Volume II
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of my friend Mr John L. Rayner, who was seized with a painful malady while engaged in compiling the second volume of The Complete Newgate Calendar, the Navarre Society asked me to undertake the completion of the work which he had so ably and conscientiously begun. I accepted the task with some diffidence because I thought that temperamentally I was more fitted for continuing my studies of police procedure and the ways of modern criminals in the strange and busy world that lies outside the ken of most of us rather than in diligently delving in studious quietude into chronicles of crimes of centuries ago. Now that the work is finished I am not at all sorry, apart from the regret one feels at the loss of an old friend and colleague, that I was given this opportunity of comparing the old with the new. I have relied on the same authorities that were at Mr Rayner's disposal, and in selecting the cases for inclusion in this work I have endeavoured to make them as diversified as possible in order to show the infinite variety of methods employed in the wide world of crime. One fact that must impress itself on the reader of these volumes is that in the old days crime was of a more vicious and brutal character than it is at the present day, and so were the punishments inflicted. Men and women and children were hanged for offences which in these days would be expiated by small fines or short terms of imprisonment. Brutality breeds brutality. Our present more humanitarian methods of dealing with offenders are reflected in the com forting decrease in all forms of serious crime although there is a steady and continued increase in the population. Of course there are other contributory causes, such as the im proved social conditions of the people and the provision of more opportunities for sport and amusements and popular vii educational attractions, in which must be included picture palaces and the introduction of wireless into millions of homes all of which go a long way toward making people happy and contented and honest. The encouragement given to various sports by employers of labour in all our great industrial centres is probably one of the surest safeguards against lawlessness of all descriptions. England has ever been a great sporting nation, and workers who are encouraged to enjoy themselves in all manner of field sports have their minds diverted from those little troubles that afflict all of us but if brooded upon are apt to look big and ugly and so lead to discontent and revolt against law and order. Has anyone ever heard of an ardent sportsman being a hardened criminal? How many Bolshevists and Communists are there in this country who take any interest whatever in sport? How many have played cricket or football? A man cannot be a criminal if he plays the game. During the 19,25 army manceuvres I spent part of my holiday among the troops and motored all over Wiltshire and Hampshire. A famous General told me of the wonderful spirit of good fellowship and loyalty that existed among all ranks, and he related a story of a young soldier who, soon after he joined the army, declared that, like his father, he was a Communist, and he used to preach Commuriism to the men. They listened good humouredly to him and told him that Lenin and Trotsky were the saviours of their country and all that sort of thing, but the real point was, would Hobbs beat Grace's record? Apparently the recruit soon saw the error of his ways, because some time afterwards the General asked the Colonel how the young Bolshie was getting on. " Oh, he is a jolly good chap," said the Colonel, " and a damned fine soldier. He is captain of the cricket team now." There is another reason for the decrease in crime, and that is that within the last fifty years the means of preventing and detecting it have been placed on a properly organised basis by the establishment of a highly skilled detective force in every town in the country. The organisation is distinctly good, but could be improved in many ways which need not be mentioned here. To my mind the most romantic aspect of modern crime investigation is the introduction of the finger print system of identification. From time immemorial the natives of the Far East, especially China, have signed documents with an inken impression of the right hand, and in 18 5 8 the late Sir William Herschel, who was in the Indian Civil Service, discovered that finger prints could be used for the purpose of personal identification. He introduced the system in the district of Hooghly, Bengal, with the object of establishing identity and preventing false personation. Later Sir Francis Galton, a native of Birmingham and a distinguished traveller and scientist, proved that the minutest details of the pattern on one's fingers persisted through life and were effaceable only when decomposition after death set in. In i go i the present finger print system for identifying criminals was introduced into this country, and it was made possible by the simple method of classification invented by Sir Edward Henry, late Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. Since that time hundreds of thousands of identifications of criminals have been effected at the Central Finger Print Bureau, New Scotland Yard, and this same system has been introduced into every police force in the civilised world. Finger prints are infallible. No two sets are alike, and they never change from birth to death. In this connection I have a photograph of two sets of the finger impressions of Sir William Herschel. Sir William was born at Slough, in 18 3 3, and when he was twenty six years old he took an impression of his own fingers. Fifty four years later he took a repeat print of his fingers, and the photograph of both shows that they are absolutely identical in their characteristics. Wireless is certainly destined to figure prominently as an aid in the prevention and detection of crime. Already there is a wireless installation at the headquarters of the Metro politan Police, and police vans have been equipped with wireless receiving and sending apparatus, but the fullest use has not yet been made of this powerful auxiliary. In time no doubt there will be infinitely greater developments, and it would not be surprising if within the next year or two detectives are provided with portable wireless apparatus with which they will be able to communicate with headquarters. Just one word for criminals and those who think of embarking on a criminal career. Honest work pays better than crime. There is no money in crime. G. T. CROOK. DULWICH 1926. |