THE RUSSIAN POLICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12070, 13 September 1902, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE RUSSIAN POLICE.

HOW THEY ARE TRAINED.

The Russian policeman on his allotted " point duty' or patrolling leisurely his "beat" is the personification of the eternal silence that broods over a whole empire.

Of burly build and with a soldierly bearin '■'- he stands promptly at the salute as a <n-ey-coated officer pisses by, and the next moment he puzzles his wits to answer the inquiry of a stranger. He is admittedly a good fellow, and the town policeman of Russia must not be confounded with the secret police, that rightly dreaded " Third Section," which is employed in what may be termed veiy fittingly " the hole and corner" business of spying and police surveillance.

The policeman is one of the people, but the " secret police" is recruited from all nationalities, and the difference between the two bodies of men is appreciated fully by Russians. That the number of policemen on duty on the streets, for instance, of St. Petersburg seems relatively small is due to the fact that the " dvorniks" or " yardmen" attached to every house are. really policemen in case of need.

Thus a moujik, flushed by vodka, rushes out of a trakteer, or dramshop, and persists in raising a "scandal" in the quiet street. These are rare occurrences, as the Russian moujik in his cups is the most amiable being, as a rule. The nearest policeman blows his whistle, two or three sheepskin-coated " dvorniks" hurry up from the adjacent houses, take charge of the noisy moujik, hail a. drosky and escort the man to the nearest police station. Meanwhile the policeman has hurried back to " point." It is til! done very quietly and effectively. The Russian policeman has to Undergo a thorough training before he is allowed to go on duty. There is in St. Petersburg an institution which, in some respects, answers to the Scotland Yard of London. It is called the " Reserve of Police." It is really the "police high school," for it furnishes extra drafts of men in cases of emergency; it controls the ttrosky drivers; it is responsible for good order in the large houses and their spacious courtyards, and. finally, it has the appointment of fit men to serve as "dvorniks." No policeman is accepted as such until he has undergone a thorough training in the school attached to the "Reserve of Police."

When an applicant Las passed the surgeon's examination the fullest, inquiries are made as to his character and antecedents. If these are found to be satisfactory he is drafted into the training school of the reserve. He receives a salary of 35 roubles, or about £2 13s 2d per month, with uniform and free board and lodging in the police barracks.

The moms are spacious and airy, aud the kitchen arrangements are admirable. For their leisure moments the police pupils have at their disposal an excellent canteen, a gymnasium, a billiard table and a wellstocked library, and they are thus rendered independent of seeking amusement in the neighbouring " trakteers."

The greater part of the day is taken, up by theoretical and practical instruction in a large classroom, with the, aid of many suitable appliances. This instruction is carried out also by means of water-colour pictures representing street life, and the teachers spare no pains to make their pupils acquainted with the distinguishing signs of the uniforms worn by the public officials, with the badges worn by street porters and sellers of newspapers, with the work to be done in affording "first aid" in cases of accident, with the transport of sick people, with the handling of drunken persons, and with quelling popular disorders. Then the pupils are drilled, not only in withstanding a personal attack, but also in the best methods of taking their assailant prisoner. The general education of the men receives due attention, and special care is taken in. teaching the value of hygiene. After a course of instruction, lasting several months, the pupil goes on police duty. Far more complicated is the course of instruction that;- has to be undergone' by a would-be "district inspector." He is setto work in what- is probably the most unique lecture-room to be met with, so varied and strange are the collections of objects therein. Thus the room contains numerous models of buildings and technical contrivances which are of faulty construction, for the " jerry" builder is not unknown in. Russia : a large collection of fake measures, weights and scales, an array of weapons which the public is forbidden to carry, marked cards, loaded dice, and coins bearing two imperial eagles, or double-headed pennies, with a number of other appliances that are used by the lightfingered gentry all the world over.

Then there is an instructive assortment of burglars' tools of every kind, with picked locks and skeleton keys, and this course of instruction ends with boxes with double bottoms, hollowed out- pieces of soap, and other contrivances by means of which prisoners seek to smuggle forbidden articles into prison. This instruction is supplemented by a very copious, museum. A noticeable object among a large collection of false coins is one of the gold pieces with which it is alleged England flooded Russia during the Crimean war.

Still, General Kleigels, who has reorganised the police system of St. Petersburg, has not- finished his work, for he is taking steps to form a, detachment of " bicycle police," while every care is being taken to increase and improve the collection of objects likely to prove of service in assisting the police to tun aval crimes of all sorts.