POLICE METHODS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 235, 3 October 1936, Page 6 (Supplement)

POLICE METHODS.

Treatment Of Arrested Men Abroad.

AN INQUIRY AT SCOTLAND YARD,

THE methods of the police in New South Wales came under review last week, when a citizen was awarded £300 damages for wrongful arrest and for the treatment accorded him when the arrest and the subsequent inquiries were being made. There have been few complaints in New Zealand during recent years concerning the treatment of arrestees, but from time to time in all countries methods of arrest and inquiry have been under review. In 1928 there were numerous complaints in London about the methods of Scotland Yard in dealing with suspects; and as a result of protests in the House of Commons, the Government appointed a royal commission to inquire into police methods. The police had not been accused of using violence to extort confessions, but of detaining suspected persons for hours, and placing them under severe strain by a course of questioning on the lines of the "third degree." In many cases no charge was made by the police against the suspect after he had been cross-examined at great length in the endeavour to get him to commit himself. Public indignation was aroused in England over the case of a girl of respectable parentage, who, after being acquitted at a police court of a charge of improper conduct in Hyde Park, was subsequently taken to Scotland Yard and questioned for hours. The unanimous report of the royal commission, over which Lord Lee of Fareham presided, exonerated the police from the use of improper methods. The report stated: —"There is very little evidence of misconduct by the police in the investigation of crimes and offences. The existing safeguards make it impossible for any systematic impropriety of conduct by the police in the investigation of crimes and offences, to pass undetected or unchecked." The Proper Procedure. The commission expressed, in the form of recommendations, its views on the proper procedure of the police with regard to arrested or suspected persons. Amongst the most important of these recommendations were the following: — A rigid instruction should he issued to the police that no questioning of a prisoner or a "person in sustody" about any crime or offence with which he is or may be charged should be permitted. This does not exclude questions to remove elementary and obvious ambiguities in voluntary statements, under No. 7 of the judges' rules.

There should be the most stringent safeguards to ensure that any statements made by persons who have been charged are really voluntary, ; and accurately represent what the prisoner himself desires to say. ) If a prisoner expresses a wish to make a voluntary statement he should, be cautioned, offered writing materials, and left to write, without being overlooked, questipned or prompted. Any answers or statements made 'by the prisoner when charged should be taken down in writing.as nearly as possible in his own words, and signed by him if he consents. He should be given the option, in serious cases, of writing his answers himself. The holding of a person in custody, before it is clear that a formal charge should be preferred against him, should be subject to definite limitations and •safeguards. Any deliberate recourse to the practice of making an arrest on a minor charge to facilitate inquiries into a major crime is, on principle, to be deprecated. American Methods. Throughout the United States the police xesort to violence against arrested persons in order to make them confess to crimes. In 1931 a special committee of the Wickereham Commission, appointed by President Hoover, inquired into, the brutal ill-treatment of prisoners' by the police. Professor Alfred Bushiiell Hart, of Harvard University, in commenting in an American magazine on the committee's report, wrote: —"The report has disclosed habitual cruel and barbarous use of 'tortures of various kinds by officers of justice in city and local prisons throughout the United States, and some State penitentiaries. The most widely distributed form of torture is the third degree—the merciless interrogation of persons accused of crime—in order to secure confessions. The third degree is applied to men and women, to old and young, to hardened criminals and to first offenders; in thousands of cases it is used against innocent persons unreasonaly accused of crime. The foundation stone of the third degree is that presumably the person is guilty, and must be browbeaten and threatened, and worn out by torture if necessary, to the point of admitting guilt. Such a result is considered a triumph for the interlocutor, and an avoidance of complicated and expensive Court proceedings." A Reporter's Story. Astounding disclosures concerning the methods of the police of New York indealing with suspected criminals were given by Mr. Emanuel H. Lavine, in his book, '"'The Third Degree," which was published in 1930. For 25 years Mr. Lavine had been a police reporter, and he was thoroughly familiar with the methods of the police. It was not in any spirit of indignation that he made his disclosures. Oh the contrary, his sympathies were with the to a extent. "Solutions of about 70 per .cent of all cases where solutions arcfinally obtained come as a result oi using forceful or persuasive methods in some form," he wrote. "The so-called roughneck is hit with everything bu^ the foundation of the building, and theie have doutless been times when such a man has suspected that even this has bounced up and struck him. "VVheie speed is essential in apprehending accomplices about to obtain a bank roll ~nd skip the town, or when the police are specially angry—say, by the murder of another policeman —fine technique in questioning prisoners is tossed to the Winds. I have seen a man beaten on the Adam's- apple so that blood spurted r °m his mouth; I have seen another put in a dentist's chair, and held there while the dentist, who seemed to enjoy _ S ro «»d, down a molar with- a m! i . ( -' ann °t possibly describe witn'oaZ!'?'* 3^® 1 " 8 ' *>y the police I have r2 any .™ orc than the reader street cn l .? Cry *! me > seen a , !p ss. There ia nothing from

the police point of view, exceptional or startling- in the application of the third degree; it is simply a part of the normal routine. But it must be remembered that 'strong-arm men,' 'gorillas,' r.nd tough gangsters, who cheerfully commit dastardly and murderous assaults, are usually not afraid of a mere arrest. Through political connections and similar ties, or by intimidation and bribery of complainants and witnesses, they almost invariably 'beat the rap' (i.e., get off). Nothing is more instructive than to examine the record of a well-known criminal, and note how often he is arrested and how seldom convicted. Some of our most dangerous thugs have not a single conviction against them. But, though <a court case is. a matter to be laughed at, 'massaging 5 by the police is a different affair. It is remarkable that the gangster who would kick a stranger in the abdomen or use a blackjack on a passing citizen for refusing him the price of a drink, will either whimper or scream with fear when the 'work-out' begins. I am not giving any opinion on the value of the third degree when I say it is unfortunate many of our most vicious criminals are protected from it by their political connections. If the third degree is ever used on prisoners at all, those iire the ones who most , deserve it. Under the present system it is applied for the most part to the poor, the ignorant and the friendless." Savage Treatment. The most appalling case of ill-treat-ment by the police, described by Mr. Lavine in his book was that of a young criminal named Heslin, who on April 4, 1926, fatally shot a policeman named Charles Beilly. Mr. Lavine mentions that when a police officer has been the victim of a criminal, the third-degree methods adopted when the criminal is arrested, are particularly savage. Heslin, armed with two revolvers, had stuck up at night five Italians just after they had left a political club. Reilly saw the hold-up from a distance, and crept up behind Heslin with the object of felling liim with his baton. Heslin turned and shot him dead, and in hi 3 nervousness in replacing the revolver in a holster strapped across his stomach, he accidentally shot himself. The bullet ploughed its way down the upper part of the thigh near the groin, came out just above the knee, and passed through the calf of his leg. Police in the vicinity heard the shots, and were quickly on the scene. They were able to trace Heslin by the trail of blood from his wound, and they found him' in bed in a neighbouring tenement building, and his wife endeavouring to stop the flow of blood. When the police burst into the room, Heslin tried to reach the two revolvers he had placed under his pillow, but the police were too quick for him.

They dragged liim out of bed, kicked him into the hallway? and pushed him down the staircase. One of the police picked him up like a sack of potatoes and threw him half-way down a flight of stairs. ,;*,He was dragged into the street bv his heels, and left'on the side walk,- clad only in an undershirt, to await'the arrival of the police patrol wagon. He was dumped into the wagon on a stretcher, and on arrival at the police station was carried into a room in which lay the body of Reilly, and he was tipped out of the stretcher on to the floor. He asked for a drink of water, and a policeman picked up a spittoon, filled with expectorations, cigar ash and cigarette butts, and emptied it over his face. A detective used a baton to strike with all liis fores on the part where the wretched Heslin had shot himself just below the groin, and blood spurted up from the wound like a miniature fountain. ' Another detective gathered dirt from the floor and rubbed it into the wounds. _ A third placed the burning end of a cigar on his stomach and twisted it about until it was extinguished. Others walked over to him and struck him, or placed lighted cigarettes on his naked body to burn themselves out.

French Methods. According to British ideas of justice, a prisoner should be regarded as innocent until he has been proved guilty, and no pressure should he brought on him before his trial to obtain a confession of o-uilt. But under "French judicial procedure methods closely resembling those of the third degree are applied to wring confessions from prisoners, though physical violence and ill-treatment are not resorted to. The suspect in a major crime is brought before a judge d'instruction, who questions him minutely regarding the crime, his past life, and everything else that is known to his discredit. Anything that the prisoner says can be used against him at his trial. In extracting information and dangerous admissions from him, the judge d'instruction is assisted by expert criminologists. The prisoner may be represented by counsel, and he may refuse to answer any questions. He may be brought before the judge d'instruction daily for a month or more, if the developments of the case render that course necessary, from the standpoint of the prosecution. Landru, known as the French Bluebeard, who was ultimately found guilty of murdering ten women and a boy, was badgered by the judfre d'instruction over a period of 18 months before being placed on trial. This lengthy ordeal "was the result of the fact that when Landru was arrested he was suspected of having murdered three women, and, as the investigations proceeded, he was found to have been associated with seven other women who had disappeared mysteriously.

A French criminal trial does not accor.l with British ideas of justice. In the first place the trial begins with a recital of the prisoner's previous record. If he has been convicted before for the class of crime with which he is charged, or with any other crime, the jury learns all about it before any evidence is put before them. The president of the Court is not a judge in the British sense of the" word. He treats the prisoner as o-uilty, and takes turns with the prosecuting counsel in questioning the prisoner from that standpoint. Almost anything can be dragged in as evidence, and any document can be used In the Landru eaSe the uncorroborated statements attributed to some of his victims were quoted. The president does not sum up the evidence for the jury to consider. The. counsel for the defence has the last word in addressing the jury, the impassioned eloquence of an able advocate sometimes succeeds in securing a verdict for his client against the weight, of evidence. Such was the eloquence of counsel forLtindru that the jviry which found hini "guilty of eleven murders recommended the prisoner to mercy.

glass is removed entirely. The rooted cuttings may then be potted or planted out as soon as the weather is warm enough. To increase dahlias- by division the tubers should be started into growth, and then divided into sections, so that each shoot has a tuber or a portion of a tuber attached. _ These pieces may be then, planted in the ordinary way. Plants grown from cuttings or divisions will make good plants, and will flower quite as well as undivided roots; in fact, exhibiting growers always grow their plants either from cuttings or divided tubers. EARLY PEAS. It is not unusual to sow sweet peas in pots and then put out the young plants, and why the practice is not extended to culinary peas it is difficult to say. In light warm soils it is not such an advantage as in cold wet soils, but there is an advantage even in every soil, for in spring, with sudden changes of temperature, cold wet weather and slugs, it ia often ve%yr difficult to get a really early crop of peas. By utilising an available frame and a little extra trouble through sowing in boxes or pots the seed can be raised and the plants brought through these first stages successfully. The seedlings will transplant quite easily and grow away readily if care is taken not to damage the roots.

Procure a number of 3Jin pots, which must be perfectly clean and clry, especially the insides; otherwise the roots will adhere to tlw aides when being turned out for planting. Drain them in the ordinary way, and fill them to within half an inch of the top with old potting soil; this should be light and porous, containing plenty r,f old mortar rubble or other gritty material. I'lace five seeds in each pot one inch deep; if the soil is on the dry side give them a watering through a rosed can, After sowing, no more will be required until'the young plants are up and the soil shows signs of dryness. The pots may then be stood close together on an ash bottom in the frame* the lights should be kept on to ward off heavy rains. When the young plants are well through the soil, air must be given on all favourable occasions, leaving a "chink" on at night when the weather is mild. Do not attempt to hurry the plants by coddling, and shutting up the frame early. Slow, sturdy growth is the object to be aimed at. Choose a warm border if possible, or, if this is not available, a sheltered spot. Provided the ground is in fairly "good heart" from previous mamirings, no fresh manure need be applied for this early crop; a dressing of lime, Alb to the square yard, a week or two before planting, would be beneficial. Planting should be in rows two feet apart and a space of about six inches allowed for each potful. The balls should not be broken in planting, which is best done with a trowel. Press x, ie soil moderately firm round the roots. '

WHIP AND TONGUE GR-AFTIrrCr. The main use of grafting is to turn existing fruit trees of little or no value into useful trees by removing the head and grafting on the better sort. It must be understood, however, that grafting will only affect the upper portion of the tree, and, if the roots are in an unfavourable medium or are diseased, grafting will not be of any value. Although there are, and have been, examplt-s of graft hybrids, that is, where the resi it of grafting has been to produce a. fruit or flower with characteristics of both stock and scion, they are of rare occurrence, and the scion will produce itself time to type. The most common inetho.l and the one caeiest of acquirement liy beginners is whip grafting. After heading down the stock to the required height a slice is taken from one side by making a eloping cut some

three or four inches in length, and a corresponding slice taken from the scion. The two are fitted together and tied, care having been taken to unite the inner bark of both scion and stock. It is advisable to make a slit or tongue in the face of the stock, and to correspond in the scion, and slip tliem within cach other so that the scion may be firmly held in its proper place. To effectually exclude the air, the graft must be immediately treated with an application of grafting wax, which may be either purchased or made' up. Grafting may be performed at any time during the dormant period of the stocks, but preferably just prior to the commencement of spring growth. The scions should be collected, labelled, and planted in soil some weeks before being grafted, as it has been found advantageous to allow the stock to be more forward in its vegetation at that time. This method of grafting is usually successful with most deciduous trees.