EYES OF THE "BIG FOUR."

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 132, 5 June 1926, Page 27

EYES OF THE "BIG FOUR."

HOW "WANTED" MEN ARE TRACKED DOW?.. TOKT PRECAUTIONS. SCOTLAND YARD'S SPY SYSTEM. Once Scotland Yard decides that a man or woman is wanted there comes into operation an organisation unequalled any where in the world. A striking example of this was afforded when a Frenchman named Charles Emile Berthier was detained as he boarded the outward-bound packet boat at Newhaven four and a-half hours after another Frenchman bad. it Is alleged, been shot dead in a cafe in Soho. If Berthier, who has since been charged with the murder, had c .deavoured to sail from any other port in England, his drteu tion would have been equally certain. For the description of the wanted man Intimate in every detail, facts regarding his passport, a wound he was known to possees, everything that he was wearing, was in the possession of the Scotland Yard officers at every port in England within half an hour of the decision by two of the "Big Four" at the Yard that he was "wauted." The system of the Yard is as swift as it is sure. In every Erfgiish port, from Newcastle round the coast to Liverpool, there are stationed at least two officprs of the much-criticised Special Branch at Scotland Yard. Not a ship comes into any of these ports, not a s ip leaves, but the passengers are scrutinised by the eyes of the Yard men, who have hundreds of photographs of wanted men anc l women and thousands of descriptions. They are not only looking for wanted criminals: they are for ever on the alert to discover aliens who have once been deported and have no right to re-enter the untry; they are watching intently, with the aid of the Customs officers, for drur earners and international tricksters. Speed is the great factor. The moment the officers of the "Big Four." after consultation with the chiefs at the Yard. Chief Constable Wensley and others, deeid* that they- want a certain man. and there is a reasonable prospect that he might have made a dash to get abroad, a warning Is sent to the Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department that all ports are wanred for a message. Before the description of the wanted man is even ready or has passed the careful eye of the chiefs, the private telephone lines that connect all the ports with the Yard are humming with the news that a message is coming. There is no question of a trunk call—Scotland Yard has private lines to the police of all ports. In the case of the southern ports. Gravesend, all the way round to Plymouth, they are all plugged in on to one telephone at the Yard. When the message is sent all these ports are receiving it at one time. Then the more northern ports like Liverpool. Newcastle and Hull receive the same message. The wnole description of the wanted man is transmitted in less than half an hour. That information is acted on not by the local police, but is conveyed at once either by messenger or telephone to the Scotland Yard officers in the port. An hour or two later the wanted man is found, as in the case of the notorious Willjam Cooper Hobbs, who made a dramatic dash for liberty at Gravesend, or as in the present case at Nfwhaven. The private telephone to the Yard comes into operation again. The C-I.D. inspector on duty is notified that the man wanted for such and such crime has been detained. Thereupon all ports are called again and notified of the detention. And then, and only then, do the Scotland Yard officers who have been watching boats and trains at the thir ; or forty other ports relax tTieir vigilance and go home to bed.