FIGHTING MOTOR BANDITS.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20510, 1 April 1932, Page 6

FIGHTING MOTOR BANDITS.

INSPECTORS ON MOTORCYCLES. ■ OPEUATIONS IN U.S.A. Aggravated l>y depressed business conditions and widespread vuemploynieiit. the crime situation in America has readied such serious proportions that the police are having the utmost difficulty in coping with it, reports a correspondent in "Motor Cycling." Motorcycle officers armed only with pistols or revolvers have been found virtually useless in attempting to combat desperate criminals who fight with gas bombs, rifles, and machine guns. As a result, we find at least one squad of motor-cycle police who are now prepared to meet bandits upon something like equal terms of armament. These are the. force of San Gabriel, California, whose chief, Juan Manzo, has recently equipped them with swivel-mounted, buckshot pump guns. Practically all violent crime in America, such as bank hold-ups, pay-roll robbery, and so on, is committed with the motor-car offering flic criminals Hieir means of speedy getaway. Stolen Car Used. Usually operating in a stolen car, the conventional practice is for five or six armed rogues to enter a branch bank or other place of business in broad daylight. They march into the place and begin to shoot right and left. Clerks and bank officials take cover, The bandits then gather up all available loot, dive for the waiting car and dash away, soon to be lost against pursuit in the normal street or highway traffic. Heretofore motor-cycle officers armed only with pistols or revolvers have been called upon to pursue and catch such criminals, often in the face of gas bombs, smoke screens, rifle fire, or machine-gun bombardment. Quite naturally tlve motor-cycle police have been ineffective against such desperadoes. But with buckshot guns on police motor-cycles it would seem that the tables are due to bo turned upon the bandits. The guns arc swivel-mounted,. 12-borcs, and are carried on the forward portion of the left handlebar. To aim tho gun at a fleeing bandit vehicle the officer points his motor-cycle at the target. The muzzle of the gun may be raised or lowered as necessary. When tho officer fires the country is apt to bo rid of one or more bandits, or the pursued vehicle is brought to a hait by reason of leaking petrol tanks. To re-load after a shot the officer has only to push the gun forward and pull it back again. During such operations the hand-grip of the gun also performs the normal functions of the left handlebar of the motor-cycle. The operation of the gun has purposely been made a left-handed action, in order to give the officers the use of their right hands for manipulating the throttle. Safoty Measures. Every possible precaution has been taken to prevent accidents in the use of theso weapons. When a policeman is patrolling in tho ordinary way the firing chamber of the gun is kept unloaded. If the gun is required it is made read}' for action almost instantly by a forward push and backward pull, If an officer finds it necessary to leave his motor-cycle unattended, he depresses the grip of tin- gun to drop the trigger-guard into a metal frame, where it is securely locked with a padlock against both theft, and tampering. The gun mount is also so arranged as to permit instant detachment, of the gun from the motor-cycle, thus increasing the value of the weapon to the officer who may be called upon to enter a bank or give chase on foot in pursuit of a criminal. Tho moral effect of such equipment in the hands of trained officers should alone bo highly discouraging to banditry. It is, therefore, logical to believe that similar armament will soon bo on the motor-cycles of tho motorcycle police throughout the, length and breadth of the United States. "REMOTE GEAR CONTROL." INNOVATION IN ENGLAND. Motor racing Ims boon responsible for many innovations which, when proved successful in use, have eventually been adopted in the make-up of standard production cars ' A recent departure from conventional gear lever practice has been introduced in many of the sports model light cars used for racing in England and on the Continent. Instead of the usual long gear change lever with its wide radial movement, what is termed "remote gear control' 1 is how being used by many racing men. The object of tins latest trend is to bring the change gear lever close up to tho steering wheel, so that it is convenient for snappy and easy gear changing and at the same time only calls for a very short hand travel in the course of gear shifting. In some eases an attachment is fitted to the gear box, there being a tubular aluminium extension backwards to a point just in front of the.driving seat. At the end of the extension there is either a ball or gate change in miniature and a short lever.. The movement of this lever, which is close to the driver's left hand, is reproduced at the gearl>ox, usually by a shaft working within the hollow extension. The advantages of this arrangement will lie obvious to most motorists. There i« no need for the driver to roach forward for the lever, while a change of gear owing to the short travel of the miniature lever roughly leaves it in the same position, thus assisting gear shifting and lessening the effort involved. Several makes of these fitments are already being marketed in England suitable for attachment to a number of popular makes of British light cars. The "remote gear control" is an attachment that, owing to its accessiblyplaced lever and the reduced movement neccssarv to change rear, will be sure to appeal to women drivers. One of the most interesting developments revealed at the recent New York Automobile Show was the widespread adoption of safctv glass as standard or optional equipment by automobile manufacturers. Eighteen of the 32 American automobile manufacturers exhibited cars with safety glass as complete equipment. In some instances the safety glass is standard, and the car can be bought onlv.so equipped. ' In others it is optional equipment, at a slightly increased cost. Every man. woman, and child in the United States could be placed in the motor-cars now in operation in that country, and transported simultaneously, according to recent statistics. Today one car is registered for each 4.(5 persons in America. Although many cars are designed to carry only two passengers, the number which would seat more than five offsets the limitations of the smaller vehicles.