Morning journal and courier., 1890-08-18
 ON THE LONDON POLICE.
Long Hours, Small Pay and Hard Lot for Many of Them.
 rFrom he T TaiSure Hour

Long Hours, Small Pay and Hard
 Lot for Many of Them.
 From the Leisure Hour.l
 The total yearly expenditure of the Metropolitan police is over million and half sterling, of which e572, ,000 is paid by the government towards the cost of pay and clothing. A local rate of just under 5d. in the pound produced e700,000, Per man, constable cost e106 per annum, of which e78 15s. is disbursed in pay, 910 in superannuation charge and e5 in clothing equipment. On joining the force the policeman is supplied with two greatcoats, two tunics, a cape, two pairs of trousers, two pairs of boots, two helmets, truncheon, armlets, whistle, lantern guard, belt, etc., which articles are re- newed periodically or when worn out. If pol;ceman's clothes are damaged in the course of duty the damage is made good at the public expense; if they are damaged carelessly or wear out too quickly the con stable has to pay. In the. city police, which have reputation for efficiency ex- tending long previous to the Peel days, the pay is somewhat higher, but no mem Der of that force has legal right to pen sion, the pensions being granted at the discretion of the corporation on the recommendation of the commissioner. The city constable has an allowance for boot money in addition to his pay. The | city men are, as rule, a finer set than the Metropolitans, but the difference will soon cease, as the standard for both forces is now the same. There are differences in | uniform easily noticeable; the helmets | differ; the city man has no letter, he has ] yellow buttons, and his armlet is red and white instead of blue and white. The | city force is in charge.of the corporation, but like all the police of the kingdom, municipal or county, it is really under the | final control of the home secretary. It | numbers about nine hundred all told. | The Metropolitan police are more directly I under the control of the home secretary. | Taking no account of outposts, the field 1 of work extends for fifteen miles round l Charing Cross, exclusive of the city of London, and embraces a mileage of streets and roads of over $, 300 miles and an area of over 688 square miles, extending from l Colney Heath in the north to Todworth | Heath in the south, and from Lark Hall in the east to Staines Moor in the west. To keep the peace in this territory about 12, 800 men are available, from which a fourteenth have to be deducted owing to each man having holiday of day in ev- cry fortnight. And from this balance the men off duty must be taken to discover the small number by which the work is done. From six in the morning to ten at night there are really not five thousand men at work, being rather more than sev- en men to every square mile No wonder it is not easy to find a policeman! But the remedy is obvious-either the mileage should be diminished or the men increased
 Mir. Monro says that about sixty per cent of the force is on duty from ten at night to six o'clock next morning; but during the day the ordinary beat duty of tn. whole of the metropolis devolves upor some 1,561 men. In addition to these numbers however, five hundred and twen
 tytwo colstables on fixed points" and eighty-eight hackney-carriage standing
 are on duty in the streets from nine a.. m
 to one Q. m. The young constable's dut, begins with attending police court an(
 watching the evidence under the instruc
 tion of an older comrade, who directs hi
 attention to the points worth notice. Af
 ter a schooling in this way in police-cour
 practice he goes on beat duty, also with {
 companion. Then he is trusted alone
 probably on easy night duty, and as h,
 gains experience he is moved to busie beats. When on day duty, between si,
 a. m. and ten P. m., he has alternations O
 four hours on duty and four hours off Of this he has month, followed by tw, , months of night duty. When on nigh , duty he has to work without relief iron
 ten to six. Another month of day dut,
 begins another round. Such are the nor nal working hours of London police man.