NCJ Number
10177
Date Published
1970
Length
297 pages
Annotation
EXPERIENCES OF JOURNALIST DURING EIGHT MONTHS OBSERVATION OF THE INNER WORKINGS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE FORCE.
Abstract
PETER LAURIE SPENT EIGHT MONTHS PERSONALLY EXAMINING LONDON'S METROPOLITAN POLICE, SHARING THE COMPANY OF POLICEMEN AS THEY WENT ABOUT THEIR DAILY ACTIVITIES ON THE BEAT, IN SQUAD CARS, INVESTIGATING THEFT AND MURDER, AND ON ROUTINE ASSIGNMENTS. IN ADDITION TO RELATING EXPERIENCES HE HAD WHILE ACCOMPANYING UNIFORMED POLICEMEN AROUND LONDON, MR. LAURIE DESCRIBES OTHER PATROL ACTIVITIES SUCH AS MAINTAINING ORDER AT LARGE PUBLIC GATHERINGS AND POLICING TRAFFIC. THIS FIRSTHAND VIEWPOINT HAS HELPED THE AUTHOR CAPTURE THE HUMAN SIDE OF POLICE WORK. THE BOOK BEGINS BY DESCRIBING THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF THE FORCE AND THE PROCESS BY WHICH NEW OFFICERS ARE RECRUITED AND TRAINED. THE WORLD FAMOUS DETECTIVES OF SCOTLAND YARD AND THEIR EXTREMELY EFFECTIVE METHODS ARE DISCUSSED, ALONG WITH THE FINGERPRINT EXPERTS, FORENSIC SCIENTISTS, AND MEMBERS OF THE CRIMINAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICE - ALL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE EFFICIENT FUNCTIONING OF THIS LARGE METROPOLITAN FORCE. THE MANNER IN WHICH THE LONDON POLICE MANAGE AND UTILIZE THEIR CRIMINAL RECORDS IS EXPLAINED, INCLUDING THEIR ADOPTION OF MODERN COMPUTER TECHNIQUES. THE INTERNAL WORKINGS OF THE DEPARTMENT, SUCH AS THE HANDLING OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST THE POLICE AND CHARGES OF MISBEHAVIOR AND CORRUPTION, ARE DETAILED. THE APPENDICES INCLUDE A GLOSSARY OF ENGLISH POLICE SLANG WHICH GREATLY FACILITATES THE READING OF THIS COLORFUL WORK. (SNI ABSTRACT)