Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/162

148 Third in the list is "vagrancy," at 8.6 per cent.; a comparison of the figures for the last ten years shows that there has been a steady increase in the number arrested and convicted for this offense. This is partly due to the work of the Charity Organization Society, which has a special officer detailed to oversee the fourteen regular police officers whose duty it is to arrest all beggars and vagrants. Other minor offenses which the judge may dispose of finally, appearing in the table as 1 per cent, or less of the total, are sabbath breaking (chiefly keeping shops open and selling goods in violation of the law), ungovernable child, disorderly persons (abandoning or threatening to abandon family), and "suspicious persons." Concerning this last class the magistrates' report for 1897 says: "Many persons are arrested under suspicious circumstances, such as well-known criminals mysteriously loitering about the streets at night, or frequenting crowded places, or persons having property in their possession for which they can give no good account, nor of themselves. Frequently such arrest is the first step in the detection of some crime, which is investigated, the proper complainant found, a formal complaint taken, and the prisoner held for trial. In many instances such arrest prevents the commission of crime. During the year the total number of such cases amounted to 1,897, of which 1,885 were discharged and 12 cases are pending." It may be that this is a necessary means for the prevention of crime, but it would appear to place an extraordinary power of torture in the hands of the police officer. Doubtless ex-criminals need to be watched for the protection of society, possibly as a deterrent measure, but so long as the police force remains an irresponsible body, moved chiefly by private motives, such power will be more or less abused.

There is no way of ascertaining accurately the number of children and young persons who come into the police courts, as no statistics are published in the report except of those committed to institutions. These are not kept in confinement at the station house, but by the Gerry Society, and an officer of the society comes into court with them to suggest to the magistrate where they should be sent. From observation it appears,