THE NEW POLICE.
regulations for the new police have been published. They are Very long, and our space does not permit us to attempt even an abridg-
ment of them. We can merely glance at those that are more imme- diately directed to the protection of the public, and in which even the general reader is directly interested. The principle on which all police ought to be founded, but which has hitherto been hardly acknow- ledged, and almost never acted on by ours, namely, the prevention of crime, is distinctly laid down in the regulations. And it is stated nn the preliminary remarks, that wherever many offences are committed,. it must appear to the Commissioners that the police of that district f is not properly conducted. It is unnecessary to state that under the ; present, or we should rather say under the late system, a precisely contrary rule was observed, and the watchman who had most charges to make had not only the praise, but the reward of superior vigilance. !; The attempt to repress crime while yet inchoate, instead of punishing ki it when perpetrated, will require the exercise of more judgment thaia.fl the old guardians of the night could be supposed to possessorttlwarevere with the newly-appointed constables, who are, by hypothesis at least, a. very superior race of beings, be productive of occasional inconvenience- It is proper however to observe, that acts are not incapable of misin- terpretation-more than appearances ; and that if occasionally, under the new police the unoffending be detained out of anxiety for the pre- vention of crime, under the old the unoffending were every night ex- posed to detention out of anxiety for its punishment. Besides the constant inspection under the new system, the necessity of being at all times. sober, the prospect of promotion for good behaviour are all stimulants to good and correct behaviour, which the watchmen had not; and it would he most absurd to suppose, where good and correct behaviour is rationally and honestly sought, that it will not for he most part be procured. The part of the metropolis to be subjected No the new police (a very large portion) isto be divided into five divisions, each division into eight sections, each section into eight beats, so' that the whole number of beats will be 320 ; and as two constables are re- quired for each, the whole police force on duty, exclusive of office rs. will be 640. For every eight men on duty, there is to be a reserve man to provide for sickness or other necessary cause of _absence, and as a reinforcement ready to act in case of riots or fires.
rer15 5 I tireTirel are to give their whole time to the public ; never to appear but in uniform : .); their pay is to be three shillings per day. One-half will mount guard hunt sunset to midnight ; the other half from midnight to sunrise ; so that the ' average time of actual eniphament throughout the year will be six hours
per day.:-The-paf of the watchmen Was-not regulated-byany cora--' mon standard, but in general it amounted to half-a-crown per day in winter, and one shilling and cightpence in summer ; they were on duty about ten hours a day on an average. The pay of the new police is not great, and their duties are not light. They are to perambulate their heats without intermission from the time they go on until the time they go off guard : at two miles an hour this would give about twelve miles per day. It is intended, however, (if we mistake not, we had the merit of first pointing out the propriety of such a regulation, so far back as April last,) that the whole of the higher offices, with the ex- ception of the Commissionerships, shall be in future filled up by caw taken from the ranks. If this rule be honestly and impartially acted on, it will be found, we have no doubt, muoh better calculated to insure good behaviour than extravagant payment. One small change, but no unimportant one, is, that the constable is not to call the hour, which: was no more than a warning note to the thieves to be close until the watchman was past. For every eight constables on duty there is to be a sergeant; for every four sergeants an inspector; for every four inspectors a superintendent ; who is to be the, chief officer of his di- vision, and subject only to the Board. The duties of the sergeant are strictly duties of supervision : lie must see that the men under his care are sober and properly accoutred ; he must note their behaviour, and enter it regularly on a journal which is to form the rule for promotion in case of vacancies ; see the reliefs regularly made, and march his men to and from their stations : his reports are to be made to the inspector. To that officer is intrusted the charge not only of the sergeants, but of the constables of his subdivision : his duties though, of a more extended kind, are similar to those of the sergeant. The inspector roports to the superintendent, who will be held responsible for the general conduct of all the officers and men of his division. It is most properly provided, that any deviation from the rules by a constable shall be visited with instant punishment. He may be suspended for cause shown by the inspector or by the superin- tendent, and the Commissioners may dismiss him without any cause assigned ; so that not only substantive charges, but inaptitude or in- adequacy, will lead to removal from the police, in the same way and for the same reason as they do in the case of private establishments. Every one is aware of the difficulty of removing a watchman even for the grossest offences. Extraordinary exertions on the part of the con- stables are to be rewarded by gratuities at the discretion of the Home Secretary, on the recommendation of the sergeants or others, so that every motive of ambition, interest, and fear, will be employed to make them honest and active. We hope these regulations, which contain much that is excellent, and which are dictated by the best spirit, will be published in a cheap shape for general sale. They constitute the best possible answer to the nonsense that has been put forth respect- ing the designs of Government in this very important branch of the executive. It is unnecessary to say that the constables will carry batons only: they were to have cutlasses according to the dicta of the Oppo- sition papers. We observe it stated yesterday, that several of the con- stables had resigned, being scared at the prospect of the heavy duties. We have no doubt that many applied for the situation in the opinion that, like most of those connected with Government, it would partake in some degree of the nature of a sinecure. Their place will soon he
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