THE HUMAN DETECTIVE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 30 December 1927, Page 2

THE HUMAN DETECTIVE.

REAL VERSUS IDEIAL. “It is one of the tricks of the detective story writer to give his hero some mannerism, some Uuman trait, that contrasts with liis wonderful grasp of the sum of knowledge, and brings him down momentarily to earth. Now, the feet of the real detective touch earth all the time. There is very little difference between the Scotland Yard man and the rest of us apart from our professions”—thus Mr. George Dilnot, author of “Great Detectives and their Methods” (Geoffrey Hies), whose knowledge of crime and criminals of real life was revealed in “Scotland A 7 aid,” while the dedication of the book under review to Edgar Wallace argues also an extensive acquaintance witli the criminal world in action. Mr. Dilnot classifies police detectives in three broad types: (1) The executive organiser—a man who can meet the unexpected, can handle events as they arise. He has the tactics, the full technique of criminal investigation at his finger-tips, a supreme knowledge of men, an elasticity of resource. He knows where to get information and how to apipiy it. (2) The thieftaker—a shrewd and experienced man whose chief asset is his knowledge of thieves and their methods. (3) The expert—not necessarily a highly-educated man, but skilled in some direction; finger-prints, photography, foot-prints, record keeping. “No one of these would pretend to be able to sit in an office and pick out the author of a burglary a hun dred miles away by pure reason. If anyone does that sort of tiling it is more likely to be a bored clerk who, from a. card index, has discovered that the crime has all the special characteristics of the work of Bill Brown, long known as a tliief.” The author seems to enjoy pouring these cold streams of fact upon every aspect of crime and its detection. For he proceeds to demolish another cherished idea, that of “honour among, thieves.” There is no such thing, he tells us flatly, except when, it is dictated by some motive of self-interest or self-preservation. Bill Brown will quite cheerfully “shop” .Tim Jones if be is approached in the right way. .

So the detective makes it his business to be on familialI—but 1 —but not too familiar —terms with the underworld. This curious relationship sometimes leads to odd results, as when some years ago a man called at Scotland Yard and asked for a particular detective. Being told lie was away, the man departed, and not until some weeks later did it appear that he had wished to surrender himself to his “friend” for a murder which was being investigated.

In spite of all the warnings of eommonsense, it will be found, too, that many of these stories of actual detection bear out the old saying about truth and fiction Many tales of the exploits of the Big Five at Scotland Yard, of Big Bill Pinkerton, Vidocq, and Petrosino, are thrilling enough to be related with great effect, ’if not round the yule log, at any rate about the campfire.