If the prisoner is arrested by
headquarters detectives, various efficient devices to compel
him to "give up what he knows" may be used--such as depriving
him of food and sleep, placing him in a cell with a "stool
pigeon" who will try to worm a confession out of him, and the
usual moral suasion of a heart-to-heart talk in the back room
with the inspector.
This is the darker side of the picture of practical
government. It is needless to say that the police do not
always suggest the various safeguards and privileges which the
law accords to defendants thus arrested, but the writer is
free to confess that, save in exceptional cases, he believes
the rigors of the so-called third degree to be greatly
exaggerated. Frequently in dealing with rough men rough
methods are used, but considering the multitude of offenders,
and the thousands of police officers, none of whom have been
trained in a school of gentleness, it is surprising that
severer treatment is not generally met with on the part of
those who run afoul of the criminal law.
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