THE MOST WIDELY REPORTED feature of the Metro- politan Police
Commissioner's instructions to the police this week was that they ought to be friendly in their manner to motorists. What struck me as being a good deal more important was his re- minder that their job was to prevent accidents, assist the free flow of traffic and enforce' the traffic law—in that order. If putting first things first—and third things third—releases for more socially valuable duties those strapping young men in uniform who are at present employed in strolling along, notebook in hand, looking for technical offences, Sir Joseph Simpson will earn the gratitude of motorists—and the ingratitude of criminals. It would be better still, of course, if he had taken the opportunity of coming out in favour of the Chief Constable of Nottingham's plan to set up a corps of traffic wardens. Two of the three police functions listed by Sir Joseph can be fulfilled perfectly well by men of the age and authority of those, say, in the Corps of Commissionaires, leaving younger and fitter men to do the jobs that almost every police force in the country is too short-handed to do properly. Even traffic-law enforcement presents no real difficulty : the wardens could be given the powers of special constables and they could report offenders to the regular police.
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