-lOl-

Brooklyn desperately needed a trained, paid, suuervised :md well equi'pped

department if its residents were to be relieved of the fear of suffering
great calamities from fire.
Police protection was also far from adequate in these years. As of
the 1840's, Brooklyn had a very small force of men employed during the day
to guard the thoroughfares. Approximately twelve to sixteen men who were
appointed by the Council's Police Committee composed the entire constabulary
force during the daytime. At night, from sunset to sunrise, order was the
responsibility of the Watch Department made up of paid watchmen. Those
interested in beco�.ing watcP.men petitioned the Common Council for appoint­
ment. The Council in turn delegated the power of appointment to the Police
64
Committee of the Common Council.
It was the du�y of the watchmen to apprehend and detain persons com­
witting offenses during the night and to bring such offenders before a
Justice o.f the Municipal Court the following morning. In addit�on, upon
discovering a fire, the watchi�en were to notify the fire wardens and bell
ringers, and awaken the populace by crying "f'ire. 11 For this service th�
watch captains were paid $1.37 an evening and watcmnen received 87 cents.
65
In the sUllllTler of 1842, when a gang of burglars roamed the streets, the
citizens who resided on Clinton Avenue thought it necessary to organize a
private police ;force to p;otect their property during the night.66 The
Brooklyn Daily� began to attack the Common ·council and its police force
for its.inability to cope with what it described as an increase of crime.

64. Ibid., Dec. 6, i842.

65. Common Council, Ordinances, pp. 178-82.
66. Eagle, Aug. 16, 1842.
 -102-

The Eagle asserted that these attacks were politically inspired, because
the News had not been named as a Corporation newspaper. Moreove�, it con­
tended that there was "no city in the United States, of its size which is
more orderly, or in which less crime is committed than Brooklyn. u67
Despite such assertions upon the part of a Democratic newspaper sup­
porting a Democratic city r&'gime, the authorities finally were moved to
some action to curb the burglars. It was advertised that the city wouid
pay $100 for the apprehension and arrest of any person caught entering any
premises at night with the intent to burglarize. 68 In November, a house
was entered and the occu.pa...'lt severely beaten. As a result., the authorities
69
offered a reward of $250 for th� apprehension of the criminal involved.
A day later, the� urged the citizens to be "on their guard against the
rn:i,dnight prowlers who ... � pel',mitted in the most public thoroughfares of
our town to rob the dwellings of our peaceful citizens. �I" 70
According to the Eagle, the major causes of the crime wave of 1842
could be traced to the fact that Brooklyn was in close proximity to New York
City. The latter was the · 11 great mart to which villany .[sic 7,
foreign and
domestic, resorts," where "dens of vice" could be found.71 Since NewYork
was becoming overcrowded with "accomplished burglars and robbers," the more
industrious of the fraternity were beginning to cross the East River so that
2
they could "commit the grossest outrages upon our citizens., 117 Finally, after
a year's delay, the Eagle was compelled to agree that the city watch offered

67 ., Ibid., Aug. 16, 1842 ..

68. Ibid., Sept. 21, 1842.
69. Ibid., Nov. 15, 1842.
70. Brooklyn Daily News, Nov. 16, 1842.
7le Eagle, Nov. 16,-rffii2.
72. Ibid,.
 -103-

the populace "little or no protection" against crime. It admitted that'.the

watchmen "venture abroad only in couples, and at but short distances from
the watchhouse, in this way avoiding being stolen themselves. 1173
In May of 1844, the councilmen adopted a resolution to appoint thirty­
nine additional watchmen to the force so that the entire watch would consist
of fifty-two·men. Mayor Sprague ve�oed this resolution because it appeared
· both too costly and still inadequate to deal with the situation. "It may
not be amiss here to state," he said, "that the .52 Watchmen are /_to b2.,7
divided into a watch of 13 each, to perform their duty alternately during
the night, so t hat a.t no time is the City gt,arded by more than 13 :men.:: 74
Since fifty-two men would cause a great increase in the annual city expen­
diture, he advised that only forty-two men should comprise the force. Ten
men on each shift could just as easily send. an alarm in case of fire as
could thirteen. Either number would be equally.inefficient in attempting
to decrease crime in the community. It wa'3 the Mayor's opinion that Brook­
lyn actually needed a watch force of at least 240 men to maintain adequate
police protection. Unfortunately, the municipality could not afford this
number. 75
The councilmen brushed aside Mayor Sprague's veto and appointed the
thirty-nine additional watchmen. By the following January, the Eagle
advocated dispensing with the entire Watch Department. It asserted that a
few watchmen placed at the ferries would be as beneficial as the whole
Department proved to be. "Everyone feels that the watch does not and cannot

73. Ibid., Nov. 24, 1843.

74. Ibid., May 29, 1844.
75. Ibid.
 -104-

afford protection to their yards and houses, and volunteer patrols or

76
private watchmen are mainly relied upon. 11 The inefficiency of the
watchmen in halting crimes led the Eagle to print headlines such as
"Robbery, and Fortunate Escape of two Watchmen. 1177 One solution advanced
was that the city should organize. a Night Police. Such a force would have
as its object the protection of the citizens against prowlers, thieves and
murderers, leaving to the watchmen the duties of sounding the fire alarm,
responding to calls concerning the disturbances of the peace and detaining
drunkards in the guardhouses until morning.
When Mayor Talmage assumed office in May, 1645, he urged the Common
Council to adopt some new type of police organization. He contended that
11the an.�ual expense of the pre�ent system, appears to be nearly $ll,OOO,
for which the city has the active services of 13 men on duty, and 13 men
remain in the watch house, to enjoy repose, except when called into service
8
by some sudden outbreak."7 In time, he produced a plan which asked for
the employment of a chief marshal, at an annual salary of $700, fifteen
police marshals, at annual salaries of $400 each, and 102 watchmen, at a
salary of $120 each. The city would be divided into three districts, each
district containing its own watch house. The policemen were to set the
watch and supervise the men so that none would fall asleep while on duty.
This arrangement would place over fifty men on duty all night, and fifteen
police marshals and nine constables on duty during the daytime. He estimated
the expense of the new system to be $19,440, or an increase of $3,946 over

76. Ibid., Jan. 15, 1845.

77. Ibid., Jan. 16, 1845.
78. Ibid., May 6, 1845.
 -105-

current expenditures for the City Watch. 79

By October, nothing had been done concerning Mayor Talmage's plan.
Therefore, some citizens of Brooklyn organized a meeting, under the chair­
manship of Joseph Sprague, the former mayor, to "examine the wants of the
, BO
city in relation to the necessity of an effectual night patrol. � The
citizens adopted resolutions calling for reports on how a more efficient
police and watch system might be organized. On December 29, the Watch
Committee recommended the adoption of Mayor Talmage's plan. The report,
however, was.laid on the table. 81
In Janua:t·y, 1846, the Eagle made it clear why action on the plan had
been delayed. First, the city did not have adequate funds at its disposal
to· cover the cost of the new plan.. Second, the construction of new 1iatch
houses would take some time. It was hoped, nevertheless, that the system
would go into operation in the following spring. The Eagle thought that
anticipated revisions in the charter, if accepted, woul� give the munici­
pality adequate authority to undertake major revisions in the city services.82
M�yor Talmage, in May, 1846 :, informed the Common Council that his plan
"now lies upon the table; which I trust may (with some amendment) be adopted
83
arid carried out by those who have been elected ••• for the coming year. 11 The
mayor-elect, Francis B. Stryker, also added his voice to the growing clamor
8
for a revision of the police and watch.systems. 4
J3y_·1848,.' there were still so few policemen patroling the streets that

79. �., ,2 , ,a1.5

{\ ,. ,_
.n.u

�-,
e;•· ..,_
• 4- •
80. Oct. 7, 1845.
81. Ibid., Dec. 30, 1845. ·
82. �., Jan. 29,. 1846.
83. �., !I.lay 5, 1846.
-·
84. Ibid.:
 -lo6-

the Brooklyn City Register thought it an obligation to instruct the citizenry

as to where policemen could be found in the evenings. Some policemen, it was
said, would be found at the corner of Court and Butler streets· next door to
the Dutch Reformed Church and others would be found at the station house on
.
Court Street. Some could always be iound in the court rooms. 85
In May, 1849, Alderman Rodney Church offered a. plan which would combine
the police,watch and fire departments. He did not elaborate upon ?OW hi!s
system would be organized beyond suggesting that those who were detailed as
watchmen would have police powers and they would also have the powers of
Qt:
calling out the engines and directing the efforts _of the volunteer firemen.vv
Needless to say, his plan was not a_dopted. The au:thori ties did go so far as
to raise the salaries of the men in the watch. Watchmen received an increase
from 87 cents a night to $200 ye�rly. However, if-a substitute was necessary,
the watchman had to pay his substitute ��1.25 a night. Assistant captains'
salaries were raised from.$1.12 1/2 to $1.25 and captains' salaries were
8
raised to $1._i;;o, an increase of $.12 i/2. 7 Despite these increments,. Mayor
Copland in 1850 was of the opinion that the members of the department were
88
still not being remunerated "well and fairly. n
The revision of the city cha�er ., enacted by the Legislature in 1850,
provided for a reorganization of the Police and Watch departments to become
effective as of January, 1851. The Department of Police was to consist of a
chief marshal popularly elected for a two-year term, one warden for each ward
also popularly elected for a two-year term, and as many policemen as the

85. Cornwell, p. 133.

86. Eagle, May 18, 1849.
87. Common Council, Ordinances, pp. 182-�).
88. �' May 2, 1850.
 -107-

Common Council would designate. In actuality, the police force, from 1851
8
to 1855, consisted of 144 men plus 15 officers. 9 The chief marshal was to
supervise the entire department while the wardens would supervise the police­
men in the individual wards . The power of anpointment of policemen was to
be held jointly by the mayor, the chief marshal, and the wardens. Nominations
were to be made by the aldermen. ·The uolicernen were empowered to arrest
violators of the laws and were to act as patrolmen in supervising the night
watch. �s a further innovation, the policemen were ordered to wear some
90 Badges, worn on the
insignia to distinguish them as officers of the law.
left breast pocket, were adopted for this ·purpose. The emblem consisted of
1
a Maltese cross surmounted by the figure of Justice.9
Despite the innovations in police protection there were still complaints
regarding th� inadequacy. of the force. In March of i851, the Star deplored
the fact that the southern portion of the Sixth Ward was "totally unprotected
by the police. In this neighborhood, particularly on Van Brunt Street, which
extends to Red Hook Point, many new buildings are in the cottrse of erection:,
and lumber, planks, cement arid other materials, are necessarily exposed to
2
the.prowlers who ••• co:mmit their denredations with impunj_ty. 119 Later that
year, the� urged that the force be immediately enlarged because it was
impossible "for so few of them to guarantee a safe protection to our citizens
in the night time. 1193
From January 8, 1851, until June 30, 1851, the Police Department made

Brooklyn City Directories, 1851�1855.

Common Council, An Act to Revise and Amend the Several Acts Relating to
the City£! Brootlyn(Brooklyn, 1849), pp. 31-4; �' March 4, 1851.­
91. Sta.r, March 11, 1851.
92. Ibid., March 31, 1851.
93. Ibid., June 25, 185le
 -108-

1,677 arrests which were predominantly for·assault and battery, intoxication,

vagrancy and pet'ty larceny.94 The Star defended the newly created department
by declaring that even though "the system may not yet have matured sufficiently
to render the body as effective as they might be, yet we are inclined to think
their operations have been by no means so discreditable as many would make
it appear. 1195 The article went on to state.that it was true that the de­
partment was undermanned and should be increased in strength as soon as
possible.
By January, 1852, there.was criticism of the cost of the. new Police
Department. According to Mayor Tirush, one-fourth of the amount raised by
taxes went to defray the expenses of the Police Department. Many believed,
he said, that "the services rendered by the policemen do not compens_ate for
96
the amount paid. 11 He recommended that "the Aldermen of each ward inves­
tigate the conduct of the �olicemen within their respective wards, and report
for trial all who do not strictly comply with the rules and regulations."
The� remarked that the city should not deal too harshly with members of
the Police Department since that department was understaffed and every man
97
was needed.
Johns. Folk, Brooklyn's Chief of Police, attempted to answer some of
the criticisms of the Department. He contended that since Brooklyn's police
force was in its infancy, time itself would solve some of the problems then
existing. "I am confident that our present system can be rendered as good as

any other, provided proper care be taken that capable and efficient men be

94. Ibid., July 8, 1851.

95. Ibid., Aug. 16, 1851.
96. "'.i'."bid., Jan. 6, 1852.
97. Ibid., Jan. 15, 1852.
 -109-

selected f'or policemen. 1198 He advocated the selection of 11 good able bodied
men" who would "regard the rules and regulations prescribed for their
government o 11 · Folk suggested 11 the propriety of an enti:re change in the mode
of making appointments, and· of the investigation of, and the adjudication
upon, complaints preferred against members of the department." 99
Folk hinted that men were being chosen on grounds other than those re­
lated to the good of the force, implying that they actually were being chosen
because of their political affiliations. He insisted that "The duties re­
quired of a Policeman, if discharged with fidelity, are arduous, and the
qualifications requisite of a �eculiar character, are not to be found in
every person who may chance to make an application for appointment on the
•. 100
Police. II- Although there were good, able bodied men on the force, l�olk
thought, there were also those 11wno should they remain in the Police for
. ,, 101
years, ne;.rer �. •L,...
wouldiT
�, ma.ke good. po1i cemen.
When a complaint was presented to the police chief concerning a member
of the force, it was his obligation to report the case to the mayor. The
mayor and one alderman were to sit in judgment upon the accused. The usual
charges brought against policemen were malingering on duty and maintaining
102
business activities such as owning grocery stores.
A correspondent in the Star was of the opinion that some of the aldermen
anpeared to "seek every opportunity to make random and false assertions it:i
relation to the police of our city .. " Perhaps some men in the Department were
not adequately performing their duties but these were the exceptions not the

98. Ibid., Jan. 23; 1852.

99. Ibid,.
100. Ibid.
101. Ibid.
102. Ibid., Aug. 16, 1851.
 -110-·

rule, he asserted. "We believe that a majority of our.police force en­

deavor to do their duty as far as they !mow how, and it is rank injustice
to vilify a whole department because there may be a few connected there-
· 103
'th who deserve it."
wi

Three months later, the� reported that a "gang of ruffians" was

stalking t Ttreets of Brooklyn with complete impunity. While a policeman
was at one end of his beat, a crime could be committed at the other end,
and the culprits would make their escape before the polj_ceman arrived at ·
the scene. The� thought that the situation was so serious that other­
wise peaceful citizens might begin to carry weapons or that "Vigilance
Committees" would have to be "organized for personal secur-ity, as has been done
in other cities, and such as now are in actual existence in some of the
104
upper wards of New York City. 11 A crime wave could easily have developed
10
in a city guarded by only 144 rnen. 5
Mayor Edward Lambert,elected in 1853, insisted that refonns in the
Police Department were imperative. He advocated the strengthening of the
�olice force, especially in the outer wards, and recommended that no further
d..tsmissals be made from the department. In his opinion a good policeman
should be sound of body, of sober habits, industrious, courageous and
1
capable of reading and writing English. o6 He made no mention of higher
salaries for the men.
The Common Council took no action on these suggestions. Meanwhile, a
group of citizens began circulating a petition which advocated higher pay for

103. Ibid., May 25, 1852.

104. Ibid., Aug. 26, 1852.
105. 'ni'i'd., May 12; 1852.
106. Ibid., Jan. 18, 1853.
 -u1..

the policemen. The petition proposed that the salary of a policeman be

raised from $1.37 1/2 a day to $1.50 a day, and that assistant captains
should receive $1.75 a day. "We have taken in consideration the enormous
rents and the high prices of all kinds of provisions, and would most respect­
fully ask the above advance of pay to that useful class of -public officers,"
wrote the petitioners, at testing to the inflation of the mid,..1850' s. It was
presumed that higher wages would stimulate greater diligence on the part of
the policemen in performing their duties. Boston, the petition stated, had
increased the sa,laries of policemen to $2 per day, with gratifying results.
Brooklyn should emulate Boston, they declared, and oerhaps then it could
boast of an efficient police force.107
Since no action was taken concerning this situation, ·Mayor Lambert, in
the following year, requested the Common Council to take account of the need
for salary increments for the men, a larger, uniformed force and a revision
of the methods of appointment. He proposed that aldermen be deprived of the
right to nominate candidates, since he was of the opinion that as long as the,
aldermen were involved in the appointments, they would be made on a political
basis.108 As late as 1854, however, the desired reforms had still not been
achieved; and the Brooklyn Police Department remained politically appointed,
underpaid, understaffed and overworked.
In addition to protecting the citizens' lives and property, the police
were also charged with the obligation of guarding the -public health. En­
forcement of the city's health regulations was among the responsibilities of

107. Ibid., Feb. 28, 1853.

108. Edward A. Lambert, Annual Message (Brooklyn, 1854), pp. 5-7.
 -112-

the Police Committee of the Common Council •. One of these concerned the
removal of nuisances. As early as 1835, Brooklyn had enacted ordinances
seeking the removal of certain factories beyond the city's residential
areas. The factories were of the sort which manufactured spirits of tur-
109
pentine, coal-tar and lamp-black. In 1842, the manufacture of such

products was prohibited in the fast growing residential area of the Sixth
Ward. A year later, the operations of bone and grist mills were prohibited
in all of Brooklyn between the months of May and November.110 The police
were t.o enforce these laws.
In 1841, Brooklyn attempted to control the erection of distilleries.
in the populated sections 0£ the first six wards, for the reason that such
enterprises caused "noxious and offensive smells. 11 111 The police were soon
called upon to investigate the distillery of Cunningham and-Harris. It was
found that this distillery was 11 offensive and inconvenient to the neighbor­
hood and a serious obstruction to their enjoyment. 11 1.12
Slaughter houses also presented a problem. The Police Conmrl.ttee urged
the City Insnector to inspect the slaughterhouses weekly. It was his duty
to acquaint the o..mers of such establishmen.ts with the best method of re­
11
moving the blood and offals and of treating this residue with chemicals. 3

In 1847, Mayor Stryker recommended the passage of a general ordinance estab­

lishing fixed limits in which it would be unlawful to erect buildings for
certain manufacturing purposes. He thought it unfair for the city to allow
certain factories to be.constructed and then declare them illegal by passing

109. Common Council, Ordinances, P• 119.

110. Ibid.
111. Ihl.d .. , p. 55.
112. Eagle, Feb. 22, 1842.
113. Ibid., July 26, 1842.
 -113-

special ordinances e 114 Brooklyn soon began to pass legislation forcing

new factories producing soap, candles, and products made from bones to be
11
located outside the city limits. 5
The Police Commi.ttee was also empowered to control hogs and hog pens.
The Committee occasionally recorw1ended the removal of various hog pens
located in the populous sections. In June, 1845, the Police Coli1I"�ttee
ordered the removal of the hog pens on the east side of Jackson Street
between York and Prospect streets as a public nuisance. The police were
also ex.pected to catch any"hogs, horses and cattle running at large in
116
the streets."

Even after the reorganization of the Police Department in 1851, several

nolicemen were still detailed to act as health wardens. - Four or five·police­
men were given the task of checking to see whether the city 1 s health ordinances
were being obeyed.117
In addition to the Police Committee, several. other cornnittees, as well
as the Common Council sitting as a unit, dealt with phases of Brooklyn's
health problems. In 183.5, the Council was actively engaged in determining
a likely site for a public burial ground. Although many locations were
examined that year, the Common Council remained undecided on the eventual
1ocat.ion. ll8 Between 1836 and 1839, the municipality opened a public burial
ground on Hampden Street near Portland and Canton streets. This little pub­
lic cemetery remained in existence until the late 1850 1 s when the area was
incorporated into the confines of Washington Park.119

114. �., May 4, 1847.

115. Ibid., Oct. 26, 1848.
116. Ibid., June 17, 1845.
117. star, July 26, 1854.
118. Co�.mon Council, Secret Sessions, Nov. 23, 1835.
119. Brookltn City Maps, 1839 and 1854. Long Island Historical Society
Coliec ion.