In this story, as in many of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes seems so superior to the police that they barely seem to be engaged in the same profession. That said, Jones actively seeks Holmes' help. On his part, while Holmes dismisses the man's intelligence, he does praise Jones for being brave and persistent.

The larger comparison is between Holmes' at times arrogant superiority, the attitude of a detective genius, and that of the average working police man, whose mind is much more limited.