The Sun.
London, England, 1817-09-18 00:00:00

NEW POLICE REPORT.

(Continued from Tuesday's SUN.)

The opinion of the Police-officers themselves
on this subject is of no §mall importance, and
your Committee refer to the remarks which sonic
of the most intelligent of them havt: .m.ule in
strong and forcible language, and which present
a true picture of the danger and evil of this

syste s
John Townshend, one. of the officers Of Bow-street, who
has held' that situ ition for 34 years, says, ." I hare with every
attention that man could bestow, watched the conduct. Of •
varioos persons who have given evidence against their fellow
eeeetorea rot tire and death, net only at -tile OW Dailey, but
on the circuits; I consider officers as dangerous creatures,
who have it frequently in their power (no question about it)
to turn the scale, when the beam is level, to the other side
he swears against the wretched man at the bar; and why ?
because that thinee—nature says, profit—is in thesea le ; and
nitlanelfoly to relate, but I cannot help being.Perftetly
lied, that has been the means of convicting many and !many;
a main. I have always been of opiAion, that an officer- is 'a'
dangerous subject to the.cemmutiity."
John Lavenacr, of the Queen-square Office, remarks upon
these rewards, " Th it it is a subject which he always declines,
if he can, as.no Where can go into the box at a witness with
any comfort to himself."
John Vickery, of Baw7street, says, ".That be knows the
public opinion is against the officers entirely, in consequence
of that reward-by Act of. Parliament; and the officers are
not considered by the public so respectable as they would be
"if those rewards seeredone away."
Mr, Philip IJoldsworth, the Upper Marshal of the City of
LondOn,.informed your Committee, that he has wituessed
officers giving evidence against criminals swear hard against
the prisoner, evidently for the sake of the reward ; that he
knew one, instance where a wrong person was cOnvicted in
consequence, and has heard of several more.
'Thomas Shelton, Esq. clerk of the Sessions of Oyer and
termioei amid Gaol delivery, at. the Old Bailey,. for London
and:Middlesex, unit who has held that situation for 33 years,
noon a question being put to him. if he observel the effect of
the rewards ou the evidence that is tendered in Court, in-
formed you' Committee, that it appeared evident to him that
Witnesses have oven desirous to obtain them ; that he believes
officers sometimes get briefs given to counsel, when there are
difficulties in the case, which shows an anxiety for conviction,
and that not only among officers hut among other Witnesses
he. considers it probable that these rewards warp the minds of
witnesses, and occasion stronger testimony on points that are
dotibtful, than would otherwise he given ; he adds also, that
he has witnessed cases where it has happened that.persons are
put on trial for the crime of highway robbery, when on exa-
mination, although property had been taken from the person,
there has appeared little or no reason for the offence being-so'
laid, except for the sake of the reward on conviction.—
But it is 'not only that the system, of rewards stimulate wit-
nesses to forswear themselves, in order to obtain them ;
tacts have recently come before the Public that prove
the existence of conspiracies which have been formed by
a Police officer and others, in order to induce people to'
commit crimes for the purpose of swearing away their
lives, and obtaining the reward on their conviction. The dif-
terent magistrates who have been examined on this- subject
have denied all belief that this crime has been often cons-
mitteffe but your eotionittee swish to observe, that where the
temptation is so strong as that which the reward offers to the
cupidity of police officers, as.well as to that of all other men,
time crime not having been before'proved, is no evidence -of•
its non-existence; and they feel themselves further obliged
to remark, that the 'First Report of thin Police CoMmittee in
tald, bad hardly been issued from the press, containing, as
it. did, the praises of the magistrates of their Own Officers, as ,!
well as their positis'e denial of its being possible they could
be affected by any temptation to sacrifice the public interests
to their own, when Vaughan, of the Bow-Street-Office, was
tried and cast for death for the "crime above mentioned. And
also, that in the last summer no less than three other per-
ionsavere sentenced to a capital punishment for similar --of-
fences, on three different charges. To what extent the evil •
has extended, and how many innocent persons have suffered,
and what crimes have been planned and perpetrated, or how
far the increase of offences may be caused .by I hose whose •
ditty it is to leSsen their number, by the early apprehension •
of offenders, your Committee have no means of ascertaining ;
but in closing this subject they are decidedly of opinion that
the system, as it is, cannot be too toots abandoned, as fur-
nishing allurements to officers to betray their.trust—to wit-
nesses to break their oaths, as bringing punishment on the
innocent, and affording encouragement to a description of,
persons of all others the 'most fatal to the peace and well-be-
ing of Society—those who go about to ensnare the guiltless
and entrap the unwary, who, whilst they shut their eyes to
the commission of offences for which no reward can be ob-
tained, plan the perpetration of crimes, in order to profit by
the conviction of the perpetrator.
The next head of inquiry opon which your Committee wish
particularly to direct the attention of the House, is that of
the propriety of establishing a penitentiary system-for the ju-
venile offenders in the metropolis, Your Committee refer ge-
nerally to the minutes of evidence that they have taken on
this subject, but more particularly to that of. Mr. Crautord,