The Sun.
London, England, 1867-06-14 00:00:00

The Metropolitan Police Foice.

An interesting document has just been issued by
Mr. Holmes (the surgeon in chief) to the various
divisional surgeons of the Metropolitan Police
Force, showing the amount of sickness and dis-
ablement which existed amongst the men during the
latter half of 1866. After the retirement of Sir

John Fisher, his successor, Mr. Holmes, believing
that useful public information might be accumulated
by preserving a faithful record of the nature and
issue of illnesses under which policemen suffer, in-
stituted a new method of keeping the statistics on
these points, and every divisional surgeon has sup-
plied the required data punctually and regularly
from time to time. It is the mass of information
thus collected that is analysed in the circular to
which we refer. The surgeon in chief is furnishe d
with a daily " Morning State" of the number of
men sick, on sick leave, detached, and dead, and he
keeps in the " Pension Book" the particulars •0f
each case in which men are recommended to the
Home-office for pensions or gratuities on account of
medical unfitness for the service. The " Morning
State" indicates the number of men who are
withdrawn from active service by disease, and the
" Pension Book" the nature of the chief causes
which finally incapacitate the members of the force.
Now, it appears that there are three chief causes that
invalid the men—first, severity of season; secondly,
the prevalence of epidemic disease ; and, thirdly, the
special exigencies that lead to bodily injuries of
serious character, such as riots. During the year
1866 the outbreak of cholera and diarrhoea in Lon-
don incapacitated a large number, especially in
August. In October, 1866, the monthly sick list
was increased by the recurrence of catarrh and in'
fluenza, and in December winter diseases were very
prevalent. The daily percentage of sick was 5.0, 80
compared with 5.284 in the household troops in
London and Windsor, but this included a number
of " detached" men, and if allowance be made for
this the average sick list appears to be considerably
below that of the troops. With regard to the na-
ture of the diseases that render the men ineffective,
in 370 cases it was due to injury, and in 1,039 cases
the services of the men were lost to the force for a
shorter or longer period by the diseases of exposure ;
I iu fact, nearly a fourth of all policemen are on the
sick list from complaints that arise from exposure.
Policemen are generally exempt from the diseases
that immediately ensue from a dissolute life, and in
this sense contrast favourably with the troops.
Dyspepsia, from the hurried manner in which meals
are taken, and sore feet from the constant march-
ing, are common. Consumption is pretty rife
amongst the men. The deaths in the police force
.
are few, inasmuch as men usually die from chronic
complaints of internal organs, and leave the servieea
before these ailments kill. The deaths during the
months ending Dec., 1866, amounted to 19. Of these
4 were from cholera, 10 from consumption,
1 rhen-e
matic fever, 1 digestive troubles, 1 concussion of th
_
brain, 1 rupture of an artery, and 1 disease of the
heart. In about three-fourths of the cases of WOO,
the men return to their duties within a month et
their being placed on the sick list. The transitorya
nature of the affections by which they are attacker
is due to the fact that they are of an acute charsct.._
e
and operate upon individuals in the prime of W
and of good condition as the rule. Very serious in:
juries that maim a man for life are frequently see
ni;
in about one-third of the cases they are of a serious
nature. A table inserted in the report showst.t.ch
comparative healthiness of different divisions, "1„,
varies very considerably. The Thames division, 1"
consequence of the special nature of the 010°31:
ment of the men belonging to it, and the peellii,ard.
ties of the locality in which they are emploYed, ue,e
three times as many men disabled by sickness ast,h
more healthy divisions (A, S, R, X). It i, gratu.Yo
ing to observe that the causes of invaliding are t° 131,
sought for in the results of honest and hard sve_l7l
rather than the consequence of intemperance 3..°_,,
suggestvc:
vice. Mr. Holmes, in bringing his very
report to a close, observes "that the practical 1e se°a
to be drawn from the above facts is that any 111.011
sure which will afford the men increased protectei
from the weather is likely to be followed by gr.'`a
gain to the service, and it is worthy of consideratiora
this
could some modification of the present unifo
could not be devised which would attain
object."
_ it