A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis Part 31

The enormous expence at present incurred, and which is either defrayed from the County Rates, or the general Revenue of the Country, arises chiefly after offenders are detected and punished. Out of 234,153_l._ a year stated by the Committee on Finance, to be the annual amount of the Police expences, only 26,183_l._ is incurred previous to detection.--By diminishing crimes, therefore, the chief part of the burden upon the Country will be taken away; and hence in this saving will be established a resource for the remuneration of those who may contribute to so important an object.

The present expenditure of the County Rates for criminal offences, is estimated to amount to 50,000_l._ a year. In proportion as offences diminish, through the medium of a well-organized and energetic Police, will this burden upon the Poor Rates also be diminished.

Independent, therefore, of the policy of improving the system with respect to parochial Constables, by attaching a greater degree of responsibility to their situation, and introducing that discipline and systematic activity, which can alone render their services effectual--the plan may even be recommended as a proper arrangement in point of oeconomy.

It is in vain to expect energy or attention in the execution of any Public duty, unless there be that personal responsibility which is not to be obtained without emolument. To render Officers of Justice, therefore, useful to the Public, they must be stimulated by interest:--they must, in fact, be paid for devoting a portion of their time to the comfort and security of others. The Law may inflict, and, indeed, has inflicted, penalties for the neglect of specific duties; but this will not establish that sort of Police which the present state of Society requires.--This is strongly exemplified in what may not be improperly called the _Mockery of Police_, which is exhibited in the periodical presentments by Constables, of public grievances and nuisances, before the Grand Inquest, four times a year at Westminster-hall, and twice before the Magistrates of the Sessions held at Guildhall in the City of Westminster. These presentments, although in themselves of the highest importance, have degenerated into what may now be considered as an useless and burdensome formality; at best it is a tedious, expensive, and circuitous, mode of removing nuisances and inconveniences, and so ill-suited to the present state of Society, that several modern parochial Acts have given relief in a summary way before Magistrates.

The fact is, that in a great majority of instances where presentments are made, the evils they describe, though often highly prejudicial, are suffered to acc.u.mulate with increasing malignity, at the same time frequently generating other mischiefs and pressures of a tendency equally pernicious to the Community.

It is admitted, that the proper Officer of the Crown notifies to the parties implicated in the presentment, the determination of the Inquest; but a prosecution seldom ensues. The Constable has neither money nor time to follow it up; and the matter is discharged when the customary term expires, on the payment of a Fee of 16_s._ 9_d._ or more, according to the length of the presentment; and thus the business terminates in the emolument of an individual, and in the continuance of the abuse.

The same system prevails at the Sessions at Westminster. When Juries make presentments of nuisances or evils in their respective districts, the Constables have general orders to prosecute, which is not done; and, indeed, to compel an Officer serving gratuitously, to incur an expence for the Public interest which he cannot afford, would be an act of manifest injustice; and unless a fund be provided in numerous cases, he must be under the necessity of declining such prosecutions.

But would it not be far better to bring such minor offences at once under the cognizance of Magistrates, with the power of appeal to the Quarter Sessions?--This is already the case in Spitalfields, under a parochial Act, where nuisances and annoyances are in consequence instantly removed. Matters of much greater importance are submitted to the same authority. The advantage in this case would be, that justice would be promptly administered at a small expence, and the evil would be put an end to, instead of remaining as at present a reproach to the Police, arming at the same time every noxious and bad member of Society, with a kind of licence to do offensive acts to the neighbourhood, and the Public at large, with impunity.

To render parochial Constables useful, rules must be established to compel every qualified person to serve in his turn, or pay a fine. No person should be empowered to offer a Subst.i.tute.--It is of the highest importance that an Office invested with so much power should be executed by reputable men, if possible of pure morals, and not with hands open to receive bribes.--This important office in the Metropolis at least, has too long been degraded by the introduction, in many instances, of men of loose principles, undeserving of public confidence. The reason is obvious:--A man in the more reputable cla.s.ses on whom the lot may fall, surrenders his functions to a Subst.i.tute who probably makes the office a trade;--performs the service of the year for four or five Guineas, trusting to other emoluments, many of which are obtained by corruption, to enable him to subsist.

To render this branch of Police pure and efficient, an Act of Parliament should enforce the following or similar regulations:

1st. To a.s.sign a competent number of local Constables to each parish, in proportion to the number of inhabited houses; to be chosen by the whole number of qualified inhabitants paying parish Rates--to be presented to the Court Leet, or to the Magistrates of the Division, according to a prescribed rule, which shall preclude the possibility of exemptions or preferences; for which purposes the qualifications shall be clearly defined in the Act.--Thus might the abuses which at present prevail, in the selection and choice of Constables, cease to be felt and complained of: an equal distribution of the burden would take place, and the duty be confined to men sufficiently respectable, to establish in the Public mind a confidence that it would be executed with fidelity, and an attention to the Public interest.

2d. That with a view to that necessary discipline, and knowledge of the duty to be performed, without which Officers of Justice can be of little use, and may often be converted into instruments of oppression by an abuse of power; the High-Constable of the Division shall become _a responsible permanent Officer_, with a competent Salary; and shall have under his direction certain subordinate Officers, not exceeding _one for a large Parish_, and _one for every_ 25 _Constables in any number of smaller Parishes, Hamlets, Precincts, and Liberties_, who shall be stiled _the Parochial Chief Constable_, whose situation shall also _be permanent_, with a moderate Salary, and who shall each be _responsible_ for the execution of the regular duty which may be a.s.signed to the petty Constables, either by the Act of Parliament, or by the Commissioners of Police, having powers for that purpose granted by law.--That a certain stipend or gratuity for trouble, shall also be paid to each of the petty Constables, in consideration of the ordinary duty they are bound to perform, besides 5_s._ a day for all extraordinary duty. That among other things it shall be the business of the parochial Chief Constable to instruct the petty Constables in their duty--to attend them in their perambulations, and to marshal them on receiving a precept from the High-Constable, or an order from two Magistrates, in case of any tumult or disorder requiring their interference--to impress upon their minds the necessity of purity, vigilance, and attention to orders--and of being humane, prudent and vigorous, in the execution of such duties as belong to their functions.--That they shall instantly a.s.semble on any alarm of Fire.--That the Public-houses, in the parish or district, shall be visited regularly; and also the Watchmen while upon duty, and regular returns made to the Police Magistrates of the District, stating the occurrences of the night. That wherever suspicious characters reside in the parish, who have no visible means of supporting themselves, the utmost vigilance shall be exercised in watching their conduct, to prevent as much as possible the commission of crimes, and to preserve peace and good order in the parish; and wherever the execution of any specific law depends on Constables, the utmost attention to be manifested in giving it effect, and preventing it from remaining a dead Letter.--That care be taken to make regular, impartial, and accurate returns of Jurors; and of persons eligible to serve in the Militia;--and that immediate cognizance be also taken of all nuisances and annoyances, and timely notice given to Magistrates of all occurrences threatening to disturb the Public peace, or to overturn the established Government of the Country.

3d. That the different High Constables should return to the Commissioners of Police annually, after a change of Officers has taken place, a list of the number of persons who compose the Civil Force, under their direction in their respective divisions; and regularly, every quarter, a list of the Publicans, with such facts as have occurred, respecting their orderly or disorderly conduct in the management of their Houses.--The state of the Division with respect to Prost.i.tutes--to the situation of the Poor for the preceding quarter, and their resource for employment.--The number and nature of the offences committed in the District during the preceding quarter, and the detections of the delinquents, shewing how many offenders have been discovered, and how many have escaped justice, and stating the means used and using to detect such as are at large, charged with specific offences within the division: so as to bring under the review of the Central Board a clear statement of the criminal Police in every part of the Metropolis on the first day of each quarter, with such other information as the Commissioners may require.

4th. It is humbly suggested, that the Salaries and allowances to be paid to the _High Constables_ and _parochial Chief Constables_ should be paid out of the General Police Fund, under the Management of the Board, and the gratuities and allowances to the petty Constables out of the County Rate.

It might be expedient that the Stipend of the petty Constables should be very moderate, and that their remunerations should, partly at least, arise from _premiums_ and _gratuities_, granted by the Judges and Magistrates, for meritorious services to the Public, _actually performed_; for which there would so many opportunities occur, that no fit man, acting as a Constable under such a system, and doing his duty conscientiously, need be under any apprehension of obtaining a very comfortable livelihood.

The invariable rule of rewarding, in every case where it can be made appear that any useful Public service has been performed, would have a most wonderful effect in preventing crimes: The expence, if judiciously and oeconomically managed, need not exceed, in any material degree, _the present aggregate_ of what is disbursed in different ways, in all the branches of the Police and Criminal Establishment; it might, in fact, be defrayed, as well as every other charge, _by the Police itself_, under the direction of the _Central Board_, hereafter more particularly alluded to, from the produce of the _Licences_ proposed to be granted for regulating particular cla.s.ses of Dealers, by whose aid and a.s.sistance, in supporting Thieves and Pilferers, such a system is rendered necessary.

Nor should the rewards be wholly confined to Officers of Justice, either _parochial or stipendiary_. The Public Good requires, that they should extend also to Watchmen and Patroles, who should have every reasonable encouragement held out to them to be honest and vigilant, by small premiums paid down immediately, for every service they may render the Public; either in detecting or apprehending persons who are guilty of felonies, or other offences against the public peace.

At present, the watchmen destined to guard the lives and properties of the inhabitants residing in near _eight thousand_ streets, lanes, courts, and alleys, and about 160,000 houses, composing the whole of the Metropolis and its environs, are under the direction of no less than above seventy different Trusts; regulated by perhaps double the number of local acts of Parliament, (varying in many particulars from one another,) under which the _directors_, _guardians_, _governors_, _trustees_, or _vestries_, according to the t.i.tle they a.s.sume, are authorised to act,--each attending only to their own particular _Ward_, _Parish_, _Hamlet_, _Liberty_, or _Precinct_; and varying the payment according to local circ.u.mstances, and the opulence of the particular district, from 8-1/2_d._ up to 2_s._ each night.[117]

[Footnote 117: There is, in some respect, an exception to this rule, with regard _to the City and Liberty of Westminster_, and the parishes of _St. Clement Danes_,--_St. Mary le Strand_,--_The Savoy_, The united parishes of _St. Giles_ and _St. George, Bloomsbury_,--The united parishes of _St. Andrew, Holborn above the Bars_, and _St.

George the Martyr_, and the liberty of _Saffron Hill_, _Hatton Garden_, and _Ely Rents_.--The Act of the 14th George III. cap. 90, contains regulations applicable to the whole of these Parishes and Liberties, fixing the _minimum_ of watchmen at 523, and patroles at 56 men, for the _whole_; but leaving the management still to the inhabitants of each respective Parish or Liberty. The same act fixes the _minimum_ of wages at 1_s._ a night, and patroles 15_d._ In the City of London, the salaries given to watchmen vary in each Ward, from 13_l._ to 18_l._ 19_l._ 20_l._ 21_l._ 7_s._ 23_l._ 8_s._ up to 26_l._ and patroles are allowed from 13_l._ to 35_l._ and 40_l._ a year.]

The encouragement being, in many instances, so small, few candidates appear for such situations, who are really, in point of character and age, fit for the duty which ought to be performed; the managers have therefore no alternative but to accept of such aged, and often superannuated, men, living in their respective districts, as may offer their services; this they are frequently induced to do from motives of humanity, to a.s.sist old inhabitants who are unable to labour at any mechanical employment, or perhaps with a view to keep them out of the workhouse, and to save the expence of maintaining them.

Thus circ.u.mstanced, and thus encouraged, what can be expected from such watchmen?--

Aged in general;--often feeble:--and almost, on every occasion, half starved, from the limited allowance they receive; without any claim upon the Public, or the least hope of reward held out, even if they perform any meritorious service, by the _detection of Thieves and Receivers of stolen Goods_, or idle and disorderly persons: and above all, _making so many separate parts of an immense system, without any general superintendance, disjointed from the nature of its organization_, it is only a matter of wonder, that the protection afforded is what _it really is_.[118]--Not only is there small encouragement offered for the purpose of insuring fidelity, but as has been already shewn innumerable temptations are held out to dishonesty, by Receivers of stolen Goods, to the watchmen and patroles in their vicinity; as well as by thieves and housebreakers in all situations where they contemplate the commission of a burglary.

[Footnote 118: This proves how highly meritorious the conduct of the _Managers_ and _Trustees_ of this branch of the Police of the Metropolis must, in many instances, be. There can indeed be no manner of doubt, but that great advantages arise from dividing the labour, where all the benefits of local knowledge enter into the system.--So far as this goes, it ought not to be disturbed. But it is also necessary to consider the Metropolis as a _great Whole_, and to combine the organs of Police which at present exist, in such a manner, by a general superintendance, as to give equal encouragement, and to instil one principle of universal energy into all its parts.]

Money is also received from disorderly persons in the night, to permit them to escape from the just punishment of the Laws; while on the other hand, unfortunate females are often cruelly oppressed and laid under contribution, for permission to infringe the very laws, which it is the duty of these nocturnal guardians of the Police to put in execution.

Excepting in the city of London, under the jurisdiction of the Lord Mayor and Aldermen, (where there are, in the 25 wards, 765 watchmen, and 38 patroles) and the parishes and liberties combined by the act of the 14th Geo. III. cap. 90, it will not be easy to ascertain the exact number of watchmen, &c. employed by the great variety of different Trusts, in every part of the Metropolis; more especially, as in several instances they vary in their numbers according to the season of the year, and other circ.u.mstances; but the following statement is believed to be very near truth:--

_Beadles, Watchmen, and Patroles._

25 Wards in the City of London 803

11 Parishes, &c. in the City and Liberty of Westminster 302

13 Parishes, &c. in the Division of Holborn 377

5 Parishes, &c. in that part of the Division of Finsbury which joins the Metropolis 135

7 Parishes, &c. in the Division of the Tower Hamlets 268

1 Liberty of the Tower of London 14

5 Parishes and Hamlets, being part of the Division of Kensington, near the Metropolis 66

9 Parishes in the Borough of Southwark 79 ---- Total Beadles, Watchmen, and Patroles 2044[119]

[Footnote 119: Watch-houses are now placed at convenient distances all over the Metropolis; where a parochial constable attends, in rotation, every night, to receive disorderly and criminal persons, and to carry them before a Magistrate next morning.--In each watch-house also (in case of fire) the names of the turn-c.o.c.ks, and the places where engines are kept, are to be found. This circ.u.mstance is mentioned for the information of strangers unacquainted with the Police of the Metropolis; to whom it is recommended, in case of fire, or any accident or disturbance requiring the a.s.sistance of the Civil Power, to apply immediately to the Officer of the night, at the nearest watch-house, or to the watchmen on the beat.]

Nothing can certainly be better calculated for _complete protection_ against acts of violence in the streets, than _the System of a well-regulated Stationary Watch_; composed of fit and able-bodied men, properly controlled and superintended: and from the number of persons already employed, independent of private Watchmen, it would seem only to be necessary to lay down apposite legislative rules, with respect to _age or ability_, _character_, _wages_, _rewards for useful services_, and _general superintendance_, in order to establish that species of additional security, which would operate as a more effectual means of preventing crimes within the Metropolis.

Let the same system of moderate rewards also be extended to beadles,[120] for useful Public service _actually performed_, as is proposed with regard to officers of justice, watchmen, and patroles; and much good will arise to the community, without any great additional expence.

[Footnote 120: Beadles are, in many instances, employed at present as local superintendants of the watch, within their respective Parishes.]

It is in vain to expect that the Public can be well served, unless the emolument becomes an object to good and able men; but these extraordinary rewards (as has already been observed) should always depend upon the vigilance and exertion of the parties themselves, in detecting offenders of every description: and should be paid, on its appearing to the Magistrate, that no _impropriety_ or _indiscretion_ has marked their conduct. If, on the contrary, they should be proved to have acted oppressively or improperly, a power of immediate dismission and punishment should, in all instances, be lodged in Justices of the Peace, to be exercised according to the nature of the offence.

Having thus stated the civil force of the Metropolis, in peace-officers, watchmen and patroles, making an aggregate of 3084 men--it may be necessary and useful to give such information relative to the Magistracy, as may tend to shew the present state of the Police, and to ill.u.s.trate what remains to be further suggested on the subject of its improvement; for the preservation of the Public peace, and the _detection_ and _apprehension_ of every cla.s.s of offenders.

There exist at present no less than _five_ separate jurisdictions within the limits of the Metropolis--namely,--

_Magistrates._

1. The City of London, where there are, including the Lord Mayor, 26 Aldermen, who have an exclusive jurisdiction within the ancient limits 26

2. The City and Liberty of Westminster--where there are upwards of 100 Justices of the Peace, who have jurisdiction only in that particular District; but where the Magistrates of the County of Middles.e.x have an equal jurisdiction.--The number resident, of those who are not Magistrates of Middles.e.x, is supposed to be about 50

3. That part of the Metropolis, which is situated in the county of Middles.e.x, where there are about 800 Justices, including the Princes of the Royal Family--many of the n.o.bility--Great Officers of State--Members of Parliament--and other Gentlemen of respectability;--of those in the commission about 200 have qualified; and of these who have taken out their _Dedimus Potestatum_, only about 150 reside in or near the Metropolis 150

4. That district of the Metropolis lying near, or particularly belonging anciently to the Tower of London, comprehending about 750 houses--where the Magistrates (52 in number) have an exclusive jurisdiction, and hold separate Sessions of the Peace.--The number who are not Magistrates in Middles.e.x, is 31

5. The Borough of Southwark, and that part of the Metropolis adjoining thereto, within the Bills of Mortality--where the City Magistrates have jurisdiction, besides the whole of the Magistrates of the County of Surry--namely--132, but of whom not more than 28 reside in Southwark, and 15 in London, &c. (in all) 43 --- Total about 300 ---

But, notwithstanding the great number of respectable names, which are in the different commissions in and near the Metropolis; and although all who have qualified have equal jurisdiction with the Police Justices, within their respective districts; yet the efficient duty for the whole of the Metropolis, so far as it relates to the detection of offenders, is princ.i.p.ally limited to two cla.s.ses of Magistrates--namely,--