History of English police training

Most nineteenth-century policemen in England received such trai­ning as they got on the job. London Metropolitan Police was probably the most advanced in the instruction of recruits. But the instructi­on in that time lasted for only two weeks, largely concentrated on drill and sword exercise with two afternoon lectures by a superinten­dent, and a considerable amount of legal material to learn by rote.

Following this, the new constable patrolled with an experienced man for about a week. He was then moved to his division and sent out on his own. A section house reserved for candidates to the force was opened in 1886 with an assistant chief constable appointed as instruc­tor.

The training lasted from three to five weeks beginning each mor­ning with two hours drill. It was not until May 1907 that a proper training school was established for the Metropolitan Police with the opening the Peel House. By the 1920s recruits studied at Peel House for ten weeks. There continued to be drill and route learning, but there were regular lectures, instruction on first aid, self-defense, how to draft reports, and even mock accidents were staged.

After this initial training the new constable was again introdu­ced to patrolling in his division by going out with an experienced man. On-the-job-training was much the same in provincial forces of England. Some borough forces employed local schoolmasters to give instru­ctions on reading, writing and arithmetic.

In February 1895 the Chief Constable set an examination for those men wishing promotion to Constable of First Class. Correspondent colle­ges, notably the Bennet College in Sheffield and the institution estab­lished by Thomas Walton also in Sheffield, developed courses specially for policemen. The first styled itself "The Policeman’s University", the second – "The policeman’s College".

The development of half a dozen more training schools lead to a greater uniformity in training, especially when the smaller forces be­gan to take advantage of them.

However, it was not until the Second World War that police trai­ning was fully systematized across the whole country, and not until 1960s that the formal system of police cadets was established.

POLICE AUTHORITIES

Each force has a police authority – a kind of governing body. The police authority of a county force is known as the Standing Joint Committee and is composed of representatives of the county council and the county justices of the peace, in equal numbers. The size of the Standing Joint Committee is not laid down by statute: the justices and the county councillors are to settle the number between them. The Committee is normally re-elected every third year after a new county council has been appointed.

In the boroughs, the police authority is a committee of the borough council, known as the Watch Committee. A Watch Committee may not be composed of more than one-third of the members of the council together with the mayor who is ex ’officio a member. Most Watch Committees are elected annually, though there is no statutory requirement to this effect.

The police authority for the Metropolitan police district is the Secretary of State for the Home Department – not the London County Council. In the City of London, which maintains its own force, the police authority is the Common Council of the City, that is the body corresponding most closely to the town council elsewhere.

Although the local police authority is responsible for the administration and maintenance of its force, the central govern­ment nevertheless plays an important part. The Home Secretary – the Minister primarily concerned with the maintenance of the peace – also makes regulations, with the approval of Parliament, governing the conditions of service (pay, discipline, promotion, etc.) of all police officers. And his department main­tains certain common services for the benefit of all police forces in such matters as training, radio-telephony and scien­tific investigation.

The Home Secretary thus exercises a general controlling and coordinating authority over the police of England and Wales. The responsibility for peace and order may be said to be shared between the local police authorities and the Home Secretary. And it is the Home Secretary who is generally responsible to Parliament for the maintenance of law and order throughout the country as a whole.

THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE

The New York City Police is regarded by many as the out­standing city police organisation in the United States. Since 1901 the New York City Police have been controlled by a single police commissioner, who is a civilian appointed by the mayor of New York. The appointment is provided for in the City charter. The first deputy commissioner acts as an adviser on matters of policy and also acts for the commissioner during his ab­sence or illness.

The New York City Police Department is headed by the Chief of Department. There are four more chiefs, among them are the Chief of Patrol, the Chief of Detectives and the Chief of Personnel.

Besides the first deputy commissioner there are several additional deputies who are responsible for various important services – legal matters, management and budget, public information, trials, community affairs, internal affairs bureau, training.

The traffic problem of New York is of great importance and the Patrol and Safety Devisions are concerned with all aspects of traffic control. The Safety Division also operates an Intoxicated Drivers Testing Unit and an Accident Investigation Squad which makes a complete investigation into the causes and responsibility in every accident in which a person dies or is seriously injured and likely to die.

The Detective Division is a highly efficient organisation of world-wide repute, employing a staff of over 3,000. The members of the division are under the command of a Chief of Detectives.

Community policing consists of a partnership between the police and the law-abiding citizens of New-york, working together to create permanent solutions to problems, and thereby enhancing the quality of life in the community. The deputy commissioner who is responsible for community affairs provides city-wide staff supervision of borough community affairs service teams located within the 75 Patrol Precincts.

The New York City Police duties are thye following: the protection of lives and property of their citizens and the enforcement of the law; fighting crime both by preventing it and by pursuing violators of the law; the respect of each individual’s dignity.

THE INDIVIDUAL POLICEMAN’S ROLE

IN CRIME PREVENTION

The policeman has an excellent opportunity as an indi­vidual to prevent crime. He is the representative of govern­ment whose work is to observe criminal conditions. The policeman has the opportunity of viewing life from both the standpoint of the criminal and the law-abiding citizen. He has a knowledge of the criminal’s temptations, his problems, his friends, and his environment. Therefore, he can offer advice and be an example on a man-to-man basis.

At the same time it must be recognised that spe­cial steps should be taken to prevent types of crime that ter­rorise the public, or disturb their sense of safety and security, such as housebreaking and robbery.

The more experience one gains in the police service, the more one is convinced of the importance of the prevention of crime. While crime detection is very necessary, and should be everywhere encouraged, we must bear in mind that the efficient policing of the country in the judgement of the public depends to a large extent on the amount of crime com­mitted.

The first role of policemen is to set a good example. It is surprising the influence a police officer has over juveniles. Respect or lack of respect for government and law observance is largely established by the patrolman’s conduct. Friendliness, interest and a good example are better.

In the prevention and detection of crime the need for inter-Force cooperation has been fully recognised by detec­tives throughout the country. They have decided in view of the activities of the modern criminal that they must take a wide view, and consider the whole of the Forces of the country as one unit, working on one common task.

The criminal who a few years ago felt safe from arrest on escaping a certain police boundary finds today that the arm of the law has considerably lengthened. Modern methods of commiseration are doing much towards the perfection of coordinate action over long distances.

Successful results have been obtained by cooperation with reputable members of the public.

Official acts normally tend to increase resistance to law in the criminal’s mind. This tendency may be overcome in the criminal’s mind at the time of arrest with proper atti­tudes and conduct by the police officer and without malice. He can aid in removing or suppressing the influences of ir­ritating conditions in the environments that he patrols, especially those that are criminal or hazardous. He may enforce the law and at the same time gain respect and con­fidence of the criminal element. He can aid and support the organisations whose normal work is crime preventive in character. The individual policeman may be assigned to crime prevention as a full-time activity.