Policemen

Are U. S. policemen in the main, abnormally stupid and U. S. detectives, as a class, even thicker-witted? This thesis was vigorously advanced at London last week by onetime Lord Mayor of Norwich Dr. G. A. Pope, who has just completed an exhaustive study of U. S. policemen and police methods.

Said Dr. Pope, quoting from his research: "An ordinary chauffeur is probably more intelligent than the average American police detective, or 'gum-shoer' in the popular idiom. In no phase of police work has the weakness of the American system been more conspicuous than in the detective department. Unless an offender in America is apprehended at the time of his offense or leaves unmistakable clues he is rarely discovered. . . ."

Concluding, Dr. Pope singled out the police and detectives of Cleveland, Ohio, as a significant illustration of his thesis. Said he: "Army tests given to the police during the Cleveland survey showed that the detectives there have the lowest average score of the entire department."

Dr. Pope's audience, the Chief Constables' Association applauded vigorously, yet decorously.