NYPD Chief Inspector Thomas Byrnes is widely considered the father of modern detective work. He expanded the Detective Division, created procedures to follow, and instituted a “Rogue’s Gallery” to share information about perps. By modern standards, his methods were not exactly professional. His use of “The 3rd Degree” in interviewing criminals consisted of physical and psychological torture until the desired confession was obtained. He was also wildly corrupt.
When Theodore Roosevelt became the President of the Board of Police Commissioners in 1896, Thomas Byrnes was dispatched to an early retirement. Roosevelt wanted honest and professional men in the department and Byrnes didn’t fit that mold. Roosevelt demanded that cases be solved with intelligence and science, not beatings and suppositions.
This is the setting for the miniseries The Alienist (2018-2020). Based on the novel by Caleb Carr, this 2-season mystery drama is set in 1896 New York City. The city was in flux with the NYPD also going through great changes. The local towns and cities were moving towards consolidation into Greater New York, the Gilded Age was ending, making way for the Progressive Era, and modern science was moving into people’s daily lives.
The first season of The Alienist is a serial killer mystery that pits the forces of modern investigative techniques against a deranged killer intent on the ritual and brutal murder of young boys. The crimes are befuddling the NYPD. Theodore Roosevelt, played by Brian Gehaghty, calls in an Alienist to assist on the case. (Alienist is the precursory term for psychiatrist.)
Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, played by Davis Bruhl, and his associate, newspaperman John Moore, played by Luke Evans, are tasked with running a shadow investigation to the NYPD’s main case. They are assisted by Roosevelt’s secretary, Sara Howard, played by Dakota Fanning, and two new sergeants, Marcus and Lucius Isaacson, played by Douglas Smith and Matthew Shear.
The group must fight the NYPD as well as identify the perp. Roosevelt’s reforms are not popular with police brass, who like doing things their way. Captain Connor (David Wilmot) and retired Chief Byrnes (Ted Levine) are actively obstructing the investigation by Roosevelt’s ad hoc task force. Much like in New York City itself, politics and corruption are big players in this drama.
This series explores the changes going on at the time. Modernization vs tradition, police science vs the end of a baton, the end of an era, and the birth of modern policing. One can see the future coming to New York as gas lamps give way to the electric light and shadows retreat in the modern glow. The tension between the ultra-rich and the common man are at odds as the Gilded Age ends and Progressives want justice.
Season 1 of The Alienist has 10 episodes. Each one is about 45 minutes. There are some slow spots through the series, but overall, this is a great psychological murder mystery. You can check it out for free on HBO Max or rent the season on Amazon Prime. Enjoy a look at New York at the end of the 19th century with some fascinating characters and an early glimpse of what would become modern detective work.
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Another good show about the evolution of detective work was a British one titled “In Plain Sight” starring Doug Herschel. He plays a post-war detective In Glasgow who is credited with inventing profiling of serial killers. Fascinating, well-acted and a homage to patient investigative techniques.