Public Safety
"Ness's vision was of a professionally trained police force where corruption had no place. Today, that is our national standard."~ Caitlin Hamilton, Assistant Manager of the American Prohibition Museum
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"Once he started his police training academy, all potential officers had to take a revised civil service test that was made a little more difficult to pass. He insisted on character investigations and finger printing for all prospective police. He gave every cadet a mandatory two year probation and tested their temperament as well as physical prowess." - Rebecca McFarland, Cleveland Police Museum, 2012.
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Scientific Policing
"Another of Ness’ changes in approach to law enforcement was a scientific focus: Forensics and ballistics. Investigators, using cameras, reconstructed crimes by more closely examining bullet damage and angles. His investigators also pioneered the use of lie detectors. And beyond gangland activities, Ness was an originator in the measurement of skid marks at crash scenes to determine rates of speed." - Michael Kane, Eliot Ness' Revolutionary police work goes far beyond Al Capone, 2014
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“He helped pioneer the law-enforcement use of wiretapping, ballistics and various other disciplines” (Douglas Perry, The Rise and Fall of an American Hero, 2014). This new "'evidence-seeking' investigation style, known then as ‘scientific policing’, [led] to a lot of “ground-breaking law enforcement” - (Caitlin Hamilton)
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As an agent, Ness saw that the police force wasn't professionalized. "His reputation as honest and capable led Mayor Harold H. Burton to appoint Ness city safety director [in Cleveland] in 1935 to clean up the scandal-ridden police department," and as director, Ness "modernized the fire department, [and] created the Police Academy and Welfare Bureau" (Steven Nickel, Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, 1997).
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“Today, to police departments and Federal law enforcement organizations across America, Eliot Ness symbolizes that no matter how challenging the times, circumstances, environment or mission objective, the badge continues to represent the tradition of "untouchable" honesty, integrity and ethical behavior for all who serve and protect. Imagine if such a leader emerged in modern society with the skills to restore back into the American psyche the concept of faith and trust in the government? SA Ness' contribution to the science of policing, along with his tireless pursuit of his vision of a professional police force, today, continues to serve as the standard of excellence in law enforcement leadership today.” - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 2016
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As Eliot Ness worked to uphold prohibition, he realized the extent of corruption in in the law enforcement community. With this knowledge in mind, he built his policy against bribing and the "scientific policing" technique, which continues to help solve crime today.