CITY DETECTIVES

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1370, 22 February 1912, Page 5

CITY DETECTIVES

SOME ALLEGATIONS, MADE IN JUVKNILB COUNT, A suggestion was modo in Ihe JiiTiinilo Court yesterday that information hud boon extracted from tioine boyn t/y ici'»itn« which were oik)!i to quivJlon. Tho <;nw> before tho Court was one in willed «. young liny was charged willi tlii:ft. Klinl. lur charges against other boys nun: uli'.o lx;ing heard ut about (he same liiiKi, 'J'lifc accused buy hud pleaded not guilly, and was giving his evidence when (.lie pros-ecu-tion proceeded to show thnl.lic had inado a Btatement confessing guilt. Questioned by his counsel, the boy answered that lie had not made Ihe admission alleged by the prosecution, lie went on to slate that, a detective had asked him if ho was in a certain building, and he had answered "No." "Oh, yes, you were," said tho detective, who straightway wroto out a statement which ho asked tho boy to sign. Tho boy alleged that tho detective had read over tho statement so quickly that he did not understand it, but he signed it. 110 had not been warned by tlio detective that this statement might bo used against him. Counsel contended that the statement ought to bo disregarded, as the boy had not been warned. Tho magistrate: The Boy sliould have been warned. There is no doubt about that. However, lie has not been warned, and tho statement has l>cen made. Counsel: I submit Hint you cannot take that statement into consideration. The magistrate,: You have led no evidence to show that it is not correct. Counsel: But tho boy was not warned. The magistrate: That is not sufficient ground on which to throw the statement out. The boy continued his evidence. "One of tho detective?," ho snid, "pointed to a revolver, and said, 'The best thing is to shoot him.' That frightened me. Another of the detectives held up some poisou and Enid, 'The best thing is to givo you some of this.' It was a little white jar, and it had 'poison' written on it." Counsel (reverting to the statement): That was not n statement given to the detective? The boy: No. Do you reall" know what was in the statement?—". ; I could not'understand it, sir." Why ?—"DeteoHvp Cameron road it out too quickly." Why did you sign it?—"Ho told me to." Did you know that, in that statement, there u-as an admission that vou had been in a certain building!'—"^<i." Did you tell him that you hadn't brai there:—"Yes." Did anyone in the detective office at the time say that you hadn't been there: —"Yes; one of the other boys said so." The officer I'or the prosecution: Kegard' ing this revolver story, is not this home' thing you have imagined—something you say to give colour to your lal«?—"No.' : Another boy who (when in the witness box) was questioned about what had occurred at the detective ollice stated Hint ono of the detectives had Raid: "Tho bpsl thing you can do is to shoot yourself. . And the detective pointed to a revolvei on the table. Counsel: Was anything said about poi< son?—" One of the detectives said: 'Ob you fellows ought to tako a dose of Ihii poison, , and then he showed us the pol of poison." Was anything else Raid?—" One of 1 hensaid: M daresay you will get the bird; yet. The birches have got a big bit ol wire in them, and when they thrash yoi they cut bis pieces out of j;ou, and tliei thoy tako you to tho hospital.'" At the conclusion of the cases tin magistrate said: "With regard to the re marks said to have been made by tin detectives, while the boys were umlei examination, one can hardly iniagino de tpctives with any. sense of their respons ibilities making remarks of tho kind t( tho boys, or any person. K there was ; revolver or a bottle there, it was no any part of their business to maki any remark regarding any such revolve! ov'bottle. That, however, ie a matter {o the inspector to see to, 1 have notliini further to say on it."