THE POLICE FORCE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 201, 11 August 1911, Page 7

THE POLICE FORCE

COMMISSIOXER’S REPORT. [SPECIAL —BY TELEGRAPH.] (Own Correspondent.) Wellington. Aug. 11. FINGER PRINTS. The finger print collection of the New Zealand Police consisted at the end of March last of the impressions of 10,905 offenders, being , an increase of 986 on the previous year. During the year 148 offendi ers whose antecedents were unj known to the police of the districts in which they were in custody were j by the means of the finger impres- ■ sions identified as previously coni victed persons, showing an inj crease of eight over last year. The ! finger prints of persons in custody i here ,reports the Commissioner of i Police .have been identified in the ! Australian State and London as J those of persons previously convicti ed in those places, while prints of j persons in custody in the various j States of Australia have, been ‘ been identified here as those of i persons previously convicted in : New Zealand. As a detective i agency the finger print system is •of great practical assist ance to ; the general police, and in. several 1 instances it has been the sole : means of establishing the identity iof the offender, and securing his ' conviction. In one case which oc- | curred during the early part of this 'year no suspicion was attachable ito any one, but a small finger- ’ marked piece of glass which was | found at the scent; of the crime re- ; the finger print experts, and with- ' the identity of a man whose pre- , sence in the district was unknown, j and resulted in. the subsequent ap- : prehension, and admission of guilt i of the culprit. , The general police are now rei quired to take finger impressions )of all deceased persons whose ! identity is unknown and submit ' them for search and comparison by I the finger print experts, and witli'in a period of three months the . identity of two such persons was ascertained in this wav. ; The system of registration of the I criminal history of all finger print:ed offenders has undergone maj terial improvement during the year i and this section furnishes much i valuable information to all I branches of the Department.

PORTRAITS OF CRIMINALS

During the year the portraits of 1162 Australian criminals have been received, recorded and distributed to the principal cities in the Dominion. Those of 381 New

Zealand criminals have been circulated and filed, and 653 photographs have been taken for general police purposes by the photo graph er at headquarters. As the collection of finger prints, criminal histories, photographs ,elc., is increasing, and the general search is becoming proportionately slower and more difficult, ami the existent pressure of work in the bureau indicates the constant expansion o-f the system of identification, the more general is the recognition of its value, and increasing advantage is being taken of its usefulness.