Evening star., 1909-03-06
POLICEMEN OF LONDON
Policy Followed by the Depart
ment Is Unique.
PRAISE FOR FEW ARRESTS
Desired That Petty Cases Be Kept
Out of the Courts.
'FRIENDLY HAND" TO ERRING
Perfect Organization Of the Force,
Which Extends Over an Area Of
69o.42 Square Miles.
PRAISE FOR FEW ARRESTS
HAND" TO ERRING
By WILLIAM z. CURTIS.

| The policy of the police department or
London is unique, and differs from that
Of other cities in one very important par
ticular. y patrolman, or constable.
| as they officially call the members of the
rank and file. are commended for the
arrests they do not make. The constable
who brings in the smallest number OF
prisoners, who appears most infrequently
as a prosecuting witness in a police court.
receives the highest credit. The officer
| who can settle difficulties on his beat
outside the station and does not trouble
the police judges, is considered the most
capable and efficient in the performance
of his duty. This, of course, does not
refer to penal offenses, to burglary, lar
ceny, murder or similar crimes, but to,
petty offenses such as assaults and dis
orderly conduct which make up the
greater part Of the business of the police
courts in our cities. When the London
endeavors to reconcile them. When he
finds a drunken man he takes him home;
when he catches boy pilfering he talks
to him kindly and cautions him not to
do ii again: after the second Offense he
takes him to one Of the many private
institutions for the reformation OF the
young. and tAus protects the urchin from
the stigma that police court always
leaves.
Thus the policeman Is the friend rather
than the foe Of the people on his beat,
and they know he is trying to help them
up rather than keep them down. That
accounts, in a great degree, for the re-
spect that is shown the constables in Lon
don and for the influence they exert. No
where else in the world is police authori-
ty obeyed SO promptly and perfectly as
in London and the criminal statistics
very seldom show cases of resisting an
officer which is 50 frequent an offense
in this country. Nor do you often hear
of London policeman being killed or in
jured in the performance Of his duty.
Self-Control Commended.
The policeman is strictly enjoined by
the regulations to remember at all times
that he has no personal interest to serve
in making an arrest or securing a con-
viction of an offender. He Is required
to practice a self-control which would not
be expected OF any other occupation. He
knows that he will be praised " he can
settle a case out of court, and il it should
ever appear that he had improperly at
tempted to influence the judgment of a
| magistrate against the prisoner he knows
that he will be severely dealt with. The
tone Of the regulations is to encourage
the use of genteness and tact, and no
matter what scurrilous abuse may be
hurled at him by hooligan or a ter
| magant he is not permitted to reply.
The same consideration is enjoined
| upon officers in charge Of police sta
| tions. No prisoner is treated as guilty;
they act on the theory that sympathy
and kindness will cure crime quicker
| than severity. The charge room Of a
London station house is. therefore, al
ways an interesting place. While the
| doors are carefully guarded, and the
ladies and gentlemen who, for one cause
| or another. have run up against"
| constable on duty. or have been .'pinched
| by pain-clothes man, are not per-
| mitted too great freedom of action, they
are treated as kindly and as courteously
as if they were in a Sunday school"--as
| 4 London constable explained it to me.
| 1t is a wise rule, also, that a reason
able time is allowed to pass after the
| arrest before a charge is entered or
prisoner is questioned. The officer who
| makes the arrest is instructed to be de-
| liberate about his movements. He does
| not rush up to the sergeant'S desk, make
his report. and rush out again. but takes
/ it leisurely. He saunters around until
! the person he has arrested is given an
| opportunity to cool off and gather him
self together before answering the
charge that Is made against him. IF he
| shows signs of excitement. and particu-
laily if the prisoner happens to be a
| hysterical woman, half an hour and
sometimes an hour is allowed to elapse
| before the offender lis brought to book"
| as they say. Willie in some cases this
\
| to manufacture story or think up an
excuse. in the majority of cases 1t acts
| the other way. and allows the reasoning
| powers and the common sense of the
! prisoner to assert themselves.
Effect Of Reflection. =
| Veteran officers will tell you that IL
| good thinking is most efficacious before
a prisoner is compelled TO make an ex-
| PLANTATION or commit himself
| When q drunken man, particularly if
| he has the appearance of a gentleman,
| is brought in by a constable who cannot
| find out where he lives, he is invariably
| turned over to the station physician. and
no charge IS preferred against him until
| he has slept off the effects of the alco-
| hoI Then, if he makes a reasonable
explanation. he is permitted to depart
| in peace without suffering the disgrace
| Of having his name written upon the
! book The London authorities explain
| that this policy is more effective than
any form of punishment. IF a young
| nobleman is hauled up in police court,
| or if he even gets his name upon the
| police register it hardens his heart; he
| loses his self-respect: 1t make him reck-
! less and Indifferent to shame. Whereas,
| II he is allowed to sober UP. and is re-
leased without publicity, he congratu-
lates himself upon "a jolly marrow
squeak" and promises himself that he
4
The entire police policy Of London is
| based upon the effectiveness OF the
friendly hand
The metropolitan police district OF
London extends over Il fifteen-mile ra-
dius from Charing Cross, and includes
| an area of 699.42 square miles. which
! is laid ont like gigantic chess board
| into "a grand divisions. and 5000 sub
divisions The organization is so per-
| feet that the commissioner of police at
Scot1a and Yard may know at any mo-
ment the exact place where any
| patrolman could be found, and ser
geant or an inspector or a feilow-pa-
! trolman knows where to look for him
when they need help, advice or instruc-
| ton.
There are so superintendents. $50 in
spectors ..4SO sergeants and 1920 con-
| stables. making a total. of nearly 3O.OOo
men, so thoroughly organized that they
are an almost perfect human mechaii-
| ISM the greatest of it's kind that was
| ever known, and their personal assocla-
| ton with the 100000 people they are
employed to serve is far more intimate
| than that of any other police force in
the world. The London constable is
called a 'peeler" (because Sir Robert
| Peel. prime minister during, the early
part Of the nineteenth century, or
ganized the force). or BOBBY nick
name like that of Tommy" which is
| given to the soldiers of the British
army. He is the confidant of the JOYS
and sorrows. the triumphs and tie
| troubles OF every person on his beat
and is on confidential terms with the
professional criminals to a degree thar