Star.
London, England, 1816-08-30 00:00:00

POLICE OF THE METROPOLIS.

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE COM•
-MITTEE OF THE HOUSE OF COMMON 4, ON THE
STATE OP THE POLICE OF THE METROPOLIS.
The Hon. HiNRY GRZY BENNZT in the Chair.

Sir NATHANIEL. CONANT, Chief Magistrate or the
Police Establishment at Bow=street, examined._ _

There are three Justices at this Office, Sir Natha-
niel Conant, J. Noses, Esq. and R.. Birnie,
Certain police officers and constables attend all night;
as well as by day to be ready if any disturbance of
the public peace occurs.; and the Magistrates, when
they leave the Office give orders to have immediate
notice if any exigency arises: a clerk resides in the
house to act and give directions as occasion may re.
quire. The Office opens with the clerks and officers
at ten in the morning, and earlier if circumstances
require : the Magistrates make a point of being there
about eleven, the clerks having prepared matter;
which are to come before them. One Magistrate at-
tends on each day—they sit. much oftener till Akar
four o'clock than any ether hour; but three is the
nominal time, if the business is entirely dine. They
return at seven, but if there k any pressing occasion,
or any expectation of urgent business, they always go
to the Office without regard to the hour. The Magis-
trate leaves the Office soon after eight, if no business
is expected ; but before he goes, inquiry is made at
the public theatres and other places, whether every
thing is quiet ; if not, he stays till twelve o'clock, or
all night: if necessary. The Justices take two days
a week each. In cues of illness of any one, the others
take his turn ; and during any short vacation, the two
Magistrates agree to accommodate the third by taking
his duty during his absence.—They, are subject to no
positive regulation, but take the attendance always
with a view to the public exigency.—Sir Nathaniel
himself has been, in times of riot and disturbance, in
constant attendance, both night and day, for a fort-
night together, without ever seeing his own house.
There are 87 patrole attached to the Office, and 13
conductors of that patrole, making together 100 pa.
trole ; and eight police officers besides, who have ge-
neral duties. The salary of the latter is one guinea
prr week each : the patrole are psi '23 61 per night
for their patrole, the cnnductor ss. per night. They
have no other source of cmolutnents as conductors of
the patrole ; but individual, of them have, in the day.
titne, employments under the Office, such as, door.
keeper and messenger, for which they receive addi.
tional salaries. The conductors derive no profits from
the establishment, in the nature of share of rewards
on convictions; but, in common with other persons
who are within the distribution of rewards upon COG
viction by Act of Parliament, they, for a person they
may have apprehended in the course °I their duty,
would, from the Judges at the time.of the trial, re.
,ceive a certificate for the rewards which the Acts of
Parliament give them; they are not excluded irsms
that by their appointment. The Justices allow; in
another way, all the patrole attached to the office, ss.
a day for their trouble in attending Courts of Justice
to give evidence, and for special duty in the day;
upon this principle, they look upon them as engaged
to the office for their night duty.of 'wrote, end what
arises to be done i* the day-time (which is their own
time) they give them occasional allowance for. This
is the case with the whore body of the patrole, who
are specially engaged for night duty only ; and they
have the same share of rewards arising from convic-
tion as the conductors or any other individual.
The Police Officers receive profits arising frog
being employed by individuals for the detection of
robberies. These rewards are paid by the parties
themselves, subject, sometimes, to a reference to the
Magistrates; but in general the parties themselves
induce the officers to assist them in their objects, and
they pay them according to their private dispositions.
It is very nommen for an individual who has suffered
any great injury to offer rewards of a very large
amount ; a banker will sometimes offer 4600 for the !
apprehension of his clerk, who Inky have absconded
with thousands; and persons otherwise injured, and
extremely interested in a detection, will advertise to,
the public large sums: this the Police Officers take
into their view, and naturally are stimulated in their
exertions by the hope of obtaining it. The effect of
this is not to lessen the exertions of the Police in those
cases where the reward is not offered, according to
Sir Nathaniel's apprehension of the particular charac- ,
ter of the men who are employed as Officers at this
time in Bow-street ; he thinks, though they would be
stimulated by the view of greater reward, the exertion
of their ordinary duty is not relaxed by the absence
of it. Those large rewards being offered by indivi-
duals, certainly act in some degree in the nature of
expedition money paid in some public departments,
by which, though one particular case may be for.
warded, the general effect is that of throwing back
all the others; but the impediment towards the
public is not very great, while other Officers re-
main to execute the other business. Sir Nathaniel
thinks, that in a certain degree, people let crimes go
unpunished because they are sure that, unless great
rewards are offered, there is little chance of the de-
tection of the offender ; but he does not think, from
his observation, that the class of men immediately
employed upon this establishment would forego the
exercise of their general duty because no particular
reward was offered. He thinks men of bad character
will prefer their interest to their duty, their personal
safety to the board of any personal danger. Certainly
if in any one of the establishments, either at Bow-street
er at the seven Police-offices, there should be any in-
dividual employed whose character would be consi-
dered as bad, in the same proportion his exertions
would be relaxed ; a man of such character •would
avoid personal danger and extraordinary exertion.
would be destitute of the aftrit beryls which actuates
men engaged in this employ to pursue public dere•
dates at the halberd of their lives; independent !,
any pecuniary consideration. The t Officers
Bow-steert are selected by Wag • of tide'.