The detective can tell from the
nature of the loss whether the statement of the circumstances is true
or false, for he knows that certain robberies take place only in
certain localities.
Persons are often indignant that those who have robbed them are not
arrested and held for trial. Undoubtedly this would be a very desirable
thing, but it is not always possible. Frequently no evidence can be
obtained against the guilty party, whose arrest would be a useless
expense to the city, and the detective in such cases is compelled to
content himself with the recovery of the property. The stolen goods
thus recovered and restored to their owners is stated on good authority
at two millions annually. [Footnote: Prison Association Report. 1866.]
In many cases the detective is very loth to arrest the culprit. It may
be the first offence of some youth, or the victim may have been forced
on by circumstances which an experienced officer can understand and
appreciate. In such cases he generally leans to the side of mercy, for
the men of the New York force are kind and humane. Their advice to the
party against whom the offence has been committed, is not to resort to
the law, but to try the offender again. In this way they have saved
many a soul from the ruin which an exposure and punishment would have
caused, and have brought back many an erring one to the paths of virtue
and integrity.
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