BETTER POLICE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21244, 27 January 1931, Page 11

BETTER POLICE.

EMPIRE COLLEGE PROPOSED. A sub-committee of the English Police Council which has been considering the establishment of a police college hu now reported in favour of the scheme, says the Manchester Guardian. “ The college would provide,” the committee states, “ higher training for posts such as instructor, detective, chief clerk, and other administrative positions, and afford opportunities such as do not now exist for developing and bringing into more extended use in many branches of police work scientific aids* and modern facilities in the way of communications, transport, etc., and for studying and : profiting by experience gained in police work of various kinds, not only in this country, but in other countries where comparable problems are faced by the police.” ' The committee is confident that a police college would conduce to a higher standpoint of efficiency and to the more effective employment of the available police strength. Periods of travel study are regarded ‘ as an important feature of the scheme, the purpose being the broadening of the officer’s experience and the extension of the . available information regarding equipment, organisation, and methods in this * country or abroad. A period of two years is recommended for the full course, and it is suggested that officers should be temporarily attached to forces other than their own. The selection of candidates should be on the basis of personality and education as well as police work. The committee proposes the constitution of a central selection board, consisting of the principal of the college, inspectors of constabulary, and perhaps an additional member independent of the police service to be appointed by the Home Secretary. Candidates should have passed the examination for promotion from constable to sergeant. There should be no rigid age limit, but candidates should have completed five years’ service on entry to the college. An examination should be held designed to test candidate’s general knowledge and grasp of police work rather than to extract answers on legal and technical details. Officers who pass out successfully should receive a certificate showing the class in which they pass in each of the main group of subjects. The committee recommended that the principal should be empowered to award distinctions in any of the subjects, these to cany a money grant of, say, £25 for each distinction gained, subject to a maximum of £IOO. Officers who pass out successfully should be distinguished by some such designation as “P.C.C.” (police college certificate), which should be entered after the officer’s name in official records. The committee was unable to agree on the question whether the certificate should carry with it a money grant. The period spent at the college should rank as police service for purposes of pay and pension, and officers should be eligible for promotion in their own forces while at the college. Rent and separation allowances where necessary are proposed, and it is suggested that officers taking the full course should wear uniforms of distinctive designs. The annual intake of candidates from forces in England and Walts should normally be about 50. It is suggested that it may be possible to convert for the college an existing building, but in any event the com'mittee does not consider that the actual capital expenditure for the whole scheme on a scale to meet the requirements of forces in England and Wales, and including furniture and equipment, would be likely to exceed £150,000, and it might be much less. Any estimate of maintenance costs must be largely guesswork, it is pointed out, and £30,000 to £40,000 could only be mentioned as indicating in a general way what the aggregate annual charges for staff, general maintenance, research, ’ and travel study expenses might be. The total charges falling on the college funds (including the pay and allowances of officers) might be put at from £65,000 to £75,000 per annum, and the committee recommends that the cost should be regarded as part of the normal police expenditure of the country and met in equal parts by the Exchequer and local funds. It is suggested that measures should be taken to explore the possibilities of extending the scheme to Scotland and Empire forces.