Blind-Alley Police The Home Secretary has used his Parliamentary majority
to carry a quite indefensible clause in the new Metropolitan Police Bill—that providing for the appoint- ment of constables for a fixed period of service not exceed- ing 10 years. The object of this short-term recruitment is to secure a larger number of young men among the rank and file. This end could surely be obtained by other means —for instance, by automatically retiring a number of men who had not attained to a certain standard of proficiency. But to enlist some thousands of men at the start in what in effect will be a blind-alley occupation, with none but the scantiest prospect of promotion at the end of 10 years, is an invitation to inefficiency, lack of ambition, and possibly worse. It would mean the creation of a new class of policemen stamped with the mark of lower-grade. It would be difficult to conceive a measure more certain to lower the prestige of the uniform. * * * *
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