nd the gentleman
flatly refused to prosecute, and when compelled by the authorities to
state under oath, whether the prisoner was the man who had robbed him,
became so doubtful and hesitating that his identification was worth
nothing. This, too, in the face of his previous assertion that he could
readily identify the criminal. In spite of his misconduct, however,
there was evidence enough submitted to secure the conviction of the
prisoner, who was sentenced to an imprisonment of ten years.

The Detectives are in constant telegraphic communication with other
cities, and intelligence of crimes committed is being constantly received
and transmitted. Criminals arrested for serious offences are
photographed, and their pictures placed in the collection known as the
"Rogues' Gallery." These likenesses are shown to strangers only under
certain restrictions, but they aid the force not a little in their
efforts to discover criminals. The amount of crime annually brought to
light by the Detectives is startling, but it does not exhibit all the
evil doings of the great city. "The Police Commissioners of New York,"
says Mr. Edward Crapsey, "have never had the courage to inform the public
of the number of burglaries and robberies annually committed in the
metropolis; but enough is known in a general way for us to be certain
that there are hundreds of these crimes committed of which the public is
not told. The rule is to keep secret all such affairs when an arrest
does not follow the offence, and hardly any police official will venture
to claim that the arrest occurs in more than a moiety of the cases.
There are hundreds of such crimes every year where the criminal is not
detected, and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property stolen
of which the police never find a trace."

The individuality of crime is remarkable. Each burglar has a distinct
method of conducting his operations, and the experienced Detective can
recognize these marks or characteristics as he would the features of the
offender. Thanks to this experience, which comes only with long and
patient study, he is rarely at a loss to name the perpetrator of a crime
if that person be a "professional." Appearances which have no
significance for the mere outsider are pregnant with meaning to him. He
can determine with absolute certainty whether the mischief has been done
by skilled or unskilled hands, and he can gather up and link together
evidences which enti