THE MAKING OF A LONDON DETECTIVE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8732, 20 September 1906, Page 2

THE MAKING OF A LONDON DETECTIVE.

HOW HE IS TRAINED AND HOW HE IS PAID. No, said a New Scotland Yard official to the writer, I know that is a by no moans uncommon impression; but I assure you tihat a man can. no moreebarfc hia career as a detective in England than a lawyer ©an commence his professional life by wearing a silk gown or sitting on the Bench. To graduate as a, detective even of the lowest grade is the work of years and. a case of the survival- of th© fittest. Suppose, for instance, you bay© an, ambition to shin© as a discoverer of crime, and you have all the natural equipment for the work, it would not be the least good going to New Scotland Yard and. applying for & place on the detective ebair there. You would have to begin; much less ambitiously by seeking the post of >an ordinary constable in uniform. You would hay© to produce satisfactory testimonials, pass all the physical tests from the tape measure to a thorough medical overhauling, ac well <as a simple but searching educational examinationThen would follow a period of drill, another of attendance at the polio© court to learn how to give evidence, aoid instruction in your duties generally ; and only after you had come successfully through all these tests and periods of training could you be considered as having taken the first step towa.rds realising your ambition to become, at some remote future, a fullblown detective. And I woul^ advise you not to be too sanguine of ever accomplishing this; for there are hun>dreds of other men, many of them smart fellows, who are equally " in the running," and it may well be that, unless your gifts are exceptional, you will n«ver emancipate yourself from uniform. However, after you have won your spurs as an "ordinary" policeman and are regarded as a promising man, you may in a few years' time have an opportunity of showing what you can do in the way of crime detection. During the winter nuanthe a few men are chosen from each division foir "patrol" w,ork, and you may be orte of the lucky elect. You will then discard your uniform for a time and return to plain clothes, and in your new character will have plenty of scope to prov« your mettle as a discoverer and hunter of criminals out of the beaten tracks of police work. There is, of course, an element of luck in work of this kind, and if you are both fortunate and astute you may win such laureLs during your period of probation that you will be recommended to the Criminal Investigation Department for promotion to the rank of detective. Mere ..again you will have to undergo further tests and probation; and only when you have proved yourself to be just the man for the work will your goal at last be reached. After this stage bas been passed, as before it, your success will depend on your ability and industry. You may rise to the rank of superintendent, with a salary of £400 or £500 a year, or you maywell, you may stay where you start. As a detective full-blown your work will be both lively —very lively at times —and interesting; and among other tilings it will make a great demand on youa* vitality and stamina. For days # you may have nothing more exacting to do than to smoke your pipe in peace, but at any time you may be called from your horn© in the middle of the night and may not see it again for many days,during which you will have had adventures enough to satisfy any reasoniabl© man. for a year. It will be one of your duties to know every criminal in your district almost as well as you know your own brother, and to keep a constant and watchful eye on him. Indeed, few things are more remarkable than the intimate and familiar terms on which detectives^ are with the criminal classes. You might think they were the best of " pale " instead of hunter and quarry. But it would take too long to- describe in detail the work of a detective. It does not require much knowledge or a' particularly vivid imagination to picture most of it, and to understand the qualities of cunning, courage, sleuthhound pertinacity and infinite resourcefulness that it demands. If you are born for the work you would love it, and sooner or later "would do well at it; but if not—well, if not, you wou ld certainly never have a chance of trying it, at any rate in London. As for th© pay it is by no means bad; and infinitely better than in France. A FVewch inspector of the Surete begins at £64 a year and counts himself a lucky man if his ultimate salary reaches £120. In London a detective begins better than his French rival leaves off, and he may reasonably hope to receive £4.00 a year before he retires from the pursuit of the criminal into private life.