The Police and the Law
| Date | 01 January 1957 |
| Published date | 01 January 1957 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X5703000102 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE
POLICE
AND
THE
LAW
II
Percentage changes for the estimated total U.S. crimes and for crimes
reported by urban and rural police agencies recorded a 4 per cent.
increase in murder, 10·2 per cent in negligent manslaughter, 6·8 per
cent. in rape, 18·5 per cent. in larceny, and 22·3 per cent. in auto thefts.
Police in 3,732 cities reported that 55 employees were killed in line
of duty during the calendar year 1955. The figure 55does not represent
all cities in the country,
but
is limited to the area covered by the
Reports.
Acomparison
of
the rate per unit
of
population with that for 1954
indicates a slight decrease in 1955 in the number of police who lost
their lives in line of duty by acts of criminals, traffic accidents, and
the like.
Police in 1,771 cities reported that they arrested over 2·9 million
persons in 1955 who were charged with some violation other than
traffic. The violations involved ranged from minor regulatory matters
through criminal homicide. The 2·9 million persons do
not
include
those persons who were arrested but released without the filing of a
charge by police.
For
all reporting cities combined, the 2·9 million persons charged
figure indicates that on the average one person in 22 in the city popu-
lation
of
66,012,729 was arrested and charged in 1955. Stated another
way, there were almost 4,462 persons charged for every 100,000 city
inhabitants.
For
every 100 major offences known to the police in 1955, 28 were
cleared by arrest, 20 persons were charged and 14 persons were found
guilty. Every other murder and every third negligent manslaughter
resulted in a conviction in 1955. Robberies and aggravated assaults
occurred at the rate of four for each person convicted for these crimes.
The Police and the Law
THE
ACTIVITIES
OF
CRIME
REPORTERS
IT is less common than it used to be for newspaper crime reporters
to find themselves in conflict with the law. Since the law of con-
tempt of court was used in 1924 to check some of their activities they
have in general been more circumspect than was formerly the case.
The following is a passage from a judgment of the particularly forth-
right Lord Chief Justice
of
those days: "Some
of
these newspapers,
as was shown by the materials before the court, had entered deliber-
ately and systematically on a course which was described by some
of
them as 'criminal investigation.'
It
was urged on behalf of one respon-
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