POLICE ! POLICE!
TH:E number of outrages upon property attended with violence to the person, coupled with the difficulty of finding a policeman on the instant in particular cases, has given occasion to an outcry against the Police for " inefficiency." It seems to be supposed that the younger men, who wear blue coats and a strip of girthing around their waists, must necessarily be able to detect every thief, to see all the comings and goings, to protect each in- dividual house, and each individual passenger in the streets, all at once ! An all-seeing eye and an ubiquitous arm are demanded of the policeman. It is forgotten that the mere increase in the number of houses, the crowding of passengers, the multiplication of servants, and many other circumstances at the present day, to say nothing of more adroitness and resources invested in the thief's calling, have increased the opportunities for robbery in its various branches. It is impossible that the policemen should be all-seeing or ubiquitous. It necessarily follows that those who require his aid should frequently be unable to find him, since it is part of his duty to perambulate his beat in such a manner as to come upon the different parts of it when he is not expected ; and it is not easy at once to dodge the thief and to let every honest man know where you are, unless policemen could strike the thief with an antijudicial blindness, and gift all honest persons in need of a policeman with a second-sight that could see round the corner. Should it chance that the man in pursuit of a policeman follows the same circuit that the public guardian has traced, the chase will of course be the longer. Wanted, then, some arrange- ment by which the policeman could be found at once, and yet could always appear unexpectedly. Perhaps it is not impossible to combine these apparently incom- patible demands. They could not of course be combined in one person. The same policeman could not be simultaneously obvious and unforeseen. But it might be possible to distribute the ditties; and a very simple arrangement would suffice for the purpose. Let any two contiguous beats be combined into one ; let one of the two policemen ordinarily stationed within the combined boundary be left free to rove as usual ; let the other one be stationed at a certain fixed spot, as near the centre of the beat as possible, there to remain for a definite time. To shelter the man against cold, it might be proper to furnish him with a sentry-box ; and evidently it would conduce to the vigilance of both men if they were to re- lieve each other at rather short intervals. In that case, the whole district would know where a policeman could be found. Should he be called off his post on active duty, his companion would soon come up ; and the presence of one policeman m the box would be no proof to the disorderly classes that the com- panion was not still wandering about the beat. By this arrange- ment we should combine a certain knowledge where to have the policeman, for the purposes of the honest population, with the advantages of the unforeseen, in the watch over the dishonest.
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