Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/349

Rh POLICE 333 II. The division of that force into classes of various rank, comprising, in general, in ascending order, constables, sergeants, inspectors, and superintendents (or their equi valents), the constables being the most numerous and themselves divided into classes. III. General control of the entire body by heads, whether styled commissioners or chiefs, having power to make regulations for the government of the force, subject in turn to the control of state -authorities. IV. Patrol day and night of the streets, roads, and public places, the &quot; beats&quot; and &quot; tours of duty &quot; of con stables being prescribed by regulations, and actual per formance and compliance being secured by the sergeants and inspectors. V. The payment of the force, including establishment charges, out of public funds provided for the purpose. lotion In dealing with these subjects as nearly as may be in t &amp;gt; &amp;gt;e the order indicated, the relationship of the police force to the executive Government of a state of the police forces, for the legitimate objects for which they are established, seems essential. In Great Britain every member of the force, from an ordinary constable upwards, stands in the direct position of a servant of the crown. On admission he makes a promissory declaration (recently substituted for an oath) that he will serve the sovereign ; and it is upon the fact that a police constable has the powers, duties, and privileges of a peace officer of and for the crown that many of the incidents of his service depend, although the im mediate power of dismissal is vested in heads of a force, whose orders he is bound to obey. The state employs the police forces for the public wel fare only. &quot; There is not in England,&quot; remarked the late Chief- Justice Cockburn, &quot; any more than in America, any system of espionage or secret police to pry into men s secret actions or to obtain information for the Government by underhand and unworthy means.&quot; The truth of this is exemplified in the present position of police administra tion in the metropolitan police district of England acting under the immediate control of the secretary of state. The fear expressed, and no doubt felt, on the first establish ment of a regularly organized system of police, that the freedom of holding meetings and the utterance of opinion at them would be suppressed, has been dispelled. The police are expressly enjoined not to interfere with persons attending political meetings unless specially ordered, and such orders are not given unless disorder or a breach of the peace is imminent. Public addresses, even in some of the royal parks, are permitted, provided they do not cause any obstruction, and are not of an unlawful character. There are no Government police to watch the delivery of mere political opinion or the tenor of its reception by the auditory. The press is also free from Government inter ference, through the police, in matters short of crime or not directly incentive to crime. The sphere of action of the police force in relation to the state has been extended by legislative enactments pro viding that criminals who have escaped to or from colonies may be followed and removed by process of law, and tried where the crime originated. The practical execution of the law as to these fugitive offenders rests with the police. The same observation applies to the province of police under extradition treaties. But the general action of the police force of a country is bounded by its shores. As the open sea is not the territory of any one nation, it is not competent to any one nation to preserve order or remove all delinquents on its surface, as it is in the ports, rivers, and lakes of a state. When Lord Castlereagh at the con gress of Vienna spoke of the &quot; police&quot; to be exercised over ships carrying slaves, Talleyrand asked the precise meaning of the expression ; and, on the English statesman explain ing that he intended to refer to what every Government exercised in virtue of its sovereignty or under treaties with other powers, Talleyrand would not admit the existence of any maritime police, except that of each power over its own vessels. The supervision of the police by the Government stands Govern- thus. The commissioner of police of the metropolis of nient London is appointed by and acts under the immediate s ?? er direction of the secretary of state for the home department. The commissioner of police of the city of London is in communication with the corporation, who appoint him. There is, however, a power of approval of regulations in the secretary of state. In the counties of England the appointment of the chief constable is by the county magistrates subject to the approval of the secretary of state. In municipal corporations the police, including the chief or head constable, are appointed by the watch com mittee. In all these cases except in the metropolis the secretary of state leaves the immediate control to local authorities and disclaims responsibility. In Scotland the secretary of state has a voice in the rules for the govern ment, pay, and necessaries of the force. The appointment of the chief constable is subject to his approval, but practically there is no interference called for in this respect. In Ireland great authority is vested in the lord lieutenant both with respect to the police of Dublin and the royal Irish constabulary. The immediate government is vested in the heads of the forces, and the parliamentary responsi bility is in the chief secretary for Ireland. Reports and returns as to the police forces of Great Britain and Ireland are laid before parliament. The immediate control and responsibility of a cabinet minister for the police of the metropolis of London makes a very important distinction between the position of that force and of the other police forces of the empire. There is, however, a general relation ship of the police forces of the country to the state, arising from the contribution (not now limited to a particular pro portion) made by parliament to the expenditure for a police force. Under an Act of 1856 the crown appoints three persons as paid inspectors to visit and inquire into the state and efficiency of the police appointed for every county and borough in England and Wales, and to see whether the provisions of the Acts under which they are appointed are duly observed and carried into effect ; and upon the secretary of state s certificate of efficiency, laid before parliament, the contribution is made. In the same way an inspector for Scotland reports annually. It is to be observed that the contribution cannot be made to a borough police not consolidated with the county police where the population is less than 5000. In Eng land the state, except in the city of London, contributes about half the pay of forces which submit to certain regu lations, to inspection, and to a definite amount of imperial control. In Scotland the state also contributes. About two-thirds of the cost of the Dublin metropolitan police is met by the treasury. The balance in all the above cases comes from the locality. The royal Irish consta bulary is the only force whose ordinary strength is entirely supported by imperial taxation, subject, however, to pay ment by districts where special services are necessary. To prevent political influence being brought to bear upon the police, they cannot vote at elections of members of parliament within their district ; and the chief officers are disqualified from sitting in parliament. The relationship of the police forces of the country to Con- the army as a state force is satisfactory. The police is a nexion civil force. Although constables constantly speak of the ^ * public as &quot; civilians,&quot; the police are in turn styled civilians by soldiers. It is now only on rare occasions that soldiers
 * &amp;gt; the state is of primary importance. A general control by