The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-19 00:00:00

THE COST.

Statistics, printed
police police force
From the last volume of the Judicial Stat'
in 1861, the cost per man in the Metropolitan
would appear to be £7B 3s 2d, in the City
the figures
45 7d, the difference being only £1 is sci. Thoseli ce force £79
were obtained by dividing the total expenditure
of
re-
spective establishments by the number of police in each ;
but Sir Richard Mayne points out that this method of
procedure is erroneous, as in estimating the cost of the
Metropolitan estableihment several large sums are included
which do not properly relate to the cost of the police con-
stable, and which have corresponding items in the City
police accounts. The sums amount in the aggregate to no
less than £72,558 2s ld, and refer to expenses incurred for
building and repairs, medicine and refreshment for prisons,
horses, forage, special allowances to constables, deficiency
of superannuation fund, &c. The accurate annual cost of
the Metropolitan police force Sir Richard Mayne shows to
be £400,389 2s 3d, which, divided by 6,116, the number of
men, gives £65 9s 3d as the average cost of each man. The
police constables belonging to the Metropolitan force, who
are employed in the Dockyard and War Department are
not of course considered in the foregoing figures, but i t
has been ascertained that their cost per head is £3 Os 10d.
On the part of the City police, the cost for the year 1861,
according to the account; of the City Chamberlain, was
costa r£479 4a
£18,172 9s, making the average cost per man £79 4s.
Motropolpitaayn,
7itcl;,chthe force numbering 608 individuals. Thus, as Sir
Mayne shows, that each man in the City
7d, or 91 per cent. higher
greater expenses of the managem
The-
feooract.or differenceclothing, is cau•ed by a higher
rate of
eengtuoilfimtheenct,it&,
pco.,licaen.
Sup-
posing the pay, e dsuthpo.
trop_„,an , expenses, and management to be on the Me..
the
culi; ; scale,ti hits,
aosum of £8,370 per year would be saved by
by the Metropolitan,
itho other hand, if the City was adopted
would be £4,l96establishment, the additional expendi-
tureanother point of view, Sir year
° Regarding the question from
the maintenance S R. Mayne
of the police
on the whole population of police, considered as a tax per head
district, 2s 10d, and
i3acb. district, is, in the Metro-
politancent. higher in the latter distinic
thet City, 8s 4d, or 191 per
per house is shown to be 19 • In the same way the cos,
s Oid for the
28 10d, or more than 200 per cent.high. r metropolis, and £3
SECURITY FROM CRIII'E' in
the
City.
Sir Richard Mayne next goes into a Craa
o p risen of the
crimes of ail classes in the City and Metropolitan districts,
and quotes the criminal returns in the latest volume
of
Judicial Statistics, to show that the number of crimes corn.the
'hided in the year 1861 was, in the City, 1,629, and in the
Metropolitan district 11,' 203 ; the area of the City being little
more than one square mile, the population 111,784, number
of house, 1,473; and in the Metropolitan istrict, area 571
square miles, j;opulati.li 3,110,04, and uumber c 1 12914:40

46 1,848, The proportion of crimes to population is, in the
City 1 crime to 158 persons, in the Metropolitan district 1
crime to 277 persons. In this relation crimes in the City
are upwards of 156 per cent. higher than in the Metropolitan
district. The proportion of crimes to inhabited houses is, in
the City, 1 crime to 12 houses, in the Metropolitln district,
1 crime to 37 houses. In this relation climes in the City
are upwards of 208 per cent. higher than in the Metro-
politan district.
Sir Richard continues to furnish a variety of statistics
favourable to the organisation and management of the Me-
tropolitan police. He shows that the proportion of the
number of persons apprehended to the number of. crimes.
apprehensions
stoto2Blcsric.mriemse. crimes, committedt
hele
however,t rophoai atnhn tedhniesutCrmii district
fpa
persons apprehended by the
between City
numbereredischarged
ofefficient
apprehensions
magistrates, ai
s
entered
into. This ratio was, in the City, 10 efficient apprehensions
to 32 crimes ; in the Metropolitan district, 10 efficient ap-
prehensions to 37 crimes. The proportion of prisoners dis-
charged by magistrates in respect of those apprehended by
the City police, 1 in 2; by the Metropolitan police, 1 in 4.
If the whole value of a police were to be measured by the
number of magisterial committals in comparison with the
number of police apprehensions, it would appear plain
from these figures that the number of persons improperly
apprehended by the City police is double that so appre-
hended by the Metroolitan. The Metropolitan police are
concerned with much graver classes of crimes, or they get
up their evidence more satisfactorily; of the suspected and
accused persons apprehended by the City police less than
one-half, of those apprehended by the Metropolitan police
fully three-fourths, are committed for trial. The precise
number of criminals committed for teal in the year 1861 was,
in the City, 321; Metropolitan district, 2,997. Comparing
the ratio of these figures to the respective populations of
each district, it is found that such crimes are in the City as
3 ; in the Metropolitan district, 1. Graver offences against
persons are treated in the same manner in Sir Richard's
letter, and he shows that the numbers were in the Metro-
politan district 1,368, being in the ratio of 1 to 2,273, or
0 V. per cent. of the population ; in the City 304, being in
in the ratio of 1 to 368, or 271 per dent. of the population
Of offences in houses he supplies the following figures :—ln
the Metropolitan districts, 1,168; in the City, 104; the
respective ratios being 277 per cent., and 782 per cent. of
inhabited houses."

In terminating this section of his report, Sir Richard Mayne
says :—lt is thus shown that the crimes of a serious charac-
ter, both those against persons and houses, as well as crimes
of every description, are relatively to population and houses
much higher in the City than in the Metropolitan district.
The inference is, that the Metropolitan police are more effi-
cient than the City police for the prevention of crime. The
percentage of the persons apprehended who are committed
for trial is much greater in the Metropolitan district than
in the City. These results show that a greater number of
persons are improperly apprehended in the City The Me-
tropolitan police act with better discretion, and more regard
to the evidence against the persons apprehended. For the
accuracy of the calculations and results which I have stated
and for other calculations and interesting deductions on
these matters, I beg to refer to a paper attached, by Mr.
Frederick Purdy, secretary to the Statistical Society, and
the statistioal clerk to the Poor Law Board, to whom I re-
ferred the returns for examination and correction.