switchboard, so that it can be conveniently

The Modern System 387

operated by the desk sergeant. The front panel of the control
box is equipped with four rows of tumbler switches, each row
representing one of the four circuits of the system, and each
switch controlling an individual combination. There is as-
signed to each officer on the force a signal to which he must
respond, and he disregards all other signals which may be
flashing over his circuit, except the general alarm signal.

Circuit signaling is effected by a set of code wheels driven
by a motor situated behind the panel of the control box. The
code wheels are so arranged that, by manipulation of the
switches on the control panel, the following can be accom-
plished : (1) any code-signal wheel may transmit its signal
upon any single circuit, or simultaneously upon any number
of circuits; (2) different code-signal wheels may transmit
signals on separate circuits ; (3) the light-signal units may be
caused to burn continuously on one or several circuits, and,
simultaneously, code signals may be sent on any or all of the
other circuits. In operation, a pilot lamp in each of the relay
circuits flashes the signal that is being transmitted, or it will
show a constant light on any circuit that is set to show a
continuous light on the signal units. These pilot lamps also
indicate that the relay controlling the lamp is performing
properly.

With the intense and compelling power of the 200-watt
lamp unit and ruby refractor employed, it was considered
unnecessary to install an audible signal to attract the atten-
tion of a patrolman; a horn or bell could, however, be in-
stalled with every light if this should be deemed advisable.

If the desk sergeant wishes to get in touch with a certain
patrolman in District No. 1, he flashes his beat number over
Circuit No. 1, until the patrolman calls headquarters from
the nearest police box in response to the signal. If this patrol-
man's beat lies on the boundary of two circuits, say Circuits
Nos. 1 and 2, the desk sergeant may operate the signal on
Nos. 1 and 2, thus making doubly sure that the patrolman
will respond to the signal. Likewise, if the beat should cover
three or four circuits, the officer's signal could be sent on each

388 Police Communication Systems

or all of them. While this officer's signal is flashing 011 one or
more circuits, another signal may be sent simultaneously over
any of the other circuits.

Perhaps the sergeant wishes to get in touch with all the
men on a circuit. By a switch on the panel, he can make all
the lights on the desired circuit burn steadily, which is the
general-alarm signal to which all the men on that circuit will
report. While the lights are burning steadily on this circuit,
the other circuits are free for sending any desired signal over
any or all of them. Similarly, the men on the other circuits
can be summoned in emergencies by burning the lights stead-
ily on the desired circuits. Following an emergency call, if
it is desired to recall all the men, or to transmit additional in-
formation, a signal for that particular purpose may be sent.

In this manner, the desk sergeant can communicate with
any individual patrolman on the street, or with any group of
patrolmen, or with every officer on duty at that time. From
tests made on many occasions, it has been determined that the
entire police force can be reached in from three to nine min-
utes. Very often, contact is made with individual members
of it in less than one minute.

THE POLICE RADIO SYSTEM

The Berkeley Police Department was peculiarly fitted for the
pioneer work of applying radio to police work. In the first
place, the entire police force of Berkeley had been completely
motorized since 1914, each officer supplying his own car, for
which he received a liberal monthly maintenance allowance
from the city. Secondly, the city of Berkeley, being centrally
located in the East Bay metropolitan area, was in a favorable
position for undertaking to supply this entire area with po-
lice radio service.

Contracts1 were therefore entered into with all the cities in
the two counties of Alameda and Contra Costa, and with the
sheriffs and district attorneys of these counties, whereby
Berkeley undertook to broadcast radio information to all

1 See Appendix 2, p. 489.

The Modern System 389

these units through its radio transmitter. Thus the Berkeley
radio communication system serves as a message-transmitting
agency for all police officials within a radius of fifty miles and
over a combined area in excess of 1440 square miles.

The police radio equipment consists of : — ( 1 ) a 400-watt
radio transmitter, (2) thirty-five receiving sets installed in
police cars of the Berkeley Police Department, in addition to
receivers installed in the police cars of other municipal or
county agencies served by the system, (3) remote-control ap-
paratus at the police switchboard, and (4) a radio service
shop and organization.

The Berkeley transmitter, housed in a building north of
the City Hall, is a radio-telephone transmitter of the master-
oscillator power-amplifier type. The radio carrier frequency
is generated in a power quartz piezo-electric oscillating cir-
cuit, and the stability of the quartz plate is ensured by an
automatic control of its temperature to within .01 degree Cen-
tigrade. The frequency generated in this circuit is amplified
through succeeding radio-frequency stages of increasing
power until a final stage is reached which has a carrier out-
put of approximately 400 watts.

Modulation is applied to the final radio-frequency ampli-
fier, and the system employed is a modification of the conven-
tional plate or Heising method. Voice is applied to the circuit
through a microphone and two-stage speech amplifiers which
excite two 49-type tubes. The operating frequency of the
transmitter is 2618 kilocycles. Service tests showed that this
transmitter sent satisfactory messages, not only to every point
in the two counties it serves, but to many points over a wider
area besides.

The receiver necessary to ensure satisfactory reception in
an automobile must be very high grade, sensitive, and kept in
good condition. To answer these requirements and that of
compactness, each of Berkeley's radio-equipped police cars
contains a specially designed 7-tube superheterodyne set,
measuring 8% inches in height and 9 by 9 inches in base
dimensions. The entire power supply is taken from the stor-

390 Police Communication Systems

age battery of the car, thus eliminating all "B" batteries.
These receivers are so well built that some of them have gone
as long as five months without any attention or repairs. Re-
ceivers are connected to a magnetic type loud-speaker which
is installed in the top of the car, not more than twenty-four
inches from the officer's head. This ensures clear and audible
reception of messages at all times.

Messages are broadcast over remote-control lines from a
microphone suspended in front of the desk sergeant. By
throwing a switch, conveniently located, the transmitter is
immediately ready for broadcast. Not only are local messages
sent, but also all messages originating in any of the cities and
offices served by the system are transmitted in this manner.

A police official outside of Berkeley who is served by this
facility lifts a telephone receiver and is at once in contact with
the desk sergeant at Berkeley police headquarters through a
private leased wire. Thus all delay incident to routing a call
through the city telephone exchange is obviated. The recep-
tion of a call and its broadcast are simultaneous. For example,
Northern Police Station (Oakland) calls Berkeley and the
desk sergeant answers the telephone. The person calling says,
"Broadcast from Northern Station." Desk sergeant says,
"Just a moment," and opens the microphone ; then says,
"Which car ?" Northern Station replies, "Cruiser No. Blank";
desk sergeant repeats, "Cruiser No. Blank" into the tele-
phone and microphone at the same time. Northern Station
says, "2241 Blank Street"; desk sergeant repeats, "2241
Blank Street"; Northern Station says, "A holdup in prog-
ress" ; desk sergeant repeats, "A holdup in progress." North-
ern Station says, "That is all," and hangs up. At the time the
Northern Station officer replaces the telephone receiver 011
the hook, the Oakland radio-patrol car is in possession of the
complete broadcast and on its way to the destination. The
Berkeley desk sergeant then speaks into the microphone again,
repeats the entire message twice, and ends with, "Transmis-
sion No. Blank ; that is all, K-S-W." Messages intended for a
specific car serve to notify officers in all police cars patrolling

The Modern System 391

throughout the entire area, thus keeping them alert, and en-
abling them to act with greater intelligence and certainty in
unexpected encounters with criminals.

Broadcast reports of cars stolen in San Francisco (a city
of 637,212 population, in 1930, at a distance of six miles across
the Bay from Berkeley and Oakland) to police cars in that
city are copied in Berkeley, and immediately re-broadcast
over the entire East Bay area. Likewise, reports of cars stolen
in the East Bay cities are copied by San Francisco and trans-
mitted to their radio-equipped cars.

Stationary police receivers are being installed throughout
the East Bay district at strategic points, such as bridges, fer-
ries, and similar control points through which all persons
leaving the area must pass. Installation of radio receivers is
now in progress on the numerous automobile ferryboats which
ply regularly between Berkeley and San Francisco. Descrip-
tions and license numbers of cars will be received by members
of the crew and an effort made to locate stolen cars while they
are in transit. This extension of police radio-communication
service is but preliminary to the final installation of receiving
equipment on all passenger and automobile ferries in opera-
tion on San Francisco Bay. The completion of Golden Gate
Bridge and another similar structure connecting San Fran-
cisco with the East Bay area create additional points of sur-
veillance which the police may use advantageously in the
interception of the lawbreaker. In the event of the commis-
sion of a major crime, the invisible communication network
will enable law-enforcement officials to close the area and bar-
ricade every avenue of escape for the criminals. If they are
not caught red-handed, pursuit will have begun while the
trail is still hot, and the search may be restricted within com-
paratively narrow limits.

THE SILENT ALARM SYSTEM

The fourth unit of the communication system is the silent-
alarm network, which connects banks and other business es-
tablishments caring for large sums of money or valuables to

392 Police Communication Systems

police headquarters over leased wires. By tripping a lever,
pulling open a drawer, or by any one of a number of other
devices, an alarm may be sent to the police switchboard from
any of the buildings so protected.

At headquarters, adjoining the police switchboard, is the
secret alarm board, into which all such private leased wires
run. A separate board is made necessary by the telephone
company's rule against placing in its switchboard equipment
any wires for which it is not responsible. Were this regula-
tion not in force, alarm transmission lines would be routed
directly to the PBX panel. When an alarm is turned in, either
by accident or by design, a red light appears over a number
on the panel, which indicates the point from which the alarm
is originating, thus providing a convenient index to the va-
rious protected premises. At the same time, a buzzer is au-
tomatically placed in operation and continues to sound until
officials from the Police Department reach the place from
which the alarm is sent. Following are the general features of
the system's design and installation.

(1) Wires connecting banks and other establishments di-
rectly with the police department, these connecting circuits
being so disposed that they cannot be tampered with.

(2) A signaling device at police headquarters adapted to
produce both an audible and a visual signal, both such sig-
nals persisting until they are reset by the officer on duty,
thereby ensuring signal reception.

(3) Any interference with the bank equipment or the con-
necting wires to cause an open circuit, or a short circuit, or
a ground, or in any way disturbing the adjusted balance of
the system, operates the alarm signal.

(4) Each connecting circuit and its equipment, both at the
bank and at police headquarters, is under constant electrical
supervision, so that a failure of any part of the system will
be automatically indicated.

In this manner the premises connected into the silent alarm
system are given the extra protection which the business con-
ducted in them makes necessary.

The Modern System 393

To illustrate how these four major units are blended into
one coordinated communication system, consider, for exam-
ple, the receipt of such a message over the secret alarm system.
Immediately, the recall-light signals are flashed in that dis-
trict, and an alarm gong at headquarters is rung, notifying
every person on duty there that an emergency alarm has been
received. The radio transmission unit is put in operation and
the radio cars needed to take care of the alarm are immedi-
ately dispatched to the scene of action. Should the officers in
these cars need further information, they go to the nearest
telephone. Plans are being drawn up for the use of portable
transmitters in patrol cars for two-way radio communication,
which will eliminate any delay incident to using a telephone
in such emergencies.

Meanwhile, officers observing the emergency recall signal
in action have called in and received their instructions. Thus
the desk sergeant, who receives all requests for police assist-
ance, controls every means of communication at the disposal
of the department and can command the whole force from
his central position.

An important but little used unit in the communication sys-
tem is the general-alarm siren, which is installed on the roof
of a very tall building in the geographical center of the city.
In emergencies or catastrophes requiring a general alarm,
this siren, actuated either from the central fire-alarm sta-
tion or the Fire Chief's office, is sounded. All officers, on or
off duty, are required to respond to this signal immediately,
either in person or by telephone. Direct wires, of course, ex-
tend from the police switchboard to the fire-alarm room.

Arrangements are now being made to connect the Berkeley
Police Headquarters with the state-wide teletypewriter net-
work, the central control point of which is in the Division of
Criminal Identification and Investigation, at the State Cap-
itol, in Sacramento, Calif. Messages received at that Division
are sent out over the teletypewriter system to all police de-
partments and sheriffs' offices in the state which are connected
in the network. At present, Berkeley has such a connection

394 Police Communication Systems

secondarily through, direct telephone contact with the Sher-
iff's Office in Oakland. Messages of special importance to East
Bay officers are broadcast over the police radio. When the
teletypewriter is installed in Berkeley, it will be possible to
receive and transmit messages directly to and from any part
of California, as well as to the city of Reno, Nev.

A PLAN FOB THE SMALL COMMUNITY

The discussion is here concerned with the small communities
of population not exceeding 10,000 which dot the map of this
country and which, for the most part, are defenseless against
criminal raid. Some idea of the extent and distribution of
these small centers of population may be gained by a glance
at the accompanying tables (pp. 395, 396) , prepared from the
1930 census reports.

The combined total population of this group of small com-
munities is in excess of 19,798,199 or approximately 16.1 per
cent of the total population of the entire United States. Yet,
despite these imposing figures, little or no thought has been
given to the development and use of even ordinary facilities
of communication to reduce the hazard presented in these
comparatively unprotected localities. An attempt is here
made to present a simple, inexpensive plan of police com-
munication which will afford the same type of protection that
is found in the departments of larger cities. In every com-
munity, occasions arise in the course of normal activity when
calls for police assistance are made. It is to the distinct advan-
tage of both the community and the authorized police agency
that some means be quickly available to inform the police
that they are wanted. The existence of an open channel of
communication between members of the community and the
police agency is a fundamental requirement of police service,
regardless of the size or population of the town or city.

Prompt service in taking care of ordinary complaints will
impress local troublemakers and reduce, if not eliminate,
many sources of amateur criminal activity which, if not re-
tarded, may later develop to serious proportions. In emergen-

The Modern System 395

DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES

State

Number
of cities
5,000-10,000

Number
of cities
2,500-5,000

Number
of cities
1,000-2,500

Number
of cities
Under 1,000

Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas

11
6
9

28
6
31

64
9

179
11
282

California

Colorado

172

Connecticut
Delaware

5
0

4
4

7
11

5
36

Florida

179

Georgia

438

Idaho

107

Illinois

211

726

Indiana
Iowa
Kansas

27
14
12

34
46
30

97
123

331
713
433

Kentucky

242

Louisiana

109

Maine

Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota

42
41

111
93

250
562

Mississippi

219

Missouri

116

585

Montana

Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico

9
1
2
50
4

18
3

53
9

73
5

85
11

421
6

86
29

New York

146

254

North Carolina

339

North Dakota

285

Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon

22
9

63
30
13

160
99
29

528
345
147

Pennsylvania
Rhode Island

103

149

216

425

South Carolina

171

South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah

2
14
47
4

8
26
76
14

41
49
190
34

242
136
231

Vermont

Virginia

128

Washington . .

141

West Virginia

107

Wisconsin
Wyoming

20
3

36
3

87
17

332
59

Total

806

1,317

3,087*

10,346

Grand total 15,556 communities!

* Total does not accomodate result of counting four places in two states each.

t Tabulations include only incorporated communities. The census reports indicate
,t Massachusetts and Rhode Island had no incorporated towns within these population
ssifications, while New Hampshire had only two in the 5,000 to 10,000 classification.

396 Police Communication Systems

cies, such communication facilities may mean the difference
between the life or death of some individual in the commu-
nity, or the determining factor in the apprehension of a law-
breaker who would otherwise have made a successful escape.
With a higher degree of police protection in the large met-
ropolitan centers, it was to be expected that criminals would

DISTRIBUTION OF SMALL COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES BY
EEGIONAL DIVISIONS

Regional division

5,000 to
10,000

2,500 to
5,000

1,000 to
2,500

Under
1,000

New England

Middle Atlantic

194

287

447

765

East North Central
West North Central

186

253
180

665
560

2,167
3 241

South Atlantic

161

428

1,488

East South Central

100

242

776

West South Central

166

398

967

Mountain

164

546

Pacific

148

336

Total

806

1,317

3,087

10,346

States comprising each regional division are as follows:

New England Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode

Island, Connecticut.

Middle Atlantic New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania.

East North Central Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin.

West North Central. .. .Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota,

Nebraska, Kansas.
South Atlantic Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina,

South Carolina, Georgia, Florida.

East South Central Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi.

West South Central Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas.

Mountain Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona,

Utah, Nevada.
Pacific Washington, Oregon, California.

shift the scene of their activities to the smaller towns and
communities where the hazards of apprehension were not so
great. The entry of the outside criminal into towns and vil-
lages means a troubled period for a group of peaceful and
law-abiding people unless the criminal threat is checkmated
with more effective equipment and methods. Driven from the
larger cities, bandits and other professional criminals de-
scend upon unwary rural communities which are known in
advance to be unprotected and where the margin of safety
substantially guarantees a successful escape from the scene

The Modern System 397

of crime. Statistics for the past ten years show an alarming
increase in the number of bank robberies, murders, and other
similar criminal attacks on the small community.

No longer may the rural locality consider itself isolated
from the whirlpools of human activity to be found in the
congested centers. Smooth macadam and concrete highways
with their connecting laterals penetrate into every section,
forming a gigantic transportation network which, with the
automobile, has annihilated time and distance. Together, they
make the small community accessible to sudden attack and
supply the means for a rapid and successful escape. Time was
when rural crime was largely confined to chicken stealing and
similar minor offenses, conceived and executed by local mis-
creants. Crime in the rural districts and small towns today
is far more likely to bear the trademark of some well-organ-
ized band of experts in outlawry, carefully engineered in the
urban underworld, and carried out with the aid of all the in-
strumentalities provided by a machine age.

The lack of advance preparation and organization for
emergency on the part of the community increases the hazards
of the situation. The occurrence of a crime of even moderate
proportions in the average small locality is therefore in the
nature of a disaster or catastrophe.

A PLAN OF COMMUNICATION

In considering the police-communication possibilities in the
small locality, cognizance is taken of the fact that financial
resources are limited, as a rule, so that the investment in
equipment must necessarily be small. The plan here pre-
sented requires but a nominal expenditure, well within the
reach of any town or community, irrespective of size. It is a
recognized fact that the smaller the police force, the more
definitely will a communication system contribute to an in-
crease in the value of the police department as a whole, and
of each individual member of the force.

Police headquarters. — Two types of community are iden-
tifiable for purposes of this discussion : one has a regular po-

398 Police Communication Systems

lice station or headquarters; the other has not. This is an
important distinction, since any scheme of communication in
police service requires the existence of a centralized point to
which calls for police assistance may be directed, and from
which the available force may receive its information and in-
structions. Where a police station or office is already estab-
lished, this phase of the problem is automatically disposed
of. Many small towns, however, do not feel that the volume
of routine business justifies the expense involved in the es-
tablishment of a central office. Nevertheless, the first prereq-
uisite of the communication plan is a definite central point
for police operations. The police official may (and in many
places he does) arrange with a local business firm for permis-
sion to use a small part of its office or premises as the central-
ized point in the local communication plan. It may be, too,
that he uses his own home, if it is centrally situated, for this
purpose.

The best and most logical expedient is to designate the local
telephone office as police headquarters. Here, made to order,
is the nucleus of a police communication system in the small
community — a central office already established with direct
lines of communication radiating to every section of the com-
munity and to the surrounding territory as well. Telephone
companies will be found ready and willing to give all possible
assistance.

Local telephone operators, usually young women, are con-
versant with every phase of the business and social life of the
community, as well as the local geography, and they can ren-
der extremely valuable service to police officials. They are
usually alert, and dependable in an emergency. Telephone
history shows by many examples how they have remained at
their posts, even at the risk of life, in dangerous situations.

The reporting -in schedule. — It is neither possible nor de-
sirable for the local police official to remain at his headquar-
ters, because, the police force being limited in numbers, every
member of it is needed for patrolling the area served. The
distribution of the entire force may be comparable to that

The Modern System 399

of a few police beats in a city. One of the first provisions of
the plan, therefore, is that the force shall report in over the
telephone to headquarters at stated intervals. This interval
will depend upon local conditions, but should not exceed two
hours. The maximum time interval covering the operations
of the metropolitan beat officer is one hour. The local tele-
phone operator should be provided with a simple record form
on which she may record the time of these calls and make
proper notations concerning the whereabouts of the officer or
officers in the ensuing interval.

The reporting-iii schedule increases the availability of the
force and at the same time assures their receiving promptly
any reports and information which may have arrived in the
interim between calls. Even should the communication plan
stop here, the community would be in possession of a definite
communication framework which would amplify remarkably
the power and effectiveness of its police. Up to this point, the
plan does not involve the outlay of any money whatsoever.

Beat telephones, — It is not necessary that any funds be set
aside for the purchase of field or beat telephones in communi-
ties of this class, particularly the smaller towns. As the popu-
lation approaches the 10,000 mark, however, the need for such
equipment begins to make itself felt, and the distribution of
field telephones at strategic points will appreciably expedite
police operations, serving the same purposes and functions
as in the larger city. The cost of installing each field telephone
should be little more than the cost of installing an ordinary
house telephone extension. If they are attached to posts, or
otherwise exposed to the elements, they should be protected
by a locked, weatherproof housing constructed of wood or
metal, preferably metal. Local artisans are available in every
community who are able to perform the necessary construc-
tion work at a very economical figure. All beat telephone lines
obviously should converge at local police headquarters.

The recall-signal system. — Of the greatest importance is
the establishment of some form of visible or audible alarm by
means of which the central station may signal to members of

400 Police Communication Systems

the force that they are wanted. In an emergency, it is seldom
indeed that a police officer is close at hand or even quickly
available by ordinary means. It is fundamental in the service
that there must be some way to permit prompt contact with
all members of the available force by day or night.

The small area of these towns makes the installation of an
effective signaling system a simple and inexpensive matter,
yet relatively few communities have availed themselves of
this valuable device. In a recent survey of 225 towns in this
population classification,2 it was found that 207 possessed no
signal equipment whatsoever. One town had a first-class avia-
tion beacon ; half a dozen employed a combination bell and
red light placed on the town water tower ; two had master
switches by which the street lights could be flashed. About
one-fourth of the towns used the fire siren, and the rest a red-
light device in one form or another. Expense was often a pri-
mary consideration, sometimes to the point of absurdity. In
one town where the red light was placed on the water tower,
it was fastened on one side of the tower because that meant
a saving of a few dollars. The fact that it was visible only to
patrolmen on the north side of the town was not considered.

Good signal equipment may be installed for a modest sum,
well within the budget limits of any police force, no matter
how small. The equipment may be designed to provide an
audible or a visible signal, or both. The silent, visible signal is
recommended. Although its power to shock the senses of per-
ception is small when compared to that of the audible signal,
experience has shown that officers soon grow accustomed to
watching for the light, and the time response is almost always
equal to the occasion.

Following are three of the many alternatives which may
be adopted as a solution of the recall problem in the small
community :

(1) One red-light signal unit of medium power, mounted
at some high central point in such a way that it can be seen
from all directions and from every part of town. The device

2 Report of the Law Observance and Enforcement Committee (1931).

The Modern System 401

should be connected by direct wire to a suitable switch or
push button at the central office.

(2) A series of red-light units at strategic street intersec-
tions where each will be visible from four directions, and
equipped with the above-described operating connections.

(3) A cut-in switch at the central office, to flash the street-
lighting system.

These may suggest other simple expedients and variations
easily adaptable to local conditions. In every community, lo-
cal electricians and even radio amateurs with the necessary
electrical knowledge are both able and willing to lend their
efforts and experience in the installation of these inexpensive
devices. For the community needing a more elaborate instal-
lation, standard police-recall systems of the highest merit now
available may be obtained at reasonable cost.

The general alarm. — Besides the police recall signal, every
community in this class should have a general -alarm in-
strument, preferably a siren, to be sounded only in grave
emergencies. In conjunction therewith, a definite plan of
organization that will include all responsible citizens in the
community should be developed in advance, as a policy of pre-
paredness for unexpected emergency situations.

Burglar and holdup alarms. — The protection of banks and
mercantile establishments in the small town against the in-
roads of visiting desperadoes is a problem of major propor-
tions. Adequate alarm protection offers the only satisfactory
approach to its solution, since, regardless of the existing form
of police protection — whether city marshal, chief of police,
sheriff, constable, or state police — the police agency must re-
ceive notification of the attack without delay. There is no
other known device or method that will discharge this func-
tion so well as the electrical circuit.

All banks and mercantile establishments in the community
which have special attractions for bandits or burglars should
be electrically protected, with all transmission lines wired
direct to the police central office. It is, further, a simple mat-
ter to connect the alarm circuits in such a way that when they

402 Police Communication Systems

are disturbed they will operate the recall-signal lights auto-
matically.

Many types of burglary and holdup protection devices are
available. If these are too expensive, local electricians may be
depended upon to design alarm contacts and terminals which
will serve the purpose admirably. It should be borne in mind
that the alarm "touch off" or exciting device is the critical
element in any form of alarm system, particularly those de-
signed for robbery protection. Footrails, push buttons, and
other devices generally used in the touch-operated system
should be replaced by special currency trays, money drawers,
and other devices which are actuated by the normal physical
motions of a bandit in executing a robbery. Here again, the
advance preparation of a plan of operation for the local force
is to be strongly recommended.

Thus, through a centralized system of communication, the
local force is in a position to handle an emergency. In the
event of a bank attack, for example, the alarm system pro-
vides immediate notification at the central office, and through
the recall and telephone systems the available force may be
mobilized without delay and the premises surrounded. Should
the visitors be fortunate enough to break through this cordon,
another trap awaits them.

Highway control points. — Leading out from every city and
town are main arterial highways and laterals which offer con-
venient avenues of escape after the commission of a crime.
An examination of the map covering any given community
and the immediate surrounding area will reveal certain stra-
tegic points on these thoroughfares which, in an emergency,
should be covered promptly by one or more officers. The com-
munication plan of the community should provide in advance
for the prompt movement of officers to these control points.
An advance survey of communication facilities should be
made and a pre-emergency plan developed for rapid contact
with outside departments, so that the control points may be
placed under observation in the shortest possible time. Con-
ferences should be held with the police and sheriffs of sur-

The Modern System 403

rounding counties, cities, and towns with this end in view,
and for the general purpose of coordinating for emergency
operation the efforts of all police forces and equipment in the
immediate area.

In the absence of any other means of communication for
this purpose, the telephone system is always available. Inter-
city telephone service is now extensively used to provide a
swift method of communication between police organizations.
The speed of this service may be more f ully appreciated when
it is realized that more than 95 per cent of all intercity calls
are now completed while the calling party remains at the
telephone. The average time for completing such calls is less
than two minutes.

Intercity number books or directories are a convenient aid
in emergency operations, and branch offices of the telephone
company will prepare such directories without charge for any
police organization desiring them. Sequence calling lists may
also reduce che time required to speed the notification of an
alarm to a number of points. By this method only one request
need be placed with the operator; as fast as one call is com-
pleted she sets up another. Telephone-company representa-
tives will be glad to give full information concerning this
telephone service.

Where the small community is within a regional area pos-
sessing an organized regional police communication system,
the problem of caring for control points in an emergency is
greatly simplified, since this is one of the principal functions
of the system. Through the facilities of the teletypewriter
and radio communication, mobilization of forces in the area
is effected without delay and their movements are directed
with telling effect. Meanwhile, until the regional-system idea
has gained widespread adoption, it is a responsibility of local
officials in the community to take inventory of their prepar-
edness for emergencies and so organize communication and
available manpower as to be ready when the attack comes.

CHAPTER XIII

FOBEIGN POLICE COMMUNICATION

SYSTEMS

A SURVEY of the police-communication systems in leading
cities outside of the United States reveals an unusual
similarity among the main devices employed. In Shanghai,
Singapore, and Melbourne, in London, Paris, and Berlin, the
telephone and telegraph, call boxes, recall signals, teletype-
writer, and radio are the chief reliance of the police in meet-
ing the necessities of police communication. It is not to be
understood, however, that all the large cities surveyed made
use of all these instruments in their respective communica-
tion plans. In fact, very few cities have installed communi-
cation systems in which each of these facilities is so employed
that the whole presents a complete and balanced arrangement.

Some cities which employ teletypewriter and radio, for
example, do not maintain a beat telephone and recall system,
which is considered almost a sine qua non of police communi-
cation in the United States. In others, the communication
equipment of the police department consists of nothing more
than the regular telephone and telegraph facilities plus a few
private telephone lines. It is only in such large cities as Lon-
don, Paris, and Berlin, situated in highly industrialized and
technically advanced countries, that the police have pro-
gressed toward a more complete utilization of the modern
communication facilities now available for police service.

In studying the police-communication systems of foreign
countries, it is well to bear in mind certain differences be-
tween their police problems and police organizations and
those of the United States, which account in part for differ-
ences in their respective communication structures. In the
first place, the police of most foreign countries are organized
on a military or semimilitary basis and are under state con-
trol. Even in those countries where independent municipal
police forces do exist, they are usually relatively unimportant

[ 404 ]

Foreign Systems 405

in comparison with the national gendarmery. This tends to
concentrate attention on the development of long-distance
communication facilities, to the detriment of such local and
decentralizing means of police communication as the beat tele-
phone and recall signal, which appear relatively unimportant
to these state-police organizations. Thus the police of Hun-
gary, Italy, Poland, and some of the states of Australia, have
well-developed telegraph and radio equipment but lack any
appreciable amount of local communication facilities.

In the second place, as Fosdick pointed out,1 many of the
prewar European police forces did not rest on a popular
basis, but were the instrumentalities of a ruling class; and
this condition still exists in spite of many changes in the con-
stitutional forms and theories of government which have
taken place as a result of the war. The police departments of
these countries function more as political instruments than
as agencies for the discharge of strictly police duties. Condi-
tions in Hungary, which are typical of a large number of such
countries, are thus described in a confidential report by one
competent observer :

The World War, the revolution of 1918, bolshevism in 1919, and the
particular economic and labor conditions resulting from the loss of two-
thirds of its former territory, all make it necessary for the state to
follow with the closest attention any matter involving public order.

Well-organized gangs of the American type are unknown. There is
no "industrialization of crime." The police have only to deal with
individual criminals or small ad hoc organized groups of them. On the
other hand, the endeavors of Soviet emissaries, and certain unsettled
local problems, make preventive work and prompt, energetic action by
the police an urgent necessity in any attempts of organized groups to
overthrow the established government.

For this reason the intercity system of communication is well devel-
oped and resembles a military organization, while communication be-
tween the individual patrolman and the police station has been rather
neglected. It is considered of greater importance to get through promptly
the orders from headquarters to the separate units and reserves than
to increase the speed of communication between patrolmen and their
immediate superiors. Individual crimes are comparatively unimportant
in the eyes of the police authorities, while they see considerable danger in

1 Eaymond B. Fosdick, European Police Systems, Chap. II.

406 Police Communication Systems

mass demonstration, riots, and revolutionary activities. To be prepared
for these and for their speedy suppression, the present system was de-
veloped.

The effect of such conditions upon the police communication
system is adequately pointed out in the quotation.

Again, the economic and social conditions, as well as the
police customs of certain countries, have a decided effect 011
police procedure and the development of police communica-
tion. Certain countries are so backward economically that
crime itself is sporadic and primitive and no complex commu-
nication system is required to deal with it. In other countries,
rigid police control of the movements of people has evidently
forestalled the need for, and the development of, certain
means of communication. Thus the city of Tokyo, Japan, and
its environs, with a population of five and a half million peo-
ple concentrated within a relatively small area, would appear
to present a serious problem in police communication. Never-
theless the present system of police administration seems well
adapted to the conditions and operates successfully with
communication equipment much less modern than is found
necessary in European and American metropolitan areas of
comparable size. This is partly because of the fact that in
Japan records are kept by the police of every person through-
out the Empire. Landlords, houseowners, and local authori-
ties are required to report weekly concerning arrivals and
departures of persons coming under their cognizance. Under
this system it is practically impossible for any person to go
anywhere within the Empire and keep knowledge of his move-
ments from the police. Automobiles, moreover, are rarely
used by criminals in escaping from the scene of a crime,
owing to the scarcity of the vehicles and to the fact that, with
the exception of urban centers, automobile transportation is
seriously hampered by lack of roads. Because of these and
similar factors, rapid communication facilities, such as radio,
are not urgently needed in Japan at the present time.

Finally, the geographic proximity to one another of the
nations of Europe has prompted the development of a system

Foreign Systems 407

of international police cooperation and radio communication
the like of which is to be found nowhere else in the world. The
significance of this development should not be lost upon the
United States, where people are becoming aware of the acute
need for greater cooperation between the police forces of vari-
ous governmental units. The accomplishments of European
police officials in achieving such organized cooperation, de-
spite the difficult barriers of national rivalries, differences in
language, and the antagonism left by the World War, should
spur this country to a more rapid development of regional
police coordination.

With these differences in mind, a brief description will be
given of the outstanding communication systems of police or-
ganizations throughout the world. For purposes of this dis-
cussion, the map of the world has been roughly divided into
certain areas within which there seem to be approximately
like police problems and police organizations, with a corre-
sponding similarity in communication equipment and pro-
cedure.

POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS OF EUROPE
GREAT BRITAIN

The London Metropolitan Police. — The London metropolitan
police district, for the safety and protection of which the Lon-
don Metropolitan Police Force is responsible, comprises an
area of seven hundred square miles and a population of almost
eight million people. It includes, roughly, all the area within
a circle of fifteen miles' radius from Charing Cross, with the
exception of the City of London, which has a separate police
force to guard its one square mile of area in the center of
Greater London. Within this huge metropolitan area are to
be found two whole counties (London and Middlesex), parts
of four others (Surrey, Essex, Kent, and Hertford), and
forty-two boroughs, three of which (Croydon, West Ham,
and East Ham) are county boroughs.

This police district is divided into twenty-two divisions,
with one additional unit to patrol the River Thames. These
divisions are of unequal size, ranging from less than one

408 Police Communication Systems

square mile in the center of the district to more than eighty-
two square miles in the outlying districts. Each division is in
turn decentralized into subdivisions, which contain a varying
number of police stations. The police station is the lowest or-
ganizational unit of the Metropolitan Police Force. To the
station are attached the constables and police sergeants who
patrol the area assigned to the station. For the purposes of
patrol, moreover, the territory is further decentralized by
dividing the station area into sections in charge of sergeants,
and the sections into beats patrolled by constables.

The communication system required to serve this huge area
with its force of twenty thousand policemen is necessarily
complex. The chief instruments relied upon by Scotland Yard
for rapid communication are the telephone, the Creed tele-
printer, and the radio. A private telephone system connects
headquarters with all divisions, subdivisions, and police
stations. The telephone-booth system, introduced by Chief
Constable Crawley at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,2 is now being in-
stalled in the district and will extend the telephone system to
the lowest unit in the organization, the constable on the beat.
By means of this telephone system, the beat patrolman and
the public can instantly communicate with a police station, or
with any officer in any divisional, subdivisional, or headquar-
ters office of the force.

In order to increase the speed and improve the quality or
interstation communication, especially in the accurate trans-
mission of messages of general interest to the whole depart-
ment, or a part thereof, the Metropolitan Police have started
a plan for the progressive installation of Creed teleprinters.
Six of the machines are already in use, affording two-way
communication between headquarters and three divisional
stations. Plans for introducing an extended teleprinter net-
work for Scotland Yard have already been engineered, and
the Post Office has been authorized to install equipment.

New Creed page teleprinters will be first installed to pro-
vide communication between the Yard and the twenty -three

2 See page 89, above.

Foreign Systems 409

divisional and three subdivisional stations. The switchboard
will be so arranged that three services will be available : (1)
broadcast from Scotland Yard to all divisions; (2) broadcast
to any selected group of divisions ; and (3) two-way commu-
nication between Scotland Yard and any other division. After
this installation is completed, it is planned to expand the net-
work to include all the subdivisional stations and perhaps all
police stations. With the introduction of the police-booth sys-
tem into the district, it has been suggested that even these
enclosures be so equipped. This would make possible the si-
multaneous printing of urgent messages from headquarters
on all the machines in the boxes, for the attention of patrolling
officers.

In accordance with the practice of other modern police de-
partments, Scotland Yard has adapted radio communication
to police uses. A central broadcasting station has been estab-
lished on the top floor of the headquarters building, from
which messages are broadcast to the various radio-equipped
automobiles and trucks of the department. The number of
radio-equipped cars used by the department is rapidly in-
creasing, the present total being approximately two hundred
and twenty. Some of the lighter cars are equipped with re-
ceiving instruments only, while many of the one-ton lorries
maintain two-way communication with headquarters, since
they carry both receiving and transmitting equipment.

Borough police forces. — With the exception of the Metro-
politan Police Force, all police departments in Great Britain
serve either a borough3 or a county. Until recently, police
communication in the principal boroughs of Great Britain
was somewhat backward when compared with the system of
the Metropolitan Police Force, and with the communication
systems of American cities of comparable size. Telephones
installed in police booths composed the entire communication
system of police departments in almost all English cities. At
present, however, there is a decided trend toward the adop-
tion of more modern facilities. Birmingham recently added

3 Incorporated cities in Great Britain are known as boroughs.

410 Police Communication Systems

a complete beat telephone and recall-signal installation to its
system of police communication, and other communities are
planning similar improvements.

Generally speaking, large cities, such as Liverpool (855,530
population), Manchester (751,900 population), and Sheffield
(524,900) are not equipped with teletypewriters or with
radios, and depend entirely upon the police-booth system and
motorcycle dispatch riders for communication purposes. Al-
though Great Britain with its many large cities situated in a
comparatively small area offers an ideal opportunity for the
installation of an intercity teletypewriter network, such a
system has not yet been placed in operation, chiefly because
of the expense involved. The same inertia which retards the
expansion of the teletypewriter in this country is also felt
abroad. In none of the British boroughs do important banks
or mercantile establishments have burglar-alarm systems con-
nected directly with the police stations. Existing alarm sys-
tems are of the type which sounds a local alarm outside the
premises.

The most noteworthy trend in police communication in
English cities, both large and small, is toward the adoption of
the police-box system and the consequent decentralization of
the department, Communities of varying size and area are
rapidly adopting the Crawley police-box system, the latest
installations being made by the London Metropolitan Police
and the police of Edinburgh. The system is now in operation
in large cities such as Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham
(population 265,700), and in smaller cities of which Chester-
field (66,450), Derby (137,700), Doncaster (58,230), Gran-
tham (18,902), Rotherham (72,040), Bannley (73,790), and
Bootle (76,799) are representative. Liverpool, the outstanding
exception, has not yet adopted this system.4

County police forces. — The county police forces of Eng-
land are, according to Fosdick,5 of much greater importance

4 See Chief Constable Frederick James Crawley, "Decentralization
and the Police Box System," Proceedings of the International Associa-
tion of Chiefs of Police, pp. 60-65 (1929).

5 European Police Systems, p. 61.

Foreign Systems 411

than the borough police. Every administrative county has an
organized police force, which has jurisdiction over the entire
area of the county with the exception of boroughs of more
than 20,000 poulatkm which maintain their own police de-
partments. Many towns and boroughs with populations in
excess of 20,000, however, do not possess established police
organizations of their own and therefore depend upon the
county forces for police protection. The county police thus
carry the burden of communication problems, both urban and
rural.

In the urban areas under their jurisdiction, the police com-
munication systems of the county forces are similar to those
in the boroughs. The police-booth system is now being ex-
tended to rural districts in some counties and, in conjunction
with mobile patrols, is proving quite successful. However,
most counties have yet to provide communication between
headquarters and the constable in charge of a rural beat.

Lincolnshire, a typical agricultural county, is divided into
ten divisions, each under the charge of a superintendent with
headquarters in a town. Each division is decentralized into
two or more subdivisions under the supervision of an inspec-
tor, and the subdivisions are divided into sergeants' sections.
A sergeant is in charge of about four constables' beats. The
constable resides in his beat, which comprises an area of from
six to eight square miles. Telephones are installed in the
offices of the superintendent and inspectors, at sergeants' sta-
tions, and at certain constables' stations in areas where these
are placed at important points. With many beat constables,
however, direct communication is not yet possible, but, since
the sergeant visits the constables in his section daily and pre-
pares their individual "routes" of patrol, he knows where to
find any of his men at any time.

A distinct handicap is the difficulty of conveying urgent
messages to a constable on an isolated beat. There is a lack of
rapid communication between the directing authority and the
patrolling officer, although the latter may communicate with
his superior at any time by using the Post Office Telephone

412 Police Communication Systems

Service either at the village post office, or from any of the
houses in his beat area where a telephone is installed. In addi-
tion, post-office telephone booths are being set up in country
districts, and there are the telephone boxes at important road
junctions maintained by the Automobile Association and the
Royal Automobile Club, to which the beat constable has a key
for use in emergencies.

In view of the fact that the present rural beat system will
doubtless be superseded by mobile patrols, radio communica-
tion should become of great importance to the county con-
stabularies. A committee chosen by the Chief Constables of
England has been appointed to consider the possibilities
of radio, but no conclusion has as yet been reached. Radio
communication between headquarters (the chief constable's
office) and the superintendents in charge of divisions has
been the object of experiment in Lancashire and the West
Riding of Yorkshire, but, in the words of the chief constable
of the latter force, "has not yet been put to practical use." The
Lancashire force has at least one car equipped with radio.

The English police have given much attention to the design
and use of small portable radio receivers which may be car-
ried by the individual officer as part of his personal equip-
ment, much the same as his handcuffs and baton. At Brighton
and Bradford, this type of equipment has been used success-
fully for the transmission of orders and instructions from
headquarters to the patrolling officer. Work is progressing at
the present time on the design of a portable transmitter with
similar specifications which will permit two-way communi-
cation between the patrolman and his station.6

The Lancashire teletype system. — The teletypewriter,
which would meet ideally many of the communication needs
of county forces, has as yet been installed in but one county,
Lancashire. This system, which has been in use since March
1, 1932, consists of a central teleprinter station at headquar-
ters, and teleprinters at each of the eighteen divisional sta-
tions of the county. The system does not extend beyond the

6 See "Radio Patrol Operation," Chap. V, p. 157.

Foreign Systems 413

divisional station, messages being sent to sectional stations by
means of the private telephone lines of the department.

The apparatus at headquarters consists of a teleprinter
switchboard, two teleprinters, an automatic transmitter, and
a keyboard perforator and reperforator. The divisional sta-
tions are each equipped with one teleprinter and a rectifier.
The system is so arranged that it is possible to transmit from
headquarters to any station individually, or to all or a number
of them simultaneously. Messages coming in from a division
which require circulation are received on the reperforator, in
addition to the teleprinter; the reperf orated tape thus ob-
tained is used to send the message out again by means of the
automatic transmitter, which operates at a speed of sixty-six
words per minute. The keyboard perforator is also used to
prepare punched tape for the automatic transmitter when
necessary.

The Lancashire teleprinter has proved a great utility to
the force and is, in the opinion of the police officers, an un-
questionable improvement over the telephone in the trans-
mission of messages, reports, and broadcasts. This undoubt-
edly provides an example which other counties will follow as
funds become available. Ultimately, all the county and bor-
ough forces of England may be brought together in a national
teleprinter network centering at Scotland Yard.

FRANCE

Paris. — Paris, the administrative center of France, like
London, the British capital, is policed by a metropolitan po-
lice force which has jurisdiction over the Department of the
Seine, an area of some 185 square miles. For police purposes,
this area is divided into 20 districts, called arrondissements,
and each arrondissement is divided into four quarters. The
quarter is under the charge of a sergeant, who is responsible
to the captain in command of the arrondissement in which
the quarter is situated. The station at which the captain has
his quarters becomes the district headquarters, and is the cen-
ter of the communication system of that area.

414 Police Communication Systems

For so large and important a city, Paris is relatively back-
ward in the development of a modern system of police com-
munication. It is only recently that the Paris Prefecture of
Police has organized a signal system for the use of both police
and public. This system permits a citizen, by the simple oper-
ation of breaking a glass on a street alarm box, to notify the
district police station of his need for police assistance, and,
if necessary, communicate with the station by telephone. The
same box contains a telephone for the use of the patrolman
in communicating with the district police office and with the
chief of police at headquarters. In February, 1932, there were
600 such telephone posts in the city, and many others were to
be added in the course of the year.

The Parisian police, moreover, lag behind the London
metropolitan police in the utilization of the radio and radio-
equipped motor cars. The Prefecture has studied the matter
of automobile patrols equipped with radio, and plans have
been made to organize patrols of this kind in the near future.
The cars will be fully equipped with sending and receiving
apparatus and will be continuously in touch with police head-
quarters.

Banks and large business establishments in Paris do not
at present have burglar alarms connected by direct wire to
near-by police stations. However, a private organization ap-
proved by the municipal authorities plans to install such a
system before long. Subscribers will then be able to call the
police station of their district by simply pulling a lever. In
design and operation, the equipment resembles the "Notruf"
system which is being widely adopted in Germany.

Other French cities. — The communication equipment of
the important provincial cities of France, like that of the
boroughs of England, consists mainly of telephones and is
comparatively simple. Bordeaux (267,990 population) , which
may be taken as a typical example, is divided into eleven po-
lice districts, each under the control of the precinct headquar-
ters, known as the "Commissariat." Each commissariat has
within its area a number of posies de police, which are small

Foreign Systems 415

stationary posts with an enclosure housing two policemen. A
private police telephone system connects the posies de police
with the commissariat, and the commissariat with the Perma-
nence (police headquarters). No other means of communica-
tion are employed.

HOLLAND AND BELGIUM

The principal police forces of Belgium are the municipal po-
lice, the national Gendarmerie, the maritime police, and the
criminal police (Police Judiciaire), a detective force attached
to the various courts. Each of these forces has developed a
communication system best suited to its individual needs. In
each city of Belgium, no matter how small, there is a munici-
pal police force under the command of a chief of police or the
burgomaster, which has jurisdiction only over its own muni-
cipal territory. Thus, in Brussels, which comprises seventeen
municipalities, there are seventeen independent police forces.

Since the telegraph and telephone are public utilities oper-
ated and owned by the government, all local police forces have
the use of these services without tolls. The public telephone
and telegraph are the only means of communication used by
the municipal police of all but the largest cities in Belgium.
Brussels, the capital city, has developed the most complete
system of municipal police communication, and this in spite
of the handicap presented by its numerous independent satel-
lite cities.

Besides the public telephones with which all the police sta-
tions are equipped, the central police station of Brussels is
connected by private wire through its own exchange with all
police substations, with the Burgomaster, the Police Judi-
ciaire, the King's Attorney, the Army, and the fire stations.
Unlike Antwerp, which is larger than Brussels proper, in
Brussels the police have a system of private telephones in-
stalled in small boxes attached to the walls of buildings along
the principal streets, by means of which every policeman can
report unusual occurrences to the central division. There is,
however, no recall system of any kind associated with these

416 Police Communication Systems

police-box telephones, the recall not being used anywhere in
Belgium. The use of alarm devices connected directly with
police stations is forbidden by police regulations.

The national police force of Belgium is composed of a body
of 6000 gendarmes distributed throughout the country. There
are at least five gendarmes to each three or four localities.
They cooperate with the municipal police forces but take their
orders from their own officers. The only means of communi-
cation now employed by this national police force is the public
telephone and telegraph, although a system of radio commu-
nication between all stations of the force is being planned by
the Belgian government.

Radio is not used by any of the municipal police forces of
Belgium, either for intercommunication between the different
cities or for sending messages to radio-equipped police cars.
The maritime police, which maintains order on the rivers,
canals, and in the ports of the country, does make use of radio
equipment to transmit orders to the single river patrol boat
operated by the government in the short stretch of the Scheldt
River belonging to Belgium. Messages are transmitted by
telephone to the wireless station on the river front, which then
forwards these communications to the boat. Radio telephony
and telegraphy are also used by the Police Judiciaire, under
the direction of the King's Attorney, to keep in touch with
the international criminal wireless station of Berlin.

The two principal cities of Holland, Amsterdam (746,746
population) and The Hague (432,041 population), are fairly
well equipped with police-communication facilities. Since the
Amsterdam police, who are just installing a complete police-
alarm system, have not seen fit to copy the system already in
operation at The Hague, a description of both systems will
be given.

Aside from the usual public telephone and telegraph facili-
ties accessible to the police, and the radio, the outstanding
feature of police communication in The Hague is a network
of one hundred alarm telephone booths stationed on the public
streets, by means of which communication is established be-

Foreign Systems 417

tween the policeman on street duty and headquarters. These
booths, which are also at the disposal of the public for notify-
ing the police and fire departments of an alarm (police and
fire departments of The Hague are combined into a single
force), are marked by a conspicuous sign, "Alarm, Fire,
Police." They are, as a rule, built into kiosks in which news-
papers, magazines, and refreshments are sold, and the sales-
man cooperates with the police by keeping a watchful eye on
the interior of the booth through a small window. Booths are
also placed in street car waiting rooms, transformer build-
ings of the municipal electric service, schools, and occasion-
ally in ordinary houses. Every effort has been made to place
the hundred units at the busiest points of the city and in the
most conspicuous places.

The booths may be entered from the street by means of un-
locked half-doors which cover the upper section of the open-
ing only, and so prevent false alarms and maliciousness by
making the occupancy of the booth semipublic. Within the
enclosure is a telephone connected by direct wire to the cen-
tral operator at police headquarters. A notice above the tele-
phone contains the instructions: "Take receiver off hook,
listen until police reply ; after speaking, hang up receiver."

The recall signal operated in connection with these booths
is an unusual and ingenious device. Within each booth, and
in a place not visible from the street, is a tiny cupboard in
which, behind a small square window, may ordinarily be seen
a white disk. The telephone operator at headquarters, through
the operation of an automatic device, causes this white disk
to be replaced by a red one with a white cross. The presence
of the red disk signifies that the policeman on the beat must
call the police station. The beats of the policemen are so ar-
ranged that they lead as often as possible past the alarm
booths, and since the patrolmen must inspect the signal ap-
paratus in every booth they pass, and since the booths are at
the central points of the beats, which are placed from 15 to
30 minutes' walking distance apart, the inspector of a station
may reach his officers on duty at regular periods in order to

418

Police Communication Systems

Foreign beat communication equipment: The Hague, Netherlands.

Interior of police booth, showing telephone unit. A notice above the

instrument says : "Take receiver off hook, listen until police reply ; after

speaking, hang up receiver."

Foreign Systems 419

transmit any necessary orders or information. If, at the end
of a conversation, the policeman is told that the recall signal
is no longer needed, he can replace the red disk with the white
one by turning a special key on the back of the cupboard.

The system offers a splendid method of supervision, since it
can easily be determined at the station whether the officers
call at the various central points at the proper times. But
defects of this recall system are apparent. It does not permit
the recall of a specific officer or group of officers, and, since
the signal cannot be seen except at the time of the regular in-
spection of the booth, the lag in time of response may be much
too long.

The only use made of radio in the police work of the Nether-
lands consists of daily broadcasts of bulletins from the police
radio-broadcasting station at Hilversum. The police head-
quarters of The Hague and other cities are equipped with
sets for receiving information which is sent out at stated times
each day. Any information which the police of the various
cities wish to disseminate by radio is sent to Hilversum by
telephone and is broadcast from there.

Up to the present, neither a police-box system nor any of
the similar mechanical devices so well known to the police of
the United States has been at the disposal of the Amsterdam
police or public. When emergencies have arisen making it
necessary for policeman or citizen to communicate with head-
quarters or any of the precinct stations, the only available
means has been the ordinary public telephone. Since Amster-
dam, with a population of more than 746,000, has only about
30,000 telephone subscribers, not infrequently there has been
much delay in obtaining the desired connections, a difficulty
especially noticeable after 8 :00 o'clock at night, when most
of the small shops and all the department stores and offices are
closed.

To remedy this situation, plans have been completed for
the installation of an alarm system which will afford mutual
communication between headquarters and the patrolmen and
enable citizens to call for police assistance without delay. The

420

Police Communication Systems

Foreign beat communication equipment: The Hague, Netherlands.

Police booth, exterior view, showing how doors only cover upper section

(about two-thirds the height of the entrance) so that the lower part

remains open and may be inspected from the street.

Foreign Systems 421

alarm-system units will be installed in steel cabinets fixed
to four hundred pillars, which now support the fire-alarm
boxes. These pillars are but two minutes apart, so that the ef-
fective distance to a beat telephone will be only one minute at
the most. Each unit will be equipped with a telephone, a siren,
and a recall signal light installed in the rear half of the fire-
alarm cabinet. Patrolmen will be supplied with keys and will
be able to unlock the cabinet and get telephone connection
direct with headquarters. The citizen will be able to communi-
cate with the station by breaking a thin pane of glass and
pressing a button which causes the door of the cabinet to
spring open, thus making the telephone accessible. The recall
equipment of the system consists of a calling lamp installed
within the cabinet and visible from both sides through win-
dows, and a siren. Should headquarters desire to communi-
cate with a policeman on a particular beat, it will be able to do
so by illuminating the calling lamp as a means of notification.
In order to draw immediate attention, the sirens in the pillar
cabinets in the specific section under patrol may be put into
operation.

Besides this modern alarm system now being installed, the
Amsterdam police enjoy an efficient system of communica-
tion between headquarters and district police stations. The
principal equipment is a teleprinter installation consisting of
one sending and three receiving machines and the neces-
sary machines in each of the fourteen district stations, and a
switchboard by means of which headquarters can broadcast
to all stations or carry on two-way communication with any
individual station. The cable used for the teletype system is
also utilized for direct telephone connections between head-
quarters and the district offices, and this telephone connec-
tion can be used even when the teletype is in operation. Com-
munication traffic over the system averages 130 messages a
day for each teleprinter, the length of the messages varying
from 12 to 100 words.

Up to the present, alarm systems in Amsterdam have been,
for the most part, of the type which gives a local signal out-

422 Police Communication Systems

side the building in which the system is installed. Only a few
of the government and municipal financial institutions are
equipped with alarms wired to the nearest police station.
This contrivance consists of a simple bell system which can
be operated by the staff of the building concerned when police
assistance is required. Technical difficulties have prevented
the development of radio communication for police purposes.
Despite the absence of such equipment, however, Amsterdam
will have, when the alarm system is completely installed, one
of the best police communication systems in Europe.

EASTERN AND SOUTHERN EUROPE

The remaining countries of Europe may be conveniently
classed and treated together with respect to their police com-
munication systems. With few exceptions, in most of these
countries the state police force, organized along military or
semimilitary lines and exercising jurisdiction over the whole
country, is the most important factor in the maintenance of
public order and the suppression of crime. Furthermore, slug-
gish industrial development in these countries and the conse-
quent financial stringencies have prevented the development
of complete and modern local police communication systems.
The chief emphasis has been placed on long-distance com-
munication, and in recent years radio has been called upon
more and more frequently to meet this need. Greece, Jugo-
slavia, Spain, and Portugual, however, constitute exceptions
to this statement, for in these countries long-distance as well
as local police communication has been neglected. Inquiries
have brought the information that no special police-communi-
cation equipment, such as visual and audible signal accesso-
ries, beat telephones, or radio exists anywhere in Jugoslavia,
Spain, or Portugal. Only telephones and the telegraph are
used for police purposes. In Greece, the municipal police force
is of such recent origin that it has not as yet been supplied
with communication equipment, and no definite information
is at present available in respect to any alternative methods
employed for this purpose.

Foreign Systems 423

In the large cities of Poland, the police depend upon their
own private telephone systems for local communication. These
telephones are of the latest automatic central type and permit
simultaneous communication with all receivers in the system.
A few telephones, housed in metal boxes, are placed at busy

Foreign teletype systems. Central signal room, police headquarters,
Amsterdam, Netherlands.

street intersections and in dangerous neighborhoods for the
use of beat patrolmen. A loud alarm bell is associated with
these units and is installed on the outside of the metal housing.
The chief communication medium of the Polish state po-
lice is the radio. This force possesses nine field and stationary
transmitters with accompanying receivers. One of these units
is operated as a central police radio station and maintains con-
tinuous contact with foreign police radio stations. The field

424 Police Communication Systems

transmitters are used for communication purposes within the
borders of Poland. The stationary transmitters operate in
the band between 50 and 150 meters, with 50, 100, and 150
watts' output in the antenna. Each station is equipped with
a regular receiver of German (Telefunken) make, and an
auxiliary receiver to be used in emergencies. The field sta-
tions are of the short-wave type, working usually in the 44-,
72-, 86-, and 100-meter bands, with 15 watts in the antenna.

The police of Hungary are divided into two forces, both of
which are controlled by the state. The city of Budapest and
other large cities are policed by the Hungarian state police,
and in the rural districts the gendarmery, a semimilitary or-
ganization, performs the same duties. The political and social
conditions of Hungary, which have in large measure deter-
mined the development of the police communication system,
have already been described. As indicated, because of these
conditions, the main emphasis has been placed on intercity
police communication, which is very well developed, while
communication between the individual patrolman and the sta-
tion has been rather neglected.

The state police in the city of Budapest consists of about
4000 uniformed patrolmen and 100 officers (exclusive of
drafting officers and the detective corps). The men on duty
are distributed among 130 police stations, which are grouped
into 10 police wards, corresponding to the 10 boroughs of the
city.7 Communication between the patrolman on the beat and
his station takes place only in extraordinary circumstances
by means of either the telephone in a public booth or any
private telephone, since the regulations of the Hungarian tele-
phone monopoly require the owner to put his telephone, free
of charge, at the disposal of the police, fire brigade, and am-
bulance service.

Each police station is connected by telephone to the public
automatic city exchange. By means of this public telephone

7 The Danube Biver, and four other police districts for the adjoining
municipal and suburban areas, which have been incorporated into the
Budapest police district, bring the total up to 15.

Foreign Systems 425

the police stations may communicate with district-station po-
lice, with headquarters, and with one another. Each of the
twenty-two district police stations also has a direct line to
police headquarters which does not pass through the city
exchange. These lines are connected to a police central in the
headquarters building which has, in addition to an ample
number of city trunk lines, special lines to the chief of police,
to important departments of the police, the fire brigade, the
ambulance, the police radio station, and the military au-
thorities.

Radio, however, is the mainstay in the system of police com-
munication in Hungary. The equipment installed in 1930
proved entirely successful even during the first year of op-
eration. The installation consists of a central station in Buda-
pest, and four district broadcasting stations, one being placed
in each of the district police headquarters at Szeged, Debre-
cen, Szekesfehervar, and Szombathely, with 233 associated
receiving sets. The central broadcasting station is housed in
a modern concrete building, equipped with steel doors and
capable of being defended against rifle and machine-gun fire.
The equipment consists of two broadcasting stations, of 600
watts and 70 watts respectively, capable of both telegraphic
and telephonic broadcast. The station operates on a wave
length of 70 meters for the Hungarian police station, com-
municates on the international police short wave at regular
daily hours with Berlin, Vienna, Warsaw, and Bratislava,
and on a special wave with the Berlin police center. Direct
radio communication is also maintained with all Continental
countries that have joined the International Police Com-
mission.

Of the 233 receiving sets used by the police authorities, 134
are in Budapest. Each of the 130 police stations in the city
has one, the other four being installed respectively in the
Ministry of the Interior (the supreme authority in police mat-
ters), the Political Department of the Police, the offices of the
Commander of the Police Force, and the offices of the Buda-
pest Chief of Police. The other 99 sets are distributed over the

426 Police Communication Systems

country among police authorities in the cities and to the com-
mander of the gendarmery. A patrol car is being equipped
as a mobile broadcasting and receiving short-wave station for
special use in riots and other disturbances, and will function
in cooperation with a similar mobile station to be established
at the barracks of the Commandant-General of the Budapest
police forces.

Italy is like the other countries of southern and eastern
Europe in that the two principal police forces, the Reali Cara-
binieri ("Royal Carabineers") and the Militi della Milizia
Voluntaria Sicurezza Nazionale ("Voluntary Militia for Na-
tional Security"), are national military organizations under
the control of the Ministry of the Interior. The police func-
tion in rural and urban sections of the country is discharged
by units assigned from these two national organizations. The
importance of the municipal guards in police matters, never
very great, is rapidly declining in face of the development of
the voluntary Fascist Militia. Besides the units of these forces
operating in Rome, that city has had since 1925 a special mu-
nicipal police force of 5000 men, known as the Guardie Metro-
politane ("Metropolitan Guards"), and its members do all
kinds of police duty, including the direction of traffic.

In Italian cities there are no such systems of beat tele-
phones, and alarm and recall signals, as are commonly used
in the United States. The only method of communication be-
tween the central police office and officers or agents on duty
is by telephone to the nearest police substation. Rome has 29
substations for the municipal force and a similar number for
the use of the military police. Unless, as in extreme emer-
gencies, a special messenger on a motorcycle is employed, all
communications between the central office and the men are
sent through the substations.

Radio is used by the Rome police only for broadcasting po-
lice notices to points outside the city area. The equipment con-
sists of a radio transmitter of 200- watts power, operating on
a wave length of from 45 to 90 meters, with which it is pos-
sible to cover effectively an area of about 600 square kilo-

Foreign Systems 427

meters. Furthermore, ten police cars are equipped with por-
table transmitters and receiving sets, each capable of com-
munication over an area of 300 square kilometers.

Police communication in both Spain and Portugal still de-
pends exclusively upon the telephone and telegraph. The large
cities, such as Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon, are divided into
several police districts, which are connected to the central
station by private telephone lines. In emergencies, the district
stations may receive orders from police headquarters, but no
similar system exists for transmitting orders from the sta-
tions to the patrolmen on beats, who can get in touch with
their district station only by using a telephone in either a
public booth or a private home. Beat telephones, recall sig-
nals, teletypewriters, and radio are nowhere to be found, even
though the problems of policing such large urban centers as
Barcelona (767,744 population), Madrid (816,928), and Lis-
bon (600,000) must be complex.

Radio and the teletype would be especially suited to the
needs of police communication in Spain, for the principal po-
lice forces of the country, the Guardia Civil, the Cuerpo dc
Seguridad, and the Cuerpo de Vigilancia are national forces
under control of the central government. The Guardia Civil,
which deals with the suppression of serious crimes and the
maintenance of political order, has 1000 officers and 30,000
men distributed among 3200 posts throughout the country.
The Cuerpo de Seguridad is a national police force which does
the principal patrol work in all the cities of Spain ; it is paral-
leled by the Cuerpo de Vigilancia, a similar force engaged in
criminal investigation activities. Such forces would, of course,
be more effective if controlled and directed through means of
communication, especially since one of their primary respon-
sibilities is the maintenance of political order.

THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

Geographic social conditions in South Africa have operated
to make police communication very primitive. The large area
of the Union (472,347 square miles) is rather sparsely settled,

428 Police Communication Systems

the total population being 8,013,697. More than 75 per cent
of the population is composed of native and Asiatic peoples
and much of the crime consists of the rather elementary of-
fenses to be expected of aborigines coming into contact with
civilization. The largest city in the Union is Johannesburg
(population 288,000), followed by Cape Town (207,404) and
Durban (146,324). All other communities in the area have
populations of less than 100,000.

The entire territory, rural and urban, of South Africa is
policed by one semimilitary organization of some 10,600 men,
known as the South African Police.8 For police purposes, this
area is divided into eight territorial divisions, each of which
is composed of from one to ten magisterial districts. Police
posts occupied by a varying number of constables are scat-
tered throughout the districts. Most of the posts outside of
the cities police the wide areas that surround them, and the
constables in charge have to make long journeys on horseback
in order to cover their territory. Much of the criminal work
is concerned with cattle-stealing by natives, which does not
require the rapid means of communication so necessary in
an urban and industrialized community. It is not surprising,
therefore, that in the rural area, aside from the ordinary gov-
ernment telephones and telegraphs, there is no system of di-
rect communication between patrolmen and police stations.

No police boxes, recall signals, or alarm systems exist in the
whole dominion of South Africa. Radio is not used by the po-
lice, and although the three major broadcasting stations at
Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban (and relay stations
at Pretoria and Bloemfontein), all of which belong to a pri-
vate company, are ready to circulate any urgent calls when
requested to do so by the police, the occasions on which these
facilities have been employed have been very few. In Johan-
nesburg, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the
Witwatersrand Division has been trying to interest the au-
thorities in the installation of a police radio system. If the

8 The one exception to this general statement is the city of Durban,
which has its own municipal police force.

Foreign Systems 429

estimates for this equipment are not accepted, he hopes to be
able at least to obtain a private telephone system.

AUSTRALIA

The self-governing Commonwealth of Australia is a federa-
tion of six states and two territories. Since, in Australia, the
police is a state and not a federal function, each Australian
state has a separate police force. These forces are organized
on a territorial basis, each police force being responsible for
the maintenance of law and order in the entire area of its re-
spective state.

The police problem in most of these areas is sharply divided
between the policing of the vast, sparsely settled hinterland
and the maintenance of public safety in the cities. In most of
the states, the greater part of the population lives in the cities.
In the following discussion, the communication systems of
the three principal states of the Union — New South Wales,
Victoria, and Queensland — are considered.

The police force of New South Wales is composed of 3500
men posted to 700 police stations. The personnel of these sta-
tions ranges from city divisions of 300 men to back-country
stations of but one or two officers. In the country, the mounted
patrolmen cover beats ranging in size from 400 to 6000 square
miles. To these men, no special means of communication are
available while they are on patrol. Communication between
their stations and headquarters is by the telephone, telegraph,
and postal services.

The Victoria police force of 2150 men polices one of the
smallest states of Australia, the area of Victoria being only
87,884 square miles. For police purposes the state is divided
into 11 police districts, each of which is decentralized into
subdistricts controlled by a subofficer or a constable, accord-
ing to the population and conditions in the district. All com-
munication between subdistrict and district stations, and
between district stations and headquarters is, as in New South
Wales, by the telephone, telegraph, and postal services. The
same means of communication are employed in Queensland to

430 Police Communication Systems

connect the Commissioner of Police with the various district
headquarters, which are scattered over Queensland's sparsely
populated 670,500 square miles of territory.

In policing the cities of the Commonwealth, the Australian
police have made little attempt to maintain communication
between the police station and the beat patrolmen. Only in
one of the metropolitan divisions of Sydney have a few police
booths been installed, by means of which the policeman and
the citizen can telephone directly to the divisional headquar-
ters. Neither Melbourne nor Brisbane makes use of a police-box
system, for the police in these cities still follow the outworn
practice of periodically calling in person at the police station
for orders and messages.

For communicating between city headquarters and police
cars, however, radio has been well developed by the police
of Melbourne and Sydney. In Melbourne, experiments with
radio communication between the police station and auto-
mobiles were begun in 1922, and have been continued. A
well-developed system of transmission between the police
broadcaster at headquarters and a number of radio-equipped
patrol cars has been established. All the patrol cars in both
Melbourne and Sydney are equipped with portable trans-
mitters as well as receivers, making two-way communication
possible. In emergencies, beam wireless service is also used
by the police of New South Wales in order to communicate
with another country.

A telephoto transmission system is in operation between
Sydney and Melbourne, a distance of 600 miles, for the occa-
sional transmission of photographs and fingerprints. The sys-
tem is operated by the Postmaster-General's Department and
employs Siemens-Karolus-Telefunken equipment. The Aus-
tralian police authorities also report a high degree of success
with the Collins Code System for communication in distant
identification between Australia and Scotland Yard. During
the entire period of its use, no erroneous identification has
been made either by Scotland Yard or by the Australian
police.

Foreign Systems 431

NORTH AFRICA AND THE NEAR EAST

With respect to their police administration, the countries of
northern Africa and the Near East can be divided into two
groups — those which have come under British influence, and
those which have not. The first group includes Egypt, Pales-
tine, and Iraq; the second, Turkey, Morocco, and Algeria.
Police communication in the second group is more primitive
than in the countries which have police departments organ-
ized by or under the influence of the British authorities. The
telephone and telegraph are the only means of police commu-
nication in Turkey. In Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey
(population, including suburbs, 1,003,486), the telephone
is the only means of police communication. Central head-
quarters is connected with district headquarters by direct
telephone lines, and district police stations, in turn, are con-
nected with various police boxes in which an officer is in at-
tendance either constantly or between fixed hours. There is
no systematic reporting by the officers, telephones being used
only in emergencies or when the subdistrict office wishes to
get in touch with officers on point duty. In the smaller cities
and the country districts of Turkey, police communication is
still more primitive.

Algerian and Moroccan police communication is in the same
stage of development as the Turkish system, even though
Algeria has the advantages of French administration. The po-
lice of Algeria are of three kinds — municipal police for each
city except Algiers, a state police force for the capital, and
a semimilitary gendarmery which polices the areas outside
the municipalities. Police communication is extremely simple,
consisting only of the whistle for members of the force, and
the telephone. The police force of Algiers, a city of 265,000
inhabitants, maintains communication between headquarters
and the nine substations by means of a telephone installed in
each station. No method is provided for keeping in touch with
the patrolmen on the beat or the motorcycle squads which
patrol the outlying areas. In spite of the primitiveness of the

432 Police Communication Systems

system, the police seem to be able to cope with the problems
of crime ; for, as the American Consul at Tangier remarked
concerning similar conditions at Morocco, "The Moorish pop-
ulation has extreme respect for the police forces."

The communication practices of the police of Iraq, Pales-
tine, and Egypt, all of which have been organized by and
under British influence, are in advance of the police forces
of other countries of the Near East, chiefly in their use of
radio and other signaling devices for communication with out-
lying or isolated posts. The Egyptian police in Alexandria,
who do not as yet use the radio, employ a police-box telephone
system in the outlying districts. A recall signal consisting of
a large bell and a red light make it possible for the station to
summon the patrolman to the phone. This system is to be ex-
tended to the other districts of the city as rapidly as funds
are made available.

In Palestine and Iraq, the police forces are semimilitary or-
ganizations, charged not only with the maintenance of law
and order in cities and rural areas, but also with the task of
aiding in the regular patrolling of the border and other mili-
tary duties. In both countries, the chief means of communica-
tion used are the telephone, telegraph, and wireless. Neither
country is well equipped with public telephone lines and the
erection of telephone equipment specifically intended for po-
lice patrols is well-nigh impossible because of the expense
involved. For this reason, although the police make use of tele-
phones wherever possible, and even on occasion carry porta-
ble telephones for connection at "plug-in" points along the
main lines, the chief reliance of the police in isolated posts is
on radio communication.

The Iraq police have a few wireless sets for communica-
tion with the police posts of the Southern Desert and Kundi-
stan. In Palestine the police force operates eight wireless
stations, the most important of which are in the Beersheba
district. By cooperating with the Royal Air Force and the
Frontier District Administration, relays can be put through
to the north of Palestine, Syria, Trans jordania, and Egypt.

Foreign Systems 433

Besides wireless, the isolated posts of Iraq use the heliograph
to interchange information between outlying police posts and
police stations, and in Palestine the Royal Air Force's method
of ball-and-arrow code signaling and message pick-up has
been adopted as an emergency means of communication ; thus
far, thirty-six of the most vulnerable posts and settlements in
the country have been so equipped. The signaling apparatus
consists of a number of white disks and stripes which can be
set to various combinations to convey information to aircraft.
The code includes an instruction to aircraft to fly low and pick
up a message. A written message is placed in a special bag
suspended by cord between two poles and the bag is picked
up by a grapnel from the machine. The degree of success ob-
tained through this method in practice drills has revealed,
according to the Palestine police, that this may prove to
be a valuable means of communication in times of emergency,
should other systems fail.

THE ORIENT

Police communication systems developed in the Orient range
from the extremely simple methods employed in countries like
India and Siam to the highly integrated modern system in-
stalled in the International Settlement at Shanghai. As a rule,
conditions of society and of crime in the Orient are such that
the police can cope successfully with the criminal element
without requiring a complicated communication framework.
The unsettled conditions in China, however, and the presence
of a large number of foreigners in Shanghai, as well as the
great wealth concentrated there, have caused the police of the
International Settlement to work out a communication sys-
tem which will compare favorably with the best in Europe
and America.

As previously indicated, existing conditions in Japan have,
in the opinion of Japanese officials, made elaborate police com-
munication technique unnecessary. The absence of a lawless
foreign element in the community; the high degree of stand-
ardization of the customs and habits of the populace, which

434 Police Communication Systems

inclines the people from earliest childhood toward strict ob-
servance of the law ; the rigid police control of the sale and
possession of firearms; the careful catalogue maintained of
the movements of the population, and the complete police rec-
ord of all inhabitants ; the relatively small number of auto-
mobiles in Japan, which, including the approximately 90 per
cent engaged in the taxi or hire service, are present in the pro-
portion of 1 to about 650 of the population ; the absence, out-
side of urban areas, of an extensive system of roads suitable
for high-speed transportation, which greatly restricts the ave-
nues of escape ; and the extensive authority vested in the po-
lice, which is much greater than that obtaining in many other
countries — all these conditions have contributed toward eas-
ing the problems faced by the Japanese police officials.

Police communication in Japan depends, therefore, almost
entirely upon the telegraph and the telephone. Private tele-
phone lines, with a total length of 74,230 miles, connect police
headquarters in every part of the Empire, and almost all
intercity messages are sent over these lines. Radio for police
purposes is not used, either for sending long-distance mes-
sages or in the patrolling of urban areas. In the large cities of
the Empire, also, such as Tokyo (population, including en-
virons, 5,500,000), Yokohama (543,500), and Nagasaki (197,-
000) , there is a uniform reliance upon the telephone for police
communication purposes. A private police telephone system
connects the headquarters station in Tokyo and in Yokohama
with the precinct stations throughout the prefectures in
which those cities are located.

Each of the precinct stations is in turn connected by pri-
vate telephones to a number of "police boxes." These units
differ from the police booth of England, for they usually con-
sist of small one- or two-room structures, and their use ranges
from serving as a mere sentry box to providing room and
sleeping quarters for several officers. They are to be found in
almost all Japanese cities — 400 in Tokyo alone. Approxi-
mately 300 are connected with the 30 precinct stations of the
Kanagawa-Kencho Prefecture, in which the city of Yokohama

Foreign Systems 435

is situated. Since most of the police boxes are manned by at
least two men, one of whom spends part of his time on outside
patrol while the other remains on duty at the post, it is possi-
ble to send orders for the patrolman to the box. Headquarters,
all precinct stations, and the more important police boxes are
supplied with telephones of the public system, thus enabling
both the beat patrolman and the citizen to get in touch with
the station.

Any description of police communication in China must
take into account the differences between the systems devel-
oped by the native Chinese police forces and the splendid
system of the Shanghai municipal police force of the Interna-
tional Settlement. The communication systems of the Chinese
police forces in such cities as Hankow and Peiping do not
depart greatly from the general low level of police communi-
cation in the Orient, although they are slightly ahead of Japa-
nese practice in the use of electric burglar alarms.

The police of the International Settlement, undoubtedly
because of the value of the property they must protect and
the comparatively liberal budget allowed them, have devel-
oped a modern and adequate communication system that
makes use of the most recent electrical devices. A brief de-
scription of this force and its communication system should
be sufficient to convince the reader of the truth of General
C. D. Bruce's statement that "the S. M. P., as they are locally
known in that extraordinarily constituted Settlement, are
probably the most up-to-date and efficient police force east
of Suez. They can bear favorable comparison with any force
either in Europe or Asia."9

A brief description of the Chinese police communication
system will aid in giving a perspective for judging the Shang-
hai system. Police whistles, a private telephone system, and
an extensive system of electric burglar alarms connected di-
rectly to the police station, are the principal features of the
systems in Hankow and Peiping. The Peiping police also

9 Brigadier-General C. D. Bruce, C. B. E., "Shanghai, The Interna-
tional Settlement and Its Municipal Police Force," Police Journal (Lon-
don), Vol. I, No. I, p. 128 (1928).

436 Police Communication Systems

maintain a system of alarm-bell stations and have special
public telephones for the reporting of fire alarms and rob-
beries. The police whistle forms a very important part of the
Chinese policeman's equipment, since there are no police
boxes for summoning aid. Detailed instructions are laid down
in both Hankow and Peiping for using the whistle in various
situations, and much more emphasis is placed upon its use
than in Europe and the United States.

The city of Hankow is divided into four police districts,
Hanyang composing a separate district. The headquarters of
the telephone system is at the Public Safety Bureau, which
has lines to all the police stations and to the Gendarme Bar-
racks. For the transmission of urgent messages, a relay sys-
tem has been devised whereby the Public Safety Bureau may
send messages to the principal station in each district, which,
in turn, relays it to certain other stations, and from these
points it may be transmitted to the remaining stations. When
a station has an urgent report to make, it calls the Public
Safety Bureau or the Gendarme Regiment, and then commu-
nicates with its neighboring stations, according to the plan.
Although this relay system increases the time consumed and
the possibility of error, it does spread the burden of repeating
the message, so that no operator is required to call more than
three or four stations. In Peiping, besides the private police
telephone system, separate public telephone numbers are set
aside for the use of the public in reporting fires and robber-
ies. There are also five fire-alarm-bell stations manned by fire-
brigade policemen. Fires are reported to these stations and
the alarm is spread by means of the bells.

Because of the prevalence of the crimes of burglary and
arson in Chinese cities, the police have made widespread use
of burglar alarms installed in private houses and shops and
connected to the police station by direct private wire. In every
police station signal boards are installed, at which the alarm
system lines terminate. Where brigands enter a shop or set
fire to it, the attendant secretly sets off the alarm, causing a
lamp to burn on the central board and a loud bell to ring. The

Foreign Systems 437

number of the lamp informs the police of the location of the
disturbance and they immediately proceed to the scene of
action. Great care is taken to see that the system is maintained
in working order ; the trunk lines and wires in the residences
and shops are inspected twice a month by the police, and the
batteries which supply the power are inspected once a month
by an electrician of the Public Safety Bureau.

The International Settlement in Shanghai is a political
area separated only by artificial boundaries from the vast
native city and the French Settlement. Up to recent times
when barbed-wire fences were erected in parts of the area,
boundaries were in some places almost imaginary lines, open
roads, or narrow streets. The wealth concentrated in the Set-
tlement attracted criminals to make forays into the district,
commit crimes, and escape to their hideouts in the native city
where they were technically outside the jurisdiction of the
Settlement police. Fugitives fleeing from the police forces of
the native city or the French Settlement, moreover, were con-
stantly seeking refuge within the International Settlement.
Faced with these trying conditions, the Shanghai Municipal
Police, as the Settlement force is called, realized that success-
ful coping with the problem required the best communication
equipment obtainable.

The communication system that they established consisted
in 1931 of the usual public telephone network, radio-equipped
patrol vans, a street telephone system, and a burglar-alarm
system. Plans were completed at that time for the installation
of a teletypewriter and an antikidnaping, direction-finding,
control system. The center of the communication system is
situated in a specially built chamber atop the police ad-
ministration building1, and is known as the "Communication
Control Room." In it are installed the main telephone switch-
board, the radio transmitter, and the street telephone central
switchboard. In 1932, it was planned to install in this room
the power apparatus and control switchboard of the tele-
printer system, the teleprinters, and the plotting instruments
for the direction-finding system.

438 Police Communication Systems

For police purposes, the International Settlement is di-
vided into numerous districts, in each of which a police station
has been erected, and all these stations are connected with
headquarters by private telephone lines. In addition, there
are 139 street telephone boxes placed at advantageous points.
The points for these telephones were not selected for beat
use as in most American and European cities ; they are stra-
tegically chosen near the boundary of the Settlement, or at
boundary gates, or upon roads leading into outside territory
and therefore likely to be used by criminals in their attempt
to escape.

These telephones are used primarily in emergencies. The
introduction of radio-equipped vans, however, has increased
their range of usefulness considerably. The only communica-
tion a van has with headquarters when it is on its tour of duty
is by means of the telephone boxes. Tests of radio apparatus
are reported through them, and a van which has been unable
to receive a call from headquarters because of the failure of
radio broadcast may be located by means of the street tele-
phone system.

All the telephones are connected directly to a separate
switchboard at the district station controlling the area in
which the units are located, and each station switchboard is
in turn linked by a trunk line to the central control switch-
board at headquarters. The telephones used are of regular
type and are housed in the familiar type of iron box used
in the United States. Each box has, besides the bell, a red light
fixed to the pole on which the box is secured, or suspended
over a road at that corner. The light is operated by a relay
from the ringing circuit and will not cease flashing until the
call is answered. As is the practice in many American cities,
the system is maintained by the local telephone company.

The radio motor patrols of the Settlement police consist of
twelve trucks, built in Shanghai and designed to accommo-
date ten men equipped with steel waistcoats. Each van is
fitted with Marconi radio receiver apparatus and both ear-
phones and loud-speaker. The transmitter at headquarters is

Foreign Systems 439

a Marconi X.M.B. la, 100-watt marine type, fitted with a
buzzer circuit. The buzzer acts as a "howler" and is used to
precede emergency calls with the result that if the patrolmen
are out of the van for any purpose, the call is loud enough to
summon them to receive the message. Although the transmit-
ter is equipped with both microphone and telegraph circuits,
only the microphone is used.

The burglar-alarm system used in the International Settle-
ment is maintained and operated by the local telephone com-
pany. It connects the principal banks, jewelry stores, mills,
and other establishments to the nearest police station. A dis-
location of a disk contact at the subscriber's end excites a
sending apparatus which punches the number assigned to
that subscriber on a tape at the police station. It will be noted
that the alarm systems are not wired to the central Communi-
cation Control Room; direct communication with the police
station in the district concerned is considered by Settlement
officials to be a speedier method of handling calls of this kind.

The program of expansion for 1932 included the installa-
tion of one Creed page-type sending and receiving teleprinter
in each police station and three similar machines at headquar-
ters. This system was to be "phantomed" over the existing
street telephone trunk lines. Plans were also made to equip
the Shanghai police with an ingenious kidnaping prevention
device, adapted from the direction-finding services used in
aviation. So far as is now known to the writer, this system
has not been adopted by any other police force. The facilities
were made necessary by the fact that kidnaping is probably
more prevalent in China, and in Shanghai in particular, than
in any other place in the world.

Briefly, the system will enable subscribers who are being
kidnaped or otherwise attacked in their automobiles to let the
police know instantly of the crime and where the victim is
being taken. A radio transmitter is installed in the motor cars
of all subscribers, which starts operating at the will of the
person upon whom an attack is being made, by means of a
privately known contact, and once started it cannot be shut

440 Police Communication Systems

off. This call is picked up by the direction-finding apparatus
installed in the police stations, and the reading of these sta-
tions is communicated to the Communication Control Room,
which is equipped with plotting apparatus. The exact loca-
tion of the car can then be plotted out and followed. In the
meantime, police radio vans will have been directed to the
route taken and informed of other necessary details to hasten
pursuit and capture.

It was subsequently reported that in December, 1933, the
Shanghai City Council entered into a formal agreement with
the manufacturer, the main provisions of which are :

(1) The company is permitted to install and maintain in approved
police stations, for three years, such equipment as may be necessary to
operate the alarm system. All installations are subject to the approval
of the Council, but the cost and maintenance thereof are a responsibility
of the company.

(2) The Council agree that alarms received at the police stations shall
be acted upon, although it is not to be held responsible if any call is
unanswered.

(3) The Council is indemnified against any damage or injury arising
out of the operation of the system.

(4) All users of the system must enter into a contract approved by the
Council, which among other things provides for a penalty of $25 for
each false or unnecessary alarm. Both the Council and the company have
the right to object to the rendering of this service to any particular
person or vehicle.

(5) In the event of breach of the agreement by the company, or of
injury to any other undertaking, the service not being maintained in a
continuous and effective manner, the Council may terminate the agree-
ment on six months' notice.

Police communication in India, Siam, and the other coun-
tries of Asia, is rather primitive. In the large cities of India,
such as Calcutta and Bombay, the only means employed by
the police are the public telephone and telegraph. In Calcutta,
all police sections and outposts are on the main city telephone
system and arrangements have been made whereby police
calls are given immediate attention, and urgent calls, known
as XXX messages, are sent to all police sections and other
posts at any time of the day or night. Police communication

Foreign Systems 441

is no further advanced in Bombay; and some districts in
India have no telephones for police or any other purposes.

A similar condition exists in the Malay Peninsula, except
for the city of Singapore in the Straits Settlements. The Sing-
apore police communication system consists of a private
telephone system connecting police headquarters with police
stations and officers' domiciles, and a number of police-box
telephone units scattered throughout the city. Certain jewel-
ers' shops and other establishments have burglar alarms con-
nected to the nearest police stations.

SOUTH AMERICA, THE CARIBBEAN, AND MEXICO

Police communication in all the countries of South America
is still at a rather low level. Nowhere has it advanced beyond
the installation of private telephone systems for connecting
headquarters with precinct stations. In most of the large
South American cities, the typical police-communication
framework consists of a private telephone system, over the
lines of which orders and messages may be transmitted
between headquarters and the outlying stations. Patrolmen
either report to their station in person or are visited by
superior officers at stated intervals. In Buenos Aires the ar-
rangement differs in that the forty-five precinct stations are
connected to headquarters by telegraph instead of by tele-
phone. In only one country of South America have the prin-
cipal cities installed any means of communication between
the patrolmen on beats and their respective stations, namely,
in Chile, in the cities of Santiago and Valparaiso. Police radio
systems, burglar and bank alarms connected to police head-
quarters, and recall-signal systems — none of these are in-
stalled anywhere in these countries. In Chile, which ranks
among the most advanced of South American countries, burg-
lary and robbery on the scale known to the United States are
unknown, and it is reported that a bank robbery has never
been committed there.

An awakening interest in police communication improve-
ment is evident, at present, in many of these countries. Early

442 Police Communication Systems

in 1932, the police in Buenos Aires had projected the installa-
tion of an extensive system of communication between patrol
officers and their heaquarters, and the purchase of radio
equipment. The Chief of Police of Montevideo, Uruguay, was
considering at that time the installation of a police radio
system, and the proposed visit of a Police Mission from Ma-
drid, Spain, to study the Bolivian police problem augured
well for an improvement in communication practice in that
country.

There is a lack of information concerning the communica-
tion equipment of the police of Central America, with the
exception of that used by the police of the Canal Zone. There
is no reason for believing, however, that it differs materially
from its South American contemporaries. In the Panama
Canal Zone, where American police administrative practice
and equipment have been installed, the area is divided into
two police districts, in each of which there is a central station
and numerous police booths. The stations are equipped with
connections to the regular Canal Zone telephone system and
with a special police telephone system connecting with the
booths. The booths are equipped with a loud signal bell and
either a miniature semaphore signal or a small light for recall
purposes. The central stations of the two police districts in the
Zone are connected to the Paymaster's and Collector's offices
by a push-button bell alarm, and a similar alarm connects the
central station at Cristobal with the Post Office and the Chase
National Bank.

The police communication equipment in capital cities of
Cuba and Mexico are rather more typical of the systems found
on the North American continent than those of the southern
continent. In addition to the facilities afforded by the two
public telephone systems operated in the Federal District of
Mexico, the police department possesses a private system con-
necting headquarters with the fourteen precinct stations, and
the precinct stations with approximately three hundred po-
lice call boxes at various points in the city. Patrolmen are
required to call their precinct stations whenever they pass a

Foreign Systems 443

call box, which averages once in every twenty minutes. No
recall signals have, however, been installed to operate in con-
junction with these call boxes. The teletypewriter is not used
and, although complete plans for a police radio system have
been formulated, lack of funds has thus far prevented the
installation of equipment. Many banks are equipped with
alarm systems, most of which are imported from the United
States. These are either of the outside-bell type, or of the
silent-alarm type connected with the precinct station in the
area wherein the bank is situated.

The communication system of the Havana police corre-
sponds even more closely to that existing in American cities
than does that of the Federal District of Mexico. Not only is
headquarters connected with the precinct stations by a pri-
vate telephone system, but numerous alarm boxes also supply
a means of communication between the patrolmen and the
station. These boxes are supplemented by a recall-light sys-
tem which enables the station officer to call a single patrolman
or a group of patrolmen to the telephone. In a critical survey
of the Havana police department made in 1926, it was recom-
mended that additional police alarm boxes and recall-light
units be installed gradually as part of a progressive plan of
improvement ; it was also noted that a teletypewriter system
connecting headquarters with the precinct stations would add
greatly to the efficiency of the police force.10

CANADA

The fact that Canada is a federal state has made police pro-
tection primarily a provincial responsibility. The provinces
have, in turn, granted to the cities within their boundaries
the right of organizing municipal police forces, and some have
created provincial police organizations for the protection of
life and property in the rural areas. In addition to the police
forces named, the central government of Canada maintains a
police force of its own which has general police powers. To

10 August Vollmer, Report on the National Police Department of Ha-
vana, Cuba, rendered to the Secretary of the Interior of Cuba, p. 14
(August, 1926).

444 Police Communication Systems

assist an adequate understanding of the functions of this
federal force, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a word
must be said concerning the criminal law of Canada.

The Criminal Code is enacted by the Federal Parliament
for the whole Dominion, but is enforced in the provinces by
the provincial attorneys general. In addition to this general
penal code, the federal government, the provinces, and the
municipalities all pass laws having penal provisions. The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police have the duty, therefore, of
(1) enforcing the federal penal laws and acting as an investi-
gating agency for the federal governmental departments over
all Canada ; (2) enforcing all law, both federal and the gen-
eral penal code, in the vast territories of Canada which have
not been organized as provinces, and which are, therefore,
under federal jurisdiction. They also enforce all law in cer-
tain national parks, Indian reservations, and in the remote
portions of certain provinces ; and (3) under an arrangement
effected in 1928, they have resumed the duty of enforcing all
law, federal and provincial, in the Province of Saskatchewan,
for which the province pays the federal government a stipu-
lated sum. Since each of these police forces is faced with dif-
ferent communication problems, the methods adopted by the
municipal, provincial, and federal police forces of Canada
may now be briefly discussed.

The communication systems of the municipal police forces
of Canada are similar to those in the cities of the United
States. Almost all the large cities are equipped with private
telephone systems, police-box telephones, and red-light recall
signals. In 1930, the city of Winnipeg installed the first muni-
cipal police radio equipment in Canada, comprising a 600-
watt Marconi transmitter at headquarters and a number of
radio-equipped patrol cars. Montreal has also adopted the
facilities of radio communication in police service. The
Toronto police department has installed a teletypewriter sys-
tem connecting headquarters with all precinct stations. Win-
nipeg plans to connect all banks and financial institutions to
its police stations by a direct alarm system. Canadian munici-

Foreign Systems 445

palities are obviously aware of the need for equipping their
police forces with the most modern facilities to aid them in
maintaining an enviable crime record.

The chief problem in communication faced by the provin-
cial police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the
conquest of space. The vast area of Canada, larger than that
of the United States, must be policed by the forces of a few
provinces and the national government. The population of
most of the provinces is small in comparison to their size.
Wherever the stations of these various police forces are in
cities and towns, the public telephone and telegraph systems
are available, of course, for communication purposes. The
problem lies in maintaining contact with isolated posts and
in the rapid dissemination of orders and information in
emergencies. The provincial police of both British Columbia"
and Alberta seized upon radio communication as a solution.
In 1931, the Province of Alberta provided for its provincial
police five transmitters, in Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge,
Peace River, and Grand Prairie. These stations communicate
with each other daily. More recently, a news item tells of the
establishment of wireless contact between Royal Canadian
Mounted Police Headquarters and their patrol at Bache
Peninsula, seven hundred miles from the North Pole. "All is
well," reported Corporal H. W. Stallworthy and Constables
H. W. Hamilton and A. Munro, in their first message to the
outside world in three years.12

American and Canadian policemen look forward to the
time when the border territory of both countries will be served
by a police communication network that will make possible
the highest degree of police cooperation.

11 See T. W. S. Parsons, "Wireless Telegraphy for Police Purposes —
British Columbia Practice," Police Journal, Vol. Ill, No. 1, pp. 103 ff.
(1930).

12 National Police Officer, Vol. 5, No. 5, p. 7 (November, 1933).

446 Police Communication Systems

POLICE COMMUNICATION IN GERMANY

Because of the completeness and also the complexity of the
German plan of police communication, a discussion of the sys-
tems and practices to be found in that country has been re-
served for the concluding pages of this chapter. Restricted
in police personnel and budget by the terms of the Versailles
treaty, and faced by a rampant crime situation resulting from
the political, economic, and social upheavals in postwar Ger-
many, police administrators have been forced to supplement
the deficient man power of their departments by the adoption
of new and improved mechanical facilities. The capital city,
Berlin, aided by the Prussian Ministry of the Interior, has
taken the lead in this modernization of police practice and
technique.

Beginning in 1924 with the installation of a police-box
alarm system in a part of Berlin, communication facilities
have been expanded until at the present time the Berlin po-
lice have at their command a complete police-box and recall
system, an automatic telephone system, a teletypewriter net-
work, a radio communication system, and the latest in tele-
photographic equipment.

The Greater Berlin police communication system. — In
order to appreciate the complicated nature of the police com-
munication of Greater Berlin, it is necessary to keep in mind
the large area and complex police organization which it
serves. The Greater Berlin police, like the forces of many
other capital cities of Europe, serve a metropolitan area that
is larger than the city itself. The area over which they have
jurisdiction is divided into approximately 180 precincts (Ee-
viere), each containing a police station serving as a head-
quarters for the patrolmen of that precinct. These precincts
are grouped into fifteen divisions or districts (Bezirke), each
controlled by a divisional or inspection office. Between the
divisional offices and the main office of the department are
six group stations (Gruppenamter) , serving as brigade head-
quarters. These group offices report directly to the headquar-

Foreign Systems 447

ters of the uniformed police, which in turn, reports to the
office of the Police President.13

The telephone system.1* — Before 1926, the Berlin police
telephone system was of the manual switchboard type with
girls and police officers as operators. The poverty of postwar
Germany necessitated the withdrawal of most of the female
telephone operators, since money could not be provided for
salaries, and the transfer of the police officers from the Com-
munication Bureau to traffic duty and other services of the
department in which the need for additional personnel was
imperative. To meet this situation, the installation of an
automatic telephone system was one of the first steps in the
complete reorganization of the entire police communication
system.

The engineering of the automatic telephone network was a
task of huge proportions, and it was accomplished with the
precision characteristic of German ingenuity and initiative.
Studies of the types of communication traffic to be accommo-
dated, and the possibilities of an expanding use of the system
in the future, and analyses of peak loads and distribution of
business, and of intradepartmental and outside calls had to
be made before the engineers could distribute the requisite
facilities so as to ensure the perfect functioning and coordi-
nation of the entire system.

Principles of economy and safety made it undesirable to
connect all the telephones in the system to one central
exchange. On the contrary, the principle of far-reaching de-
centralization was adopted and automatic exchanges were
installed in offices of the Ministry of the Interior, the Police
Presidency, executive offices of the uniformed force, the six

13 The municipal police departments of Germany have many more func-
tions than the police of England and the United States. Besides main-
tining order, pursuing criminals, and regulating traffic, the Berlin police
perform the functions of a fire department, health department, prison
department, building department, and certain functions of a charity
department. The uniformed police and the detective force are thus only
two branches of the whole police department, which is presided over by
the Police President.

14Eichard Sienang, "Die Fernsprechanlage der Gross-Berliner Po-
lizeiverhaltung," Konsern Nachrichten 3 (18), (1928).

448 Police Communication Systems

group headquarters (Gruppendmter) , the inspection offices
and district stations (Bezirke), and the precinct stations (Re-
viere). At the present time, there are 38 automatic exchanges
with from 40 to 800 participants, to which are connected ap-
proximately 180 small precinct switchboards having from
10 to 20 connections.

Through this telephone system, every partaker, no matter
to which exchange he may belong, can automatically reach
every other partaker of the system. Day or night, every per-
son using the police telephone system has the assurance of
being able to reach any other person connected with the sys-
tem, quickly, and without the intervention of any human
agency. The installation involved the rental of part of the
connecting cables from the Government Telephone Adminis-
tration. The rest of the cables belong to the police.

Besides these general aspects of the telephone network, cer-
tain points which make for efficiency in intradepartmental
and administrative communication are worth mentioning.
The secrecy of communication desirable in a police telephone
system is provided for to a marked degree in the Berlin in-
stallation. Furthermore, many times in a busy day adminis-
trative officers will have orders and messages of the greatest
importance to deliven which will require the right of way over
certain wires, and this situation is provided for by the in-
stallation of a double switch in the privileged offices, which,
when thrown, immediately interrupts any conversation and
seizes the wires for the more important orders. An ingenious
device enables the chief of the uniformed force to speak to
the officers in charge of the six group offices simultaneously.

The police also enjoy the convenience of direct communi-
cation with the governmental offices of Prussia and of Berlin
without going through the regular postal telephone network.
Connections must, of course, also be provided between the
police network and the public telephone system. This is ac-
complished by connecting the police controls with the controls
of the postal telephone system by means of a so-called "half-
automatic extension central."

Foreign Systems 449

Since the telephone system is the property of the police,
the police department is responsible for its maintenance. Spe-
cially trained officers, including, in the beginning, those who
assisted in the installation of the system, are detailed to this
branch of the service. A special instruction course was given
to the maintenance staff by the company which installed the
equipment.

Police-box, recall, and burglar -alarm systems.™ — It may
surprise Americans, to whom the police boxes on street cor-
ners have been a familiar sight for decades, to learn that the
first police-box system in Germany was installed experiment-
ally in Central Berlin in 1924.16 On the basis of experience
gained with this installation, the Prussian Ministry of the
Interior in 1926 formulated a set of specifications for the
police-box systems which were later installed in Greater Ber-
lin and other cities of Prussia. These specifications called for
a police telephone unit similar to the automatic boxes in use
in the United States, containing a telephone and automatic
signaling apparatus, by means of which the police can:
(1) summon the reserve emergency squads (Ueberfall Kom-
mando) through an automatic call which can be sent from the
outside of the alarm box without the necessity of opening the
box itself, (2) maintain communication by means of a tele-
phone instrument, specially designed to overcome all street
noises, between every box and its precinct station (the con-
nection of several telephones to one line was avoided so that
a failure of one alarm box would not disrupt the service of
several others) ; and (3) enable the precinct station to sum-
mon an officer to a particular box by means of a bell or horn
during the day and a light signal during the night, without
simultaneous sounding of the recall apparatus on the other
alarms.

15 Berliner Notruf aktiengesellschaf t, "Notruf Polizei-Melde-Anlager"
(pamphlet) ; K-. Bugler, Direktor, "Die erste Polizeimelder-Anlage in
Deutschland : Berlin Mitte," reprint from Siemens Zeitschrift, June,
1924.

16 In fact, aside from a small installation in a part of the city of Oslo
(Christiania), Norway, this was the first installation of its kind in
Europe.

450 Police Communication Systems

The police-box system of Berlin fulfills two distinct pur-
poses, and the central equipment and cable net were designed
and installed to meet these two needs. For eighteen of the
twenty reserve squads of the Berlin police, alarm installa-
tions have been provided. For each reserve squad, this in-
stallation consists of a reception central with automatic
supervisory apparatus installed in its headquarters, to which
are connected a number of police and private box alarms.
When an officer who needs help turns a key in the box, the
automatic signal equipment is excited and a signal is sent to
the reserve-squad central. This signal is registered on a tape,
in Morse code, or at some centrals on a teletypewriter ma-
chine. It indicates the number of the box from which the call
was sent, the date, and the time of receipt of the call. By open-
ing the box and setting an indicator, the policeman can send
in different signals, such as an ambulance call or patrol-
wagon call, and other requests for police assistance. The last
three positions on the indicator scale serve administrative
control purposes only.

Upon receipt of an alarm on the reception panel, the officer
in charge either dispatches the flying reserve squad or for-
wards the call for help to the precinct station nearest the box
from which it originated. For this purpose, there is a repeater
apparatus on the rear wall of the reception central. When the
number of the alarm box concerned is placed on this appara-
tus and the proper selector switch is pulled, the number ap-
pears in code on a tape, or in figures on a register at the
precinct station, which then sends out the necessary aid.

In order that the precinct officials may summon a police-
man to a box, a recall light and bell are installed over each
unit. Both the light and bell can be made to give, steady or
intermittent signals. In the first installation in Berlin-Mitte,
these recall signals were connected to the central office in six
loop circuits and the recall signal intended for one box was
received on all the signals connected to that circuit. In the
later installations, as required by the specifications of the
Prussian Ministry of the Interior, it is possible to summon

Foreign Systems 451

an officer to a particular box without the simultaneous opera-
tion of other recall-signal units. The recall bell or light con-
tinues to operate until an officer responds by lifting the
receiver of the telephone instrument in the box.

A noteworthy feature of the German police-alarm installa-
tions is the connection of private burglar alarms into the sys-
tem. The police boxes which are attached to the reserve-squad
alarm central represent but one-half of the alarm system. The
other half consists of private subscribers who have alarms in-
stalled on their premises and connected by direct wire with
the central in the reserve-squad headquarters. These private-
alarm installations range from a simple mechanism installed
in the bedroom of a private dwelling to elaborately wired sys-
tems designed to protect bank vaults and jewelers' windows.
Special safeguards are provided to ensure the receipt of a
signal even if the wires should be tampered with.

At the reserve central are kept duplicate keys and diagrams
of the premises of the subscriber, so that the commander of
the flying squad can plan his actions intelligently in respond-
ing to the alarm. The installation of private-alarm equipment,
for which a rental is paid by the subscriber to the police, is
being aggressively pushed all over Germany by the companies
manufacturing the equipment. At present the system is to be
found in so many cities besides Berlin that Germany takes the
lead in offering this type of police protection to its citizens."

The teletypewriter network.'18 — The Berlin police depart-
ment has had a separate telegraph network connecting its
various stations since 1853. The growth of the Greater Berlin
area and the loop construction of the various circuits finally
brought about a condition in which the telegraph installation
was no longer adequate for the communication demands made
upon it. The system was, moreover, objectionable because of

17 The most general type of burglar-alarm system installed in Germany
is known as the "Notruf ." It has been installed in the following cities,
among others: Hamburg, Altona, Bremen, Chemnitz, Frankfurt-am-
Main, Kassel, Offenbach-am-Main, Pforzheim, and Worms.

18 Police Lieutenant-Colonel Voit, "Teleprinter Network of the Berlin
Police Administration," Electrical Communication, Vol. XI, No. 1 (July,
1932).

452 Police Communication Systems

the expense involved in its operation. Every precinct and tele-
graph service station required the services of three specially
trained operators, making a total of abont 1000 men so em-
ployed throughout the city. It was inevitable, therefore, that
the police telegraph should be replaced by the far more effi-
cient teletypewriter in the general modernization of the en-
tire communication system in 1926.

The Berlin teleprinter installation closely parallels the po-
lice telephone system, the central exchange switchboard being
installed at the headquarters of the uniformed force. This
exchange is equipped with 40 trunk lines to provide individ-
ual and group connections with the 15 subexchanges in the
police department and facilities for direct printer connection
with the telegraph headquarters of the Reichpost and the fire
department. Since the main cables of the police teleprinter
system are leased from the Reichpost, it was a simple matter
to provide for teleprinter connection between the Berlin po-
lice and all other police departments so equipped, through
the facilities of the Reichpost. Ten machines for sending and
receiving messages, including a high-speed transmitter and
a tape perforator, complete the equipment of the central office.

Fifteen subexchanges are installed in the divisional and
inspection offices of the department. Where these offices are
not adjacent, they are connected by special trunks. To each
subswitchboard are connected the divisional office teleprinter
equipment and the machines in every precinct station of that
division. Including the police stands in railroad stations, a
total of 260 police stations can be reached through the tele-
printer network.

The operation of the system is, of course, determined by its
physical connections. Traffic within an inspector's district
is conducted through the subexchange of that district. Pro-
vision has been made for sending individual or group mes-
sages. An inspector can send an order simultaneously to all
the precinct stations in his district, or an important message
may be transmitted from a precinct station to all other sta-
tions in its district and to neighboring districts. Connection

Foreign Systems 453

between two inspection districts is established through the
principal exchange, but, in order to relieve the trunk lines
between headquarters and districts, direct cross-connections
between different inspection offices are also made. Messages
may be sent from any subexchange to all other stations, al-
though this ties up the network and is only resorted to in ex-
traordinary situations. Usually a general alarm goes out from
headquarters through the high-speed transmitter, so that the
network may be free with a minimum of delay for routine
traffic. Such general-alarm messages are first perforated on
a tape which passes through the transmitter at a rate of 360
letters per minute.

It has already been mentioned that, for reasons of economy
and flexibility, the cables and lines for the teleprinter system
were rented from the Eeichpost. At present, the lines between
the precinct stations and inspection bureaus are used for tele-
phone as well as teleprinter traffic, thus giving the police an
additional telephone channel at no cost. In the future, it is
intended to extend this duplicate use of the wires throughout
the system.

In the teleprinter service, the Berlin police employ Lorenz
tape printers almost exclusively. The communication officials
recognize, however, that page printers are preferable for
broadcasts to all stations, for they can reproduce a greater
number of copies of the message. Substitution of page for tape
printers can easily be made, since both types of machine may
be employed at random in the same network. It is also possible
to operate the teleprinter machines without land-wire con-
nections, by means of radio. Although radio teleprinter serv-
ice is not used frequently in Germany as yet, long experi-
mentation and research by the commercial firms manufactur-
ing the equipment, in cooperation with the laboratory of the
Polizeischule filr Technik und Verkehr, at Berlin, have re-
sulted in the perfection of the apparatus used for this pur-
pose, so that it meets the conditions of absolute reliability de-
manded in police communication. There is little doubt that
the further expansion of the teleprinter network in Germany

454 Police Communication Systems

will result in the general introduction of radio teleprinters to
replace land-wire systems. This innovation will increase enor-
mously the flexibility and range of the system.

Aside from the many advantages which the teleprinter has
in police service, the Berlin installation strikingly demon-
strates the economy of this type of communication in com-
parison with the old telegraph system. Instead of the 1000
special telegraph operators required to man the telegraph,
only 24 special men are necessary to handle the heavy traffic
over the teleprinter network. The headquarters exchange
alone receives a monthly average of about 7500 messages and
transmits approximately 3200 in addition to establishing
about 4200 cross-connections. This great saving in operating
personnel is possible because reception on a teleprinter does
not require the presence of an attendant.

Police radio in Germany. — The Berlin police department
occupies a unique and outstanding position in the field of po-
lice radio. Not only was radio equipment installed for the use
of the department itself at the time of the general reorgani-
zation of the communication system, but the Berlin police ra-
dio station also serves as the radio transmitting central of a
national police radio net which includes most of the cities of
Germany. The Berlin station was, moreover, chosen to serve
as the central radio station for the International Police Radio
network, which began to function in 1929. No other police
department in the world possesses a radio installation of such
wide scope and importance, serving, as this one does, three
purposes : as a local, a national, and an international medium
of communication.

The principal use of radio in German police practice, un-
like that of the United States, is as a means for intercity and
long-distance communication. When one considers the com-
paratively small area and dense population of the German
Reich and the number of large cities within its borders, the
importance and volume of intercity police-communication
traffic can easily be grasped. Because of its speed, its adapt-
ability to broadcast, and its economy as compared to the cost

Foreign Systems 455

of telephone and telegraph traffic, radio became the most de-
sirable means of communication between the various police
departments of Germany.

To meet this need, a police radio network including almost
all the cities of Germany has developed since the World War.
The main police radio installation of the Berlin department,
at Adlershof, serves in a certain measure as the radio trans-
mitting central for all Germany. It is equipped with a 5-kilo-
watt automatic transmitter, in which the high-frequency
current is generated not through tubes, as in the conventional
broadcast transmitter, but through a high-frequency alter-
nater. Situated at the principal points in the German network
are so-called control stations which span a district and which
are equipped with 300-watt transmitters. These stations main-
tain contact with the numerous police radio stations in their
district, which operate with 25-watt transmitters.

At the Congress of the International Criminal Police Com-
mission which met at Berne in 1928, the German delegation
suggested the formation of an international police radio sys-
tem which should include all the countries in Europe.19 This
suggestion was acted upon favorably and by November 15,
1929, a European police radio-communication network was
placed in operation. Although it was hoped at the time of its
formation that all the countries in Europe would join the
system by 1931, only Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslo-
vakia, and Hungary were participating in that year. Several
other nations were well advanced in their preparations for
entering the organization, however, and France, Belgium,
Rumania, and Jugoslavia were expected to become members
within a short time.

The central radio station controlling the entire system is
in Berlin. Each country is equipped with a control station for
its own internal system and may erect as many other wireless
stations as it considers necessary. In frontier districts, where
many international messages are exchanged, additional so-

19 See Police Lieutenant-Colonel Voit, "International Police Radio,"
Police Journal (London), Vol. IV, p. 467 (1931).

456 Police Communication Systems

called frontier stations may be installed, which transmit di-
rectly from one to another. A system of this kind operates
between Munich, Germany, and Salzburg, Austria.

Aside from the traffic through frontier stations, all com-
munications through the international radio system must
come from the respective control stations of each country.
Thus, in a country possessing several wireless stations, every
message intended for international transmission must first be
given to the central station, which in turn will route the mes-
sage through the international system. The central stations,
similarly, arrange for the circulating of all incoming mes-
sages intended for certain specified police stations in the coun-
try concerned. If there is no radio station at the police head-
quarters, messages intended for the International Radio will
be conveyed by the quickest means, either by telegraph or
telephone, to the nearest broadcast station ; messages destined
for places which do not possess radio receivers are forwarded
in a similar way. For the present, certain specified times are
appointed for the transaction of international wireless com-
munication, but where necessary these times may be extended
at will. Control stations are open for half an hour every three
hours from 6 :00 A.M. to 12 :30 A.M., for the transmission of
business over the system.

Messages transmitted over the international network are
of two kinds, termed i.p. and i.p.c.q. (i.p. signifies Interna-
tional Police Radio Message ; c.q. is the call sign for a general
broadcast) . The i.p. messages are those intended for a definite
address, as, for example, the Police President at Vienna. In
emergencies, these messages may be transmitted directly
through the proper control station by any wireless station be-
longing to the police radio system. The i.p.c.q. are messages
intended for general transmission. These messages must be
forwarded to the central wireless station in Berlin, by wire-
less, telegraph, or telephone. The Berlin station transmits
i.p.c.q. messages at certain scheduled times — for the present,
twice daily, at noon and at midnight — and they are received
by all countries included in the network. If the communica-

Foreign Systems 457

tion is intended for certain countries only, notification of that
fact is given before the message is broadcast, as, for example,
"For Austria and Poland only."

Four advantages of the international radio network are
noted by an English police official. First, it meets the need
for speedy communication arising out of the criminal use of
automobiles and airplanes for rapid transit across national
borders. Second, it enables the police of various countries to
communicate directly with one another without the delay
occasioned by sending through the postal services telegrams
which, after being retelegraphed, copied, and checked, may
take several hours to reach their destinations. Third, wire-
less communication has the advantage that news transmitted
by one station may be heard by several stations simultane-
ously. Secrecy is attained through the use of coded communi-
cations. Fourth, the international radio net provides a very
economical means of communication, in contrast with the cost
of telegraph service. The equipment needed to participate in
the service is a short-wave transmitting station and receiver.
This outlay is counterbalanced by savings in telegrams. More-
over, if only i.p.c.q. service is desired, a receiver only is re-
quired. Countries which possess no wireless stations can tele-
graph police messages for retransmission to the radio head-
quarters at Berlin. Switzerland and other countries already
make frequent use of this privilege. A fifth advantage, accru-
ing from the four enumerated by Lieutenant-Colonel Voit,
is the unification of police service on a scale which transcends
state boundary lines, removing the fetters of a political hur-
dle which today handicaps the police the world over. Thus,
even abroad where international rivalries might be calculated
to retard such development, the promises of the regional po-
lice communication system have been definitely recognized.

Wireless telephotography. — At the Radio Exposition held
in Berlin in 1928 there were displayed, among other police
radio apparatus, machines for sending and receiving pictures
by radio. Manufacturers of the equipment urged upon the
police the installation of a telephotographic system, which,

458 Police Communication Systems

according to the plan, would parallel the international radio
net. A picture transmitter and receiver would be installed in
the central police radio station at Berlin, and other receivers
and transmitters would be placed at strategic points. Less im-
portant locations would be equipped with receivers only. By
means of this system, warrants, fingerprints, photographs,
and important documents could be sent out in a brief time to
all the police stations, where they would be received on the
machines as positive pictures.

The police were interested in the suggestion and undertook
an extended program of research into the problems arising
from the application of radio-telephotography to police serv-
ice. As a result of this study, stations for experimental pic-
ture intercommunication were built at Berlin and Breslau,
and receiving instruments were installed at Kassel, Frank-
furt, and Kiel. Officials expect that expansion of the system
will include all stations in the present international police
radio system.

Police communication in other German cities. — The devel-
opment of so excellent a police communication system in Ber-
lin should not give the impression that all German cities are
so well equipped. In fact, no other city in Germany can boast
of a communication system so complete as that of the capital.
Dresden (630,000 population) , typical of the normal German
city, is divided into 31 police precincts, each with a police
station. A special telephone system, independent of the Ger-
man Reichpost, connects police headquarters (Polizeiprdsi-
dium) with the precinct offices. As in Berlin, the commanding
officer at headquarters can, by operating a special device, be
connected with all the 31 precinct stations at the same time.
When this central apparatus is put in operation, all other tele-
phone connections which may exist between headquarters and
the stations are broken, and the entire telephone network is
at the disposal of the commanding officer.

No police-box telephone and recall system has been installed
in Dresden to provide communication between precinct head-
quarters and beat patrolmen. Precinct officers get in touch

Foreign Systems 459

with their policemen by using the police whistle, or by calling
a private telephone along the route that the particular officer
is patrolling.

Although a teletypewriter system would prove invaluable
as a communication medium between headquarters and the
precinct stations and, through the Reichpost, with the police
departments of other cities, the installation of this apparatus
has been postponed for lack of funds. No local radio-trans-
mission system is employed for sending messages to radio-
equipped police cars. The Dresden police, like those of most
other German cities, do have, however, a radio station which
is a part of the German police radio net, and which is used to
send and receive messages from Berlin and other cities of the
Reich.

The banks of the city are equipped with burglary and rob-
bery alarms wired direct to the police stations. The pressing
of a button or other device sets off the alarm and summons
the flying squad. Some years ago, an effort was made to in-
troduce a general burglar-alarm system throughout the city,
which would provide protection for householders and busi-
ness establishments generally, as well as for banks and other
similar institutions. Although, for lack of funds, this plan
was not carried out at the time, there is a possibility that the
system will be placed in operation in the near future.

To conclude that the police forces of the world are in a fair
position to meet today's responsibilities, would not be in strict
accordance with the facts, yet the foregoing summary shows
evidence of an awakened interest in progress and of the ap-
plication of scientific methods to the requirements of modern
police service. Following the demands of a war which in 1914
and succeeding years engulfed all the major Powers of the
earth, there has been a revival of national interest in the
problems at home. In police service, this has led to a recogni-
tion of the need for modern forces, modern equipment, and
modern methods of operation to match the criminal of today.
Communication is world-wide in its significance to the police-
man. Whether it be Morocco, Siam, or the state of Connecti-

460 Police Communication Systems

cut, the problem remains essentially the same — the design of
a system of communication accommodating the receipt of
crime reports and information, and means for radiating this
intelligence to members of the force. In the solution of this
and collateral problems, the nations are forging ahead toward
the final consummation of two major police projects, crime
prevention and crime suppression.

CHAPTER XIV
CONCLUSION

MODERN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS are now well within
reach of almost all police budgets ; nevertheless the per-
centage of police departments in the United States that are
adequately equipped with this important facility is so low as
to constitute some cause for alarm. The connection between
the niggardly communication resources of American police
departments and the prevalence of crime in this country is no
mere speculation : it is a stark reality.

From statistics of the Census Bureau, recent surveys, and
general observation, one should be convinced that adequate
communication facilities are yet lacking in many towns and
cities in the United States. Significant data were collected by
the Census Bureau for a number of years, the latest report
being for the year 1917, which disclosed that, of the 15,194
incorporated places in the United States,1 only 428, or 2.82
per cent, reported the possession of electric police-alarm sys-
tems. Of these systems, 383 were solely for police work and 45
were joint police and fire-alarm installations.

Because of the assumed ease of policing the small commu-
nity without a beat telephone and recall system, and because
of the fact that 12,550 of the total number of incorporated
places were incorporated rural areas of less than 2500 popu-
lation, it may be urged that the situation was not so serious
as this percentage would indicate. This objection is hardly
tenable, for it is the consensus among the best authorities that
no community, of whatever size, can be properly policed in
the absence of some form of reporting and recall system. Even
in a village of fifty inhabitants, where a night watchman or
constable may be the sole agent of law enforcement, some
method of recall would be important. In fact, the smaller the

1 The figures in respect to cities of various sizes in the United States
in 1917 were obtained by interpolating from the Census figures of 1910
and 1920, and assuming a uniform annual increment.

[461]

462 Police Communication Systems

force the more imperative it becomes to compensate for the
lack of personnel by the installation of suitable material
equipment. The population size of a village or municipality
has little or nothing to do with the advisability of adequate
communication facilities. Population operates as a factor only
in the determination of the type or elaborateness of the in-
stallation.

Even if it were assumed that no city under 2500 population
needed a police-box and recall system, the situation in 1917
was discouraging, for but 16.19 per cent of the 2644 cities of
2500 population and over could have had such systems. As-
suming that none of the 428 systems then in operation were
installed in cities of less than 5000 population, there would
still have been only 30.84 per cent of the 1388 cities of 5000
population and over which boasted such systems. Thus the
data show that, in 1917, not only 97 per cent of all incor-
porated places, both large and small, were handicapped, but
also 40 per cent of the larger urban centers in the United
States were inadequately policed because they lacked these
essential communication facilities. The general results of the
investigation in 1917 disclosed so deplorable a state of affairs
with respect to the distribution of police communication fa-
cilities, that it would have been almost impossible to improve
conditions to a satisfactory level in the fourteen years pre-
ceding a notable survey of American police systems in 1931.2

In this critical study, a survey was made of 954 communi-
ties varying in population from under 10,000 to 500,000 and
more. Inadequacy of equipment was again tragically appar-
ent in the small town. In the main, these countless little urban
areas exist in a very carefree fashion. In the years of their
former isolation, their sole problems were jailing a few in-
ebriates, catching stray dogs, and similar duties. Today, with
concrete highways stretching in every direction, they must
combat the traffic problems and many of the vices which affect
the larger city. With a police force of one or two men, or not

2 Report of the Law Observance and Enforcement Committee (Chi-
cago, 1931).

Conclusion 463

over half a dozen, it is impossible for them to cope adequately
with new situations which are constantly arising. Neverthe-
less, the widespread opinion persists that, in the smaller cities,
police communication facilities are not needed and that the
expense of the equipment would not be justified. Meanwhile,
the notorious increase of crime in the smaller centers is em-
phasizing daily the great need for this equipment. Criminals
are finding it increasingly convenient to select the small towns
and communities as points of attack, returning to their ren-
dezvous in the city for cover.3 The personnel of the police de-
partments in these small municipalities even today is usually
too limited to be able to compensate in man power for the
lack of equipment, and experience has abundantly shown that
such a policy proves more expensive in the end and that the
attempt to reduce police expenses by neglecting communica-
tion facilities is costly economy.

In a personal survey of 225 communities of this class (up
to 10,000 population), the Committee discovered that 207
possessed no signal equipment whatsoever., Among communi-
ties ranging in population from 10,000 to 30,000, a lack of
adequate call boxes was still much in evidence : of the 246
cities in this class, only 144 used them ; 109 did not use recall
lights, and only 108 were equipped with bell or horn. Less
than 45 per cent could be said to possess adequate box facili-
ties. In most communities, from the time the patrolmen left
the station until they returned, they were lost to the depart-
ment. The larger the size of the town and the greater the
population, the more acute the lack of available man power
becomes. To the inhabitant, the only available policeman in
an emergency is the man at the station ; and towns of this
group can rarely afford to keep more than one or two men per-
manently at the station.

Thirteen of the 68 cities in the 30,000 to 50,000 population
group still remained unequipped with an adequate recall sys-
tem. Of the 55 which used boxes, 36 possessed lights aligned
with the boxes, and 25 had lights aligned with bells or horns.

3 See Report of the Illinois Bankers Association on Banlc Robbery.

464 Police Communication Systems

Again, less than 50 per cent could be said to be efficient. Of
the fourth group, including cities up to 100,000 population,
3 of the 25 had lights aligned with bells or horns. Again, less
than 50 per cent could be said to be efficient. Of the fourth
group, including cities up to 100,000 population, 3 of the 25
had neither call boxes nor signal lights. Of the 22 cities so
equipped, 9 had recall-light signal facilities and only 6, bell
or horn. This group boasted a box efficiency of 25 per cent.
All cities in excess of 100,000 population employed the beat
telephone, and all but two of them were equipped with recall
lights, horns, or bells.

Among the 390 cities of more than 10,000 population, 14,296
police boxes were reported in use, and in the opinion of the
chiefs of police, 11,731 more were needed; 109 recall bells
were in service, 9775 more were held necessary; 213 colored
signal-light units were in operation, 1505 more were required.

In order to obtain more recent information for the present
work a communication questionnaire was forwarded in May,
1933, to 1562 American police departments in cities ranging
in population from 5000 to 1,000,000 and more. Tabulated
returns from this survey (see pages 465^71) confirm the
findings of the Law Observance and Enforcement Committee
and draw attention to the character and distribution of com-
munication equipment in use by the police of the United
States today.

From the tables on pages 465-471 the reader may draw
his own conclusions concerning the opportunities that lie
ahead for an expanding use of modern communication equip-
ment in police service. Although the 480 replies received rep-
resent only 30.69 per cent of the total number of communities
of 5000 + population in the United States, the information
may be considered representative in »view of its wide terri-
torial coverage. Complete returns would have reduced to a
marked degree the percentages quoted, since it is safe to as-
sume that communities not equipped with modern police com-
munication facilities were, the majority of them, among those
failing to answer the questionnaire. This assumption is veri-

Conclusion

465

.2i

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questionnaire, indi
not obtained for ci
e United States, qu

Percentage, except in answers
Data on radio patrol equipme
Of the 851 cities of this size in

is : :

s : :
1:1

•Sf
.SI'S

•IS |

°^
11

o o

466

Police Communication Systems

OOeO«OO(M(MOO

pauopsanb

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opulation, and to 582 of t
which are using equipmen
concerning radio patrol eq

10,
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ation w

a | a

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Conclusion 467

DISTRIBUTION OF POLICE MOTOR EQUIPMENT ACCORDING TO POPULATION

Num-
ber

Answers to
questionnaire

Patrol cars

Motorcycles

cities

Population group

United

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

States

ber

cent

ber

cent*

ber

cent*

1,000, 000 or over

80.00

100.00

500,000 to 1,000,000

87.50

100.00

250,000 to 500,000

50.00

83.33

100,000 to 250,000

33.92

89.47

94.73

50,000 to 100,000

44.89

97.74

100.00

25,000 to 50,000

185

43.78

95.06

82.72

10,000 to 25,000

606

245

40.43

220

89.80

182

82.73

5,000 to 10,000

851/582f

11.68

95.30

42.65

Totals

1564

480

30.69

442

92.08

361

75.63

* Percentage in these columns indicates percentage of those cities answering question-
naire that are using patrol cars and motorcycles.

t Of the 851 cities of this size in the United States, questionnaires were sent to only 582.

DISTRIBUTION OF POLICE MOTOR EQUIPMENT IN THE UNITED STATES
ACCORDING TO GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

Area

Number cities in
United States, popu-
lation 5,000 and over

Number cities
questioned*

Answers to
questionnaire

Patrol
cars

Motor-
cycles

Num-
ber

Per
cent

Num-
ber

Per
centf

Num-
ber

Per

centf

New England
Middle Atlantic
East North Central
West North Central
South Atlantic
East South Central

201
432
404
171
179
93
157
66
131

1834

151
376
344
147
155
82
131
63
115

1564

50
96
119
55
31
18
24
25
62

33.11
25.53
34.59
37.42
20.00
21.95
18.32
36.51
53.91

46
85
111
50
28
16
22
23
61

442

92.00
88.54
93.28
90.91
90.32
88.89
91.67
92.00
98.39

41
78
92
33
25
13
18
15
46

82.00
81.25
77.31
60.00
80.65
72.22
75.00
60.00
74.20

75.63

West South Central

Mountain
Pacific

Totals

480

30.69

92.08

361

* Questionnaires were sent to all cities of more than 10,000 population; and to 582 of
the 851 cities with population of from 5,000 to 10,000.

t Percentage in these columns indicates percentage of those cities answering ques-
tionnaire that are using patrol cars and motorcycles.

468

Police Communication Systems

DISTRIBUTION OF BANK AND MERCANTILE ALARM SYSTEMS IN THE
UNITED STATES ACCORDING TO POPULATION GROUPS

Alarms con-

Answers to

Bank

Mercantile

nected direct

Number

questionnaire

alarms

with police

Population

cities in

department

groups

United

States

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

ber

cent

ber

centf

ber

centf

ber

centf

1,000,000 or more

80.00

75.00

50.00

500,000 to 1,000 ,000....

87.50

71.46

42.86

71.46

250,000 to 500,000

50.00

75.00

33.33

50.00

100,000 to 250,000

33.92

68.42

42.11

49.49

50 ,000 to 100,000

44.89

86.34

56.82

63.41

25, 000 to 50,000

185

43.78

87.65

49.38

54.32

10,000 to 25,000

606

245

40.43

219

89.39

40.41

5,000 to 10,000

851/582*

11.68

83.82

36.76

Totals

1564

480

30.69

415

86.46

206

42.92

94 1

56.24

* Questionnaires were sent to only 582 of the 851 cities of this size in the United States.

t Percentage in these columns indicates percentage of cities answering questionnaire
reporting bank and mercantile alarms and police connection.

t Cities of less than 25,000 population were not questioned concerning police connec-
tion.

DISTRIBUTION OF BANK AND MERCANTILE ALARM SYSTEMS IN THE
UNITED STATES ACCORDING TO GEOGRAPHICAL AREA

i t-

ft >

Answers

Alarms con-

CH ° °

Bank

Mercantile

nected direct

i « s

question-

alarms

with police

.S O> =3

naire

department

Area

ill

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

Num-

Per

luJ

3 3

£ cr

ber

cent

ber

centf

ber

centf

ber

centf

New England

201

151

33.11

84.00

30.00

32.00

Middle Atlantic

432

376

25.53

90.63

46.88

8.33

East North Central. .

404

344

119

34.59

108

90.76

49.68

24.36

West North Central..

171

147

37.42

89.09

43.64

23.64

South Atlantic

179

155

20.00

74.19

22.58

25.80

East South Central..

21.95

88.89

33.33

16.67

West South Central..

157

131

18.32

66.67

62.50

4.17

Mountain

36.51

88.00

40.00

12.00

Pacific

131

115

53.91

83.87

40.32

14.52

Totals

1834

1564

480

30.69

415

86.46

206

42.92

94 1

56.29

* Questionnaires were sent to all cities in the United States with a population of
10,000 and over; and of the 851 cities with population of from 5,000 to 10,000, questionnaires
were sent to 582.

t Percentage in these columns indicates percentage of cities answering questionnaire
reporting bank and mercantile alarms and police connection.

t Cities less than 25,000 population were not questioned concerning police connection.

Conclusion 469

fied by the fact that interest in the subject seemed to be
directly proportional to population, the percentage of re-
turns showing a steady decline from 80 per cent for cities of
1, 000,000 + inhabitants, to 11.68 per cent for municipalities
of from 5000 to 10,000 population.

Facts such as these must be faced by the authorities respon-
sible for the protection of life and property in the United
States. The people of the country are becoming aware of the
large burden of crime costs which they are annually forced to

PREFERENCES WITH KESPECT TO POLICE CONNECTION OF BANK AND
MERCANTILE ALARM SYSTEMS

Number of

Per cent

cities

Number of cities to which questionnaires were sent. . .

1564

Cities answering questionnaires

480

30 69

*Opinion requested of

167

Direct connection with police department preferred by

57.49

Connection with precinct station preferred by

2.40

Connection with private company preferred by

2.99

Connection with all three agencies preferred by

2.99

Headquarters or precinct station equally acceptable to

4.79

* Only cities of more than 25,000 population were asked their opinion on police con-
nection.

bear.4 If, as some assert, certainty of apprehension and pun-
ishment would result in a more effective control over crime,
increased expenditures for police communication facilities —
without which speedy and certain apprehension of criminals
is almost impossible — become an immediate obligation of mu-
nicipal, county, and state governments. Those who do not take
so simple a view as this of the causes and cure of crime would
also approve of increased facilities for apprehending law-
breakers ; for, no matter what one's theory of the causes of
crime and the treatment of criminals may be, apprehension
must continue to be the first step in any process of punish-
ment, reformation, or treatment.

Expenditures for an adequate police communication sys-

4 See the Eeport of the National Commission on Law Observance and
Enforcement, on the "Cost of Crime."

470

Police Communication Systems

iilti

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o

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Conclusion

471

ft 5

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II!
HI

g H %

O H
§ £

I 2

»OCOt^-C^OSi-HC^t^-

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lllllilll

472 Police Communication Systems

tern can be defended upon the grounds of its tactical value to
the police force and its economy to the community. It is well
to bear in mind that police operations and field technique are
of the nature of a military engagement in time of war. Strat-
egy and tactics employed by the police are essentially those
of the military force, since both police and military opera-
tions are directed against a hostile element bent upon an at-
tack against life and property. The theater of police activities
is one of combat in which engagements are real, and in which
gunfire and the loss of life may characterize the day's work.
Military maneuvers, reconnaissance, and maintenance of
communication lines between the elements of a command in
military campaigns, all find their counterpart in the patrol
operations of a well-organized police department, where suc-
cess is primarily dependent upon the expert use of a limited
number of men.

Rear-Admiral Fiske has formulated the rule for determin-
ing the effectiveness of two forces in combat. Assume that
one force is numerically superior to the other, in the ratio of
1000 to 500, and that the destructive ability per man, 10 per
cent, is the same in each force. In other words, one man will
be put out of action by each ten men of the respective forces
in each engagement. In the first engagement the larger force
will inflict a damage of 10 per cent of its own numbers, or
100 men, on the smaller; and the smaller will inflict a loss of
50 on the larger. The relative losses and the number of en-
gagements required to annihilate the smaller force, other
things being equal, are shown below in the accompanying
table (p. 473).

In the entire six engagements the destructive power of the
individual men in each force is exactly the same. If, in the
smaller force, we increase maneuverability and speed of ac-
tion, the destructive power of the individual unit is greatly
enhanced through the application of a simple principle of
mechanics, namely, the value of mass times rapidity of move-
ment. If increased from ten to twenty, the smaller force of
500 becomes as powerful as the larger contingent and, beyond

Conclusion 473

that point, complete annihilation of the greater force is a
certainty.

In a strictly numerical consideration, the police force is at
a tremendous disadvantage. The number of professional crim-
inals and their amateur brethren, together with the random
and potential offenders, may outnumber the patrol force in
any one community by a ratio of from 500 :1 to 2000 :1. Add
to this the fact that the time and place of criminal attack is
known in advance only to the offender, and some idea of the

EFFECT OF SUPERIORITY OF FORCE

Engagement

Larger force (1,000)

Smaller force (500)

At opening
of
engagement

1,000
950
910

879
858
841
841

Loss

At opening
of
engagement

Loss

First

50
40
31
21
13
4

500
400
305
214
126
40
0

100

95
91
88
86
40

Third

Fourth

Fifth

Sixth

magnitude of the patrol problem may be gained. In riots,
major disturbances, and outbreaks, the police force is respon-
sible for the restoration of order, and where mob violence
gains the upper hand, this deficiency in numbers may make
control of the situation difficult if not impossible, unless the
best of strategy and equipment is employed. It is at once ap-
parent that an enormous gap must be bridged over if the
power of an incredibly small force is to be amplified up to a
point where operations will be attended with any degree of
success.

In building up the combat strength of the patrol force, two
principles of military strategy are today at work in modern
patrol service. Separately, they appear to be contradictory
and in conflict with each other. Together, and with the aid of
communication, they have made possible the dual responsi-
bility of the twentieth-century patrolman to society, namely,

474 Police Communication Systems

that of an agency for the prevention and detection of crime
on the beat, and as a unit of reserve strength instantly avail-
able for mobilization in emergencies.

The first of these principles, deployment of the force, finds
expression as a function of the definite limits imposed upon
the personnel strength of a police department by the demands
of efficiency and economy. The law of diminishing returns re-
veals a steady decline in both efficiency and economy when
total personnel passes a certain point. There is likewise a
steady decrease and even eventual loss of all efficiency, when,
through the dictates of a specious, dangerous economy, the
police force is inadequate in numbers to master the situation.
This certain existence of a definite, known limit to available
man power being authoritatively determined, expert organi-
zation and distribution of the strength that is available is
imperative. Thus decentralization of the force has come to be
a fundamental principle of police organization, by virtue of
which the police beat is the f oundational unit of operation in
the modern department. The beat patrolman is the final out-
post of a crime-fighting organization. While in normal rou-
tine patrol of his beat, he is also discharging the greater part
of the basic functions of police service and protection, as
leading criminologists have observed. Decentralization per-
mits the maximum employment of man power and equipment.

The second tactical principle, upon which is predicated po-
lice mobilization in the emergency, is conservation of the re-
serve strength of the force. It is fundamental in military
strategy that every field maneuver must be supported from
the rear by a reserve force. In police service, this provision
for reserve strength is an indispensable part of the patrol
system, for the police must be prepared, always and instantly,
to meet any emergency.

Decentralization of the force, of course, is accompanied by
a scattering of strength throughout the area policed, and su-
perficially seems to imply a disruption of the reserve plan
whereby a body of men may be immediately detailed to the
scene of action when an emergency arises. Two possible alter-

Conclusion 475

natives may be considered. A standing reserve force may be
held at headquarters, or in police stations, in readiness for
concentration in any given quarter. For many years police
departments maintained such a force, but as an administra-
tive procedure the practice proved unsound and it has been,
in large measure, abandoned. The plan was obviously uneco-
nomical and inefficient because of the waste represented by
idle man power and equipment in the intervals between emer-
gency calls.

The remedy has rather been found in a second alternative
whereby, through the agency of communication and the exer-
cise of the powers of maneuverability and speed of movement,
effective mobilization is possible, and at a moment's notice
a highly decentralized machine may be transformed into a
mobile unit capable of rapid concentration in any quarter.
Whether the emergency be the investigation of a reported sus-
picious character in an outlying neighborhood or the response
to a major bank alarm, the results are the same, the rapid and
intelligent movement of required strength to the scene of
action. Thus, through the simple formula — mass times rapid-
ity of action — the power of a numerically inferior body of
men is amplified to a point where they may adequately per-
form the tasks assigned to them.

Elementary though this principle may seem, it bears di-
rectly upon the police problem in every community today.
Adequate communication facilities provide the only means
that make it possible for the force to act as a unit. Without
some means whereby the chief can keep in touch with his men,
the isolated patrolman can seek assistance from headquarters,
and both parties can communicate with each other, the entire
force is paralyzed. The men are without a head to plan and
the head is without a force wherewith to strike. Commenting
upon the serious lack of police communication equipment in
most communities, the Law Observance and Enforcement
Committee in its notable report concerning police conditions
in the United States, directed attention to the situation in the
following words :

476 Police Communication Systems

To serve the community effectively, the policeman must be fully
equipped with the tools of his profession. This important item has been
overlooked by the treasury watchdogs, who, in their eagerness to make
a record for economy, have compelled the police to fight the criminal
without aid of modern and necessary devices and appliances.

This is in essence one of the most serious of police ills which commu-
nities are facing today. To many, the number of personnel immediately
connotes an efficient system. They do not seem to realize that organized
gangdom, rapidly increasing population, and the consequently greater
burden of handling it, plus swiftly expanding areas, must eliminate the
idea once and for all that 1900 standards of police equipment and obso-
lete methods of communication can possibly effectuate a control over
the menacing crime situation.

It is not yet fully realized by municipal authorities that the
expenditure for an adequate police communication system is
a profitable investment and one in which the returns are im-
mediate and tangible. In the plan for an improved force, per-
sonnel considerations too often eclipse the real need, which
is the need of equipment. The salaries of policemen run into
millions, and represent the major part of the annual budget
in each individual police department. Equipment which
would increase the effectiveness and reduce the quantity of
costly personnel resources would be cheap, even at the price
of a considerable outlay. The money spent in providing effi-
cient communication services gives a much greater return in
improved protection than if used simply to add to existing
man power. The mere addition of more men does not in any
way influence the effectiveness of the individual officer, nor
does it increase to any appreciable degree the over-all protec-
tive work of the department as a whole.

Almost every American police department today is com-
plaining of a shortage of man power and besieging its muni-
cipal officials for budget increases to take care of proposed
additions to the force. Closer inspection would reveal, in the
greater number of departments, that the shortage is in equip-
ment rather than in man power. In the ordinary large com-
munity in this country, the ratio of total police personnel to
population in the area served is approximately 1:500. In con-
trast with this usual ratio, one modern police department

Conclusion 477

today, serving a total population of 85,000 people and prop-
erly equipped for its work, is effectively policing the area
with a total personnel in the ratio of one officer to approxi-
mately 1750 population. Current Federal statistics indicate
that this community has succeeded in establishing the lowest
crime rate for all cities of comparable size in the United
States. There are other communities which have thus dis-
covered that, through the application of modern methods and
equipment, they can determine their own crime rate.

The immediate and far-reaching economic significance of
prompt arrest has not yet received the full recognition that
it deserves. The striking relationship between delayed appre-
hension and the mounting costs of law enforcement, more par-
ticularly to the treasury of the individual municipality, is
best exemplified by an analysis of a typical case removed from
police records of the day.

Near the closing hour of business a well-dressed young man
walked into a branch bank in a far western city and tendered
a check for payment. As the cashier opened the money drawer,
the erstwhile customer drew an automatic pistol, held up the
bank, and escaped with $1500 in currency. The man commit-
ting this robbery proved to be a paroled convict from the
California State Penitentiary at San Quentin. He was sub-
sequently apprehended in Kansas City, some two thousand
miles from the city in which the crime was committed. The
bank was robbed on November 28, and the offender was taken
into custody on December 13 following. Although only fifteen
clays had passed between the commission of the crime and the
date of apprehension, it was no ordinary bill that the com-
munity had to pay as a direct result of the criminal's escape
on November 28.

The analysis is concerned only with the expense incurred
up to and including the time of arrest, since it is in that inter-
val that an adequate bank hold-up alarm system and patrol-
communication facilities might have effected an immediate
arrest and resulted in the elimination of a greater portion of
the cost of this case to the community. The additional cost of

478 Police Communication Systems

prosecution, conviction, and penitentiary confinement is a
matter of direct concern to students in other fields of crimi-
nology.

COST OF CASE

(1) Currency taken from bank, $1500, less $600 recovered on the
person of the offender at the time of the arrest $ 900

(2) Transportation and other expenses involved in extradition

of the prisoner from Missouri 520

(3) Cost of investigation by Missouri police officials which led

to his arrest 200*

(4) Investigation of certain aspects of the case by other outside
police agencies, including the police departments of Los An-
geles, Calif. ; Chicago, 111. ; Hot Springs, Ark. ; Galena, and
Wichita, Kan. ; Forest Park, 111.; and Eichmond, Calif 650*

(5) Eeward paid by bank officials to the Missouri police officials

who took the offender into custody 1,000

(6) Correspondence, telegrams, and long-distance telephone con-
versations exchanged in the course of investigation 50

(7) Administrative, investigational, and clerical expense in the

city where the crime was committed 350*

Total $3,670

* Estimated.

Quick apprehension of the criminal in this case would have
effected a direct saving of approximately $3300, an amount
sufficient to finance the installation of a complete modern re-
call system in the ordinary city. Items Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and
part of 7 would have been eliminated entirely by a crime-scene
arrest.

Attention is invited to the fact that the financial loss to
the community in this particular case was below the usual
amount. It is usually more, seldom less. The police were fa-
vored by the discovery in the preliminary investigation of a
crumpled part of a letter in the robber's apartment which
gave valuable information concerning his possible move-
ments, a circumstance which eventually led to his arrest in
Kansas City. Under ordinary conditions, as most police offi-
cials will testify, the investigation might easily have extended
over a period of months, with the total cost of the case mount-
ing rapidly.

Conclusion 479

Few persons stop to realize, particularly municipal officials
who control the financial administration of their communi-
ties, that the successful escape of a criminal is inevitably
followed by an extended and costly investigation, and that
society — the community and the individual taxpayer — must
perforce underwrite every dollar spent in the interval be-
tween escape and apprehension. Even less recognition is given
to the inescapable fact that it is only through the provision of
an adequate communication system that the arrest may fol-
low close on the depredation.

The police department must be equipped to meet the crimi-
nal who, today, has utilized in his nefarious calling many of
the achievements of science and modern civilization. Fast
automobiles left conveniently unlocked at the curb by care-
less or trusting motorists or purchased outright with an
illicit income, have solved his transportation problems. Net-
works of improved highways await the desperado, and chance
favors his safe retreat unless the police are able to close every
avenue of escape without delay. Given five minutes, the fugi-
tive is from three to five miles away from the scene of his
crime. Under the protecting cover of darkness he can be com-
pletely lost by the following morning in another city four
hundred miles distant. In the foregoing case, typical of the
daily repertory of crime, a stolen automobile provided the
means for the get-away, and at Sacramento, some seventy-five
miles from the scene of attack, the robber abandoned the car
and boarded a fast plane for Chicago.

The financial economy of a modern police communication
system is not limited to the savings made in individual cases.
The gain is cumulative, expanding like compound interest.
News travels rapidly in the underworld and professional
criminals soon learn to give a wide berth to those communities
where, as they know in advance, a fast police service awaits
them. These fellows possess too keen a sense of prison humor
to gamble with their liberty in the well-protected community ;
they look for easier prey, where the hazards of apprehension
are not so great. Local offenders are even more easily con-

480 Police Communication Systems

vinced, with the general result that the crime rate of the
adequately policed community bends downward and the eco-
nomic and social losses attributed to crime drop to a saner
level. So close is the relationship between the cost of law en-
forcement and police preparedness for emergencies. With an
annual crime bill now estimated to be approximately billions
of dollars,5 the communities of the nation cannot afford fur-
ther to neglect the provision of adequate police operating
equipment. If adequate recall, telephone, radio, and teletype-
writer systems provided for the use of law-enforcement agen-
cies saved one-tenth of 1 per cent of the nation's tribute to the
criminal, their cost would be underwritten many times over.

The broad economical aspects of adequate police commu-
nication equipment have received recognition in one quarter,
namely, the insurance companies. Burglar- and holdup-
alarm protective systems have yielded substantial discounts
in insurance rates for some time. There now appears the
possibility that, in the computation of the rates of insurance
covering all forms of criminal attack against property, con-
sideration will be given to the relative standing of the indi-
vidual police departments as crime-fighting organizations.
Just as fire-insurance rates are influenced by the fire-fighting
equipment of a community, there is a widening opinion that
insurance rates for protection against automobile theft, rob-
bery, burglary, fraud, and embezzlement should be based in
some degree upon the measured efficiency of the community's
police department and its equipment. Unofficially at least, in-
surance underwriters have proposed a conference between
their number and a committee from the International Asso-
ciation of Chiefs of Police to consider such a project.

Under this plan, a percentage of the rate on the classes of
insurance mentioned would be based upon efficiency factors,
points to be deducted or credited to the basic percentage
in accordance with the department's accredited standing.
Progress in this direction will depend somewhat upon the

5 Speech by Senator Royal S. Copeland, Thursday, January 11, 1934,
Congressional Record, 73 Cong., 2 Sess.

Conclusion 481

development of a yardstick or some satisfactory system of
measurement for the determination of a department's rela-
tive standing on the efficiency scale. Annual reports showing
the amount of crime committed, number of arrests and con-
victions, and similar data, are indicative but not conclusive,
and need to be supplemented by the many other important
factors. This particular phase of the problem is receiving the
attention of police experts at the present time, and it is likely
that a measuring device or scale will soon be developed which
can be applied to the department of any community in the
country, and the standing or efficiency of that department
definitely and accurately determined.

While any satisfactory rating system must of necessity be
concerned, among other things, with the police executive, his
method of appointment, training, and tenure of office ; de-
partmental personnel — qualifications, appointing procedure,
training, sick benefits, pension provisions ; detective bureau —
organization and procedure ; the police record system ; traffic
regulation and control; criminal identification methods in
use ; and similar factors, the nature and the extent of modern
communication facilities at the disposal of the department
will occupy a major position in any analysis. The number and
the type of burglar- and holdup-alarm systems, beat tele-
phone and recall systems, headquarters telephone layout,
radio system, teletype connection, and the plan of operation
for emergencies — these things will be far-reaching in their
effect on insurance-rate adjustments.

This general development is to be welcomed ; for the prob-
lem of inadequate police communication facilities, when thus
linked to insurance rates on a broad scale, becomes a matter
of immediate personal concern to every individual in the com-
munity, and a reaction toward increased allowances for oper-
ating equipment should be the logical, inevitable, and, it may
be added, most desirable result.

With the case for communication resting solidly upon a
foundation of both utility and economy, the dearth of modern
equipment in use is a challenge to the police and to the author-

482 Police Communication Systems

ities under whom they serve. Modern telephone, radio, tele-
type, and alarm equipment is now obtainable at costs which
eliminate any just or reasonable complaint of excessive ex-
penditure, and those charged with the conduct of municipal
affairs will find it increasingly difficult to ignore their respon-
sibility to the community in providing the police department
with adequate operating equipment.

APPENDIX 1

SPECIFICATIONS AND BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS FOB THE
PURCHASE OF POLICE RADIO EQUIPMENT

Milwaukee

To the Central Board of Purchases,
City of Milwaukee.

The subscriber hereby proposes to furnish the material hereinafter
described at and for the prices hereinafter named, according to plans
and specifications on file in the office of the Central Board of Purchases,
to-wit :

(a) Bidder shall quote here for furnishing the following equipment,
radio transmitter and 8 receiving sets installed complete, a lump sum;
price $

(b) Bidder shall quote here a price per receiving set for extra sets, if
more than eight are needed of accepted type. Price each $

(d) Bidder shall quote here discount for cash for payment made on or
before the 10th of the month following receipt and proper operation of
the complete equipment which has been installed and accepted; quote
here in percentage %

(e) Bidder shall state here number of calendar days required to fur-
nish, install above equipment and place it in service. Number of calen-
dar days

(f) Bidder agrees to pay to the City of Milwaukee five ($5.00)
dollars per day for each and every calendar day's delay in the comple-
tion of this contract beyond the time stated in his bid.

(g) Bidder shall furnish with bid, drawings or sketches of above
equipment.

FOOTNOTE — You may bid on item (c) only if you desire. Check or
bond to be in the same amount as specified for bids on all equipment.

Agreeably to the terms of your advertisement inviting proposals for
such work, the undersigned hereby agrees to enter into a contract with
the City of Milwaukee with satisfactory sureties for the performance of
the said work.

The subscriber herewith deposits with the Central Board of Purchases

of said City of Milwaukee the sum of dollars, in money (or by

duly certified bank check payable to the order of said Central Board of
Purchases) pursuant to the terms of said advertisement, and hereby
agrees that in case the contract for the said work above specified shall
be awarded to the subscriber, and the said subscriber shall fail to exe-

[483]

484 Police Communication Systems

cute a contract accompanied by a bond with satisfactory sureties for
the performance of the said specified work for the above specified price,
within a reasonable time after the said contract for said Avork is pre-
pared and ready for execution, then such sum of money (or certified
bank check) deposited by the subscriber as aforesaid shall become the
property of said City of Milwaukee as fixed and liquidated damages for
such default, and shall be paid by said Central Board of Purchases to
the City Treasurer of said city ; provided, however, that in case the con-
tract for the work herein bid for is not awarded to the subscriber, or
that in case the said contract shall be awarded to the subscriber and
the said subscriber shall execute the said contract, pursuant to this bid,
and shall accompany such contract with a good and sufficient bond with
satisfactory sureties, then, and in each of such cases, said sum or money
(or certified bank check) shall be returned to the subscriber.

Name

Address

Witnessed by: gigned per

(State official capacity)

Directions to bidders

The Board of Purchases will determine the lowest responsible bidder
qualified to perform and complete this contract to the best interests of
the City of Milwaukee. If there are tie bids, they will be decided by the
Central Board of Purchases.

All bids must be stated in writing and in figures.

The Central Board of Purchases reserves the right to reject any or
all bids, and reserves the right to purchase the aerial towers separately.

Each bid is to be accompanied by a bond in the amount as specified
below, or in lieu of the bond, the bidder may deposit with his bid cash
or an unqualified CERTIFIED check, drawn to the order of the Central
Board of Purchases, in the amount as specified below :

Bond of $500.00 or certified check of $250.00.

If bidder fails to submit a bond or check with his bid, as directed, his
bid cannot be accepted.

Important : In case bonds are submitted with bids, local bondsmen or
a surety company authorized to do business in Wisconsin will be re-
quired, said bond to be approved as to form and execution by the Mil-
waukee City Attorney before being presented with the bid.

Successful bidder agrees to enter into contract on file in the office of
the Central Board of Purchases, and to furnish bond in the full amount
of the contract.

Appendixes 485

Specifications for radio equipment

1. These specifications are being sent to you in duplicate, one copy is
to be filled out completely and returned with bid, and the other is for
your files. The bid is to be placed on sheet No. 1, the first sheet in these
specifications. The bid must be signed in order to receive consideration.

2. Because of the special nature of these requirements, the Board of
Purchases will determine the lowest responsible bidder qualified to per-
form and complete this contract to the best interests of the City of
Milwaukee.

3. These specifications are intended to provide for the furnishing and
installation of one 300 to 400 watt standard make and type radio trans-
mitter and all necessary equipment pertaining thereto fully licensed to
City of Milwaukee and required for the proper operation thereof:
8 automobile radio receiving sets of standard make and type fully li-
censed to City of Milwaukee required for the proper operation thereof ;
aerial and two steel towers of proper height installed complete on roof
of Safety Building, Eighth and State Streets, Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
engineering service necessary to instruct city radio operators in the use
and maintenance of all equipment furnished; one year's guarantee
against all defects in workmanship and material; 90 days maintenance
service on all equipment without additional charge, this to include the
replacing of tubes and of other parts of equipment requiring repair and
maintenance during this period, charging of batteries excepted. Suffi-
cient drawings or sketches shall be furnished with bid showing layout,
dimensions and method of installation of (a) transmitter, (b) aerial
towers, (c) receivers.

4. Transmitter. Transmitter shall be of 300 to 400 watt capacity and
must be crystal control and must conform with all rulings of the Federal
Radio Commission as to frequency, stability and percentage of modula-
tion. It shall be installed complete on the sixth floor of the Safety Build-
ing, located at Eighth and State Streets, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Antenna
for aerial towers, necessary cable, and guy wires to prevent swaying
shall be included and installed.

The room in which transmitter equipment is to be installed is nineteen
and a half feet long, ten and a half feet wide and eleven feet, eleven
inches high. Contractor shall furnish and install cable from transmitter
to switchboard of Police Department located on the third floor of the
same building. The cable terminal at switchboard end shall be complete
with fittings to provide for the microphone physical connection with the
switchboard and also remote control push button for starting trans-
mitter, and signal light to show when transmitter is on the air.

The transmitter shall be properly licensed and standard equipment.
The contractor shall protect the City from any and all expense arising

486 Police Communication Systems

from any and all claims of patent infringement which may be made
against the City because of the purchase and use of this equipment. The
contractor shall pay all fees, costs, royalties, damages and judgments
which may be assessed against the City by reason of its purchase and
use of this equipment.

5. Each bidder shall furnish here the following information :

A. Vacuum tube apparatus.

(a) Make Manufacturer's No

(b) Type....

Type of circuit

Number of tubes

Plate current (per tube)

Plate voltage

(d) Number of intermediate power amplifier stages, if any

(e) Ratings of stages

(f ) Power amplifier, if used (last stage) :

Number of tubes

Normal operating: Plate current (per tube)

Plate voltage

Manufacturer's rating of tubes :

Plate current

Plate voltage

Power output watts.

(g) Modulator: Make

Manufacturer's No

Plate current (per tube)

Plate voltage

Which radio stage is modulated?

(h) Maximum power output watts.

(i) Plate power supply for transmitter

Eatings (voltage and current)

What is maximum percentage of modulation?

(j) Maximum and minimum frequencies to which transmitter can be
tuned are kc, and kc.

B. Normal radiated power watts.

Height of antenna (from its ground or counterpoise to highest point of
antenna) meters.

(Bidder to determine this and guarantee to be of proper height).

Appendixes 487

C. (1) Bidder shall state prices hereon or file price list for extra power

tubes and essential repair parts.
(2) Time of delivery of repair parts days.

D. Do you guarantee that any and all parts can be furnished by your-
self?

6. Antenna towers:

Two steel aerial towers of proper height shall be installed and
anchored properly and securely on roof of Safety Building if permitted
by Federal Eadio Commission, otherwise bids must be rejected. The
main roof of the City part of Safety Building is approximately 106 feet
from ground at Eighth Street and 92 feet from ground at Ninth Street.
Each bidder shall bid on high quality steel towers which bidder guar-
antees to be of proper height and bidder shall state in his bid the height
of tower he proposes to furnish. These towers to be of proper heavy
gauge open hearth class A structural steel properly reinforced and
trussed. All structural steel and bolts to be hot dipped with pure zinc.
Bolts to be not less than %-inch in diameter. Corner splices to be butt
splices with machined bearing. Each tower to be fitted with a hot dipped
galvanized steel ladder on one face. Steel truss templates to be supplied
and attached for setting anchorage. Top sheave to be not less than
eight inches in diameter and to be graphite bronze bushed. Towers to be
so constructed as to withstand a wind velocity of 115 miles per hour.
The Board of Purchases reserves the right to purchase these towers
separately.

Contractor shall furnish the following equipment:

7. Eeceiving sets.

Eight automobile receiving sets complete with tubes, aerials, bat-
teries, as follows:

(1) Four receiving sets to be installed in sedans in possession of Po-
lice Department. Contractor shall open tops, remove wire screen and
place aerial therein, if aerial in top is used.

(2) Four receiving sets to be installed in new cars furnished by the
City. Contractor can arrange to have aerials installed in cars on assem-
bly line. If receiving sets draw more than l1^ amperes A current, state
herein amount of current consumed amperes.

Sixteen 180 ampere hour high quality heavy plate storage A batteries.
B batteries to be of heavy duty type. Eeceiving sets to be contained in
heavy gauge metal box attached and locked to back of front seat with
heavy brackets, bolts and lock to insure against vibration and theft.
Means shall be provided for quick removal of receiving sets for the
making of adjustments and repairs. Bidder to state number of tubes
he proposes to furnish with each receiving set.

488 Police Communication Systems

Eeceiving sets to have locked fixed setting for wavelength of trans-
mitter at Police Headquarters, and to be fitted with volume control and
automatic volume control to compensate for interference of steel struc-
tures preferred, if advisable.

Receiving sets shall have a, range equal to that of the transmitter,
and in no case shall the range be less than 2500 kc to 1500 kc. A larger
range will be preferable. Bidders shall state herein range to be fur-
nished, from kc to kc.

State on this sheet whether receiving sets have automatic compen-
sating volume control, or whether volume control is manual, or both

8. The awarding of this contract is contingent upon whether a Fed-
eral radio license is granted to the City.

9. Experience and responsibility of Udder. Each bidder shall state
on this sheet what experience bidder or the firm which he represents has
had in the manufacture and installation of radio equipment of this or
similar nature. State where this equipment has been installed, name of
purchaser, and length of time in service. (If more space is needed, attach
typewritten sheets.)

APPENDIX 2

CONTRACTS COVERING REGIONAL POLICE RADIO
ORGANIZATION AND SERVICE

AGREEMENT

This agreement, made and entered into this 17th day of August, 1931,
by and between the City of Berkeley, California, a municipal corpora-
tion, hereinafter called the party of the first part, and

hereinafter called the party of the second part.

WITNESSETH :

Whereas, in the interest of public convenience and necessity it is
deemed advisable to unite the territory within the Counties of Alameda
and Contra Costa for the purpose of establishing therein a complete
police radio communication system ; and

Whereas, the party of the first part is willing to construct a central
broadcasting station to serve the said counties and all municipalities in
said counties, without discrimination, and the said party of the second
part is desirous and willing to cooperate and use the said broadcasting
station; and

Whereas, the total population of the counties of Alameda and Contra
Costa exceeds 500,000.

Now, therefore, for and in consideration of the premises and the
mutual promises herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows,
to-wit :

One. The said party of the first part agrees to apply in its own name
to the Federal Communications Commission within 60 days from and
after the date of this agreement, for a police radio station construction
permit to construct a station for the purpose of disseminating informa-
tion pertaining to the safety of the public in general, to be operated at
a power sufficient to adequately cover the said counties of Alameda and
Contra Costa; said power and frequency to be determined by field in-
tensity surveys and experimental tests. Said application and permit to
be in conformance with Section 101 of the Radio Act of 1927.

Two. The said party of the first part agrees that upon the receipt of
a construction permit authorizing it to accomplish all of the objects set
forth in Paragraph "ONE," which, in the opinion of the said party of
the first part, authorizes it to economically construct a station of suffi-
cient power and proper frequency to fully accomplish the objects con-
templated by this agreement from a practical point of view ; then, and
in that event the said party of the first part will proceed to construct
said station in accordance with said permit; provided, however, that

[489]

490 Police Communication Systems

if said station, in the opinion of the party of the first part, cannot be
so constructed and operated, this agreement may be cancelled and ter-
minated by resolution of its said Council declaring the said agreement
to be cancelled and terminated, and instructing the City Clerk to serve
a copy of said resolution by registered mail upon the party of the sec-
ond part, and the Federal Communications Commission.

Three. The party of the first part agrees that if and when said station
is completed, a license to operate will be applied for, and upon receipt
of said license, the said party of the first part agrees to regularly oper-
ate and maintain said station and furnish service without cost to the
said party of the second part; said service to consist of disseminating
information, without discrimination, pertaining to the safety of the
public in general to be expressly limited to crime emergencies, and in
accordance with the rules and regulations to be hereafter adopted with
the mutual consent of the parties hereto.

Four. The said party of the second part agrees that it will not, during
the term of this agreement, apply to the Federal Communications Com-
mission for either a permit to construct a police radio station or a license
to operate such a station, and this agreement will be the authority for
the Federal Communications Commission to refuse to issue either said
permit or license to the said party of the second part.

Five. Said party of the second part agrees to accept police radio
broadcasting service from the said party of the first part during the
term of this agreement in accordance with the rules and regulations to
be hereafter adopted, without cost to the said party of the second part ;
provided, however, that any and all receiving apparatus installed by
the said party of the second part shall be at its own expense, and the
party of the first part agrees to furnish all reasonable advice and in-
formation to the party of the second part in choice of receiving equip-
ment, and the party of the second part agrees not to install any receiving
equipment which in the opinion of the party of the first part would
not readily lend itself to coordination and use with the equipment of
the broadcasting station of the party of the first part and the system
contemplated by this agreement.

Six. It is mutually understood and agreed that said rules and regula-
tions to be hereafter adopted shall be in all respects practicable and
reasonable, and for the best interest of public convenience and neces-
sity and the efficient operation of a police radio broadcasting system.

Seven. It is mutually understood and agreed by the parties hereto
that this agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and shall not
be subject to cancellation except as provided in Paragraph "TWO"
hereof, for a period of 12 months from the date of this agreement, and
shall after that time continue in full force and effect until 30 days after
either party, by resolution of its legislative body, has declared it to be

Appendixes 491

its intention to cancel this agreement, and notified the other party in
writing to that effect, and after the expiration of said 30-day period
this agreement shall automatically terminate and become null and void,
and the legislative body of either party is hereby authorized to pass a
resolution to that effect. Said resolutions shall be served by or upon
the Clerk of the Municipality and/or county, as the case may be, by
registered mail, and like copies served upon the City Manager of said
Municipality, if there be one, and if not, upon the City Attorney or
District Attorney of said Municipality or county, as the case may be.
In witness whereof, the parties hereto have hereunto set their cor-
porate names and seals by their officers thereunto duly authorized, the
day and year first hereinabove written.

CITY OF BERKELEY

(Mayor)
Approved as to form: By

(City Clerk)

By CITY OF

(City Attorney) -

(Mayor)

(City Attorney) By....

(City Clerk)

>SS.

Since these agreements may vary somewhat in form and
detail, the contract employed by the police of St. Paul, Minne-
sota, is here quoted also :
STATE OF MINNESOTA)
COUNTY OF RAMSEY

Thomas A. Brown, being first duly sworn, deposes and says that he
is the Chief of Police of the City of St. Paul, in the County of Ramsey
and State of Minnesota. That under affiant's supervision, as such Chief
of Police, there is now and has been for some time last past maintained
and operated in the said city of St. Paul police radio station WPDS,
under and pursuant to a license duly issued therefor by the United
States Department of Commerce, Radio Division. That by virtue of
said license, there has been specifically allotted to said radio station
regular operating power of 150 watts for regular transmissions, and
for experimental purposes an operating power of 500 watts.

That there is situated in the area contiguous to the City of St. Paul,
in Dakota County, Minnesota, two other municipalities, the City of
West St. Paul and the City of South St. Paul, neither of which has a

492 Police Communication Systems

police radio station or a license for the operation of a police radio sta-
tion. That in reliance upon the existence and operation of said station
WPDS, and for the expedition of police work and cooperation therein
with the City of St. Paul, said cities of West St. Paul and South St. Paul
procured and are now operating radio equipped police motor vehicles,
and receiving therein transmissions relative to police work from said
station WPDS, and the maintenance and operation of said station is
essential to effective police work not only in the city of St. Paul, but
as well in said adjacent municipalities.

That the sheriff of Eamsey County, Minnesota, has made extensive
plans for the operation of radio equipped police cars in the prosecution
of police work in said county but without the limits of said city of St.
Paul, dependent upon the operation of said station WPDS and the
reception of radio communications therefrom to such cars.

That it will not be practicable to attempt to cooperate in the police
work by means of radio of the City of St. Paul, said adjacent muncipali-
ties and said county through said station WPDS except upon an oper-
ating power of 500 watts for regular transmission. That it is essential
to effective police work by the City of St. Paul that cooperation be had
by means of radio transmissions from said station with the police de-
partments of said municipalities and the County of Eamsey.

That upon the granting of a license by the Department of Commerce,
Radio Division, allowing said station WPDS an operating power of 500
watts for regular transmissions, said cooperative plan of police work
embracing said City of St. Paul, said County of Ramsey and said ad-
jacent municipalities will be placed and kept in complete operation, and
to affiant's best knowledge, information and belief, said County of Ram-
sey and said adjacent municipalities will not find it necessary to request
individual facilities for such police radio work, and will accept such
cooperative service from station WPDS in lieu thereof.

( Signed by )

County Authorities Chief of Police

The following affidavit of county authorities supported the
agreement just quoted :

STATE OF MINNESOTA )

> ss.

COUNTY OF EAMSEY C '

George H. Moeller, being first duly sworn, deposes and says that
he is now and has been for several years last past the duly qualified
and acting sheriff of the County of Ramsey, State of Minnesota, and
as such, among other things, has supervision of police work within
said county and without the corporate limits of the City of St. Paul.

That affiant has read the annexed affidavit of Thomas A. Brown,
Chief of Police of the City of St. Paul, and that the same is true, that

Appendixes 493

affiant, as such sheriff, has made extensive plans for the operation of
police cars, radio equipped, within said county and without the cor-
porate limits of said city for the reception of radio messages from
station WPDS, dependent upon the granting of a license for operat-
ing power to 500 watts for regular transmissions by said station WPDS.

That it would be impracticable to attempt the cooperative police
service outlined in said accompanying affidavit of Thomas A. Brown
by means of radio unless such license allowing such operating power
to 500 watts were granted. That upon the granting of such license al-
lowing station WPDS an operating power of 500 watts for regular
transmissions, there will be no necessity for a request on the part of
the county of Eamsey for individual radio facilities, and it is affiant's
belief that said county will accept the services from station WPDS
as outlined in said affidavit, and will not request individual radio
facilities.

( Signed by )

Notary Public County Authorities

APPENDIX 3

MUNICIPAL LEGISLATION ON RADIO INTERFERENCE

AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING ELECTRICAL INTERFERENCE

WITH RADIO RECEPTION AND PROVIDING FOR

PUNISHMENT FOR VIOLATION THEREOF

Be it ordained by

Section 1. That it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, copartner-
ship, association, or corporation, knowingly or wantonly to operate
or cause to be operated, any machine, device, apparatus, or instru-
ment of any kind whatsoever within the corporate limits of the city

of between the hours of o'clock M.

and 12 o'clock midnight, the operation of which shall cause reasonably
preventable electrical interference with radio reception, within said
municipal limits; Provided, however, that X-ray pictures, examina-
tions, or treatments may be made at any time if the machines or ap-
paratus used therefor are properly equipped to avoid all unnecessary
or reasonably preventable interference with radio reception and are
not negligently operated.

Section. 2. That this ordinance shall not be held or construed to em-
brace or cover the regulation of any transmitting, broadcasting, or
receiving instrument, apparatus, or device used or useful in inter-
state commerce, or the operation of which instrument, apparatus, or
device is licensed or authorized by or under the provisions of any
act of the Congress of the United States.

Section 3. That every person, copartnership, association, firm or
corporation violating any of the provisions of this ordinance shall,

upon conviction, be punished by fine of not less than

dollars, nor more than dollars, or by imprisonment in

the city jail for not less than days, nor more than

days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Each day during which
such violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

Section 4. That this ordinance shall take effect, etc. (here follow re-
quirements of state laws).

Following is a partial list of municipalities and other juris-
dictions which have already enacted laws against preventable
external interference with radio reception.

Brattleboro, Vt. Two Harbors, Mich. Hagerstown, Md.

Grand Rapids, Mich. Chesangin, Mich. Cole Camp, Mo.

Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Beverly, Mass. Sedalia, Mo.

Bay City, Mich. State of Maine Boonville, N. Y.

[494]

Appendixes 495

Millville, N. Y. Wausau, Wis. Alhambra, Calif.

Miles City, Mont. Los Angeles, Calif. Biverside, Calif.

Portland, Ore. Inglewood, Calif. San Diego, Calif.

St. Paul, Minn. Pasadena, Calif. Valentine, Nebr.

Dumbright, Okla. South Pasadena, Calif. Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

Clinton, la. Santa Ana, Calif. Marinette, Wis.

Fairfield, la. Stockton, Calif.

As a further illustration of the form taken by this type of
regulation, there is given below an ordinance now in effect in
Los Angeles, Calif.

Be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Los Angeles, Cali-
fornia—

An ordinance regulating the use of devices or apparatus which in-
terfere with radio broadcasting reception.

The People of the City of Los Angeles, California, do ordain as
follows:

Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation
to operate in the City of Los Angeles any apparatus generating or
causing high frequency oscillations which interfere with radio broad-
cast receiving apparatus or wireless receiving apparatus between the
hours of 6 o'clock P.M., and 11 o'clock P.M., except that a person duly
licensed to practice medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic or dentistry
by the State of California, in a case of absolute emergency arising
in the course of practice of his profession and which case demands
immediate treatment between the afore-mentioned hours, may op-
erate or cause to be operated under his direct supervision any ma-
chine necessary to give emergency treatment in such case.

Section 2. Any device or apparatus such as violet ray machines,
machines using the Tesla Coil or principle, X-ray machines and Dia-
thermy machines which interfere with the intelligibility of reception
under all the following conditions shall be considered as coming within
the terms of this ordinance:

(a) Such device or apparatus must be situated one hundred (100)
feet or more from the radio receiving equipment with which it in-
terferes.

(b) The radio receiving equipment interfered with shall be op-
erated at a volume comparable to a person speaking in a normal tone
of voice.

(c) The broadcasting station whose program is being received when
the interference occurs must have a power output of at least one (1)
kilowatt and must be located not more than twenty-five (25) miles
distant from the receiving set.

It is expressly understood and provided, however, that this ordi-
nance shall not apply to radio stations either broadcast, commercial

496 Police Communication Systems

or amateur, licensed by the Federal Government and/or which are
engaged in interstate communication or to public utilities under the
supervision of the State Kailway Commission.

Section 3. The Chief of the Electrical Division of the Department
of Building and Safety, or his duly authorized Deputies, shall have
the right to enter upon any premises at all reasonable hours for the
purpose of inspecting the installation and working of all apparatus
coming within the terms of this ordinance, and it shall be unlawful
for any person, firm or corporation to interfere with the Chief of the
Electrical Division of the Department of Building and Safety or his
duly authorized Deputies, in making said inspection or to refuse to
permit the said Chief or his Deputies to enter the premises for such
purposes.

Section 4. When an inspection and test shall have been made by the
Chief of the Electrical Division of the Department of Building and
Safety or his duly authorized Deputies and it is found that equipment
or apparatus coming within the terms of this ordinance is being op-
erated in violation of this ordinance the person or persons respon-
sible for the operation of such equipment shall be notified in writing
to discontinue the use of such machine or to make additions, repairs
or modifications thereof in order that the same may be operated in a
manner which complies with the provisions of this ordinance. The
mailing of a registered letter addressed to the owner or operator of
the machine at the premises where the machine is located shall con-
stitute a sufficient notice for the purpose of this ordinance. In the
event that the owner or operator of such machine or apparatus does
not, within forty-eight (48) hours after receipt of notice to repair or
discontinue the use of such machine, either entirely discontinue the
use of such machine during the hours the use of such machine is pro-
hibited by this ordinance, or repair the same so that it complies with
the provisions of this ordinance, such owner shall be deemed to be
operating such machine or apparatus in violation of the provisions
of this ordinance, and such persons shall be subject to the penalties
hereafter provided for such violation.

Section 5. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordi-
nance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred
($500.00) dollars or by imprisonment in the city jail for a period of
not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

APPENDIX 4

MUNICIPAL RADIO LEGISLATION

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE FOLLOWING UP AND ANSWERING OF POLICE
RADIO CALLS J PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION HEREOF, AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

Section 1. It shall be unlawful and an offense for the operator of
any motor vehicle, which is self-propelled, other than police officers,
to follow up and answer radio police calls, or to in any way interfere
with police officers answering such radio police calls.

Section 2. Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the pro-
visions of this ordinance shall be deemed guilty of an offense and
upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding

and costs.

St. Paul, Minnesota

AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE INSTALLATION OR USE OF ANY SHORT
WAVE LENGTH RADIO RECEIVING SET IN ANY TAXICAB, AUTO CAR OP-
ERATED BY PRIVATE LIVERY, OMNIBUS OR PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE OPERATED
UPON THE STREETS OF THE CITY OF ST. PAUL BY ANY PERSON NOT HAV-
ING A PERMIT FROM THE CHIEF OF POLICE OF SAID CITY SO TO DO AND
FIXING THE PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF SAID ORDINANCE.

Section 1. No owner or operator of any taxicab, auto car operated
by private livery, omnibus, or any other motor vehicle operated upon
the streets of the City of St. Paul, for hire, shall equip the same with
or install or use therein any short wave length radio receiving set
unless such owner shall first secure a permit to do so from the Chief
of Police of the City of St. Paul, upon such application as such Chief
of Police shall prescribe.

Section 2. No owner or operator of any private motor vehicle used
for any purpose upon the streets of the city of St. Paul shall equip
the same with or install or use therein any short wave length radio
receiving set, unless such owner shall first secure a permit so to do
from the Chief of Police of the City of St. Paul, upon such application
as such Chief of Police shall prescribe.

Section 3. The term "short wave length radio receiving set," as used
herein shall be construed to mean any radio receiving set capable of
reception on frequencies from eighty-five meters to and including
one hundred and seventy-five meters.

Section 4. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordi-
nance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof,

[497]

498 Police Communication Systems

shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $100.00, or by imprison-
ment for not exceeding 90 days.

Cincinnati, Ohio

It shall be unlawful to equip with a short wave length radio receiv-
ing set, any motor vehicle not in the service of a city, county, state
or federal department engaged in the apprehension of criminals, or
to maintain or operate in the city of Cincinnati any such equipment
on any motor vehicle not in such police service, except with the per-
mission of the City Manager and subject to such conditions as shall
be imposed by him.

For the purpose of this section, the term "short wave length" shall
include any wave length of less than two hundred meters. Any vio-
lation of this section shall be punishable by a fine of not to exceed
$500.00 or by imprisonment for not to exceed six months or both, and
each day's maintenance of the prohibited equipment shall be con-
sidered a separate offense.

Rochester, New York

AUTOMOBILES EQUIPPED WITH SHORT WAVE LENGTH RADIO RECEIVING SETS.

A person not a peace officer must not equip an automobile with a
short wave length radio receiving set, nor drive or use an automobile
equipped with a short wave length radio receiving set within the city
of Eochester without having first secured a permit in writing from
the Commissioner of Public Safety to do so.

Los Angeles, California

AN ORDINANCE REGULATING THE OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES IN THE
CITY OF LOS ANGELES WITH SHORT WAVE LENGTH RECEIVING SETS.

Section 1. Definition. A short wave length radio receiving set shall
be any radio receiving set capable of receiving any radio broadcast
or message on any frequency above 1500 kilocycles.

Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any person to equip or operate
inside of the city of Los Angeles any motor vehicle with a short wave
length radio receiving set, unless such motor vehicle is used by a
peace officer, or is used by the State or County Government.

No department of the city government shall be authorized to equip
or operate an automobile with a short wave length radio receiving
set except the police department of the city of Los Angeles, and the
police department shall only be authorized to equip cars with short
wave length radio receiving sets when such cars are used in the per-
formance of police or fire prevention work or emergency cars under
the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Works.

Appendixes 499

Section 3. The Chief of Police of the city of Los Angeles may issue
permits to any person to equip and operate, inside of the city of Los
Angeles, a motor vehicle with a short wave length radio receiving
set, in the event that such short wave length radio receiving set is
used by such person for experimental purposes only.

The Chief of Police may issue permits to equip with a short wave
length radio receiving set motor vehicles which are in the service of
the Fire Department, or under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public
Works, when the Chief of Police in his discretion believes that such
cars are doing emergency work in the city and should be so equipped,
provided the Chief Engineer of the Fire Department or the Board
of Public Works have first requested the Chief of Police to so equip
cars which are under their jurisdiction.

Any person desiring a permit from the Chief of Police to operate
a short wave length radio receiving set on a motor vehicle inside
of the city of Los Angeles, must make application to the Chief of
Police in writing for such permit, stating the name of the applicant,
the license number and the engine number of the motor vehicle which
it is desired to equip with a short wave length radio receiving set
and also state the reason why such a permit is desired.

It shall be unlawful for any person who has received a permit from
the Chief of Police to equip or operate a motor vehicle with a short
wave length radio receiving set, to place such short wave length radio
receiving set in any vehicle other than the vehicle mentioned in his
application to the Chief of Police, and such person must within thirty
days after a change in the license number of such vehicle, notify the
Chief of Police of any new license number issued upon any vehicle
which is permitted to be equipped with a short wave length radio
receiving set.

Section 4. It shall be unlawful for any person to wilfully make to
the Police Department of the city of Los Angeles any false, mislead-
ing or unfounded report for the purpose of interfering with the op-
eration of the police department, or with the intention of misleading
any police officer of the city of Los Angeles.

Section 5. Any person violating any of the provisions of this ordi-
nance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction
thereof, shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five hundred
dollars or by imprisonment in the city jail for a period of not more
than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Supplementing the foregoing Los Angeles ordinance, it is well to
quote from a letter addressed to R. E. Steckel, Chief of Police, Los
Angeles, Calif., from the office of the United States Attorney (Samuel
W. McNabb), which contains a significant opinion.

"Within the last few months your inspector, F. T. Hawtrey, has

500 Police Communication Systems

taken up with this office the matter of curbing the practices of am-
bulance chasing organizations and tow car garages, as the result of
which it appears that these organizations have made private use of
emergency police information broadcast over radio station KGPL,
to the end that their representatives have generally arrived at the
scene of the accident either before or at the same time that the police
arrived. This, of course, has greatly hindered and impeded the ef-
fective work of the police.

"As a result of Inspector Hawtrey's conferences with this office,
Mr. Harry Graham Baiter, Assistant United States Attorney, took
the matter up with the Federal Radio [Communications] Commission
and its general counsel at Washington, and this office is now prepared
to advise you that after some study and reflection, it is our opinion
that wherever an ambulance chasing organization or a tow car garage,
or any other individual or corporation uses this private and confi-
dential police information broadcast over radio station KGPL, which
is licensed by the Federal Government solely for the purpose of broad-
casting dispatches of an emergency nature to squad cars or other mobile
units, for their own use and benefit, they are subject to prosecution for
violation of Section 27 of the Radio Act of 1927.

"Section 33 of the Radio Act of 1927 provides— 'that any person,
firm, company or corporation who shall violate any provisions of this
act — upon conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction,
shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or by imprison-
ment for a term of not more than five years or both, for each and
every offense.'

"You are advised that if after due notice is given to the general
public of the provisions of this act, you find any ambulance chasing
organization or tow car garage making use of the information broad-
cast over station KGPL for their own private benefit, such infrac-
tions of the Radio Act of 1927 should be referred to the proper federal
authorities, who will vigorously investigate the infractions with a
view to criminal prosecution."

Omaha, Nebraska

AN ORDINANCE PROHIBITING THE INSTALLATION AND USE OF SHORT "WAVE
LENGTH RADIO RECEIVING SETS IN MOTOR VEHICLES OPERATED UPON THE
PUBLIC STREETS OF THE CITY ; PROVIDING A PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION
THEREOF.

Section 1. No person, firm or corporation shall install or use any
short wave length radio receiving sets in any motor vehicle operated
or used upon the public streets of the city; PROVIDED, this ordinance
shall not be construed to apply to vehicles operated or used by the
police department of the city of Omaha, or to vehicles operated or

Appendixes 501

used by an law enforcing agency of the State of Nebraska or any
political subdivision thereof.

Section 2. The term "short wave length radio receiving set" as used
herein shall be construed to mean any radio receiving set capable of
reception on a frequency between 1500 kilocycles and including 3000
kilocycles, or between 100 meters and including 200 meters.

Section 3. Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the pro-
visions of this ordinance, shall upon conviction be fined not more
than one hundred dollars.

APPENDIX 5

RADIO LEGISLATION ENACTED BY STATES

The Michigan State Law

The prohibitive sections of the Michigan state law are em-
bodied in the following Act.

Act 152, Public Acts 1929. An act to provide for a state owned and
operated radio broadcasting station for police purposes only, and to
provide for radio receiving sets to be used in connection therewith;
to provide for the purchase of materials and the construction of the
necessary apparatus, or the purchase of the required equipment; to
require priority of service from telephone and telegraph companies
for the purposes of this act; to define the powers and duties of the
commissioner of the department of public safety hereunder; to per-
mit cities to purchase radio receiving sets from the state; to define
violations of this act and to prescribe penalties therefore; and to
make appropriations for the purposes hereof.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Section 1. The state administrative board is hereby authorized and
empowered to purchase the necessary apparatus and equipment, and
to construct or establish one or more radio broadcasting stations, one
of which shall be erected or established at East Lansing, Michigan;
such radio broadcasting station or stations shall be used for police
purposes only.

Said board is further authorized and empowered to purchase mate-
rials for the construction of radio receiving sets and to direct and
require the construction of such sets in some state-owned institution
to be designated by such board ; Provided, however, that if the purchase
of material and the construction of such sets as herein permitted, shall,
for any reason, be inadvisable, impractical or undesirable, said board
may authorize the purchase of completed sets.

Section 2. The commissioner of the department of public safety is
hereby charged with the operation, maintenance and conduct of the
said radio broadcasting station or stations and shall furnish to each
sheriff in this state without cost, upon his application and the ap-
proval of the state administrative board, a radio receiving set, which
shall be maintained at the expense of the county, said sets to remain
the property of the state. Cities shall be entitled to purchase from
the state, radio receiving sets for police purposes at cost.

Section 3. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of the depart-
ment of public safety to broadcast all police dispatches and reports
submitted, which in his opinion shall have a reasonable relation to or

[502]

Appendixes 503

connection with the apprehension of criminals, the prevention of
crime, or the maintenance of peace and order in this state, it being
the intention of this act to aid and assist peace officers in the dis-
charge of their duties.

Every sheriff and city securing a radio receiving set under the pro-
visions hereof, shall make a report to the commissioner of the depart-
ment of public safety at such times and containing such information
as said commissioner shall require.

Section 4. Every telegraph and telephone company operating in this
state shall give priority to all messages or calls directed to the state
radio broadcasting station or stations established hereunder, and
failure so to do is hereby declared a misdemeanor, and the person
responsible for such failure shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished
by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment
for not more than ninety days, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Section 5. No person shall equip an automobile with a short wave
length radio receiving set, or use same in this state unless such auto-
mobile is used or owned by a peace officer, without first securing a
permit so to do from the commissioner of the department of public
safety upon such application as he may prescribe. Any person violat-
ing the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine
of not more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for not
more than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court.

Section 6. Any person who shall wilfully make to a state radio broad-
casting station any false, misleading or unfounded report, for the
purpose of interfering with the operation thereof, or with the inten-
tion of misleading any peace officer or officers of this state, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished
as provided in section five of this act.

Section 7. The commissioner of the department of public safety is
hereby authorized and empowered to purchase or secure such radio
receiving sets as he may deem necessary or desirable for use in the
department of public safety, and may employ such radio operators,
assistants, or radio maintenance men, as may be necessary to carry
out the purposes of this act, subject to the approval of the state ad-
ministrative board, and the cost of the maintenance and operation of
the radio broadcasting station or stations and radio receiving sets
owned and operated by the state, as herein provided, shall be paid
out of the general appropriation for the said department of public
safety.

Section 8. There is hereby appropriated from the general fund for
the biennial period ending June 30, 1930, the sum of twenty-five thou-
sand dollars for the purposes and in the specific amounts as follows:

504 Police Communication Systems

Kadio broadcasting station apparatus and

equipment $15,000.00

Eadio receiving sets 10,000.00

Total $25,000.00

Each of the above-named said amounts shall be used solely for the
purposes herein stated, subject to the general supervisory control of
the state administrative board.

Section 9. The provisions of this act are severable and if any sec-
tion, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, is for any reason, held to be
unconstitutional or invalid, the decision of the court shall not affect
the validity of the remaining portions of this act.

The Illinois State Law

House Bill No. 507, 1931—

Section 1. The Department of Public Works and Buildings is au-
thorized to purchase, lease or otherwise acquire and operate one or
more radio broadcasting stations in the state to be used for police
purposes only. Such radio stations shall broadcast all police dispatches
and reports submitted to them which pertain to the apprehension of
criminals, the prevention of crime and the maintenance of law and
order in order to assist peace officers more effectively to discharge
their duties.

Section 2. The Department of Public Works and Buildings, the county
board of any county, the city council of any city and the board of
trustees of any village or incorporated town are authorized to pur-
chase or acquire and furnish receiving sets to all peace officers under
their jurisdiction. These radio receiving sets shall only be used by
such officers in the performance of their duties as police officers in
this state, and shall always be set and in readiness to receive any
report or message that may be broadcasted from any radio broadcast-
ing station operated by the Department of Public Works and Build-
ings under this act.

Every peace officer receiving a radio set shall make a report to the
Department of Public Works and Buildings at such times and con-
taining such information as the Department may require.

Section 3. Every telegraph and telephone company operating in the
state shall give priority to all messages or calls directed to the broad-
casting station established under this act.

Section 4. No person, except peace officers in this state, shall equip
any automobile with a short wave length radio receiving set or use
the same in such automobile without first obtaining permission to
do so from the Sheriff of the County, from which such automobile is

Appendixes 505

registered, as shown by the records of the Secretary of State, or in
the case of a non-resident, from the Department of Public Works
and Buildings.

Before granting such permission, the sheriff or the department shall
require a sworn written statement, that such radio receiving set will
not be used to assist in the escape of any criminal or for any other
unlawful purpose, from the person to whom he grants such permission.

Section 5. Any telegraph or telephone operator who fails to give
priority to messages or calls as provided in section 3 of this act, or
any person who installs or uses a short wave length radio receiving
set in any automobile contrary to the provisions in section 4 of this
act, or who wilfully makes any false, misleading or unfounded report
to any broadcasting station established under this act for the purpose
of interfering with the operation thereof, or with the intention of
misleading any officer of this state shall be deemed guilty of a mis-
demeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the county
jail not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment.

The New York State Law

The following act was introduced in the New York State
Legislature at the 1931 session, passing both houses, but was
vetoed by Governor Roosevelt :

Section 1. Article one hundred and seventy-two of the penal law is
hereby amended by adding thereto a new section, to be section nine-
teen hundred and sixteen, to read as follows: §1916 — Equipping au-
tomobiles with short wave length radio receiving sets.

A person, not a peace officer, who equips an automobile with a short
wave length radio receiving set or uses an automobile so equipped,
without having first secured a permit so to do from the person au-
thorized to issue such permit by the local governing body or board
of the city, town or village in which such person resides, is guilty of
a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both.

The California State Law

The following proposed act was introduced before the 1933
session of the California state legislature :

An act to provide for the regulation and licensing of short wave
length radio receiving sets and the regulation of information ren-
dered to police or other official radio broadcasting stations, to pre-

506 Police Communication Systems

scribe the duties of the California Highway Patrol in relation thereto,
and to provide penalties for the violations thereof.

Section 1. (Definitions.) (a) "Short wave length radio receiving
set" means any receiving set capable of receiving any radio broad-
cast or message on any frequency above 1500 kilocycles.

(b) "Vehicle" means any device as so defined in the California
Vehicle Act.

(d) "Person" means any individual, corporation, copartnership, as-
sociation or other organization.

Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a peace
officer or official to maintain, operate, or otherwise use any short wave
length radio receiving set in any vehicle owned by him or in his
possession and control without first securing a permit issued under
the provisions of this act to do so.

Section 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to install, repair, or
offer to install or repair, a short wave length radio receiving set in
any vehicle unless such vehicle is exclusively owned, operated, or
maintained by a peace officer or official, or by a person who has a
secured permit duly issued under the provisions of this act and who
first presents such permit to the person installing, repairing, or offer-
ing to install or repair any such short wave length radio receiving set.

Section 4. It shall be unlawful for any person who has received a
permit issued under this act to transfer, place, or otherwise install
the short wave length radio receiving set in any vehicle other than
the vehicle in respect to which the permit was issued.

Section 5. It shall be unlawful for any person who has received a
permit under this act to sell, lease, or otherwise permanently transfer
the vehicle in respect to which the permit was issued without first
notifying the California Highway Patrol of such intended sale, lease
or permanent transfer, and first surrendering the permit to the Cali-
fornia Highway Patrol with such information concerning the sale,
lease, or permanent transfer as may be required.

It shall also be unlawful for any person who has received a permit
under this act to sell, lease, or otherwise permanently transfer the
vehicle in respect to which the permit was issued without first re-
moving the short wave length radio receiving set therefrom.

Section 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to wilfully make to
any police officer or other official radio broadcasting station any false,
misleading, or unfounded report for the purpose of interfering with
the operation thereof, or with the intention of misleading any peace
officer of this state.

Appendixes 507

Section 7. The California Highway Patrol of the Department of
Motor Vehicles or any body succeeding to the powers and duties of
such highway patrol, may issue permits to install short wave length
radio receiving sets in vehicles to persons engaged in scientific re-
search in the field of radio, and to such other persons who prove to
the satisfaction of the Highway Patrol that said radio set will be
used for a lawful purpose and is essential to the conduct of the appli-
cant's business.

Every application for a permit under the provisions of this act
shall contain in such form as the California Highway Patrol may
prescribe:

(a) The name, address, business or occupation of the applicant.

(b) The purpose for which the short wave length radio receiving
set is desired.

(d) Such other information as the Highway Patrol may require.

The California Highway Patrol shall make such rules and regula-
tions relative to the application for and issuance of permits as are
necessary to fully carry out the provisions of this act, and shall desig-
nate convenient places throughout the state where application blanks
and permits may be obtained.

All permits issued under this act are immediately forfeited upon
the sale, lease, or other permanent transfer of the vehicle in respect
to which the permit was issued, or upon the transfer, placing, or in-
stalling of a short wave length receiving set in any vehicle other
than the one in respect to which the permit was issued.

Permits may be issued for such time as the California Highway
Patrol deems necessary under the circumstances of the case. The con-
tinuance of such permit may be conditioned upon any fact necessary
for the enforcement of this act. If at any time the holder of any
permit violates any provisions of this act, such permit may be re-
voked without notice or without benefit of a hearing on such revocation.

The California Highway Patrol shall charge for the issuance of per-
mits such fees as are necessary to defray the expense of administer-
ing the provisions of this act. All such fees shall be paid into the
Motor Vehicle fund, and shall be used in such manner and for the
same purposes as other moneys in said fund.

Section 8. Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall
be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six
months, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.

APPENDIX 6

THE NEW YORK STATE TELETYPE SYSTEM — OPERATING
AND RECORD PROCEDURE

As an introduction to the manual of operating and record
procedure of the New York State Teletype System, the fol-
lowing terms and their definitions are given.

Teletypewriter service. — A communication service involving trans-
mission of typewritten messages by means of teletypewriter instru-
ments and connecting wires so arranged that the operation of one
machine simultaneously operates all other machines on the circuit or
circuits associated with the sending machine.

Police teletypewriter system of the State of New YorTc. — The police
communication system of teletypewriters as established Avithin the Divi-
sion of State Police by authority of Chapter 633 of the Laws of 1931.

Associated system. — The police teletypewriter system of any city,
county, town or village of this state or such a system in any other state,
connected with the police teletype system of the State of New York.

Telegraph bureau. — That part of the headquarters of the Division of
State Police in the Capitol at Albany wherein is located the control point
for District H of the police teletype system, the radio broadcasting
room, and from which point is exercised the supervision of the entire
police teletype system of the State of New York.

Supervisor, Telegraph Bureau. — The officer assigned by the Superin-
tendent of State Police to be in charge of and control of the police tele-
type system and police radio broadcasting.

Chief system operator. — The operator at the telegraph bureau, so as-
signed by the Supervisor, Telegraph Bureau.

Control point. — That part of the barracks of Troops A, B, C, D, K,
containing the control board or switchboard, teletype instruments and
other system equipment, at which is received all teletype messages sent
over circuits terminating in such switchboard, and from which all mes-
sages so received are given distribution.

Control points are designated by the following letters :

Barracks, Troop A, Batavia A

Barracks, Troop B, Malone B

Barracks, Troop C, Sidney C

Barracks, Troop D, Oneida D

Barracks, Troop K, Hawthorne K

Telegraph Bureau, Albany H

[ 508 ]

Appendixes 509

Control point operator. — The operator receiving and dispatching tele-
type messages at any control point.

Control point connecting circuit. — The circuit directly connecting one
control point to another control point.

District. — That portion of the system controlled from a control point.

District circuit. — A circuit terminating in a switchboard to which SP
or PD teletypewriters are connected. There may be one or more tele-
typewriters connected to any district circuit.

District sending and receiving station. — PD or SP point at which is
a teletypewriter from which messages can be both sent and received.
Such a station is always abbreviated as "SR."

District receiving only station. — PD or SP point at which is a tele-
typewriter equipped only for receiving messages. Such a station is ab-
breviated as "R."

PD. — Police department (municipal).

SP.— State Police.

Message. — A teletype communication sent in the form prescribed by
the "message form" section herein.

Message number. — The numerals in the upper left-hand corner of a
message which indicate the numerical consecutiveness of the message.

File classification number. — The number following the word "File" in
the message, in accordance with the file number classification chart,
which number establishes the file under which the message is to be car-
ried. It also gives advance information as to the contents of the message
which is about to be received.

Added information message. — A message dispatched for the purpose
of adding to an original message some information deemed necessary
for further explaining the contents of such message or giving additional
facts concerning the matter included in such message. AN ADDED INFOR-
MATION MESSAGE ALWAYS TAKES THE SAME MESSAGE NUMBER AND FILE
CLASSIFICATION NUMBER AS THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE, AND THE WORDS

"ADDED INFO" are included thereon as explained by the "message form"
referred to above.

Correction message. — A message dispatched for the purpose of cor-
recting any part of some message previously sent. A CORRECTION MES-
SAGE ALWAYS TAKES THE SAME MESSAGE NUMBER AND FILE CLASSIFICA-
TION NUMBER AS THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE WHICH IT CORRECTS. The WOrd

"CORRECT" is always included on this type of message.

Cancellation message. — A message dispatched which cancels some
message previously sent, and indicating that the purpose of the original
message has been fulfilled in whole or in part. A CANCELLATION MESSAGE

IS GIVEN A NEW MESSAGE NUMBER BUT CARRIES THE SAME FILE CLASSI-
FICATION NUMBER AS THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE WHICH IT CANCELS. The

word "CANCEL" is included immediately following the date of cancella-

510 Police Communication Systems

tion. The body of the cancellation shows the date of the original mes-
sage which it cancels and such other data, in special cases, as may
be necessary

Eeply message. — A message which contains information replying to
some message previously sent over the system. The word "REPLY" ap-
pears on such communications immediately following the date of the
message. In the body of the reply message there must be a reference to
the message number, file classification number and date of the message
to which the reply is made.

Message direction. — The point or points to which a message is di-
rected.

General alarm. — A message direction indicating that the message is
to be sent to all points on this system and all associated systems. A
"General Alarm" is always directed to GA.

Point to point message. Designates messages from a point on the New
York or any associated system directed specifically to any other point
of this or any other associated system.

Selected group message. — A message from any point on any system
directed to a specified group of district stations or control points, as
indicated by the "message direction."

Broadcast. — The sending of a message by a control point on all of its
circuits (except the circuit from which the message was received) by
one typing operation through use of the "broadcast jack" on the switch-
board. A general broadcast is identified by the fact that it is directed
to "GA."

Selected broadcast. — The sending of a message by a control point on
two or more circuits radiating from the control board, by one typing
operation through the use of the "broadcast jack" on the switchboard.
It is to be noted that if all circuits are used, except the one from which
the message was received, it is a "broadcast," but if some one circuit,
in addition to the receiving circuit, is not used, it is then designated as
a "selected broadcast."

"Selected broadcasts" may be identified by their particular message
direction; some are directed to two or more specific points, while
others are directed to two or more circuits. The message direction is
carefully noted in order to determine whether the operation is a
"broadcast" or a "selected broadcast."

Authority. — This word abbreviated as "AUTH" indicates that the name
following the abbreviation is responsible for the sending of the message.

Signature. — The name of the person who actually operated the origi-
nal message. The signature is always repeated throughout the entire
system.

Message time. — The time, appearing immediately after the signature,
which indicates the hour and minute when the original sending of the

Appendixes 511

message was actually completed. The message time is always repeated
throughout the entire system.

Repeated message. — A message received at a control point from a
district station or from some other control point which must be repeated
by the receiving operator to any district station, group of district sta-
tions or other control point or points, or both.

Domestic repeated message. — A message received by a control point
from some district station terminating in that control board, and which
must be repeated by the receiving operator to any district station, group
of district stations or other control point or points, or both.

Foreign repeated message. — In this instance the message received at
a control board, which originated at some district station NOT TERMI-
NATING IN THE RECEIVING CONTROL BOARD, and which must be repeated
by the receiving operator to any one or any group of his district stations,
or to any one or more control points. However, a message which origi-
nates within some given control point district and which, when received
at some other control point, must be repeated by the receiving operator
to any one or to any group of his district stations, or to any control point
or control points, or both, is considered as a FOREIGN REPEATED MESSAGE.

Acknowledgment. — That particular operation by a control point oper-
ator, performed by him upon receipt of a message at his control board,
which indicates to the sending operator that the message has been
transmitted fully and is legible.

Junk. — A term used indicating that a message just received, has been
jumbled up, by reason of mechanical difficulties, etc., so as not to be
legible.

Line feed Tcey. — The key on an SR teletypewriter which shifts the
paper upward. It is used after completing a line to permit typing on
the next line below, so that one line will not be typed over another.

Carriage return ~key. — The key on an SE teletypewriter which returns
the carriage to the beginning of a line. When a carriage return key is
used, it should always be struck twice.

Space tar. — The long black bar at the front of the keyboard, as in the
standard typewriter, which permits spacing between words, letters, fig-
ures, etc. The space bar on a teletypewriter, if held down, will cause the
instrument to make continuous spaces.

Letters ~key. — The key which must be depressed in order to permit the
writing of letters as indicated by the keyboard.

Figures key. — The key which must be depressed to place the carriage
in position so that the upper case characters of the keyboard may be
typed. It is necessary to strike the FIGURES KEY before writing figures or
upper case characters.

Bell signal. — This is for the purpose of attracting attention to the
message, or when used between control points, for the purpose of re-

512

Police Communication Systems

questing a control point acknowledgment. The upper case "S" key is
employed for this purpose.

Alarm bell signal. — The bell connected with all SB and E teletype-
writers at State Police points, for the purpose of calling attention to
the fact that the instrument is about to type a message. The alarm bell
signal may be disconnected by use of the switch supplied with same,
when there is someone in attendance at the instrument. It is always
turned on when the men assigned to a substation have retired for the
night.

Authorised abbreviations. — For the purpose of brevity and speed in
teletypewriter message traffic, words and terms frequently used may be
abbreviated. The following list of authorized abbreviations is typical :

SP State Police REF

PD Municipal Police De-
partment VOID

PDNY Police Department, MIN
City of New York

TBPDNY Telegraph Bureau,

Police Department, GA

City of New York DATA

OK Message received

completely. All right

OKGA All right, go ahead
and send message

LT Circuit trouble

MT Machine trouble CODE SIG

BZ Busy circuit or cir- ATT

cuits CP

DL Delayed. INSP

DLLT means repeat- CAPT

ing of message de- LIEUT

layed account of cir- DET

cuit trouble; DLBA, SERGT

account busy circuits; CORP

DLMT, account ma- TRP

chine trouble. DEP

RP Message repeated by SUPT

TBL Trouble OPR

AUTH Message sent on AM

authority of PM

MESA Referring to your MOT

message SER
LIC

Please refer to our
message

Cancel our message
Stay on the line and I
will answer you very
shortly

General Alarm
We request owner's
name, address, make
of car, motor num-
ber etc., covered by
the following license
number plates
Code Signal
Attention of
Chief of Police
Inspector
Captain
Lieutenant
Detective
Sergeant
Corporal
Trooper
Deputy

Superintendent
Operator
Forenoon
Afternoon
Motor number
Serial number
License number

Appendixes 513

Transmitting descriptions of persons. — 57-5-9—160 indicates the
method of including descriptions of persons in teletypewriter alarms in
the New York system. First appears the age (57), next the height in
feet (5), inches (9), and finally the weight (160).

Where the exact age, height or weight are not accurately known, the
description follows the same sequence, but includes the limits between
Avhich such is estimated, as: 57-60-5-8-9-160-170. This indicates that
the person is between the ages of 57 and 60; between the heights of
5 feet 8 or 9 inches, and between the weights of 160 and 170 pounds. A
description of a person is always presumed to be of a white person
unless specified to the contrary. It is therefore unnecessary to use the
word "white" in a message.

The sex of the person described is usually indicated by the first name,
except where first name might be applicable to either male or female,
in which event the sex is specified in the message.

Message forms —

Form No. 1 — The Original Message
"467 FILE 8 SP BATAVIA JAN. 10-32
TO GA

WANTED FOE- THE HOLDUP OF A GASOLINE STATION JUST
WEST OF THIS CITY AT ABOUT 8 PM THIS DATE; TWO MEN
TRAVELING IN AN OLD MODEL TOURING CAR, MAKE AND
LICENSE UNKNOWN :

NO. 1 35-40-5-6-8-150-175 BROWN SOFT HAT GRAY OVERCOAT
NO. 2 16-18-5-9-10-135 NO HAT BROWN SHEEPLINED
OVERCOAT MAN HAS A VERY LARGE SCAR EXTENDING
ENTIRE LENGTH OF LEFT CHEEK.
AUTH SERGT. RIMMER MC DONALD 8-15 PM"

The message is analyzed as follows: 467 indicates that it is the 467th
consecutive message originated by the sending station. Message num-
bers begin with number one (1) at midnight January first and continue
in consecutive order until midnight of the following December thirty-
first. Each sending teletypewriter point keeps a sheet of consecutive
numbers, and as a number is used, it is crossed off the list. An automatic
message counter may be used instead of the list, if desired. Great care
must be exercised not to use the same message number twice, since such
procedure would completely upset the master files at Control Points.
With "Added Information" and "Correction" messages, the same
message number may be used, as previously explained.

"FILE 8" classifies the type of message in accordance with the file num-
ber and classification chart. Before sending a message, this chart is con-
sulted in order that the message, and all subsequent messages pertaining
thereto, will be properly classified. The original file number is always

514 Police Communication Systems

the controlling message number. All messages sent in connection with
the original message, or in reply thereto, carry the original file number.
"Reply," "Correction," and "Added Information" messages always refer
to the original message number, file classification number, and date of
such original, in order to facilitate the location of records already filed.
The original numbers are the filing key. When other messages pertain-
ing to the same case are received, they are attached to the back of the
original message in the order of their receipt.

"SP BATAVIA" means that the message was originated by the State
Police at Batavia. The date of the message follows the point of origin.

"TO GA" indicates the message direction and requests that the message
be sent as a "GENERAL, ALARM." All control point operators must send a
message as directed to all circuits radiating from the point which re-
ceived it, unless the operator has added some information to it. The
body of the message is self-explanatory.

The authority and signature line ends the message.

Form No. 2 — Added Information Message

"467 FILES SP BATAVIA JAN. 10-32 ADDED INFO. 1

TO GA

CAB INVOLVED WAS A BUICK TOURING CAR WITH NEW

JERSEY PLATES. IT LEFT HERE ON ROUTE 5

TOWARD BUFFALO.

AUTH SERGT. RIMMER MC DONALD 9 PM"

This message takes the same message number and file classification
number as the original message (Form No. 1) to which it adds infor-
mation. The words "ADDED INFO" must always appear on this type of
message in the position indicated.

The numeral "1" indicates that this is the first added information sent
in connection with the original message. If it is necessary to send further
information, the next added information message pertaining to this
same case would be numbered "2".

Form No. 3 — Correction Message

"467 FILE 8 SP BATAVIA JAN. 11-32 CORRECT 1

TO GA

ORIGINAL DATED JAN. 10-32 DESCRIPTION OF NO. 2

SHOULD READ 26-28-5-9-10-135.

AUTH SERGT. BRANDSTETTER VINT 8-45 PM"

This message correcting the original, takes the same message number
and file classification number as the original message which it corrects.
The word "CORRECT" must always appear on a correction message fol-

Appendixes 515

lowing the date. The numeral "1," as in the "Added Information" mes-
sage, indicates that this is the first correction sent out in connection
with this case. If further corrections are necessary, they are numbered
consecutively as "2," "3," and up.

Since this message was sent one day later than the original, it is neces-
sary that it contain a reference to the date on which the original message
was sent. If the correction was of the same date as the original, there
would be no need for this date reference.

Form No. 4 — Eeply Message

"338 FILE 8 SP NEW HARTFORD JAN. 12-32 REPLY
TO SP BATAVIA
MESA 467 FILE 8 JAN. 10-32.

WE ARE HOLDING CAR AND TWO MEN ANSWERING DE-
SCRIPTION IN YOUR MESSAGE. ADVISE IF YOU WILL SEND
FOR THESE MEN.
AUTH SERGT. BROCKMAN SMITH 4-45 AM"

This message is in reply to the original as sent out by SP Batavia.
SP New Hartford use their own consecutive message number, since they
are originating the reply, but they use the same classification number
as that of the original message. The original message number, file classi-
fication number, and date are referred to in the body of the message
containing the reply. Unless the original is referred to, it is impossible
to locate the file, for the original numbers and date are always the con-
trolling items. No matter how many other messages may be sent in
connection with this case, and regardless of the number of different
message numbers that may be used, the reference must always be to the
original numbers and date. The file classification, when once established
by the original message, never changes.

Form No. 5 — Eeply and Added Information Message Combined
"467 FILE 8 SP BATAVIA JAN. 12-32 ADDED INFO 2 & REPLY
TO SP NEW HARTFORD

OUR ORIGINAL DATED JAN. 10 ; MESA 338 FILE 8 DATE
LIEUT. GEORGE AND COMPLAINANT LEAVING HERE BY
AUTO FOR YOUR STATION. HOLD CAR AND PRISONERS.
AUTH CAPT. ROBINSON MCDONALD 8-50 AM"

As this case continues, note how Batavia still uses its original number
by means of the use of Added Information and Reply Message Forms.
Particularly note that the original message numbers and date are first
referred to in the body of the message and then a further reference
made to the reply message sent by SP New Hartford.

516 Police Communication Systems

Form No. 6 — Cancellation Message

"521 FILE 8 SP BATAVIA JAN. 13-32 CANCEL

TO GA

VOID 467 FILE 8 JAN. 10-32.

CAB AND SUSPECTS APPEEHENDED BY SP NEW HARTFORD

RESULT OF TELETYPE.

AUTH AND SENDER MC DONALD 9-30 PM"

A cancellation message is always identified by the word "CANCEL," in
the position shown. Such a message always takes a new message number,
but retains the same file classification number as that of the original mes-
sage which it cancels. The body of a cancellation message must contain a
reference to the message number, file classification number, and date of
the original message.

Control point operators must send cancellations only over the circuits
upon which the original message was sent; otherwise district stations
would receive cancellations covering original messages which they had
never received. A cancellation message may cancel part or all of an
original message. For instance, a message may contain a description of
a stolen car and also of the thieves. The car may be found abandoned,
but the thieves not yet apprehended. In such a case, a cancellation mes-
sage is sent covering the car and calling attention to the fact that the
thieves are still at large.

Cancellations covering stolen automobiles contain the make, license
number, and motor number, as given in the original message. The three-
numeral system for filing stolen automobile records used by many police
departments, requires this information in cancellations as well as in
original messages. In order to facilitate compilation of statistics cover-
ing the operation of the system, cancellations include such facts relating
to the cancellation as may be available, such as "Recovered by PD El-
mira," "Apprehended by SP Hamburg." Where results on a case have
been obtained through teletype communication, the words "Result of
Teletype," are included in the message.

Special Message Forms — Bequests for Data

"221 FILE 2 PD ELMIRA MARCH 3-32

TO SP ALBANY

DATA A-15-05

AUTH SERGT. WILSON EDWARDS 4-50 PM"

Appendixes 517

"1657 FILE 2 SP ALBANY MAECH 3-32 EEPLY

TO PD ELMIRA

MESA 221 FILE 2 DATE A-15-05 ; JOHN DOE 56 MAIN ST.

CHEMUNG 30

FOED COUPE MOT A-3345567.

AUTH WAX MVB JOHNS 5-06 PM"

Miscellaneous Forms

"26 FILE 1 SP SO. GLENS FALLS FEB. 13-32.
TO GA

FEOM FOET EDWAED 29 CHEVEOLET COUPE LIC. 4-A-39-56
MOT 234889 SEE 3-65-A SPAEE WHEELS ON FEONT
FENDEE BEOKEN WINDSHIELD TEUNK ON EEAE,
AUTH MULLEN CP
FOET EDWAED PD BY PHONE CLAEK 9-50 PM"

"164 FILE 3 GLOVEESVILLE MAECH 8-32

TO SP ALBANY SP TEOY PD NEW YOEK CITY

WILLIAM SPEINGEE 4441 WEST 138 ST. NEW YOEK DEIVING

HUPMOBILE SEDAN LIC. 2-Y-34-74 LEFT HIGHWAY ON

GLOVEESVILLE-CAEOGA LAKE EOAD AND WAS BADLY IN-

JUEED. IS NOW IN THE LITTAUEE HOSPITAL THIS CITY.

CAE IN AEEOW GAEAGE CAEOGA LAKE N. Y. COMPLETE

WEECK. INJURED MAN IN DANGEEOUS CONDITION. SENT

TO SP ALBANY AND SP TEOY FOE EECOED PUEPOSES. WILL

PD NEW YOEK CITY PLEASE NOTIFY HIS EELATIVES AND

ADVISE.

AUTH TEP. CAEEY

SP CAEOGA LAKE FISH 11-55PM"

"207 FILE 4 PD POUGHKEEPSIE APE. 1-32.

TO GA

LAEGE BLACK SEDAN MAKE UNKNOWN LAST TWO FIGUEES

IN LIC. AEE 54 TEAVELING SOUTH ON POST EOAD JUST

STEUCK PEDESTEIAN IN THIS CITY AND FAILED TO STOP

AND EEPOET. PLEASE AEEEST DEIVEE AND ADVISE.

AUTH SHEEDY CP LIEUT. KIMLIN 7-55 PM"

518 Police Communication Systems

"456 FILE 6 PD SYRACUSE MAECH 8-32
TO GA

MISSING SINCE MARCH 5-32 MARION CECILY 18-5-2-101 RED
HAIR BLUE EYES WEARING TAN COAT TRIMMED WITH
BROWN FUR. TAN FELT HAT TAN DRESS BROWN SHOES
AND STOCKINGS BELIEVED TO BE CARRYING BLACK
SUITCASE. LEFT HER HOME SAYING THAT SHE WAS GOING
TO NEW YORK TO SEEK EMPLOYMENT HAS NO FUNDS
WILL PROBABLY GO ON MAIN HIGHWAY TO GET RIDES
BY AUTO. APPREHEND HOLD AND NOTIFY AND WE WILL
HAVE PARENTS COME FOR HER. SPECIAL ATTENTION
MISSING PERSONS BUREAU NYPD.
AUTH CADIN CP HOLDEN 10-1 PM"

Filing System. — Complete instructions covering the procedure of fil-
ing teletype messages have been drafted by the New York State Police,
and these instructions are strictly observed by all state police barracks,
substations, and patrol posts where teletypewriters are located. This
provides a uniform and orderly procedure throughout the state-wide
system. No deviation is permitted except as it may be specially author-
ized by the telegraph bureau. The state police have further recom-
mended the use of their methods by all municipalities connected with
the system.

The standard filing cabinet for teletypewriter messages is the Yaw-
man & Erbe seven drawer steel teletypewriter cabinet No. 5716. The
guides and dividers for use in such cabinet are the Yawman & Erbe
press board guides with metal angular tabs No. P-85-A-2.

All cabinets and guides for state police instrument locations are
ordered through the telegraph bureau. Requisitions for supplies in con-
nection with the teletype system are approved by Headquarters only on
recommendation of the Supervisor, Telegraph Bureau. Any municipality
adopting this filing system must arrange direct with the manufacturers
for their supply of cabinets and guides.

The following filing numbers and classifications are in use:

File classification

number Subject

1 Stolen automobiles

2 Automobile — information requests

3 Automobile — accidents

4 Hit and run drivers

5 Persons — wanted or escaped

6 Persons — missing

Appendixes 519

File classification

number Subject

7 Burglary

8 Bobbery and hold-up

9 Property — lost or missing

10 Property — stolen (larceny), (lost or

stolen automobile license plates)

11 Assault

12 Homicide

13 General police information

14 Orders and administrative messages

15 Eequests for information (miscellaneous)

16 Other crimes (felonies), (frauds)

17 Other crimes (misdemeanors), (frauds)

25 Miscellaneous messages

26 Test messages — trouble reports

A copy of the foregoing classification list is posted in a conspicuous
place at every teletypewriter location. Such classification is closely ad-
hered to in order that the proper file number may be placed on all mes-
sages originated by any point on the system. Once a file number has
been placed on an original message, such number controls that message
and all other messages pertaining to or sent in connection with that
case. Since the file number never changes after being assigned to a
message, it is obvious that originating operators should be extremely
careful to classify their alarms properly, and that operators dispatch-
ing reply messages thereto use the same file number as that of the origi-
nal message.

All messages are trimmed to four and one-half-inch lengths for filing.
Cabinets are designed for that size only. An operator, after completing
a message, is required to space his paper so that the distance from the top
of the message to the break line, made by depressing the key at the con-
clusion of the message, is approximately five inches. This permits ample
margin for trimming purposes. The promiscuous use of the line feed
key in spacing out paper causes not only a waste of paper on the sending
instrument, but also on all the other instruments associated with it.

Where the contents of a message require a greater space than four
and one-half inches, the message is folded to a four and one-half-inch
length, with the message number and file classification number remain-
ing visible at the top. An original message always remains at the top
of the file, and all subsequent messages are fastened, in the order of
their receipt, to the back of the original message. Messages are filed in
front of the classification guide.

520 Police Communication Systems

Teletypewriter Filing Cabinet for Control Points and District Stations
Drawer No. 1 1 . Stolen automobiles

2. Automobile — information requests

3. Automobile — accidents

4. Hit and run drivers
Drawer No. 2 5. Persons — wanted or escaped

6. Persons — missing
Drawer No. 3 7. Burglary

8. Robbery and hold-up

9. Property — lost or missing

10. Property — stolen (larceny), (lost

or stolen auto plates)
Drawer No. 4 11. Assault

12. Homicide
Drawer No. 5 13. General police information

14. Orders and administrative messages

15. Request for information (miscella-

neous)

Drawer No. 6 16. Other crimes (felonies), (frauds)

17. Other crimes (misdemeanors),

(frauds)

Drawer No. 7 25. Miscellaneous messages (legal bul-
letins), (opinions )
26. Test messages — trouble reports

Control point instructions. — All control points are supplied with a
binder containing control point orders pertaining to the following sub-
jects :

1. Control point filing ; master files

2. Message acknowledgments by control point operators

3. Regulations governing the interstate exchange of teletype mes-

4. Regulations for the dispatching of cancellation messages

5. Records to be entered in the "Operator's Log Book"

6. Instructions pertaining to "Repeat" signatures on repeated mes-

7. List of instrument locations on this and all associated systems

8. Filing instructions for messages received from associated sys-

tems

9. Instructions governing the compilation of teletypewriter traffic

report and message classification reports

10. Miscellaneous Control Point Regulations; Control Record Book.
Each operating room is required to keep this loose-leaf binder amended
to date.

Appendixes 521

The following regulations and instructions governing the operation of
the New York System are especially significant :

1. The utmost care must be exercised in divulging the contents of
teletypewriter messages passing over the lines of a confidential nature
and for official information only. They should not be given out to other
than duly accredited public officers entitled to receive such information.
In no case should any information be given concerning the contents of
messages originated by municipal police departments connected with
the system. The originating municipality is the proper place for the
releasing of the contents of such messages and persons asking for such
information should be referred to the municipality concerned.

2. All members, particularly sAvitchboard operators, as well as those
stationed at points where teletypewriters are located, should carefully
observe this order. The practice of permitting persons not officially
concerned writh the system to remain in the vicinity of instruments,
thereby reading the messages, should be stopped at once.

3. The records of revolver permit applications on file at Albany Head-
quarters are likewise confidential records and information concerning
the contents thereof is to be given only to police agencies or proper
public officials entitled to receive it.

4. Eequests for information concerning revolver permit applications
or teletype messages will be granted when application is made in person,
and then only after careful verification of credentials or authority of
the applicant. Bequests made by telephone from police agencies or offi-
cials will be noted, but the information will not be given until the tele-
phone call has been verified as authentic by a call back to the requesting
agency.

5. The success of the system will depend in no small degree upon strict
compliance with orders and regulations governing its use. The correct
filing of messages is most important. All regulations, as set forth in the
published pamphlet, or in subsequent orders as may be issued from time
to time, concerning the filing of such messages must be followed in every
detail.

6. The teletype system will carry information to the instruments, but
unless the information is properly distributed for use by the men work-
ing on the highways, at substations, patrol posts, and other points, it
can be of little value in the prevention and detection of crime or the
apprehension of criminals.

All patrols should familiarize themselves with instrument locations,
and arrange to get information as it is being sent over the system, which
might prove to be of value in their particular territory. Each member
of the State Police must carry a memorandum book as part of his reg-
ular equipment, to be constantly used for the purpose of recording police
information received by teletype or otherwise. These memorandum books

522 Police Communication Systems

will be inspected by officers making patrol inspections and checked to
see that they are being kept in such a manner as to be useful.

7. The following information must be sent by teletype as soon as
practicable, for the information of Albany Headquarters :

(a) All homicides

(b) Reports of all personal injuries to members of the State Police

(c) Reports of all serious or fatal accidents in which members of the
State Police or troop equipment is in any manner involved

(d) Reports of the use of firearms by members of the State Police,
which use results in injury to any human being

(e) Reports of all fatal or serious accidents, of any nature whatsoever,
wherein any person has died, or is likely to die, as a result thereof

(f ) Reports of all serious explosions for the information of the State
Labor Department

(g) Reports of all airplane accidents

(h) The reports specified herein should in no way supersede or delay
the prescribed reporting for such occurrences as are now in force and
effect.

The practical advantages which modern teletypewriter sys-
tems offer to police service are many. Aided by the indispen-
sable telephone and by a fleet of radio-equipped patrol cars,
the teletypewriter in the hands of a modern police force be-
comes one of its most important tools. It provides a commu-
nication facility with which simultaneous transmission of a
message to a number of locations is possible. Neither the num-
ber of such locations nor the distance between them is any
barrier.

APPENDIX 7

EXHIBITS FROM FILES OF THE NEW JERSEY STATE POLICE
TELETYPE SYSTEM

SERIES A

HBG PA 1-30-33 4-31 PM MJW 1-431
TO INSPECTOR O'BRIEN
NEW YORK CITY POLICE

WE HAVE IN OUR POSSESSION A PIERCE ARROW SEDAN
COLOR BLUE NEW YORK LICENSE 3N 3897 IT IS A 1925 OR
1926 MODEL, HAS INITIALS ON DOOR "E.R.S." THIS CAR
HAS A BULLET-HOLE IN WINDSHIELD. KINDLY ADVISE
OWNER AND OBLIGE.

CAPT. OF DETECTIVES RUPP HARRISBURG, PENNA
PHILA PA RELAYING

TRENTON NJ TO NEWARK NJ 1-30-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED
TO NY CITY POLICE

WE HAVE IN OUR POSSESSION A PIERCE ARROW SEDAN
COLOR BLUE REG 3N 3897 NY IT IS A 1925 OR 1926 MODEL.
HAS INITIALS ON DOOR "E.R.S." THIS CAR HAS A BULLET-
HOLE IN WINDSHIELD. KINDLY ADVISE OWNER OF ABOVE
CAR AND OBLIGE.

CAPT. OF DETECTIVES RUPP HARRISBURG PENNA
4-48 PM RB
(HGB PA MISC-1-431)

NEWARK NJ TO HAMMONTON NJ 1-31-33
FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED RE HBG PA MISC 1-431

1-30-33
TO CAPT. OF DETECTIVES RUPP HBG PA— RE PIERCE

ARROW REG. 3 N 3897 NY

NOT REPORTED STOLEN TO THIS DEPARTMENT. OWNER'S
NAME NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. AS SOON AS WE ARE
ABLE TO OBTAIN IT SAME WILL BE NOTIFIED.
2-44 AM JMC NY CITY POLICE

[523]

524 Police Communication Systems

NEWAEK NJ TO HAMMONTON NJ 2-1-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED RE HBG PA MISC 1-431
TO HARRISBURG PA POLICE

PIERCE ARROW SEDAN REG 3N3897 NY REGISTERED TO
DAVID P. GREGG 44 E. 44TH ST N. Y. C. HE IS NOT KNOWN AT
THAT ADDRESS. HAS BUSINESS ADDRESS OF 1104 SOUTHER-
DASH AVE CHICAGO ILLINOIS.
3-12 PM JM NY CITY POLICE

SERIES B

MORRISTOWN NJ TO TRENTON NJ 1-5-33

ATTENTION AUTO BUREAU

THE FOLLOWING CAR WAS FOUND ABANDONED AT PHIL-

LIPSBURG NJ JANUARY 3RD WITH SHEARED LEFT AXLE.

CHEVROLET SEDAN REG. 5-L-2500 NY MOTOR 2942737

SERIAL 2 AE 121701. KINDLY ADVISE IF THIS CAR HAS

BEEN STOLEN AND HAVE OWNER NOTIFIED.

8-33 PM MDT PHILLIPSBURG NJ POLICE

TRENTON NJ TO NEW YORK CITY 1-5-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED
NY CITY POLICE AUTO BUREAU.

THE FOLLOWING CAR WAS FOUND ABANDONED HAD
SHEARED LEFT AXLE CHEVROLET SEDAN REG. 5-L-2500 NY
MOTOR 2942737 SERIAL 2 AE 121701. KINDLY ADVISE IF
THIS CAR WAS REPORTED STOLEN ALSO HAVE OWNER
NOTIFIED. CAR IS NOW IN THE CUSTODY OF THE PHIL-
LIPSBURG NJ POLICE.

NJ STATE POLICE AUTO BUREAU TRENTON NJ
9-14 PM LEP

NEWARK NJ TO TRENTON NJ 1-6-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED REF MESSAGE OF 9-14 PM

1-5-33

TO N. J. S. P. AUTO BUREAU TRENTON NJ— CHEVROLET
COACH REG 5-L-2500 NY MOTOR 2942737 STOLEN ON 1-2-33
OWNER MANUEL HELD, 600 EAST 21ST ST. BROOKLYN NY
HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND WILL CLAIM HIS CAR.
12-26 AM JM NY CITY POLICE

Appendixes 525

TEENTON NJ TO MORRISTOWN NJ 1-6-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE BELAYED REF YOUR MESSAGE OF

8-33 PM 1-5-33

TO PHILLIPSBURG NJ POLICE

CHEVROLET COACH REG 5-L-2500 NY MOTOR 2942737
STOLEN ON 1-2-33 OWNER MANUEL HELD, 600 EAST 21ST
ST BROOKLYN NY HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND WILL CLAIM
HIS CAR.
12-30 AM CAV NY CITY POLICE

SERIES C
NEWARK NJ TO TRENTON NJ

INFORMATION REQUEST 1-31-33

STATE POLICE BAYSHORE LONG ISLAND NY REQUEST
INFORMATION ON REGISTRATION B-63103 NJ MOTOR
A-3462952 AND IF REPORTED STOLEN.
6-22 PM GCD.

TRENTON NJ TO NEWARK NJ 1-31-33

B-63103 NJ ISSUED TO KURT SCHWERN 5 WARWICK AVE

PALISADE NJ 1930 FORD COUPE MAROON MOT 2462952.

AUTO BUREAU FILES SHOW ABOVE CAR REPORTED STOLEN

ON TRENTON NJ GB-1395 NEWARK NJ 1476. WHEN ABOVE

CAR WAS REPORTED STOLEN IT BORE REGISTRATION

B-73072 NJ MOTOR 3462952.

6-35 PM LEP N. J. S. P. AUTO BUREAU TRENTON NJ.

SERIES D

TRENTON NJ TO HAMMONTON NJ 1-28-33

A PHONE CALL WAS RECEIVED AT TRENTON HDQRS FROM
OFFICER TURNER SPRINGFIELD PENNA POLICE MONTGOM-
ERY COUNTY PA. REQUESTING INFORMATION REGARDING
AN UNIDENTIFIED MAN WHOSE BODY WAS FOUND IN BIG
TIMBER CREEK RUNNEMEDE NJ EITHER YESTERDAY OR
THE DAY BEFORE. OFFICER TURNER REQUESTS DESCRIP-
TION AND PRESENT WHEREABOUTS OF BODY SO THAT IT
MAY BE VIEWED. ADVISED OFFICER TURNER THAT WE
WOULD SECURE THE INFORMATION AND FORWARD IT VIA
TELETYPE A THROUGH THE JENKJNTOWN PENNA POLICE
WHICH IS THE CLOSEST POLICE DEPARTMENT HAVING
TELETYPE.

REPLY IS REQUESTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AS OFFICER
HAS AN INTERESTED PARTY WAITING FOR THIS INFOR-
MATION.
8-37 AM JMS TRENTON TELETYPE BUREAU

526 Police Communication Systems

HAMMONTON NJ TO PHILA PA 1-28-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAY
TO JENKINTOWN MONTGOMERY CO PA POLICE
ATTENTION OFFICER TURNER SPRINGFIELD PA POLICE
(PLEASE RELAY)

REF YOUR PHONE CALL THIS DATE. BODY OF MAN FOUND
IN BIG TIMBER CREEK RUNNEMEDE NJ HAS BEEN IDEN-
TIFIED AS THAT OF JOHN FLYNN AGED 50 YEARS OF BELL
ROAD BELMAWR NJ WHO WAS LIVING WITH A FAMILY
NAMED OLLEK AT THAT ADDRESS. THIS MAN WAS A
DRUNKARD AND DIED OF ALCOHOLISM AND EXPOSURE.
IDENTIFICATION MADE BY WARREN BOPP OF BELL ROAD
MT. EPHRAIM NJ AND MR. OLLEK OF BELMAWR NJ.

STATE POLICE TRENTON NJ
9-56 AM JWS

SERIES E

NEWARK NJ TO HAMMONTON NJ 1-3-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED

TO PHILA PA POLICE— CLIFFORD LA MAR ALIAS "NUNIE"
NEGRO OF 1714 FOLSON ST PHILA PA AGE 23 5' 11" 136 LBS
SINGLE OCCUPATION CHAUFFEUR ARRESTED HERE
CHARGED VAGRANCY, STATES HE IS WANTED YOUR CITY
FOR BURGLARY ELKS HOME LOCATED ON CHRISTIAN ST
DURING YEAR 1930. ADVISE IF WANTED.

NY CITY POLICE
12-26 AM GD

TRENTON NJ TO NEWARK NJ 1-3-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED
RE YOUR MESSAGE OF 12-26 AM 1-3-33
JOHN J. OBRIEN CHIEF INSPECTOR NY CITY
ANSWERING YOUR TELETYPE MESSAGE THIS AM CON-
CERNING CLIFFORD LA MAR ALIAS "NUNIE" PLEASE BE
ADVISED THAT THIS MAN IS WANTED BY OUR DEPART-
MENT ON A CHARGE OF HOLDUP AND ROBBERY ON MARCH
11TH 1931. HOLD THIS MAN AND LETTER AND WARRANT
WILL FOLLOW. THANKS

JOSEPH LE STRANGE ACT. SUPT. POLICE PHILA.
7-55 AM CAV

Appendixes 527

NEWARK NJ TO HAMMONTON NJ 1-6-33

RE OUE 12-26 AM 1-3-33

TO PHILA PA POLICE— CLIFFORD LA MAR ALIAS "NUNIE"
SENTENCED THIRTY DAYS WORK HOUSE CHARGE VA-
GRANCY. DEMANDS EXTRADITION. SUGGEST YOU FOR-
WARD PAPERS AND WILL ADVISE WHEN TO SEND OFFI-
CERS. NY CITY POLICE
2-07 PM JM

SERIES F

NEWARK NJ TO HAMMONTON NJ 1-3-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED.
TO PHILA PA POLICE

NOTIFY PARENTS OF ESTHER BARSKY 1324 NORTH
FRANKLIN ST & LENA GAN 901 NORTH 8TH ST. THAT THEY
ARE ARRESTED AS RUNAWAYS & REMOVED TO MAN-
HATTAN CHILDRENS SOCIETY 105TH ST & 5TH AVE. ADVISE.
12-10 AM GD NY CITY POLICE.

NEWARK NJ TO NEW YORK 1-3-33

FOLLOWING MESSAGE RELAYED REF YOUR 12-17 AM

MESSAGE

TO NY CITY POLICE— PARENTS OF ESTHER BARSKY 1324

N. FRANKLIN ST AND LENA GAN 801 NORTH 8TH ST

HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED AND WILL GO TO NEW YORK FOR

THEM TODAY

JOSEPH LE STRANGE ACT. SUP. POLICE PHILA PA.
8-08 AM JMC

SERIES G

NEWARK NJ TO TRENTON NJ 1-1-33

SOUTH ORANGE NJ POLICE REQUEST INFORMATION ON

REG. E-95419 NJ.

4-52 PM GD

TRENTON NJ TO NEWARK NJ 1-1-33

E-95419 NJ ISSUED TO THERESA MILOSY 138 IRVING AVE

SOUTH ORANGE NJ 1930 FORD TUDOR GREEN MOTOR

2832776.

4-56 PM LEP

528 Police Communication Systems

SERIES H

NEWARK NJ TO NEW YORK 1-30-33

STATE POLICE ALPINE NJ BEQUEST FULL INFORMATION

ON REG. 6 Y 7324 NY.

5-27 PM GD

NEWARK NJ TO MORRISTOWN NJ 1-30-33

TO STATE POLICE ALPINE NJ

REG 6 Y 7324 NY ISSUED TO URBAN A JORDAN 66 ST.

NICHOLAS AVE NY CITY FOR A 1931 BUICK SEDAN MOTOR

2750308. NO RECORD OF LOSS

7-24 PM GD

SERIES I

NEWARK NJ TO TRENTON NJ INFORMATION REQUEST

1-30-33

EAST ORANGE NJ POLICE REQUEST INFORMATION ON
CONVICTIONS FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING AGAINST CHARLES
A. COFFEY 19 FAIRMOUNT TERRACE EAST ORANGE NJ
DRIVERS LICENSE 1093984.
5-26 PM GD

TRENTON NJ TO NEWARK NJ 1-30-33

CHARLES A. COFFEY 19 FAIRMOUNT TERRACE E. ORANGE
NJ HAD HIS DRIVERS LICENSE REVOKED OCTOBER 10TH
1928 FOR DRUNKEN DRIVING BY JUDGE JOHN C. HAME
OF NEWARK NJ DRIVERS LICENSE RESTORED OCTOBER
10TH 1930. NO RECORD OF A RECENT REVOCATION.
5-46 PM.

APPENDIX 8

ALARM-SYSTEM EQUIPMENT

Many meritorious alarm devices which may be adapted to the
solution of the problem of alarm protection are available in
the market. The following general specifications cover alarm-
system equipment already approved by the Underwriters'
Laboratories and now to be had from manufacturers ready
for installation. Although this list is by no means complete,
it will afford some indication of the range of alarm equip-
ment that is being manufactured at the present time. Lists
of inspected appliances — electrical, fire protection, gas, oil,
and miscellaneous, automotive, accident hazard, and burg-
lary and holdup protection — are published regularly; also
a list of approved heat- and sound-sensitive detectors, floor
traps, and various types of relays, gongs, sirens, and so forth.
These published lists also give the name of the manufacturer
of each approved device or system. As has been stated, it is
the recommendation of police officials generally that no alarm
equipment of any kind should be installed until approved by
this agency. Any desired list may be obtained by addressing
either the main office, or one of the branch offices of the Un-
derwriters' Laboratories.

BANDIT-RESISTING ENCLOSURES

In order that the insured may be eligible for a certificate,
installations of bandit-resisting enclosures shall completely
cover all hazardous points. The principal requirements of a
complete installation are as follows :

The work space shall be separated from the lobby, from ex-
posed officers' quarters, and from public balconies and stair-
ways commanding a view of the work space by bullet-resisting
construction. All essential parts of the enclosure, including
glass, armor plate, gun ports, deal trays, package receivers,
etc., shall be of listed design capable of resisting projectiles
from hand pistols and revolvers up to and including 45 cali-
ber and shot from sawed-off shot guns. The bullet-resisting

[529]

530 Police Communication Systems

construction shall extend to a height of at least seven feet
above the floor or landings, or to the ceiling.

If the walls of the enclosure do not extend to the ceiling,
the top of the cages or the opening between the enclosure and
the ceiling shall be covered with mechanical guards to protect
against a bandit vaulting over the fixture. A sufficient num-
ber of gun ports shall be installed and so placed as to give
employes within the work space command of the entire pub-
lic lobby.

Movable doors and gates in the enclosure shall be equipped
with door closers and with automatic locking devices which
cannot be released from the interior or exterior except by au-
thorized employes. To provide for the reception of payrolls
and bags of currency, at least one bullet-resisting package re-
ceiver shall be provided. Windows or other movable openings
which lead directly into the active work space shall have bul-
let-resisting coverings to a height of at least seven feet from
the sidewalk or walkway leading to the opening. All movable
openings, such as windows and skylights, which give direct
access from the street or adjoining premises to the working
quarters, shall be equipped with suitable bars or screens to
prevent entry during working hours. Coal hole covers, ash
pit doors, rear entrance doors, and similar openings which
give access from the outside of the premises to the working
quarters shall be securely locked or barred.

BULLET-RESISTING MATERIALS

Materials and devices classified as bullet-resisting are tested
for resistance to penetration or passage of a limited number
of projectiles from small arms and shot guns fired at close
range. Kegulation small arms employing domestic ammuni-
tion, with either lead or metal-cased projectiles, having rated
muzzle velocity not exceeding 1400 feet per second and rated
muzzle energy not exceeding 460 foot pounds are included in
test equipment. Such materials as pass these tests are consid-
ered suitable for use in the construction of complete bandit-
resisting enclosures.

Appendixes 531

BURGLAR-ALARM SYSTEMS

Burglar-alarm systems are investigated with respect to equip-
ment, method of installation, and character of maintenance
service which the equipment receives.

Centralized system (bank vaults). — A bank safe central
office burglar alarm system consists of electrical conductors,
contacts, or other detectors applied to vault walls, floor, ceil-
ing and door so as to signal automatically to the central office
in the event of unauthorized entry of the protected vault.
Guards are dispatched to investigate the cause of the alarm.
The systems are maintained and inspected periodically by the
operating company.

Local 'bank vault alarm system. — A bank vault local burg-
lar alarm system consists of electrical conductors, contacts,
or other detectors applied to vault walls, floor, ceiling and
door in conjunction with suitable electrical control units, so
as to operate an outside, loud-sounding gong or siren, in the
event of unauthorized entry of the protected vault.

HOLDUP-ALARM SYSTEMS

Manually operated. — This type of system generally con-
sists of buttons or other forms of signaling stations for in-
stallation at various points of a banking room and connection
to an outside gong through suitable control apparatus. They
are intended for protection against interior robbery, and the
systems are required to be installed in accordance with the
requirements of the National Electrical Code for low-poten-
tial light and power circuits.

One such system comprises control apparatus, alarm gongs
and contactor stations. The contactors, gongs, and relays in
the control unit are normally supervised by a small current
flow and are arranged so that operation of a contactor sta-
tion causes continuous sounding of the gong and trouble bell
until reset. The system is placed on and off duty by a switch
in a locked and protected control cabinet.

532 Police Communication Systems

Semiautomatic type. — One form of semiautomatic alarm
system employs an open and closed circuit signaling network,
comprising control apparatus, electrically and mechanically
controlled money drawer and door locks, electric vault door
and grill locks, electric contact moulding and remotely lo-
cated alarm units.

Another embraces a signaling and supervisory system com-
prising apparatus to control and supervise the entrances to a
bandit-resisting enclosure, a local control cabinet, two remote-
alarm stations, manually operated initiating stations, and a
semiautomatic alarm initiating high tension barrier system.

MESSENGER BAG ROBBERY ALARM DEVICE

Protection of messengers against holdup probably involves
more of the human element than any other hazard. The un-
certainty as to amounts carried, and as to persons thus en-
gaged, has apparently kept the losses from messenger robbery
down to relatively small figures. The most widely accepted
means of safeguarding quantities of valuables in transport
is the armored car equipped with armed and highly trained
guards. The use of messenger bags equipped with alarms, gas,
and other similar apparatus will depend upon the trend in
this branch of crime. One such device listed by the Under-
writers' Laboratories is thus described.

A mesh-lined leather bag containing mechanism which au-
tomatically locks the bag, produces a series of detonations to
attract attention, and emits streams of tracer smoke to assist
pursuit if the bag is snatched from its carrier. This is in-
tended for use in the transportation of money or securities in
cities.

MERCANTILE PREMISES ALARM SYSTEMS

The extent of alarm protection installed on mercantile prem-
ises is classified as Installation 1, 2, or 3 central station alarm,
or Installation 2 or 3 local alarm, in accordance with the fol-
lowing definitions :

Installation 1. — Completely protecting all windows, doors,
transoms, skylights, and other openings leading from the

Appendixes 533

premises, and all ceilings, floors, and hal], partition, and
building walls enclosing the premises, except building walls
which are exposed to street or public highway, and except
that part of any building wall which is at least two stories
above roof of an adjoining building.

Installation 2. — Protecting with traps all inaccessible win-
dows, and with screens (or foils and traps) all accessible win-
dows (except stationary show windows), doors, transoms,
skylights and other openings, leading from the premises and
protecting all ceilings and floors not constructed of concrete,
and all hall, partition, and party walls enclosing the premises.

Installation 3. — Protecting with screens (or foils and
traps) all accessible windows (except stationary show win-
dows), doors, transoms, skylights, and other openings lead-
ing from the premises.

Centralized system. — A mercantile premises central office
alarm consists of electrical conductors, contacts, or other de-
tectors on doors, windows, skylights, walls, ceilings, and floors
of mercantile establishments, connected so as to signal auto-
matically to a central office in the event of unauthorized entry
to the protected premises. Guards are dispatched to investi-
gate the cause of the alarm. The systems are maintained and
inspected periodically by the operating company. Combina-
tion systems are also listed which simultaneously sound an
outside gong and signal a central office.

Local mercantile alarm. — A mercantile premises local
alarm consists of electrical conductors and contacts on doors,
windows, skylights, walls, ceilings, and floors in conjunction
with suitable electrical control units arranged automatically
to operate an outside loud-sounding gong or siren in the event
of unauthorized entry into the protected premises. Watch-
men's service furnished by an organized patrol force is con-
sidered as a desirable adjunct to gong alarm systems. Neither
the character nor presence of such service enters into the
classification of the equipment by Underwriters' Laboratories.

The extent of protection installed on premises with local

534 Police Communication Systems

mercantile alarm connection is classified as Installation No.
2 or 3, as follows : —

Installation 2. — Protecting with traps all inaccessible win-
dows and with screens (or foil and traps) all accessible win-
dows (except stationary show windows), doors, transoms,
skylights, and other openings leading from the premises, and
protecting all ceilings and floors, not constructed of concrete,
and all hall, partition, and party walls enclosing the premises.

Installation 3. — Protecting with screens (or foils and
traps) all accessible windows (except stationary show win-
dows), doors, transoms, skylights, and other openings lead-
ing from the premises.

Mercantile safe alarm systems. — The extent of protection
on safes is classified as "complete" or "partial" protection,
as follows : —

Complete protection. — Protecting with approved devices
the top, bottom, all sides, and doors of safes.

Partial protection. — Protecting with approved devices the
safe door or lock-and-bolt mechanism.

Centralized system. — A mercantile safe central office alarm
consists of a network of electrical conductors and contacts
applied to the safe, and arranged to transmit automatically
a signal to an office of the operating company, from which
trained and armed guards are dispatched, if an unauthorized
opening or entry into the vault is attempted. Such installa-
tions are maintained and inspected periodically by the op-
erating company.

Local mercantile safe alarm systems. — A mercantile safe
local alarm consists of electrical conductors and contacts ap-
plied to the safe in conjunction with suitable electrical con-
trol units, so as to operate automatically a loud-sounding gong
on the outside of the building in the event of unauthorized
entry into or opening of the protected safe.

Underwriters' Laboratories also lists approved central of-
fice alarm units, consisting of a central station switchboard
and subscribers' units. These units are designed for use in

Appendixes 535

connection with standard central office alarm system instal-
lations.

Cable lining in vault doors. — An approved system of lead-
covered wires installed behind the outside finish plate of
heavy solid round and square doors. Cables are run in two
circuits on centers not exceeding three inches, with ends pro-
jecting for connection to alarm system installed on the vault.

Electric protection for night depository entrances. — An ar-
rangement of multiple closed circuit lining and contacts in-
stalled at the factory in rotary night depository entrances.
Linings are of the sealed envelope type, carry two closed cir-
cuits, and are arranged to cover mouth of chute with the rotor
in either its open or closed position.

Gas and chemical systems. — When properly installed and
maintained, gas protection systems are also eligible for cer-
tification.

Safe protection. — A system of tension wires, combination
attachments, shearing devices, and firing mechanism for in-
stallation on all types of safes (with the exception of listed
fire-resistive safes, in which gypsum is used as a binder for
the insulation, and fur safes) having provision for storing
delicate mechanism in practically gas-tight containers. The
device is designed to release tear gas in the event of a burglar-
ious attack on the combination lock. It is required that gas
charges be renewed at least once every three years.

Vault protection. — A system of tension wires and combi-
nation attachments for installation on the interior of light
vault doors, or a system of tension wires and thermostats on
vault doors 4 inches or more in thickness, used in connection
with approved relocking device which aligns with gas shells
and firing mechanism mounted in the vault vestibule. In op-
eration, the system is designed to relock door and release gas
within vault if burglarious attack is made at any point on
vault door.

Interior robbery protection. — One such system consists of
gas guns connected electrically in series in a fully supervised
circuit to primary batteries and control units, so that a cloud

536 Police Communication Systems

of incapacitating gas may be discharged instantly from one
or more paying windows by the operation of a single hand or
foot control. These systems are inspected annually by the
manufacturer and gas charges renewed at intervals not ex-
ceeding three years.

APPENDIX 9

MISCELLANEOUS RECORD FORMS

Complaint Forms

A convenient form employed by a number of departments for
recording complaints is 5 x 8 inches in size, with the desired
data so arranged as to accommodate the various types of
crimes and complaints reported to the police for investi-
gation.

The illustrations given on pages 538—542, below, indicate a
type of form that may be used for recording the original in-
formation at the time it is received over communication lines
at the complaint desk. All reports and complaints received by
the department for investigation, after being assigned and
recorded properly on the original complaint forms, are given
a consecutive file number and then routed to the records
division.

In accordance with modern police practice, the investigat-
ing officer assigned to a case is required to file promptly writ-
ten reports covering all details of the investigation. Such re-
ports on a particular case are given the serial number of the
original complaint, to which they are later attached in chron-
ological sequence, in order that all details and information
connected with the investigation may be together in one com-
plete file for reference purposes.

In all departments provided with beat telephone facilities,
patrol officers are required to report in at regular intervals,
and it is necessary that a permanent record be made of these
calls, together with other pertinent information connected
with the activities of the individual officer.

The rules and regulations of the Federal Communications
Commission require that an accurate record be kept of sta-
tion operation, including the date and time of each transmis-
sion, name of person operating the transmitter, frequency
of transmission, power used, and other related information.
This record is mandatory. The rules and regulations further

[537]

538

Police Communication Systems

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539

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541

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Appendixes

543

Patrol Time Sheet
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(If additional space is needed for further remarks concerning any of the above items, use reverse side of sheet, indicating this by "SEE OVER" on the

MEAL TIME

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Appendixes

545

Radio Patrol Car Daily Report

POLICE DEPARTMENT
City of Dallas

DISTRICT No. ...

SCOUT CAI
SPEED RE
SPEED RE

i No DAILY C

\DING

)PERATING REPORT FOR 193
M DRIVER
...M . ...AID

\DING
(POI

.ICE CALLS FOR OTHERS)

TIME

(POLICE CALLS FOR THIS CAB)

TIME

LOCATION

NATURE OF CALL

TIME
ARRIVED AT
LOCATION

TIME
REPORTED TO
HD. QR8.

Enter in top section time of each call for other POLICE cars and time of test calls for all
POLICE cars. Enter in bottom section time and all details of calls for your car. File this
report with Desk Sergeant at headquarters upon reporting off duty. Record speedometer
reading of car at beginning and end of duty.
Car Radio was OUT of service from :

A.M.
P.M. tO .

A.M.

P.M. tO

A.M.
.P.M. .

A.M.
P.M. .

(REVERSE)

Reason
Reason

Give below time and details of investigations and arrests made on observations or on in-
formation from sources other than Radio. If any such investigation or arrest caused delay
in answering a Radio call or failure to receive Radio call, make special reference to it under
the heading of Remarks.

REMARKS:

546

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Appendixes 547

state that "... this information shall be made available upon
request by authorized Government representatives."

Although the Commission does not prescribe any definite
form that this record shall take, the record form shown on
this page is typical of those used by the police.

A number of departments, including Baltimore, Md. ; Dal-
las, Tex.; Dayton, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Mich.; St. Paul,
Minn. ; Los Angeles, Calif. ; and Denver, Colo., require the
crews of radio-equipped patrol cars to file daily reports at the
close of each tour of duty. Such reports contain information
concerning crime broadcasts received, time of receipt, run-
ning time, efficiency of receiver operation, nature of any re-

Transmitter Service Record

LANSING POLICE DEPARTMENT
Radio Station WPDL

Operators Shift Report

Date

METER READINGS.
SPEECH PANEL
Mic. Current

TRANSMITTER PANEL,

Buffer Plate Current

No. 1.427

Buffer Grid Current

No. 2. 427

Osc. Buf. Fil. Volts

Plate Current 445

Osc. R. F. Tank Cur.

Volume Level

Osc. Plate Current

Tube Replacements

Mod. Amp. Grid Cur.

Mod. Amp. Plate Cur.

Repairs

Antenna Current

Adjustments

Mod. Amp. Fil. Cur.

Mod. Plate Current

Buffer Tuning

Oscillator Tuning

Mod. Amp. Tuning

Remarks :

Operator on Duty

Time Readings Were Taken

548

Police Communication Systems

Appendixes

549

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TOTALS

550

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reported
Doors and windows found
open
Dead animals reported. . . .
School crossings attended. .

Total radio calls
Total miles traveled

* Accident squad makes

Respectfully submitted.

Appendixes 551

ceiver trouble, and similar data. The nature and content of
these daily reports vary considerably among the different de-
partments using them. (See p. 545.)

It is necessary that the radio-equipped police organization
keep accurate maintenance record forms covering the servic-
ing of patrol-car receivers, patrol-car transmitters, and the
central transmitter. (See p. 546.)

Daily, monthly, and annual consolidated reports covering
all radio activities in the department should be prepared
promptly and submitted at the specified time. These three
forms should be more or less alike in their arrangement of
data, so that tabulation of information from daily to monthly
reports may be simplified, requiring less time and making
error less likely. Likewise, the preparation of the annual re-
port becomes a comparatively simple matter. (See p. 550.)

In addition, general records should be maintained covering
the activities of the radio service organization, including rec-
ords of shop, equipment, tools, radio parts, power consump-
tion, repairs, replacements, purchases, depreciation, and
other details necessary to effect a constant check upon the
cost of radio operation. Any number of conventional record
forms used for this purpose in commercial practice are avail-
able and can be easily adapted to the requirements of the serv-
ice organization. Similar records should be kept concerning
the cost of operation and maintenance of beat telephone and
recall systems, teletype, and all other communication facili-
ties used by the department. All such records should be routed
to the finance or budget officer, so that accurate report sum-
maries of maintenance and operation costs may be prepared
for the chief executive.

Definite records should be maintained concerning the per-
sonnel of the service department, transmitter operators, and
any civilian connected in any way with the maintenance or
operation of the police radio system or other communication
facilities. Such records properly belong in the custody of the
personnel officer of the police department.

APPENDIX 10

SUMMARY OF WORK PERFORMED BY THE CALIFORNIA STATE
DIVISION OF IDENTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION

The following data, supplied by C. S. Morrill, Chief of the
State Division of Criminal Identification and Investigation,
at Sacramento, California, concerning the operation of that
unit for the biennium 1934—36, indicate the scope and sig-
nificance of identification centers in police service.

REPORT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CALIFORNIA STATE DIVISION OF

CRIMINAL IDENTIFICATION AND INVESTIGATION
For the Biennial Period Ending June 30, 1936

BIENNIUM 1934-36
CORRESPONDENCE SECTION

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Correspondence received appertaining to operation and
records of criminals
Telegrams received appertaining to operation and records of
criminals
Telephone calls received appertaining to operation and records

33,960
108
1 500

43,458
35
1,517

77,418
193
3,017

Teletype messages received appertaining to operation and
records of criminals

2,645

2,808

5,453

Correspondence dispatched in furnishing criminal records and
replies to inquiries .'

63,057

67,535

130,592

Telegrams dispatched in furnishing criminal records and re-
plies to inquiries
Telephone calls dispatched in furnishing criminal records and
replies to inquiries
Teletype messages dispatched in furnishing criminal records
and replies to inquiries

123
1,354
2,943

86
1,375
3,281

209
2,729
6,224

Bulletins issued relative to operation of migratory offenders ....

5,280

7,377

12,657

MODUS OPERANDI SECTION

•

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Circulars received of persons wanted for the commission of
crime

6,751

9,105

15.876

Identifications by modus operandi
Geographical index cards filed cross indexing circulars of per-
sons wanted, by departments

34
6,753

33
9,212

67
15,965

Individual files of important cases filed according to peculiar
modus operandi

575

508

1,083

Modus operandi cards filed according to particular peculiarities

3,407

4,266

7,673

[552]

Appendixes

553

FINGERPRINT SECTION

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Fingerprints received of persons arrested in California

45,183

55,215

100,398

Fingerprints received of persons arrested outside of California .

11,631

14,028

30, 659

Fingerprints received of persons committed to Folsom and

San Quentin prisons

2,220

1,957

4,177

Fingerprints received for identification only (civil service, so-

licitors, taxi drivers, etc.)

11,066

17,281

28,347

Fingerprints received of unknown dead for possible identifica-

tion

230

298

528

Total fingerprints received

75,330

88,779

164,109

Fingerprints discarded

27,654

35,811

63,465

Fingerprints searched and returned (civil service, solicitors,

Federal Prohibition, etc.)

3,644

660

4,304

Total fingerprints discarded returned and unfiled

31,298

36,471

67,769

Total fingerprints filed

44,032

52,308

96,340

Identifications by fingerprints, California departments

15,886

20,608

36,495

Identifications for departments outside of California

3,179

3,909

6,088

Identifications of unknown dead

139

Verifications by fingerprints where prior records are already

shown by arresting department

10,934

12,049

22,983

Criminal photographs received of persons arrested

47,077

53,081

100, 158

Anatomical index cards filed recording visible marks and scars .

1,501

1,566

3,067

Criminal index cards filed cross indexing criminal records al-

phabetically under names and aliases

62,842

80,465

143,307

Individual record cards prepared and filed according to

chronological arrests

7,283

9,104

16,387

HANDWRITING SECTION

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Questioned documents examined and filed

591

820

1,411

Checks received and copied for future handwriting identifica-

tions

6,138

7,788

13,926

Handwriting identifications made from questioned documents

605

641

1,246

Handwriting verifications made from corroborative evidence. .

2,579

2,386

4,965

Handwriting signatures of habitual check operators filed

486

610

1,096

554

Police Communication Systems

LOST, STOLEN AND PAWNED PROPERTY SECTION

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Lost, stolen or embezzled articles indexed and filed

7,120

9,567

16,687

Pawned articles indexed and filed

8,325

8,334

16,659

Stolen articles identified, miscellaneous

386

430

INVESTIGATION SECTION

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Latent fingerprints received developed at scene of crime
Identification by latent fingerprints

101

105

206
2

Cases under investigation during the period

131

169

291

Licenses issued to sell or rent machine guns

Permits issued to possess machine guns
Licenses issued to sell tear gas
Permits issued to possess tear gas
Permits issued for permanent installation of tear gas
Dealers record of sale of revolver or pistol indexed and filed

5
8
26
13
11,223

16
23
160
10,088

10
*24
49
173
21,311

LABORATORY AND RESEARCH SECTION

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Enlargements of photographic evidence

240

253

493

Negatives made of criminal records and evidence

281

369

650

Photographic prints made from negatives

1,360

2,283

3,643

Chemical, ballistic and microscopic examinations

127

Annual renewals included.

Appendixes

555

STATISTICAL SECTION

GATHERED AND COMPILED DATA CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT
TELETYPE SYSTEM

1934-35

1935-36

Bien-
nium

Station-to-station messages over entire system
All points bulletins ...

178,030
9,753

221,312
12,045

399,342
21,798

Subjects of all points bulletins:
Known wanted persons, with descriptions and fingerprint

1 527

2,061

3,588

Wanted persons, unknown, with descriptions of selves or
vehicles

246

223

469

Missing persons, noncriminal
Stolen property, other than automobiles
Stolen automobiles
Miscellaneous matters of police information
Cancellations of previous bulletins

1,593
805
1,618
1,245
2,719

1,883
1,096
2,084
1,274
3,424

3,476
1,901
3,702
2,519
6,143

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— Radio transmitter (No. 12-A). 15p. 1931.

White, William J. Wireless telegraphy and telephony. 2nd ed., rev.
and enl. 202p. New York, Whittaker, 1912.

Weston electrical instrument corporation. Operation manual and in-
structions for model 660 radio set analyzer. 8p. Newark, n.d.

POLICE RADIO

Five more waves are set aside for police radio system . . . Fraternal
order of police journal, 13(5) :22, May 1930.

Higgins, James. Use of wireless telegraph in police service. Interna-
tional association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 27:87-90, 1920.

Wireless telegraph and telephone as a means of impart-
ing police information and the apprehension of criminals. In-
ternational association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 28:80-2,
1921.

International association of chiefs of police. Report of the Radio
committee. Proceedings, 31:43-9, 1924.

Jett, E. K. Radio from an administration standpoint. Internationa]
association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 38:171-82, 1931.

Jones, C. P., and Earl, H. H. Survey, radio equipped cars for the De-
partment of sheriff of the county of Los Angeles, California,
1933. 57p. (mim.) Los Angeles county bureau of efficiency, Apr.
13, 1933.

Kent, Roscoe. Radio in police signal work. Address before the New
Jersey municipal signal association, Sept. 17, 1931. 7p. (mim.)

Madden, Harry E. Design of a radio receiving set for fixed wave
length reception on police automobiles. 23p. (typew.) (B.S. Thesis)
Berkeley, University of California, 1928.

Parsons, Thomas W. S. Wireless telegraphy for police purposes ; British
Columbian practice. Police Journal (London) 3(9) :103-110, Jan.
1930.

Radio engineering laboratories, inc. Ultra-high frequency radio tele-
phone equipment for police departments, fire departments . . .
lip. (Booklet no. 51) Long Island City, New York. n.d.

Bibliography 567

Eadio group hampers, Senators told by officials . . . Fraternal order of
police journal, 13 (2): 27, 31, Feb. 1930.

Robinson, F. E. Use of wireless telegraphy and telephony for police
purposes. Police Journal (London) 3(10) : 226-34, Apr. 1930.

Eutledge, Wm. P. Kadio in police work. International association of
chiefs of police, Proceedings, 36:68-71, 1929.

— Radio's growing place in police work. Interna-
tional association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 37:58-63, 1930.

Sparks- Withington co., The. Police automobile radio receiving set;
instruction book (Sparton model AR-— 50). 13p. Jackson, Michi-
gan, n.d.

Police desk or barracks A.C. operated short wave radio re-
ceiving set (The Sparton model 55). 12p. Jackson, Michigan, n.d.
— Sparton model AR-50, police automobile radio receiving set;
instruction book. 13p. Jackson, Michigan, n.d.

Sparton of Canada, ltd. Sparton model 41 police automobile radio re-
ceiver; instructions, lip. London, Ontario, Canada, n.d.

Strornberg-Carlson telephone manufacturing co. Instructions for in-
stalling and operating model no. 31 police radio receivers. 9p.
figs, (mim.) Rochester, N. Y. n.d.

Voit. International police radio. Police journal (London) 4:46-69,
1931.

Western electric co. Police radio telephone equipment 204-A. lOp.
(photostat.) Jan. 18, 1932.

— Radio telephone transmitting equipment (No.
307A) for use by police departments. 15p. Western electric co.,
inc., 1933.

TELEVISION

Dinsdale, Alfred. Television. 62p. London, Pitman, 1926.

Dunlap, Orrin Elmer, Jr. The outlook for television; introduction,

John Hays Hammond, Jr., foreword, William S. Paley. 297p. New

York, Harper, 1932.
Felix, Edgar H. Television, its method and uses. 272p. New York,

McGraw-Hill, 1931.
Moseley, Sydney A., and Chappie, H. J. Barton. Television today and

tomorrow; with a foreword by John L. Baird. 130p. New York,

Pitman, 1930.
Sheldon, Harold H., and Grisewood, Edgar N. Television; present

methods of picture transmission. 194p. New York, Van Nos-

trand, 1929.

568 Police Communication Systems

RADIO LAW AND REGULATION

Canada. Department of marine. Radio branch. Official list of radio
stations of Canada. 112p. Bilingual publication. Ottawa, Printer
to the King, 1931.

Supplement no. 1 (March-July-Sept.) 27p.

Sept. 1931.

Supplement no. 2 (final supplement). 19p. Nov.

1931.
Cox, Kenneth R. Report and recommendations to the Federal radio

commission, Feb. 10, 1930. 9p. (mini.) 1930.
Davis, Stephen B. The law of radio communication. 206p. New York,

McGraw-Hill, 1927.
Schmeckebier, Laurence F. The federal radio commission; its history,

activities and organization. 162p. (Institute for governmental

research. Service Monographs of the U. S. Government no. 65.)

Washington, D. C., Brookings Institution, 1932.
United States. Federal radio commission. Emergency service. 5p. (mini.)

(No. 6170) Washington, D. C., Feb. 5, 1932.

- Extracts from the Rules and regulations of the Federal

radio commission; municipal police stations. 3p. (mini.) (No. 6175)

Washington, D. C., 1932.

— Extracts from the Rules and regulations of the Federal

radio commission pertaining to municipal and/or state police sta-
tions, rev. effective Oct. 3, 1933. 5p. (mini.) (No. 9191) Washing-
ton, D.C., 1933.

Federal radio commission rules and regulations. 156p.

Washington, D. C., Government Printing Office, 1931.

General order nos. 69, 74 as amended, 84 as amended, 85,

88 as amended, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101. var.p. (mini.) Washington,
D. C., June 20, 1929; Nov. 25, 1930; Sept. 22, 1930; Apr. 8, 1930;
Nov. 14, 1930; Oct. 6, 1930; Oct. 6, 1930; Oct. 27, 1930; Oct. 27,
1930; Nov. 10, 1930; Nov. 14, 1930.

— Police radio service. 9p. (mini.) Washington, D. C., Feb.

15, 1933.

- Police radio service. 80. (rev.) (mini.) (No. 9200.)
Washington, D. C., Oct. 11, 1933.

RECALL AND BEAT TELEPHONE SYSTEMS

Automatic electric co., ltd. The A. T. M. police signal. 2p. (mim.)
(Engineering bulletin no. 2069) Liverpool, England, n.d.
— A. T. M. street fire alarm equipment. (Engineering bulletin
no. 2082) 17p. (mim.) Liverpool, England, n.d.

Bibliography 569

Automatic telephone manufacturing co., ltd. Beasley-Gamewell closed
circuit fire alarm apparatus. lOp. diagrams (mini.) (Engineering
bulletin no. 2048) Liverpool, England, n.d.

Crawley, Frederick J. Chief constable's report to Watch Committee
on police organization with special reference to the police box
system. 23p. City and County of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Jan. 29,
1926.

— Decentralization and the police box system. In-
ternational association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 35:60-5,
1928. Same, Police journal (London) 1:118-27, 1928.

— Police box system as applied to the city of New-

castle-upon-Tyne. 32p. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Police printing press,
Central police station, 1926.

Gamewell co. Police signaling systems. (Bulletin P-14) Newton Up-
per Falls, Mass. n.d.

General railway signal co. GES color light and position light signals.
63p. (Bulletin no. 144) Eochester, N. Y., Oct. 1925.

Gravenor, E. A. A modern police signal system. International associa-
tion of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 18:76-9, 1911.

London. Metropolitan police. Telephone box system: instructions for
the guidance of police. 3d issue. 35p. London, 193-?

Timmerman, L. Stephen. New police alarm system. Police journal
(New York), 16:19-20, Nov. 1928.

United States. Bureau of the census. Census of the electrical indus-
tries, 1902, 1907, 1912, 1917, 1922, 1927. Washington, D. C., Gov-
ernment Printing Office, 1905-1930.

— Census of municipal electric fire alarm and po-
lice patrol signalling systems, 1907, 1912, 1917.

— Municipal electric firm alarm and police patrol

systems. (Bulletin 11) 33p. Washington, D. C., Government Print-
ing Office, 1904.

BURGLAR AND HOLDUP ALARMS

American district telegraph company. Night watchman supervision

and manual fire alarm service. 23p. New York, 1930.
Eeport of Watchman supervision and fire alarm service, year

ending December 31, 1931. n.p. New York, 1931.
Brintnall, T. M. Evolution of bank burglary and banditry, n.p. Los

Angeles, Campbell investment co, n.d.
Butte electric and manufacturing co. The Federal burglar alarm for

banks, n.p. San Francisco, n.d.

Croft, Terrell W. Signal wiring. 349p. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1926.
Dominion electric protection co. Burglar alarm systems. 16p. Toronto,

Canada, 1930.

570 Police Communication Systems

E-J Electric installation co. E-J electric protection. 16p. New York,
n.d.

Empire burglar alarm, co. The Empire burglar alarm . . . n.p. New
York, May 23, 1928.

Globe ear-phone co. The silent witness. 20p. Beading, Mass., 1919.

Holmes electric protective company. Protection news, 5(1) Feb. 1928-
6(1) Mar. 1929.

Illinois bankers association. Unguarded banks always the victims.
Bulletin 11, sec. 2(8) 33-6, Feb. 1930.

Jewelers' security alliance of the United States. Handbook of in-
formation and advice for the use of jewelers and their employees.
15p. (No. 30) New York. n.d.

McClintock, O. B. The idea of electrical protection for banks; a brief
address before the National convention of safe deposit vault men
in the city of Chicago on May 19 and 20, 1922. n.p. Minneapolis,
O. B. McClintock co., 1922.

O. B. McClintock Co. "Jesse James had a horse"; a brief history of
bank hold-up, n.p. Minneapolis, O. B. McClintock co., 1930.

Polizeibehorde Hamburg, Die. Das tiberfall-Kommando. 16p. Ham-
burg, May 28, 1924.

The war waged against jewelers by crooks and the methods by which
the trade is protected. 8p. Reprinted from The jewelers' circular,
Feb. 2, 1916.

Yaxley manufacturing co. Guardian burglar alarm equipment. 20p.
Chicago, n.d.

DISTANT IDENTIFICATION

Baker, Thomas T. The telegraphic transmission of photographs. 146p.
New York, Van Nostrand, 1910.

Wireless pictures and television; a practical description of

the telegraphy of pictures, photographs — visual images. 188p.
New York, Van Nostrand, 1927.

Battley, Harry. Single fingerprints; a new and practical method of
classifying and filing single fingerprints and fragmentary im-
pressions . . . 98p. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1931.

California. Division of criminal identification and investigation. Bi-
ennial report, 1930-1932. 21p. Sacramento, 1933.

Collins, Charles S. A telegraphic code for finger-print formulae and
a system for sub-classification of single digital impressions. 17p.
London, Office of the Police Chronicle, 1921.

Hoover, John E. Criminal identification. Annals of the American Acad-
emy of Political and Social Science, 146:205-13, Nov. 1929. Same,
American Journal of Police Science, 2:8-19, Jan. 1931.

Bibliography 571

Jb'rgensen, Hakon. Distant identification. 32p. chart. Copenhagen,
Arnold Busck, 1922.

Martin, Marcus J. The electrical transmission of photographs. 136p.
New York, Pitman, 1921.

Wireless transmission of photographs. 117p. London, The Wire-
less press, ltd., 1916.

Matheson, Duncan. Telephotographic criminal identification. Inter-
national association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 32:35-7,
1925.

Sorrentino, U. Identificazione a distanze; Sistema Yorgensen. lOp.
Estratto del Bollettino della Scuola di Polizia Scientifica Fasc.
12 e 13-1922-23, Roma, Industria Grafica Nazionale, 1925.

Sylvester, Richard. Photographs by telegraph wires. International
association of chiefs of police, Proceedings, 9:23, 1902.

Wilder, Harris Hawthorne, and Wentworth, Bert. Personal identifica-
tion; methods for identification of individuals, living and dead.
374p. Boston, Badger, c!918.

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

American legion. Department of California. Disaster relief commis-
sion. Disaster relief 1932. San Francisco, California.

American national red cross. Annual report 1929-30. Washington,
D. C., Government Printing Office, 1930.

. . . Disaster-preparedness and relief; a manual for chapters.

77p. Washington, D. C., c!930.

California. Adjutant general's office. Employment of troops of the
California National Guard in disaster. (Special regulation no. 3,
40th division staff) Sacramento, Jan. 1, 1928.

Fuller, Myron L. The new Madrid earthquake. 119p. (U. S. Geological
survey, bulletin 494) Washington, D. C., Government Printing
Office, 1912.

Gerk, Joseph A. How the St. Louis police department met and handled
a great disaster. International association of chiefs of police,
Proceedings, 35:106-111, June 1928.

Hoffman, Frederick L. Earthquake hazards and insurance. 169p. New
York, Spectator co., 1928.

Street, Elwood. St. Louis was ready. Survey 59:376-7, Dec. 15, 1927.

Tolman, C. F. Taking stock of our tornadoes as a relief measure. Bed
Cross courier 4:17-18, Aug. 1, 1925.

United States. Army service schools. Fort Leavenworth. Military
aid to the civil power . . . 330p. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Gen-
eral service schools press, 1925.

572 Police Communication Systems

United States. Coast and geodetic survey. Earthquake history of the
United States exclusive of the Pacific region; by N. H. Heck . . .
61p. (Special publication no. 149) Washington, D. C., Govern-
ment Printing Office, 1928.

United States. War department. Employment of troops by the war
department, in cases of flood, fire, earthquake, or other great
catastrophe. 20p. (Army regulations no. 500-50) Washington,
D. C., Government Printing Office, 1925.

INDEX

Airplanes, radio-equipped, 173, 196 ff. ; two-way conversation with,
198, 199; in police service, 199; use of, in disasters, 328-329

Alarm system: efficient, 269; in modern police-communication plan,
270-271; burglary-detection devices, 271 ff.; robbery, 277 ff., 279-
280; disadvantage of manually operated, 279; of privately operated
companies, 283, 284-285; laboratory for testing, 287-289, 290; few
banks have, protection, 293; in fires and riots, 294; radio communi-
cation has added to potential value of, 294 ; supplemented by broad-
cast, 296 ; future design and installation of, 296; in Los Angeles, 381-
382; silent, 391-393

Alarm-transmission lines: placing and protection of, 280-281; desti-
nation of, 282; two types of, system, 282 ff.; in banks, 284

Army Amateur Radio System, 325 ; potential value of, in disasters, 326,
328; drills by, 330; equipment of, for disaster communication, 330

Arrest by wire, 359 ff.

Audible signal, 18; supplanted by visual signal, 96 passim; control
lines of, centralized at headquarters, 299 ; siren for city-wide alarm,
310

Australia, police communication systems of, 429-430

Automatic holdup- and burglar-alarm systems, 160

Automatic telegraph equipment, 81

Automobile: communication of radio-equipped, with police department,
24; rapidly displacing foot patrolmen, 107; strategic value of, 107;
new era in police efforts ushered in by, and radio, 108-109

Automobile radio : popular market for, 37 ; battery eliminator, 132-134 ;
receiving set a delicate affair, 137

Bank robberies, historical note and contrast, 291 ff.

Beat telephone system, 78 ff . ; selection of equipment for, 80 ; access of
public to, 80 ; installed at points of strategic value, 82-83 ; determin-
ing density of telephone distribution, 84-87 passim, 92; distance be-
tween, boxes, 84, 85-86 ; application of five-year-interval test to, 86 ;
installation of equipment, 87-88, 89; recall and, answer problem of
police availability, 91; modern, 91; flexibility of, 92; cost of, 93;
limitations of, 107; crime report transmitted through, 264; orderly
use of, 298; in Los Angeles, 379-380; in small communities, 399; in
foreign police communication systems, 404

Belgium, police communication system of, 415-416

Berkeley, Calif. : police boxes in, 8 ; radio experiments by police depart-
ment of, 34, 35, 119 ; radio patrol-car organization in, 170-171 ; police
transmitting station of, dispatches broadcast traffic for two counties,
211; police communication system in, 309 ff., 382 ff.; as part of a
metropolitan police area, 311 ff.

[573]

574 Index

Berkeley police communication system : geographical and topographical
factors of, 382 ; general communication facilities, 383 ; police tele-
phone system of, 383; recall system of, 386; radio system of, 388;
silent alarm system in, 391 ; general alarm siren, 393 ; teletypewriter
system in, 393-394

Berlin, Germany: police telephoto machines installed in, 50; police
communication facilities of, 404 ; Greater, police communication sys-
tem, 446; police telephone system in, 447; police box, recall, and
burglar-alarm system in, 449; teletypewriter network of, 451; wire-
less telephotography, 457-458

Boats: radio-equipped police, 173, 200; two-way communication with,
200; law-enforcement activities of, 200

Boston: radio stations in, 38; early burglar-alarm system of, 44; use
of teletypewriter communication in, 45, 250

Boy Scouts, 328, 330, 332

British Columbia Provincial Police, radio experiments by, 36

Broadcasting : commercial, stations used by police, 32 f ., 155 f . ; voice
transmission in police, 191; by Berkeley Police Department, 211; by
police of Los Angeles, 255 ; from Pasadena, 225

Budapest, police communication in, 424 ff.

Bureau of Navigation, radio communication regulated through, 151 f .

Burglar-alarm: wide field in design of, equipment, 270—271; attitude of
insurance companies toward, installations, 290 ; system in Berlin, 449

Burglar- and holdup-alarm system: history of need for protection by,
41—45, 53; installations, 53, 279; in small communities, 401

Burglary: hazard of mercantile establishments, 268; essentials to suc-
cess of crime of, 270; detection devices, 271 ff. ; bank, 291

Burglary-detection devices: open circuit, 271; closed circuit, 272;
sound-sensitive detectors, 274; heat-sensitive detectors, 274; photo-
electric cell, 275; radio-frequency circuits, 276; field of, equipment,
277

Call car, stand-by service of, 228-229

Calling signal: first used by modern police, 18; subsequent devices, 18

passim
Canada: police broadcasting in, 33, 36; provincial police organizations

of, 443 f . ; police communication systems of, 444 f .
Census Bureau, police-patrol systems reported by, 12—13, 14, 15-16
Centralization : and records, 301 ff . ; decentralization versus, and police

calls, 313 ff . ; in metropolitan system of police communication, 315
Centralized police communication system, 299 ff . ; record division should

have supervising control over, 302-303, 307 ; limitations of, 304 ; waste

of resources through excessive centralization, 305; in the small city,

310

Index 575

Chicago: dial telegraph superseded by ticker in, 3; combination tele-
graph and telephone police box introduced in, 10-11 ; radio apparatus
developed by, police, 23 ; use of teletypewriter in, 46 ; police telephone
system in, 55—57; transmission system in use in, 124, 125, 212-213;
police radio-service cars of, 138 ; telephone dispatcher in, 162 ; chart
of arrests by radio-patrol cars in, 170; survey of metropolitan area
of, 206, 209; teletype hook-up in, area, 210; coordination plan for,
and adjacent states, 210-211

Chief Constables Association of Canada, 36

Cincinnati: survey of police facilities of, 207-208, 210; broadcast
experiments by police of, 212

Code-calling station, an auxiliary to main switchboard, 69-70

Code signaling box, 70

Collateral developments in radio communication: types of, 171, 173;
allocation of police frequencies, 173

Communication: telephone became the chief, instrument of police, 13,
52 ; teletypewriter as long-distance, medium, 23 ; emergency the ulti-
mate test of a, system, 300 ; need for specialization in modern, tech-
nique, 300 ; complaint desk a unit in police, system, 302 ; three modern,
systems, 362 ff . ; resources of American police, 461

Communication bureau: functions of, 160; close cooperation between,
and record division, 302 ; location of, in metropolitan area, 312-313

Communication facilities: coordination a function of, 208 ff., 319;
message center as supplement to, 328 ; in obtaining and issuing crimi-
nal information, 341 ; general, in Berkeley, 383 ; in foreign cities, 404

Communication records, 319

Communication systems: centralized, 302; decentralized, 303; inter-
woven with the crime problem, 306 ; planned, in disasters, 323 ff .

Communications Act of 1934, 153

Complaint desk, a unit in communication systems, 302

Complaint room, central, 313, 314 passim; central switchboard an in-
tegral part of, 315

Consolidation of police facilities, surveys concerning, 206 ff.

Coordination of police man power : regional, 206 f ., 208 ; plan for Chi-
cago and adjacent states, 211

Crime : suppression and prevention of, 6 ; police officer a, preventing in-
fluence, 16; most, reports received by telephone, 57; prevention and
detection of, 76, 289-290, 306 ; records of patrol areas, 82 ; analysis
of, origin, 83, 86 ; concentration of, 86 ; time interval between com-
mission of, and call to police, 157, 160-161; motorcycles in, emergen-
cies, 196; transmission of, alarm, 226; of burglary, 270; of robbery,
277-279; attention directed toward conquering, 301; communication
systems and the, problem, 306 ; police campaign against, strengthened,
307; prevalence of, 461

576 Index

Criminal : escape time of, 17 ; speed of communication in apprehension
of, 37; telephotography in identification of, 49; confidential, investi-
gations, 68 ; use of telegraph in, investigations, 74 ; first line of offense
against the, 77 ; equipment of modern, 107 ; interception of informa-
tion for, purposes, 190, 194 ; facilities at disposal of, 208 ; bank bandit
of today, 278-279; exchange of, identification data, 338, 341, 347-
348 ; migratory, 338 ; centralizing, records, 339 ; need for more com-
plete identification of, 345

Criminal identification : a weapon in law enforcement, 263 ; by finger-
prints, 337 ff. ; distant, 341 ff . ; international exchange of, data, 341,
347; transmission of, data, 342-347; desirability of, by wire, 347-
348 ; suitable code for, 349 f . ; fingerprints supplemented with Ber-
tillon measurements in, 350

Cruisers (radio), 111; description of, 111, 113; in Los Angeles, 169;
equipment of, 182

Decentralization: of patrol control, 296; in police administration, 298-
299, 305; and the record division, 307 f.; versus centralization and
police calls, 313 ff. ; present trend of police service toward, 319

Decentralized system of police communication: unfortunate results of,
303-304, 306; operations of, 304; limits of, 305; in line organization,
305

Detroit: radio experiments by police of, 34—35; problems confronting
police department of, 90; system of radio communication in, 110-
113; chart of arrests made by radio patrol cars in, 168; distances
traveled in answering call in radio patrol districts in, 169

Disaster : planning of police procedure for times of, 320-323 ; commu-
nication facilities required in, 321-328 passim; preparedness plans
for, 322-323 ; police function paramount in, 323

Disaster communication system (police) : first step in preparation of,
324; radio the chief reliance in, 324-327; amateur radio network the
backbone of, 328 ; list to be made of persons with motorcycles, 328 ;
use of airplanes in, 328—329 ; organization of, must be kept up to date,
329-330; special equipment for, 330, 331, 332; use of field telephone
and telegraph in, 333, 334; radio the only equipment needed in, 334-
336 ; useful in social disturbances, 336

Distant identification, 341 ff ., 349 ; telegraphic warrant associated with,
359

Distant-identification code (fingerprints), 349-351; Guthrie's plan of,
349-350; Jorgensen system, 351-355; Collins system, 355-357;
Wilder-Wentworth code, 357-358

Division of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Sacramento,
Calif., central bureau for police information, 258 ; logical nucleus for
a comprehensive teletype network, 258

Index 577

England: metropolitan police force in London, 407; borough police
forces of, 409; county police of, 410; Lancashire teletype system,
412. See also London

Emergency: calls, 54, 90, 91; crime report, 57; situations, 62, 67, 95,
111, 160, 179; system, 67, 68; tie lines used for, calls, 68; prison,
alarms, 71 ; concentration of police force in, situations, 78, 108 ; po-
tential, indicated, 83; battalion, 93; scene of, 108; assignment, 109;
traffic requirements, 162; report, 163; time a vital factor in, 192;
motorcycles used in crime, 196 ; police, demands rapid action, 241 ;
crime information, 262; weak points in, patrol operation, 287; is the
ultimate test of a police communication system, 300 ; central head-
quarters logical point of call in an, 313; needs in major disasters,
320 ff.

Emergency council, personnel of, 320-321

Europe : international police cooperation and radio communication sys-
tem in, 406—407; police communication systems in eastern and south-
ern, 422-427

False alarm, 285-286, 287; danger of repeated, 287

Federal Bureau of Investigation : growing importance of, 261, 340 ;
foreign bureaus cooperate with, 341

Federal Communications Commission: radio construction permits
granted by, 37; wave lengths set aside for police purposes by, 41;
radio regulation by, 114, 115, 153, 154; special licenses issued by,
120; use of additional transmitters authorized by, 123, 124; rules
and regulations of, 137; remarks on radio interference in Bulletin of,
148 ; records of Federal Kadio Commission transferred to, 153 ; duties
of, 153; application made to, for license and authority, 154; police
radio problem presented to, 173—174; frequency channels allocated to
police by, 174, 204-205; control by, of police frequency pattern and
transmitting range, 175 f.; no part of ultra-high-frequency spectrum
allocated by, 178; requirements of, 213

Federal Eadio Commission : creation of, 152 ; powers of, 152 ; licensing
power of, made indefinite, 153 ; abolished, 153

Field-intensity survey and the police transmitter, 120 ff .

Fingerprint: formulas should be standardized, 74; classification of,
records, 337; value of, cards, 342; comparison of, in establishing
absolute identification, 348 ; Jorgensen's system of, classification, 354

Fingerprint identification: Henry system of, 337; speed of, 338; dis-
tant, 341 ff., 349; positive, depends on comparison, 348; thesis of,
rests upon probability, 349 ; code for distant, 349-351 ; a highly spe-
cialized police function, 350

Fingerprints : transmission of, 48 ; idea of exchanging, 338

France, police communication system in, 413-415. See also Paris

578 Index

Gamewell, John N. : signaling systems developed by, 5, 6—7 ; system of,

used by police officers, 163
Germany : police communication system in, 446 ff . ; police radio in, 454-

457; wireless telephotography in, 457-458; police communication in

various cities of, 458 ff. See also Berlin
Great Britain, police communication system in, 407-413. See also London

Henry system of fingerprint identification, types of patterns of, 337

High-frequency radio systems, 199, 314—315

Highway : sheriff's office force, 209 ; control points, 402

Holdup : frequency of, 291 ; bankers' measures against daylight, 291

Holdup alarm. See Burglar- and holdup-alarm

Holland, police communication system of, 416-422

Hungary, police communication system of, 405, 424 ff .

Identification: distant, 337 ff., 341 ff. ; bureaus, 338; communication

facilities for distant, 347 ; absolute, 348

Identification Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 340-341
Institute of Radio Service Men, information in journal published by, 139
Interference (radio) : problem of external, 139 ff. ; two kinds of, 139;

from electromedical apparatus, 142-143 ; power-line, 143 ff . ; survey,

146—148; municipal regulations concerning, 154; power limitation

used to lessen, on police frequency channels, 205
International Anti-Crime Conference, demonstration of teletypewriter

at, 261
International Association of Chiefs of Police, 2, 19, 23, 41, 46, 50, 110,

158, 173, 190, 197, 340, 350

International exchange of criminal identification data, 341 f .
International police cooperation system in Europe, development of,

406^07

International Radio Conferences, 41
International Police Radio System, 50
Investigators, bodies of criminal, in rural areas, 214
Iowa, licensed state police radio station in, 37
Italy, two-way radio communication in, 181

Jail, protection of, by communication network, 70-71

Jersey City : police recall system of, 93, 95 ; emergency battalion of, 93

Law enforcement : violations, 12 ; radio an important arm of, 41, 194 ;
growing complexity of, 50; use of teletypewriter in, 242; criminal
identification a weapon in, 263; fingerprint records at disposal of,
agencies, 341

Law Observance and Enforcement Committee, comments on radio com-
munication by, 174-175

Index 579

Light recall signal, 17, 18, 19, 96 passim; refraction used for, 97; range
of, 99 ; visibility the primary consideration, 99 ff . ; possible influence
upon, of unique system of transmission, 104 if.

Line decentralization, 298-299, 305

London : district telegraph service in, 2 ; police radio communication in,
40 ; present beat telephone system of, 89 ; reporting-in time schedules
changed in, 92 ; two-way communication in, 181 ; police communica-
tion facilities in, 404; metropolitan police force of, 407

Los Angeles: first recall-light signal used in, 17; use of teletypewriter
in, 45 ; prison paging and patrol system in, 71 ; location of radio com-
munication equipment of, 122-123; radio-equipped service cars in,
138, 169; street-index system in, 165; wide scope of, police depart-
ment broadcasts, 225 ; police communication system of, 362 ff .

Los Angeles County, radio patrol study made by Sheriff's Office of,
218-230

Los Angeles police communication system: telephone system, 362 ff.,
367-368; radio communication system, 368 ff.; teletypewriter system,
374 ff. ; beat communication system, 379—380; alarm system, 381-382

Louisiana, licensed state police radio station in, 37

Massachusetts: licensed state police radio station in, 37; two-way com-
munication used by state police of, 180-181

Metropolitan: police system described, 53-59; type of police service can
be extended to rural areas, 224; use of teletypewriter in large, sys-
tems, 263; two forms of control utilized in, communication scheme,
314; centralization in, system of police communication, 315

Mexico and the Caribbean, police communication systems in, 442-443

Michigan: licensed state police radio station in, 37; state-wide radio
communication system of, 231

Modulation system, double, 193

Morse code : use of, by policemen, 2 ; dial telegraph as substitute for, 2 ;
readopted by police, 3 ; all desk sergeants required to study, 3

Motor patrol, 21, 108 ; crime report promptly received by, 264

Motorcycles: equipped with receiving apparatus, 40, 173, 194—195; sup-
plement radio patrol cars, 196 ; in crime emergencies, 196 ; list to be
be made of persons with, for use in emergencies, 328

Motorization and radio communication of police department, 20 ff., 87

Multifold carrier current control system, 104 ff.

Municipal police: regulation of, radio communication, 154; responsi-
bilities of, forces, 207 ; extension of service area of, radio system, 211 ;
use of teletype system by, 248, 252

National police communication network, development of, 50
Naval Communication Reserves, 325; on West Coast, 326; potential
value of, in disaster, 326, 328 ; drills by, 330

580 Index

New Jersey State Police teletype system, messages from files of the,
263, 523

New York City : use of Morse code and dial telegraph by police in, 2-3 ;
police boxes in precincts of, 8; light recall system in, 19-20; "citizens'
call buttons," 20; use of wireless telegraphy between police head-
quarters and police boat, 22; first radio-station license issued for
police service in, 22 ; teletypewriter in Times Square disaster, 45 ;
police training school in, 64; police booths in suburban districts of,
91; transmission system in use in Greater, 124; police air force of
199

New York Police Department: use made of telephone service by, 10;
first police radio license granted to, 32; organized police air force,
199; teletype switchboard of, 247; installation of teletype system in,
251 ff.

North Africa and the Near East, police communication systems of, 431-
433

Northwest Association of Sheriffs and Police, survey for teletype system
authorized by, 260

Operating-time intervals, drastic reduction of, 157, 296
Orient, police communication systems of, 433-441

Pacific Northwest, teletype survey authorized for, 260

Paris: police communication facilities of, 404, 413—414; jurisdiction of
metropolitan police force of, 413

Pasadena, radio patrol system of, 225

Patrol: establishment of rural, 214; wide divergence in rural conditions,
220-221; responsibility, 307

Patrol beat (area, post) : the basic functional unit, 76, 77; communica-
tion system of, 76 ; divisions and precincts of, 76 ; communication
problem in, 77; signaling device for recall of officer on, 77; regular
report of patrolman on, 78; equipping, with telephone units, 81-82,
89 ; crime reports of, 82 ; changing character of, 86 ; efficiency of auto-
mobile in, work, 87; tendency to reduce strength of regular, force,
169-170; radio communication and the, 170-171

Patrol booth: adopted and then abandoned by police departments in
America, 90-91. See also Police boxes

Patrol car (prowler): distribution of radio-equipped, 111; protection
by, 228, 229; two-way equipped, 296; decentralizing control of, in
emergency, 315. See also Motor patrol; Police automobile

Patrol force: decentralized, 18, 307, 310; distribution and decentraliza-
tion of, 76; radio control of, 91; surprise operations by, 92; sending
information to, 161 ; motorized, of Berkeley, Calif., 171 ; building up
combat strength of, 473

Index 581

Patrolman : communication problem of, 3 ; difficulties encountered by,
4 ; early equipment of, 6 ; ringing-in schedule of, 92 ; automobile dis-
placing foot, 107; equipped with pocket radio receiver, 201-202

Patrol methods and technique, influence of radio communication on
modern, 200 ff.

Patrol operation: reduced efficiency hazard of, 159; new era in, and
technique, 178-179; radio control of, 200, 201; application of new
developments in advanced, 203 ; military nature of, of a well-organ-
ized police department, 472

Pennsylvania : licensed state radio station in, 37 ; does not operate radio
patrol cars, 231, 235 ; first state-wide teletype system set up in, by
state police, 254 ff . ; close cooperation between state and local police
forces in, 255

Photograph, transmission of, by telegraph wire, 46-48. See also Tele-
photography

Police : historic conception of, function, 5 ; value of, telephone system,
11-12, 13; officer as crime-preventing influence, 16; problem of,
management, 16; change in, practice and technique, 20; opposition
to, radio development, 32 f . ; administrative communication system,
67-68; crime-preventing function of, impaired, 91; reluctance of
citizens to call, 157—158; allocation of specific, frequency channels,
173, 174, 176-177; problem of major importance, 173, 176; secrecy
in, operations, 184, 190, 262; suitable code for, use, 190; secrecy in,
voice broadcast, 191 ff.; consolidation of, facilities, 206; complexity
of modern, problem, 237-238; teletype systems for, use, 246; func-
tion becomes a reciprocal one, 262 ; unwritten, law, 287 ; change in,
service, 305-306; present trend of, service, 319; function paramount
in catastrophe, 320, 323 ; when military strength is required to supple-
ment, force, 328; theater of, activities, 472

Police administration: communication system of, 67—68; decentraliza-
tion in, 298-299, 307; assignment of officers in modern, 302-303;
tendency to make radio a controlling factor in, 315; in Tokyo, 406

Police agencies: need for coordination of, 41, 46

Police automobile (radio) : receiving equipment of, 127, 129-132 passim,
135; automatic volume control, 131; cone-type speaker for, 131; in-
stallation of, 135

Police boxes: first, 7-8; use of in Berkeley, Calif., 8, 309-310; certain
citizens had keys to, 9; first combination telephone and telegraph,
10-11; periodic calls made through, 21, 78; number of, necessary in
geographic divisions, 52; two uses of, 78; "pulling boxes," 79, 91;
with signaling device, 80-81 ; automatic telegraph equipment in, 81 ;
in foreign cities, 404 ; installation of Crawley's system of, in cities
of England, 410 ; in Berlin, 449

Police-broadcast radius, 119

582 Index

Police communication: began to receive attention, 6; equipment for,
delayed, 6; first electric system, 6-7; telegraph a workable, instru-
ment, 9 ; radio as a device for, 20 ff . ; the teletypewriter system in, 45,
210, 242 ; growth of regional, systems, 50 ; complex problem of, 50 ;
telephone the backbone of, 52 ; telephone traffic handled by, systems,
54; efficient operation of, 59-60; equipment for, 68-69; jail pro-
tection by a, network, 70-71; long-distance telephone in, 71-72;
types of telegraph messages of interest in, 74; requirements of the
beat area, 77, 78; importance of adequate, minimized, 78; in emer-
gency situations, 78; in normal routine business, 78; goal of, 161;
strides made by, 200 ff.; foundation for a national, system, 260;
national and international, plan, 261; interlocking functions of
various, units, 264, 298; alarm system in, plan, 270; relationship
of, system to other branches of police department, 298; centralized,
system, 299 ff ., 315 ; decentralized, system, 304 f . ; combination method
of control, 308 ff.; under disaster conditions, 320 ff.; reserve to
be organized among radio amateurs, 325, 327, 330; intercity radio
system of, 346; in Los Angeles, 362 ff.; in foreign cities and coun-
tries, 404 ff.; lacking in many cities of the United States, 461; ex-
penditures for adequate, 472

Police communication systems of Europe: Great Britain, 407 ff.;
France, 413-414; Holland and Belgium, 415-422; eastern and south-
ern Europe, 422-427; Union of South Africa, 427 f.; Australia,
429-430; North Africa and the Near East, 431-433; the Orient,
433-441; South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, 441-443;
Canada, 443-445 ; Germany, 446-457. See also Berlin, London, Paris

Police department: increased coordination and flexibility of, 18;
many are completely motorized, 21; broadcasting stations of, 24;
administrative communication system in a, 67-71; general use of
codes by, 75; importance of communication in, of today, 76; per-
sonnel of, 76; distribution of patrol force of, 77; application by, of
five-year interval to beat telephone facilities, 86; dependence of,
on light signals, 96 ff . ; communication bureau of, 160 ; radio waves
for exclusive use of, 173; every, should have licensed pilots and
experienced observers, 200; sheriffs endeavor to cooperate with,
215-216; relationship of communication system to other branches
of, 298; in disaster conditions, 320 ff.; identification bureau of, 338

Police executive, telephone facilities available to, 69

Police headquarters: installation of radio equipment at, 35 ff.; office
intercommunication system, 67-71; communication of, with mobile
patrol units, 109; in small communities, 397 f.

Police organization: trend toward decentralization of modern, 76;
point at which, begins to function, 160; radio-dispatching unit of,
160; in rural areas, 214; in foreign countries, 404 ff.

Index 583

Police patrol-box system, extension of, 12. See also Police boxes

Police radio: performances of, patrol, 38-40; two-way communication
of, 40, 178 ff. ; creation of regional, systems, 41; system, 107 ff.;
transmission through ground-wave energy, 119; transmitter, 126;
antennae, 126-127; typical, call, 182-183

Police radio communication, 20 ff.; to solve communication problem,
21 f.; skepticism concerning, 24, 31-32; commercial stations used
for, 32 f., 155 f.; experiments with, 34, 35, 40; astonishing per-
formances of, 38-40; two-way, 40, 178 ff.; growing usefulness of,
40; teletypewriter in, 45; growth of regional, 50; ^complex problem
of, 50; centralizing effect of, 54; great value of, 109; in Detroit,
110-113; special aspects of, 137—139; external interference with,
139-149; legislation bearing upon, 149; state regulations concern-
ing, 154; municipal regulations designed to improve, 154; reduc-
tion of operating-time interval, 157 f.; effect of frequency limita-
tions on, 205; reserve to be organized, 325-327 passim

Police radio dispatcher: qualifications of, 161; methods used by, 161
ff.; in small communities, 161-162; in metropolitan areas, 162, 163,
165; in Chicago, 162-163

Police radio equipment: installation of, 35-36, 37, 136; designed for
code transmission only, 36; automatic in operation, 36; two-way
communication added to, 40; selection and purchase of, 135; mov-
able chassis, 138

Police radio service: unit, 137; organizations, 137-138; technique of,
138; testing instruments for use in, 139; need for secrecy in, 184,
190 ff.; introduction of, 315

Police radio system: publicity given to, 109; decentralization of area
served by, 167; in Berkeley, Calif., 388-391; in Germany, 454

Police recall systems: growth and distribution of, 20; description of,
93-96; design and installation of, 96-103; crime report transmitted
through, 264; orderly use of, 298; in Berkeley, Calif., 386-388; in
small communities, 399 ff.; in foreign cities, 404; in Berlin, 449

Police regional radio communication system, 211; legal aspects of, 213

Police telegraph communication system, 72

Police telephone : systems described in small communities, 52—53 ; metro-
politan, 53-59; operation of, switchboard, 59-67; requirements of,
service, 79; the principal link between station and beat, 80; service
of, operator in smaller communities, 161—162

Police transmitter: speech-input system of the, 160, 296; one, may serve
a dozen departments, 211

Power: limitation, 205; requirements for additional transmitting, 213

Precinct: emergency calls turned over to, organization, 57; duties of
superior officer of, 76; division of, into smaller units, 76; radio-
equipped patrol cars distributed by, 111; handling of, traffic, 163;

584 Index

responsibilities of commanding officer of, in decentralized arrange-
ment, 306—307; complaint number allotted to, 308, 313; stations as
police centers, 314; traffic dispatched to individual, stations, 314

Prison paging and patrol system, 71

Prowler. See Patrol car

"Pulling boxes/' 79, 91

Questionnaire survey concerning communication facilities in rural police
service, 214 ff.

Radio: value of, with automobile in police communication, 108-109;
application of, to police uses, 113; Federal regulations respecting,
114—115 ; principal obstacles to, transmission, 115 ff . ; control of patrol
operations, 200; broadcast, 264; used for police communication in
some foreign countries, 404

Radio Act of 1927: Federal Radio Commission created by, 152; meas-
ures for regulation of radio communication codified by, 154 ; national
energy regulation included in, 155-156

Radio administration, power of, over radio operations, 150

Radio amateurs: assistance given by, 34; value of short waves discov-
ered by, 34; many have efficient transmitters, 126; ready to cooperate
with police, 126; survey of, to be made in predisaster planning, 324-
327 passim

Radio communication : reliance placed upon, facilities, 124 ; measures
for regulation of, codified, 154; value of, in "synchronizing arrest
with depredation," 166; collateral developments in, 171, 173; secrecy
in, 173; congestion of frequency channels of, 174; two-way, 178 ff.,
198; flexible and sure means of contact with mobile unit, 198, 211;
developments in high-frequency, 199 ; importance of, in rural police
protection, 217-218; teletypewriter supplements functions of, system,
248 ; highly centralized, 314 ; police, reserve to be organized, 325 ; with
respect to distant identification, 345 ; system in Los Angeles, 368-374 ;
development of international system of, in Europe, 406—407

Radio dispatcher, 111, 296; qualifications of, 162

Radio-frequency: absorption of, energy, 119-120; four-stage tuned,
amplifier, 146; allocation of parts of, spectrum, 151, 173; limited
number of, channels, 204; circuits, 276 ff.

Radio legislation : bearing of, upon police radio communication system,
149 f. ; Federal regulation, 151-154; state regulation, 154; municipal
regulation, 154

Radio operation, cost of transmitting equipment a factor in consolida-
tion of, 212

Radio patrol: always in readiness, 109; districts, 111, 167, 169; two
types of, cars, 111; service unit, 137 ff. ; operation, 157 ff . ; relation

Index 585

of, district to running time, 167; beat, 167; equipment becomes part
of car, 202 ; Los Angeles County, survey, 218 ff .

Radio patrol-car beats (sections), 167, 169; dimensions of, 167-169;
the same as regular police beat in Berkeley, Calif., 171

Eadio patrol cars: distribution of, 111, 169 ff . ; time interval between
contact with police and broadcast to, 159—160; report by, upon re-
ceipt of emergency call, 163; running time of, 166 passim,) 167; in
Berkeley, Calif., 170-171; two-way communication with, 178 ff. ;
typical police call, 182—183; speedy and efficient protection by, 228,
229; response of, to alarm system, 270, 296; high-frequency radio
installed in, 314-315

Radio spectrum, 150, 173, 177; high-frequency, 177, 184; ultra-high
frequency, 178

Radio station: applications for licenses for portable, 37; police-con-
trolled chain of, 346

Radio transmitting equipment: construction permit and license for,
136—137; service tests of, 136-137; speech-input system of police,
160; cost of, 212

Radio transmission : power supply in, system, 124 ff . ; essence of prob-
lem in police, 235 f.; connected with teletypewriter network, 237,
252-253

Railroads, communication resources of, included in disaster plan, 329

Recall-light signals: time-response interval to, 84, 85, 87, 91, 107-108,
124

Recall-signal system: installation's, 18 ff., 95-102; in patrol areas, 77,
93 ; described, 94 ; experiments with invisible light, 96 ; complete
electrical, available, 102; cost of, 102-104; possible influence upon,
by unique system of transmission, 104 ff . ; in foreign countries, 405

Record division : control of, over communication, 302, 303 ; position and
functions of, correlated with other police activities, 307; precinct
complaint number allotted by, 308 ; supervision by, over record pro-
cedure, 308

Red-light alarm signals, 93, 96, 97, 100

Regional communication plan, 208 ff.

Regional communication system : growth of, 50 ; use of teletypewriter
in, 211; Federal Communications Commission requirements for, 213;
and the rural police problem, 214 ff.

Regional coordination plan of man power, 206

Regional police communication systems, organization of, 177, 204 ff . ;
coordination the essence of, 238; use of maps in, 239, 241; use of
aerial photography in, 239-241

Regional police radio systems, state-wide, 231

Regional teletype system, 253 ff . ; basis for widespread, 260; small local
force becomes effective unit in, 262

586 Index

Remote control: equipment, 123, 126, 310, 313 ; messages broadcast over,
lines, 225, 390

Robbery: crime of, 277; hazard of interior, 278; elements in successful,
279; protection, 290; daylight, hazard, 290; losses, 291

Robbery-alarm systems, 279, 280, 290

Rural: police problem and regional communication system, 214 ff. ;
vigilantes, 214, 216; questionnaire survey, 214 ff . ; sheriffs as, law-
enforcement agency, 215 ; telephone the only instrument of communi-
cation in, areas, 216 ; study of, police communication problem, 218 ff . ;
difficulties in, police communication, 221 ; radio patrol-car protection
for, areas, 228

St. Louis: manner of locating crime in, 165; cooperation of police
department of, with Federal government, 291-292

Scotland Yard : use of radio communication by, 40, 409 ; teletypewriter
network planned for, 408—409 ; radio broadcasting station of, 409

Scout cars (radio), 111; in Los Angeles, 169

Secrecy: in police operations, 184, 190—191, 193; in voice broadcast,
191 ff . ; of communication sent by teletypewriter, 262

Service organization, radio, 137-139

Sheriff : office force of highway, 209 ; police protection given by, 215 ;
law-enforcement agency, 215; cooperates with police, 215-216; State,
216; only means of communication and transportation for, 216-217;
special telephone arrangements made by some, 216

Sheriff -constable regime, collapse of, as police protection, 214

Ship Act: of June, 1910, 151, and its enactment, 151-152; of August,
1912, 151-152

Signal: at alarm terminal, 271; transmission of alarm, 281; silent, 283

Signal boxes : number needed for proper patrol operations, 83 ; code
signals sent to station through, 159

Signaling systems: of police, 9; used for recall, 77

Small community: telephone system of, 52-53; plans for police commu-
nication system for, 394 ff ., 397 ; distribution of the, in United States,
396; police headquarters of, 397; reporting-in schedule for, 398; beat
telephones of, 399 ; recall-signal system, 399 ff . ; general alarm, 401 ;
burglar and holdup alarms, 401 ; highway control points, 402 ; inade-
quate policing of, 461 ff.

South America, police communication systems of, 441-442

State Bureau of Identification, creation of, 339

State governments, recognize growing usefulness of radio communica-
tion, 40

State highway patrol, 231

State police: function of, 207; forces, 214, 231; police some rural areas,
215; transmitting stations of, 231

Index 587

State police organizations of foreign countries, 405 ff.

State police radio system, problem of establishment of, 236 ff .

State-wide teletype network : Pennsylvania system, 254 ff . ; New Jersey
system, 256-257; California network, 257-260

Switchboard: operations of police, 59 ; factors involved in efficient, oper-
ation, 59-63; selection of, operators, 63—64, and their training, 64;
records as auxiliary to the, 65, 66; women as, operators, 65, 67; code-
calling system as an auxiliary to the main, 69-70 ; first, designed for
broadcasting information, 246—247 ; central, an integral part of cen-
tral complaint room, 315

Telegraph : adoption of, in police communication, 1, 72 ; replaced by
telephone, 14, 16; important information relayed by, 72; two classes
of, service available, 72; types of, messages, 73-74; automatic, 81;
more accurate than telephone, 191; radio, 198; telephone and, only
quick means of communication, 208 f . ; destruction of, facilities in
disasters, 322, 324; use of field, 333; use of in foreign countries, 404

Telephone : adoption of, 9 ; value of police, system, 11—12 ; rapid expan-
sion of, service, 12, 16 ; chief communication instrument of police, 13 ;
development of private, exchanges, 13 ; telegraph replaced by, 14, 16 ;
installed in police stations, 14-15 passim; in the solving of problem
of police management, 16 ; dual advantage of, 52 ; beat, system, 54,
78 ff. ; office intercommunication, 67 ff . ; long-distance, 71-72, 209;
installed at various points of area patrolled, 77, 82-83 ; the principal
link between station and beat, 80 ; enables speedy communication with
police, 159; telegraph and, the only quick means of communication,
208—210 ; using the, a time-consuming process, 210 ; limitation of,
211; the only instrument of rural communication, 216—217; system
usually paralyzed in disasters, 321-322, 324; use of field, 333, 334;
police, system in Los Angeles, 362-368, and in Berkeley, 383-386;
use of, by police in foreign cities, 404

Telephotography: selenium cell used in, 47; in criminal identification,
49, 343, 345 ; development of equipment for, 50, 345 ; awaiting more
extensive use in police service, 203 ; transmission of, 345 ; might be
displaced by radio, 345—346 ; wireless, in Germany, 457—458

Teletype : growing use of, communication, 74, 263 ; hook-up in Chicago
area, 210; advantages of, system, 220; police, network, 242 ff.; two
kinds of, machines, 243 ; design of, systems for police use, 246 ; munici-
pal, system, 248 ff.; county, system, 253-254; state-wide, network,
254 ff . ; routing of, message, 261 ff . ; uniformity imperative in, com-
munication systems, 261-262; machines in Berkeley, Calif., 310;
police-controlled, system for distant identification, 347 ; broadcasting,
messages, 372

Teletype message routing and record procedure, 261 ff.

588 Index

Teletypewriter : use of, in police communication, 45 f ., 74, 242, 247, 250,
251; efficiency of, 210; communication between stations in regional
system, 211; limitation of, 211; little used by sheriffs, 217; different
uses of, 242 ; five-unit code device used, 243—245 ; synchronization of,
245 ; effective demonstration of, at Anti-Crime Conference, 261 ; sys-
tematic use of, facilities, 261 ; authority and reliability of, 262 ;
secrecy possible with, 262 ; might be displaced by radio, 346 ; as used
in Los Angeles police communication system, 374—379; simplex tape
printers, 377; accessory telephones, 377; in interdepartmental broad-
casting, 378; connection in Berkeley, Calif., 393-394; employed in
some foreign cities, 404

Television: awaiting more extensive use in police service, 203; role of,
in distant identification, 346—347; two-way, system, 347. See also
Telephotography

Time interval between: commission of crime and call to police, 157;
lifting of receiver and contact with police, 159; contact with police
and contact with patrol cars, 159-160 ; maximum, efficient discharge
of patrol functions, 166; receipt of call and arrival at destination,
223-224 ; receipt of call and broadcast, 224

Time-response elements, in distribution of beat telephones, 84, 85 passim

Tokyo, police communication in, 406

Traffic : synchronized, control equipment, 141, 142 ; volume of emer-
gency, in metropolitan areas, 162; handling of precinct, 163; dis-
patches broadcast, 211; control of, in disasters, 321

Transmitter problem, alternatives for solution of, 225 ff .

Transmitters: use of additional, 124, 125; portable, 178, 180, 181, 201;
type used for secrecy in voice broadcast, 191-192; for aircraft, 198;
reduction in size and weight of, 201; cost of, 212; high-frequency
portable, 334

Transmitting: voice, station, 114; equipment, 180; distribution of li-
censed police, stations, 205 ; state police, stations, 191

Transmission : unique system of, 104 ff . ; telegraphic radio, 191

Typewriter, radio-controlled, 203

Two-way radio communication, 40, 178 ff., 198; standard equipment
for, 183-184; installation of high-frequency, 184; decentralization by
means of, 309

Ultra-high frequency: channels, 177; new field offered by, 177; trans-
mission of, 177; tests made with, 177-178; advantages offered by, 178

Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc. : testing of alarm systems by, 44—45,
287 f . ; devices approved by, 289 ; certificate issued by, 290

Union of South Africa, police communication systems in, 427—428

United States : telegraph communication exchanges in, 2 ; permits for
construction and installation of radio equipment granted to police by,
37; two-way communication added to police equipment in the, 40

Index 589

Vaults: attacks upon bank, 266-267; construction of, 267-269

Vigilante committees, 214, 216

Visual recall signals, 70 ; audible signals supplanted by, 96 ; centralized

at police headquarters, 299
Visual signaling in times of disaster, 332
Voice: transmission, 191; secrecy in, broadcast, 191 ff.

Warrant, telegraphic : associated with distant identification, 359 ; para-
doxical circumstances surrounding the, 359-360 ; are generally hon-
ored, 361 ; data to be contained in a, 361

Wireless communication in police work, 23-24

Women as police switchboard operators, 65, 67

Wreck Investigation Squad (motorcycle), 196

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