A New Arm of the Law
March 1930 Radio News Article

March 1930 Radio News [Table of Contents] Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early electronics. See articles from Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby acknowledged.

"In my judgment, it will be only a few years before all police departments will be equipped with radio," Superintendent A. A. Carroll, Grand Rapids Police Department. Such a statement could have been deemed risky - or even career-ending back in the late 1920 to early 1930s when radio communications was still in its infancy. A lot of public figures denounced radio for anything other than a means of receiving entertainment at home. After all, the equipment was physically large and very power hungry. It was considered folly by many people to believe that an automobile's electrical generation capability would ever be able to power a vacuum tube receiver, much less a transmitter that would have enough range to be useful. Still, police and fire departments forged ahead and became some of the leaders in technology implementation. It was a huge deal in 1930 when a police station installed radios in its fleet of patrol cars, often requiring special fund raising activities or raiding of funds originally set aside for other projects. This story give a little insight into where some of the early adopters were and how they came about their radios.

A New Arm of the Law

By Ralph L. Peters

Editor's Note - -Arrangements had been made for a technical article in this issue of Radio News, taking up the various types of transmitting equipment employed by the police in different cities, including some data on the receivers used in prowling cars. However, such widespread interest has been created by Mr. Peters' first article, in the February number, that it seemed advisable to print first a general summary of police radio activities in different parts of the country.

Commissioner William P. Rutledge, of the Detroit police, during 1929 visioned intercity communication as one of the development of the next few years. To him goes much of the credit for the speed of radio's use by the police. He was one of the first police officials in the country to become interested in the possibilities of radio, and Detroit was one of the first points to experiment with the new weapon. Through years of poor results, he persisted in his faith in radio and was rewarded during 1928 and 1929 with the remarkable success of the Detroit system.

He then turned his attention to assisting other police departments in the use of radio, ever visioning the time when the police departments of the country would be linked together in one big network.

He expected to resign January 1st, after thirty-five years in police work. His successful application of radio to this work was undoubtedly the high point of his career.

Just as his earlier predictions concerning radio's uses by individual departments came true, so his predictions of the nation-wide network to combat the crook on all sides are coming nearer realization every day.

How a radio system came to be established in Indianapolis is a story in itself - a story of civic cooperation that would be difficult to surpass.

Police Chief Claude W. Morley, of Indianapolis, fellow police officers, members of the Board of Public Safety and of the Council had been advocating the use of radio by the police for some time. Nothing definite had been accomplished. Funds were not forthcoming.

Then the Associated Employers of Indianapolis, Inc., through its secretary, Andrew J. Allen, stepped into the picture. Mr. Allen called together representatives of thirty-three civic, business and trade associations and luncheon clubs, the radio editors of the Indianapolis News, Star and Times, the two local radio stations, WFBM and WKBF; representatives of the Indianapolis Power & Light Co. and the Indiana Bell Telephone Co. together with one company representative each from the radio wholesale trade and the radio retail merchandisers.

The group met at a complimentary dinner. The result of the meeting was the formation of the Citizens' Police Radio Commission, officially appointed by Mayor L. Ert Slack as a public enterprise empowered to raise police radio funds through public subscription.

This was early in the summer. On October 21st, the City Council passed an ordinance accepting the fund of approximately $12,000 which the Citizens' Police Radio Commission had raised as the result of its campaign. This amount was enough to establish the station and equip ten police cars with receiving sets. In addition to the actual money raised by public subscription, much equipment in the way of loud speaker arms, batteries, etc., was donated by various firms and individuals.

The entire cost of the campaign was borne by the Associated Employers as a contribution toward the establishment of the system. In addition the organization's secretary, Mr. Allen, acted as general chairman of the Citizens' Police Radio Commission.

There were two hundred and seventeen contributors to the fund at the time when it was turned over to the City. Of the total amount raised, $1,000 had been given from the Police and Firemen's Benefit Fund.

Highland Park, Michigan's fleet of radio-equipped police cars. Chief William I. Cross is standing at the extreme right.

That, briefly told, is the way in which the business and professional men of Indianapolis, following the lead set by the Associated Employers, accomplished the task of arming the Indianapolis police with radio.

In Berkeley, California, Chief August Vollmer has found it possible and advisable to completely motorize the police department. Consequently, when the department's radio station and radio receivers for the cars were complete and installed, it would mean every police officer in the city would. be subject to orders from headquarters by means of radio. The system had not been placed in operation at the time this article was written, but Officer V. A. Leonard, who is in charge of the radio work of the department, said it would be a matter of only a short time before it would be.

When Cincinnati became interested in the use of radio ambitious plans were made. Application was made for a license, and construction of the station was begun as soon as authority was granted. G. C. Smith, executive assistant to City Manager C. O. Sherrill, in outlining the plans, said it was the intention of the city to have about 150 police cars equipped with receiving sets, approximately 75 vehicles of the fire department, 34 fire houses and 12 police stations. The radio station and the police cars were expected to be in operation the first of the year.

Chief Charles H. Kelley expected to have the Pasadena Police Department's radio station and nine radio-equipped cars in service by the first of the year or shortly afterward. The application for the station has been approved.

L. J. Forbes, chief of the Seattle, Washington, police, had the department's radio station and ten cars equipped with receiving sets in readiness to begin operation December 1st, and was awaiting the granting of a station license. Their plans call for the equipping of all of the department's twenty-five "prowler" cars.

Plans of Chief John R. MacDonald, of the Tulare Police Department, called for the department's station and six radio-equipped cars to be in operation by the first of January. Instead of using loud speakers as is the practice elsewhere, he plans to use headphones. A neon light on the dash of the cars will inform the crew when the radio station is on the air. A member of the crew will then plug into the receiver with his headphone and receive the order.

Chief MacDonald also plans to equip the California Highway Patrol cars operating north and south of Tulare on the main state highway with receiving set. Then, if criminals escape from the city, the patrol cars will be flashed the warning and be on the alert for the escaping car.

Construction work on the Beaumont, Texas, radio station and receiving sets for eight police automobiles, the tire boat, six trucks and cars of the fire department and three receiving sets for remote points of the city's water works system, was undertaken during the latter part of October.

Chief Carl E. Kennedy, of the Police Department, and his signal superintendent, J. D. Southwell, planned to put the system into operation as soon as construction, testing and administrative details had been worked out.

Atlanta's (Georgia) police chief, James L. Beavers, is hoping the Council will set aside funds early in 1930 for the erection of a radio station and the equipping of twenty cars with receiving sets.

Supt. A. A. Carroll, of the Grand Rapids (Michigan) police, plans at the outset to equip at least four cars with receiving sets and broadcast orders to them from a local broadcasting station that has offered to cooperate. In commenting on the use of radio, he says:

"In my judgment, it will be only a few years before all police departments will be equipped with radio."

It is certain that within the next few months even more names will be ready to add to the list of those who are awakening to the value of police-radio.

Posted April 30, 2021
(updated from original post on 2/11/2014)