and  men.  The  men  are  clothed  in  a  neat  uniform  of  dark
blue  cloth,  with  caps  of  hard  polished  leather.  They  are
armed  with  clubs  and  revolvers,  and  are  regularly  drilled  in
military  tactics.  In  case  of  a  riot,  this  enables  them  to  act
together,  and  with  greater  efficiency  against  a  mob.  The
most  rigid  discipline  prevails,  and  the  slightest  error  on  the
part  of  officers  or  men  is  reported  at  headquarters.
There  are  thirty-three  precincts,  including  the  detective
squad.  The  force  is  charged  with  the  duty  of  guarding  about
three  hundred  day  and  four  hundred  night  posts,  about  four
hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  of  streets  in  the  patrol  dis-
tricts, and  fourteen  miles  of  piers.  There  are  twenty-five  sta-
tion houses  fitted  up  as  lodging  rooms  for  the  men,  and  hav-
ing room  also  for  accommodating  wandering  or  destitute  per-
sons, large  numbers  of  whom  thus  receive  temporary  shelter.
During  the  year  ending  October  31,  1865,  (which  may  be
taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the  work  of  the  force,)  68,873
arrests  were  made.  Of  these  48,754  were  males,  20,119  fe-
males ;  53,911  arrests  were  for  offences  against  the  person ;
14,962,  for  offences  against  property.  The  following  table
will  show  the  status  of  New  York  criminal  society.
Total
Charge.  Males.  Females.  Arrests.
