HOW DETECTIVES RECOGNISE CRIMINALS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12429, 19 February 1901, Page 6

HOW DETECTIVES RECOGNISE CRIMINALS.

.(Tit-Bits.) It is by no means easy to recognise a man never met before by a photograph, and still less so by -a mere description, however accurate. Detectives, however, are supposed to be adepts at such a feat, and, to do them justice, they are rarely wanting in- this particular. No matter how scant and inaccurate may be the data at their disposal, they generally manage to bag a man who is “wanted” if they run across him. Chatting the other day with a veteran criminalcatcher, the writer was enlightened concerning .some.of the method's adopted. , The material -supplied- to the police for the purposes of identification is, contrary to popular belief, very inadequate. Descriptions are commonly erroneous and photographs misleading. Not long since a. man “Wanted” for forgery, was stated to be about forty, whereas be- was actually fifty, and, what is more, looked it; his hair was sandy, and not, as stated, dark brown; his height was under-estimated-by three or fonr inches : .aacLso on with ,all the rest of his persona! characteristics. The only - detail strictly accurate was that-he hpd l a retreating chin. "»■ ‘ ' i ■ As to the value of ordinary photographs, a detective once made the'rounds of a- certain town with one. of a woman- of-whom

he was in search. Very soon he seemed to ■ b© getting '‘warm,’’, as'the .children r say.| No fewer than threehotel-keepers were prepared to swear to the original :l.;!IVo of them were certain that they’had seen hear,' while the other' was confident: that: she had! stopped at his place.'. When the woman was arrested it became perfectly dear that bm had never beta near the town. ■ , Descriptions and photographs are, in fact* merely'aids to' the detective, not ; complete guides, though very frequently a man iq arrested by 'them alone; This is paiticularlj the ease when a fugitive from justice hsa some feature which it is impossible for thkjj; to hide or disguise. Not long ago, for ina stance, a smart detective paid a routine visii. • to, an* Irish steamer. ■ >. ii Among the passengers were a woman ah| her children, who were met on land'ing'by |j man haying.; the appearance of a labourer.: 1 -Me was not ih the least like ’a" commmdaJ:'; traveller. Yet the detective,-after wvutchf’.' mg him for fully haif an hour, arrested'hinj. as one who was ‘ ■ r WANTED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT. He was right, too. The poor wretch.did noS attempt to deny has guilt. . He admitted that he was the man whom the'officer had named, adding that for eight monthshe had been working in the docks lbr-14s br l6e pei week, and that,, thinking ,he.;wassafe, *y had brought over his wife and family tq join him. What had betrayed him? Had eyes, which were of a brilliant blpe. ; Bun : for them he would have continued to enjoy his freedom. J On another occasion, a. man rushed onboard an outward-bound liner just qs sba. was on the point of sailing. Passing a. detective, who was about to leave, by the gang! ' way, he went below., The officer shot a, glance at him as he went by, and' then, not recognising anybody for whom he was mg, made a step towards the shore. As ha did so he turned his head out of ordinary curiosity and looked after the retreating figure. Then he instantly whirled.round and darted after the late-comer, whom in five minutes he had arrested. : - 1 The.belated passenger owed Iris downfalls* nothing else but his bull neck. When, the detective twisted round he noted that the last man had such a neck, and that it pro<i traded bey pud his collar—a peculiarity mentioned in the .description of a wrongdoer* who, it was supposed, would attempt td leave the country, and who was accordingly numbered among the people, for whom th«| officer was on the watch. • When a detective is exceedingly doubtful about a man the hands sometimes give a dn« or even afford a clinching proof. : ,An officei[ once accosted on an Atlantic liner at Liver-j pool a steerage passenger who seemed to cor* respond in one or two particulars .with if Figaro who had deserted his wife. Asked what his trade was, he described himself as at labourer. , t “ Let’s look at your right hand;” said thd detective. , ' ' * “ Oh, do you know that tip?” said thd man, coolly. “It’s all right. You want m« for leaving the missur, I suppose? : i He knew immediately that the bafberiai trade-mark—a lump on the second finger of his right hand, caused by the constant use of the scissors—made further denial useless.! In other cases a detective has to overhaul! a man’s luggage before he- is fairly certain either one way or tie other. A Welshman,some few years back, drove five or six of his employer’s cows to market, sold them, and decamped with the proceeds. The Liverpool police, therefore, were soon on the lookout for him. A day .or'.two afterwards a shrewd ihembsr of the detective force went up to a man on one of the Atlantic boats suspecting him to be the runaway drover, < ENTERED INTO CONTEESA7ION WITH UDEAt length he accused him of being So-and-so, mentioning the name of that individual. This the- passenger stoutly denied,: and, as the detective had nothing, to confirm his suspicions, he was inclined to be! lieve him. Presently, however, the officer discovered that lie had with him a paper; bag containing a.’few biscuits, and bearing ■ the address of a confectioner in a town through which anybody-travelling from the! place where the cattle were sold to Liverpool would, have to come. He pointed! out' this circumstance, and asked the man how! he accounted'for having the bag if his story, were true.,.'. - i “ Oh,” he , replied,'with the - utmost readi-: ness, ;“a man where I have been lodging 1 gave me' that.” ri This sounded plausible; but the detectiva was’ riot quite satisfied.. Eventually he . got), the man’s baggage and went through ic carefully. As there was apparently nothing in it to identify the owner with the rascally drover: the' foiled officer began to, sweep back into the bags the host of things ho had- turned out, : when he noticed a name scratched on a razor-case. Eureka!. it was the name of the man ho wanted! Though the owner calmly declared that this artidLa also had been presented to him, lie was taken to the police station, whereupon hA confessed his guilt, and produced from hSs boots most of the money he had obtained for the stolen beasts. . - . ■ / 1-, Upon one other point there is a good deal of .misconception besides that of the 1 value of photographs, etc. It is generally' believed that a bearded wrongdoer- runs a good chance of avoiding recognition by detectives if he gets a clean sfiave. This! is not so. Apart from the fact that the police take into consideration the probability, of such a step, the man who resorts to - it’ almost invariably “gives himself a-wayi” Unused to having a- smooth face,, ho keeps stroking his chin, while’Ms hand sometimes travels in search' of his missing moustache, and thus ho betrays 'himself to a’close'observer. : . -l •