30 FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 



REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF PATROL 



By K. P. Allred, Acting Chief 



October 1, 1927, a change was made in the organization of the 

 Patrol Service. Mr. J. S. Hunter, who had been Chief of Patrol for 

 several years, was transferred to another department and the writer 

 was transferred from Captain of the Monterey District to Acting 

 Chief of Patrol. 



In February, 1928, the Commissioners issued an order making it 

 obligatory upon the members of the Patrol Bureau to wear uniforms. 

 A dark olive drab color was recommended and adopted. The uniform 

 is required to be worn at all times except in extreme cases where it 

 might be too conspicuous to violators and when working in very rough 

 or wet places. 



The Patrol Bureau is now being run as a separate unit of the Division 

 of Fish and Game. It might be classed as the Police Department of 

 the Commission, being run along the same lines and having the same 

 relation to the other departments that the police force of a large city 

 has to the other city departments; that is, the patrolling, policing and 

 invesigating violations of fish and game laws. 



In addition to having been active in the field on patrol duty, the 

 deputies have cooperated with the Bureau of Fish Culture in the 

 planting of trout fry in the lakes, rivers and streams. Captain 0. P. 

 Brownlow will submit a separate report on fish planting. 



It is the opinion of the writer that, in the employing of new men, 

 better results can be obtained by fixing the age of employment between 

 thirty and forty. Of course, there may be exceptions to the rule, as in 

 all other rules. It is also thought better results can be obtained in 

 the protecting of the wild life of the state if deputies of the regular 

 patrol are occasionally transferred from one section of the state to 

 another. This system has been adopted by the present acting chief in 

 a few cases and much better results are being obtained in these districts. 



During the last duck season the Bureau of Patrol established a head- 

 quarters near Maxwell, Colusa County, for the deputies who had been 

 assigned to duty in the rice fields, so they could have a warm place 

 to change their wet clothes and have warm meals when they came 

 off duty. A vigorous campaign was conducted against the market 

 hunters, with the result that "drag shooting" and "bootlegging" of 

 ducks and geese was reduced considerably below that of previous years. 



It is also thought that with the experience gained during the last 

 duck season, much better results can be obtained during the coming 

 season. We also expect to apply the knowledge gained last winter in 

 the handling of the duck question in the Colusa District to the same 

 situation in Los Banos District. 



During the biennium, 2317 arrests were made for violations of the 

 game laws and 2073 arrests for violations of law;s relating to fish, 

 making a total of 4390 arrests. A total of $147,254.50 was assessed in 

 fines, together with 8504 days in imprisonment. One hundred thirteen 

 nets were seized during the biennium. These figures show an average 

 of over six arrests per day and an average income from fines for the fish 

 and game protective fund of $201.70 for every day of the two-year 

 period. 



