Review: Some Persons Unknown
| Date | 01 July 1931 |
| Published date | 01 July 1931 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3100400319 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
REVIEWS
MURDERS BY PERSONS
UNKNOWN.
By H. L.
ADAM.
I2S.
6d. net.
(W. Collins &Co.)
IN view of the numerous untraced murders of recent years, these 27 cases
(earliest 1861),mostly investigated by Mr. Adam or discussed by him with
investigators, are very interesting, especially for estimating police efficiency.
The
police often have moral
but
not legal proof: in the Croydon arsenic
case Scotland Yard held decided views; in 1872 Hessel was wrongly
discharged by the Magistrate; in 1893 Monson and in 1927 Merrittescaped
by verdicts
of'
non-proven,' which means ' believed
but
unfortunately not
proved guilty,' though the police acted erroneously early in the latter case.
Murders in the brothel, shop and train are so secret, swift and elusive that
detection is often impossible: 7 more cases fall in these categories,
but
incom-
petence was shown as regards Miss Camp. Four motiveless, including 2
train murders, were probably committed by homicidal maniacs; in 4 more
the police were misled by preconceived ideas, and in one, by a false confession.
There remain 9 mysteries, the author's solution of which the reader will prob-
ably accept, preferring, however, in one that of Mr. Fletcher Moulton
(App. V.) Mr. Adam is scathing on the unreliability of witnesses to identifica-
tion and of experts; he would apparently retain handwriting experts in their
proverbial place among liars. There are more undiscovered murders com-
mitted by secret poisoning than by any other means: doctors are too reluc-
tant to suspect poison. His conclusion is that with secrecy and speed a
murderermaystill baffle the police, as he did fifty years ago: it is not the police
but
the law that is to blame.
SOME PERSONS
UNKNOWN.
By
HENRY
T.
F. RHODES. 6s. net.
(John Murray, Albemarle St., London, W.)
IN the concluding paragraph the author tells us that this book has been an
attempt to show that science is now indispensable to almost every branch of
legal procedure and criminal investigation.
The
numerous examples given
of secrets revealed by the microscope, the test tube, the ultra-violet rays, etc.,
uphold his assertion that
science'
brings to light clues which the ordinary
methods of detection, however brilliantly conducted, cannot reveal.'
He carefully presses the view that ' scientific man as detective is no
substitute for the police,'
but
demonstrates very clearly that, on occasions,
the laboratory can furnish initiatory clues beyond the reach of the ordinary
human senses and establish conclusively facts that without its aid would
remain open to dispute. For this reason he urges a closer connexion between
the police and the scientific expert, and advocates the Continental system of
Police Laboratories in close contact with the police.
Admitting that evidence obtained by scientific methods is purely circum-
stantial and that prejudice against circumstantial evidence still exists, he
contends that the evidence of eye-witnessesis often much less reliable. He tells
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