THE END OF CRIME'S TRAIL 

 Tower-top view of the Pontiac State 

 Penitentiary. The State Police radio tower 

 near the prison walla stands as a symbol 

 of justice and protection for law-abiding 

 citizena — warning to criminals. 



By F. ARTHUR CARNAHAM, 

 State Police Radio Operator, Pontiac 



y^T IS to the advantage of every 

 l)! citizen of Illinois, and especially 

 \J^ farmers, that they realize we 

 have one of the most up-to-date State 

 PoHce Radio Systems now in operation. 

 Simply knowing of its existence is not 

 enough. They should utilize it. 



The time element is extremely im- 

 portant in police work, and radio makes 

 this time element, the shortest possible. 

 Through radio, all Illinois State Police 

 officers, and the greater majority of Sher- 

 iff's and Gty Police are notified im- 

 mediately concerning a crime, whether 

 it be a bank robbery or the theft of 

 chickens, hogs, or cattle. This means 

 that all of these law enforcing agencies 

 will be on the lookout for the criminals 

 from that time on. 



An important point is definite infor- 

 mation concerning the description of the 

 criminals, car used, license, and direction 

 of travel. 



WEAPONS IN THE WAR AGAINST CRIME 

 Microphone, control console, transmit- 

 ters and receivers are tools with which 

 police fight modem criminals who roam 

 rural highways in high-powered cars and 

 trucks. 



sfET 



-.^H' 



Police Radio Aids In 



Gontrolling Rural Crime 



• • 



How You Can Help 

 Your Police Offi- 

 cers Run Dourn 

 Thieves and Other 

 Laur Breakers — - 



The procedure for notifying the radio 

 system is varied depending upon the loca- 

 tion of the crime. It will always be 

 quickest to notify the nearest State Police 

 Headquarters. They are located at Sterl- 

 ing, Elgin, Chicago, Blue Island, Joliet, 

 Pontiac, Rock Island, Peoria, Springfield, 

 Champaign, CoUinsville, Effingham, and 

 DuQuoin. The next best is to notify 

 one of the city or county radio stations 

 which are in direct contact with the State 

 Radio system. Third best is to notify 

 your local authorities, city or county. 

 However, in doing this ALWAYS in- 

 sist that they IMMEDIATELY notify the 

 nearest State Police Radio Station. 



The State Police are not trying to in- 

 terfere with the local police in their 

 duties, but are merely trying to co-operate 

 with them to the fullest extent. Any 



THE TOWER IS AN ANTENNA 

 The 329 foot steel tower rests on three 

 porcelain insulators. They are the steel- 

 banded objects between the steel-work 

 and the concrete base and carry the 

 tower's full weight. 



city or county police system which fails 

 to co-operate with the state system is 

 simply denying the people of the com- 

 munity this great added protection, made 

 possible by our present Governor Henry 

 Horner. 



It is hard for local police to cope with 

 the modern criminal witli his high-pow- 

 ered cars and trucks. They are often out 

 of his jurisdiction before he has time to 

 act. State police are not hampered with 

 city and county boundary lines. Even 

 state lines are eliminated with Radio on 

 the job to broadcast the news of an 

 escaping criminal across the line. 



TTiere are seven 1000 watt stations lo- 

 cated throughout the state broadcasting 

 on 1610 kilocycles, as follows: Chicago, 

 northeast; Sterling, northwest; Pontiac, 

 northcentral ; Macomb, west; Springfield, 

 the control station, central; Effingham, 

 southcentral ; and DuQuoin, south. Chi- 

 cago, Springfield, and DuQuoin are open 

 24 hours daily. The other four stations 

 Operate from 8 AM to 10 or 12 PM 

 and are subject to call at any time in 

 case of an emergency. 



Besides the Radio stations operated by 

 the state there are several county and city 

 stations which handle traffic directly with 

 the State system. These include: Rock- 

 ford City Police, LaSalle county Sheriff's 

 office at Ottawa, DeWitt county Sheriff's 

 office at Clinton, Macon county Sheriff's 

 office at Decatur, Urbana City Police, and 

 Peoria City Police. Undoubtedly others 

 will be added from time to time. The 

 System also has direct contact with all 

 neighboring states, and through these 

 states, with all others that have radio 

 systems. 



"CALLING WQPP — CALLING WQPPI" 

 When call letters of the Pontiac station 

 Dash— another crime has been committed. 

 Each of seven stations is equipped with 

 sound proof, air-conditioned operating 

 rooms for the protection of delicate radio 

 instruments. 



28 



L A. A. RECORD 



