THE LONDON POLICE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9643, 19 January 1903, Page 3

THE LONDON POLICE.

— . * Sonic interesting facts and figures, taken from the census returns and Sir Edward Bradford's report, are given by the London Spectator with reference to tie police force of London. The Metropolitan police district is, roughly a circle 30 miles m diameter, comprising an area of something like 688 square miles. In this district are congregated six and a-liulf million persons, /epresenling one-flfth of tho, total population, of England and Wales. The police force available for the control and protection of this huge population totals iii round numbers 16,000 officers and men, but the full strength of J.he force is" never available. On the averse 477 men are away each day on sick leV c » a »d 8 84 mcii are- daily absent on leriv*: <>f absence, while- -nearly 2000 are told {& for special duties for the Governmentpv for private individuals. These deduelvwis feave some 12,700 men available for the control of London. But even then the greatest number actually on duty at uny gDvri time is only about 60 pei cent, of this total, for the policeman v but human, and must have time for sleej -smd rest. Tins means tteJ> 7608 mci

patrol the Metropolis by night and 5000 men. by day. As for the work to be done, the records for the year 1901 show tluit there were 1901 fires,*a.l>out 10,000 persons had to be taken to hospitals .nearly 110,000 persons wore arrested oji various : charges, and over 32,000 licensed drivers and conductors had to be watched by the . "man m blue." Roughly speaking, there is only one policeman ava.ila.ble for every 58 acres of land, or for even- 85 persons, and the amount of work to be attended to seems immense m comparison with the small.ness of the force. Says the Spectator, commenting on these figures : "The extraordinary sense of security, which is perhaps -the most striking characteristic of the greatest and (with the exception of Constantinople) the most notably unplanned city m the world, is apparently based on the* presence of this small force, the .members of which are nuturmed with any lethal weapon. London (apart from occasional panics, such as the South Audley street riots produced) feels itself safe from the attacks of individual or organised criminals, and believes thai less than 8000 men can look after tin area containing six and a-half tmillions of people, possessing a rateable value of £46,538.501, and containing wealth tliat is absolutely incalculable."