THE LONDON POLICE

Evening Star, Issue 21717, 11 May 1934, Page 10

THE LONDON POLICE

CHANGES GOME THE TRENCHARD SCHEME Out of the midnight shadows of a. seemingly deserted London street, two detectives descended upon a man who was hurrying suspiciously by. Producing • badges, they ordered him to open his suitcase. The man looked frightened. “ 1 don't know who you -are,” he said. “Take me to a uniformed constable.” They took him. The policeman vouched that the men were detectives, and advised the man to show what was in his hag. There was nothing there but a dinner jacket and white shirt. They let the man go, and he hurried away feeling somehow thankful that there had been a uniformed policeman nearby, writes John May in the ‘ Christian Science- Monitor.’ For the “ bobby ” seems to inspire confidence. He is a symbol of safety. His bine suit and “ basin hat ” have become a hall-mark of an elementary justice. He stands, both to the ordinary man and to the Criminal, tor a “ square deal.” it is on this foundation that the authority of the Metropolitan P.olice lias been built. And to-day the force is in the midst of the first really radical reform since the days when the “bobbies” took their nicknames from Sir Robert Peel, who founded the force over 100 years ago. . For a long time, the Loudon Police Force has held its reputation for efficiency. But Lord Trenchard, the present Chief Commissioner, does not apparently find it easy to believe the .visiting actresses, whose accents may be different but whose views on policemen are "always the same; “ Your policemen; they are so wonderful.” Lord Trenchard has dealt in iacts and spurned eulogies. Having studied the police from every angle prior to his appointment, he concluded that the time had come for drastic reforms in organisation. CRIMINAL CHANGES. Lord Trenchard’s contention was that while the police have continued unchanged for many years, the criminal has. become more cunning. He, too, has technicalities at his command. And .while he has grown more shrewd in his methods, the police, Lord Trenchard declares, have not altered their system radically enough to reset the balance. _ The criminal is no longer a jack-of-all-trades, stealing at his opportunity, breaking a safe if it is easy, driving somebody’s automobile away if it looks like a-good one. The-criminal has become a “specialist.” To face this problem, Lord Trenchard has introduced certain reforms aimed at specialising the police. It is his intention to broaden the basis of recruitment, to establish a staff specially trained for its duties, and to maintain throughout the Police Force a constant flow of youth “ and the best brains.” To this’ end, the ladder of success has been made easier for the young constable to climb. The number of higher posts has been increased, the recruitment of constables on a ten-year short-term basis has been arranged, and the retire-at-fifty order has, with the exception of Lord Trenchard himself, been rigidly enforced. THE COLLEGE. But the most controversial of all Lord Trenchard’s reforms has been the establishment of a “Police College,” which has been the cause of many hard words. It has been compared with Sandhurst, premier English military establishment to its own detriment in the eyes of the public. At "the Police College young men will be trained specially for higher posts. They will not necessarily be men of previous experience in the police force. They will be a *ew and specially trained officer class, recruited from the universities and colleges. To enter, the candidates must either pass a difficult special examination, which necessitates a first-class education, or show proof of having passed an examination as nearly as possible equivalent to a' university degree. Bright young constables whose education may not conform with that required for the entrance examination but who show signs of cleverness will also be selected for the course. When Lord Trenchard introduced his reforms,' it was not his intention to alter the fundamental philosophy of the “bobby,” or to. attack the foundation on which many people believe the authority of the police as a whole has been built. But it is on these counts that he faces most of his critics. The Police College is declared to be bound to produce a > new officer class for the most part out of touch with the public and perhaps with the policemen themselves. The critics claim that those who run the force will no longer have the essential first-class knowledge of what is happening in the minds of the public. DIFFICULT SITUATION. Some of the criticism levelled at the scheme would seem to have justification. , The police will be in a difficult position if the public believes it is being robbed of a sturdy friend to be given an armed guardian instead. Already the music ball comedian in difficulties has one recourse which will save him—for the public has a great partiality for any joke at the expense of the “Public School P.C.” It is certain that' Lord Trenchard will have to be extremely careful how the reforms are, employed. They have seeds both of destruction and of growth. Echoes of the old cries that greeted the “Peelers” as they marched their first beats seem to‘foil again a little vaguely across London. The new police will have to prove their value as did the first. The reforms will stand or fall according to the use to which they are put. It' they • are understood and employed as a means of making the police still more efficient as a public weapon for public use, then there are few conceivable reasons why they should not be a success.