Early life and police career Richard Enright was born in
Campbell, New York on August 30, 1871. He worked as a telegraph operator in
Elmira and
Queens before joining the
New York City Police Department in 1896. He was described as being educated and very well-read, being able to recite poetry by heart, and was an avid student of art and history especially the life of
Napoleon Bonaparte. A gifted and eloquent speaker, he became well liked by the men under his command. He slowly rose through the ranks to
police lieutenant and, although a public unknown, he was highly popular on the force as a champion for the rank-and-file officers while president of the Police Lieutenants' Benevolent Association. His popularity and pro-union views had a negative impact on his career however, most especially his criticism of the policies of the
Mitchel administration, resulting in his being passed over for promotion to
police captain three times "for the good of the service". Enright was also able to institute a number of reforms and was greatly able to improve working conditions for police officers while in office. He allowed a day off for officers after every six days on duty, oversaw the buildup of large police relief funds and improved the
pension system. He also reduced the number of precincts for better management, set up a special police unit to handle vice and gambling on a city-wide basis, reorganized the arrest-quota based merit system and established the first NYPD police camp at
Tannersville, New York where ill or wounded officers could recover until they were able to return to duty. Enright addressed the issue of Prohibition enforcement noting his embarrassment over the recent "crime waves". In 1924, Enright attempted to press charges against thirteen inspectors, a number of deputy inspectors and police captains for failing to enforce the Volstead Act, but was never able to establish his cases. In frustration, he resigned from the police force on December 30, 1925, the day before his term in office was to expire, presumably to become eligible for a police pension which he later received. At the time of his retirement, it was acknowledged that Enright had brought "a fair amount of professional knowledge and efficiency" during his time as commissioner. He had a brief, but successful career as a
crime writer the year following his departure from the police force. He had previously written a detective story,
Inside the Net, while still in office and which was adapted to a
motion picture in 1924. His first book,
Vultures of the Dark, was published a year later and met with some commercial success. His second novel,
The Borrowed Shield, failed to achieve the same success and Enright retired from writing soon after. His published a police manual that same year entitled
Syllabus and Instruction Guide of the Police Academy.
Later years In the years following his retirement, he served as a colonel in the
Army Reserves, briefly published a
pulp magazine and had an interest in automatic alarm signals for stores and businesses. In 1933, Enright was employed by the federal government during the
Great Depression to set up an enforcement division for the
National Recovery Administration. He also became the director of the United Service Detective Bureau, a position he held until his death. In 1947, he petitioned the Police Pension Fund to increase his pension from $3,750 to $6,000 but was rejected. On the evening of September 3, 1953, the 82-year-old Enright suffered a serious spinal injury when he fell at the Clocks Boulevard home of a female friend, Mrs. Mary D. Beal, in
Massapequa, Long Island. He was taken to
Meadowbrook Hospital where he died of his injuries the following day. Enright was survived by his brother, Patrick Enright; and five nephews. == In culture and the arts ==