The British police may be the oldest in the world and were once regarded as the world's best, but these days they aren't held in such high esteem.
Political Correctness and form-filling often hampers the police from nicking felons (that's not the fault of the ordinary policeman but that of high-ranking cops and politicians).
But 100 years ago, things were very different. In 1907, Henry Campbell-Bannerman was Prime Minister, Edward VII was king, Robert Baden-Powell established the Boy Scouts in Dorset, John "The Man They Couldn't Hang" Lee was released from jail after his death sentence was reduced to imprisonment after THREE attempts to hang him failed when the trapdoor refused to open, and Political Correctness was unheard of.
These images, taken in 1907, show police officers demonstrating the art of self defence in a force instruction manual.
The step-by-step guide on how to avoid injury while detaining a suspect was given to recruits at the City of London force.
The manual was so secret that officers were ordered not to show it to the public.
Self-defence was vital in those days as the police didn't even carry handcuffs never mind tasers or CS spray. British police also didn't - and still don't - carry guns because the British public has always been wary of having the military deployed on Britain's street.
London's police form, the Metropolitan Police, is the world's oldest police force, being established in 1829, and Britain's largest. It has juristiction over the whole of London except the Square Mile, which is the responsibilty of the City of London Police, who are pictured below.
The non-PC guide to policing: How to apprehend a criminal, 1907-style
By Stephen Wright
01st January 2010
Daily Mail
The grainy black-and-white images look as if they belong in a Keystone Kops silent comedy.
But their intention was deadly serious.
These pictures feature real police officers demonstrating the art of self defence in a force instruction manual issued more than 100 years ago.
REGAINING YOUR TRUNCHEON, PART ONE: 'Take hold of truncheon, back of one hand upwards and other downwards, force truncheon upwards to full extent of the arms then turn your back on the assailant and throw him on his back.'
REGAINING YOUR TRUNCHEON, PART TWO: ‘Should he still retain hold of the truncheon, place your foot on his throat and press down till he releases same.’ Right: demonstrating the fine art of boxing
The step-by-step guide on how to avoid injury while detaining a suspect was given to recruits at the City of London force.
Such was the sensitivity of the booklet that, for fear of giving away operational secrets, officers were specifically warned not to show the images to the public.
Self-defence skills were vital in an era when policemen did not even routinely carry handcuffs, let alone tasers, CS spray or body armour.
RESTRAINING THE PRISONER: 'Stand astride prisoner with your back to him. Take hold of and cross his feet, sit on his back, press his toes towards the centre of his back and should he attempt to rise, bump up and down on his back.'
THE NELSON: 'Pass your inner arms under prisoner's arms, his palms upwards, place your hands on back of his head, press it downward until his head is nearly in line with his knees, rendering him helpless.'
It was also a time when officers need not concern themselves with possible litigation alleging brutality – hence references to how they could place their foot on a suspect's throat, bump up and down while sitting on his back or, strictly in emergencies, perform a 'wrist twist'.
The instructions in self defence, issued in 1907, were the brainchild of Inspector George Wheeldon, a keen wrestler, who had evolved a series of holds for restraining violent prisoners.
Sergeant George J. Smith took the photographs in 1907 on the roof of Snow Hill police station near the Old Bailey (the present Old Bailey building, Britain's Central Criminal Court, actually opened in 1907 on the very site of the notorious Newgate Gaol, which was pulled down just five years earlier). In many of the pictures, officers wore white jackets to pose as 'felons'.
SUCCESS: The prisoner is adequately restrained
THE FLIP: The prisoner can be subdued with this single over-arm hold
On the orders of City of London Police chief Sir William Nott-Bower, all recruits were required to undergo a course of training in the ground-breaking tactics.
The pictures, which for decades remained hidden in force archives, recently went on display in the office of City of London chief Mike Bowron.
THE POLICE: The Handy Man of the Streets, according to this poster
Although they provide a remarkable contrast with the kid-glove treatment handed out to today's criminals, the 1907 guide does sound a note of caution.
It warns: 'Holds etc must not be put on with a jerk or violence, no unnecessary force to be used as it will probably result in fracture or dislocation of limbs.
'Holds etc must not be used on very old or very drunken persons.'
The Bow Street Runners and the world's first police force.
The Bow Street Runners break up a party, 1824
Before the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829, law enforcement among the general population in England was carried out by volunteer constables and "watchmen". In certain circumstances, such as serious public disorder the armed forces intervened. But this system was largely unorganised and corrupt (the volunteers, often called Thief takers, were only paid whenever they caught a criminal so many of them arrested whoever they wanted, or just someone they hated in order to take revenge, just so they could be paid) and lacked a criminal investigation capability, so the novelist and Magistrate Henry Fielding introduced the first detective force in 1752 to fight crime in London. Fielding's house at 4 Bow Street had been established as a courtroom by the previous owner, Sir Thomas de Veil, in 1739 and so the new detective force was based there. They were known as the Bow Street Runners.
The Bow Street Runners consisted of eight Constables who also investigated crimes handed over to them by the volunteer constables and watchmen. Runners were identified by carrying a tipstaff with the Royal Crown on it, which had a compartment inside to store official identification and documents.
Charlie Rouse (photographed here in the 1840s) was the last of London's Watchmen
In the early 19th Century, the Home Secretary, Robert Peel, that the way to standardise the police was to make it an official paid profession, to organise it in a civilian fashion, and to make it answerable to the public. And so, in 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed which turned the Bow Street Runners into the Metropolitan Police Force.
It was Robert Peel who was responsible for ensuring that the uniform of the Metropolitan Police (and most police forces around the world) wear dark blue uniforms, and why most British police don't carry guns. Due to public fears concerning the deployment of the military in domestic matters, Robert Peel organised the force along civilian lines, rather than paramilitary. To appear neutral, the uniform was deliberately manufactured in blue, rather than red which was then a military colour, along with the officers being armed only with a wooden truncheon and a rattle to signal the need for assistance. Along with this, police ranks did not include military titles, with the exception of Sergeant.
The police in Britain and other English-speaking countries are known as "Cops" or "Coppers". Why? Because the wooden truncheons of the early Metropolitan Police each had a copper band around them. The British also refer to the police as "Bobbies" and "the Old Bill", due to the fact that "Bobby" is short for "Robert" (Robert Peel) and "Bill" is short for "William" and William IV was on the Throne when the Metropolitan Police was established in 1829.
dailymail.co.uk
Political Correctness and form-filling often hampers the police from nicking felons (that's not the fault of the ordinary policeman but that of high-ranking cops and politicians).
But 100 years ago, things were very different. In 1907, Henry Campbell-Bannerman was Prime Minister, Edward VII was king, Robert Baden-Powell established the Boy Scouts in Dorset, John "The Man They Couldn't Hang" Lee was released from jail after his death sentence was reduced to imprisonment after THREE attempts to hang him failed when the trapdoor refused to open, and Political Correctness was unheard of.
These images, taken in 1907, show police officers demonstrating the art of self defence in a force instruction manual.
The step-by-step guide on how to avoid injury while detaining a suspect was given to recruits at the City of London force.
The manual was so secret that officers were ordered not to show it to the public.
Self-defence was vital in those days as the police didn't even carry handcuffs never mind tasers or CS spray. British police also didn't - and still don't - carry guns because the British public has always been wary of having the military deployed on Britain's street.
London's police form, the Metropolitan Police, is the world's oldest police force, being established in 1829, and Britain's largest. It has juristiction over the whole of London except the Square Mile, which is the responsibilty of the City of London Police, who are pictured below.
The non-PC guide to policing: How to apprehend a criminal, 1907-style
By Stephen Wright
01st January 2010
Daily Mail
The grainy black-and-white images look as if they belong in a Keystone Kops silent comedy.
But their intention was deadly serious.
These pictures feature real police officers demonstrating the art of self defence in a force instruction manual issued more than 100 years ago.
REGAINING YOUR TRUNCHEON, PART ONE: 'Take hold of truncheon, back of one hand upwards and other downwards, force truncheon upwards to full extent of the arms then turn your back on the assailant and throw him on his back.'
REGAINING YOUR TRUNCHEON, PART TWO: ‘Should he still retain hold of the truncheon, place your foot on his throat and press down till he releases same.’ Right: demonstrating the fine art of boxing
The step-by-step guide on how to avoid injury while detaining a suspect was given to recruits at the City of London force.
Such was the sensitivity of the booklet that, for fear of giving away operational secrets, officers were specifically warned not to show the images to the public.
Self-defence skills were vital in an era when policemen did not even routinely carry handcuffs, let alone tasers, CS spray or body armour.
RESTRAINING THE PRISONER: 'Stand astride prisoner with your back to him. Take hold of and cross his feet, sit on his back, press his toes towards the centre of his back and should he attempt to rise, bump up and down on his back.'
THE NELSON: 'Pass your inner arms under prisoner's arms, his palms upwards, place your hands on back of his head, press it downward until his head is nearly in line with his knees, rendering him helpless.'
It was also a time when officers need not concern themselves with possible litigation alleging brutality – hence references to how they could place their foot on a suspect's throat, bump up and down while sitting on his back or, strictly in emergencies, perform a 'wrist twist'.
The instructions in self defence, issued in 1907, were the brainchild of Inspector George Wheeldon, a keen wrestler, who had evolved a series of holds for restraining violent prisoners.
Sergeant George J. Smith took the photographs in 1907 on the roof of Snow Hill police station near the Old Bailey (the present Old Bailey building, Britain's Central Criminal Court, actually opened in 1907 on the very site of the notorious Newgate Gaol, which was pulled down just five years earlier). In many of the pictures, officers wore white jackets to pose as 'felons'.
SUCCESS: The prisoner is adequately restrained
THE FLIP: The prisoner can be subdued with this single over-arm hold
On the orders of City of London Police chief Sir William Nott-Bower, all recruits were required to undergo a course of training in the ground-breaking tactics.
The pictures, which for decades remained hidden in force archives, recently went on display in the office of City of London chief Mike Bowron.
THE POLICE: The Handy Man of the Streets, according to this poster
Although they provide a remarkable contrast with the kid-glove treatment handed out to today's criminals, the 1907 guide does sound a note of caution.
It warns: 'Holds etc must not be put on with a jerk or violence, no unnecessary force to be used as it will probably result in fracture or dislocation of limbs.
'Holds etc must not be used on very old or very drunken persons.'
The Bow Street Runners and the world's first police force.
The Bow Street Runners break up a party, 1824
Before the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829, law enforcement among the general population in England was carried out by volunteer constables and "watchmen". In certain circumstances, such as serious public disorder the armed forces intervened. But this system was largely unorganised and corrupt (the volunteers, often called Thief takers, were only paid whenever they caught a criminal so many of them arrested whoever they wanted, or just someone they hated in order to take revenge, just so they could be paid) and lacked a criminal investigation capability, so the novelist and Magistrate Henry Fielding introduced the first detective force in 1752 to fight crime in London. Fielding's house at 4 Bow Street had been established as a courtroom by the previous owner, Sir Thomas de Veil, in 1739 and so the new detective force was based there. They were known as the Bow Street Runners.
The Bow Street Runners consisted of eight Constables who also investigated crimes handed over to them by the volunteer constables and watchmen. Runners were identified by carrying a tipstaff with the Royal Crown on it, which had a compartment inside to store official identification and documents.
Charlie Rouse (photographed here in the 1840s) was the last of London's Watchmen
In the early 19th Century, the Home Secretary, Robert Peel, that the way to standardise the police was to make it an official paid profession, to organise it in a civilian fashion, and to make it answerable to the public. And so, in 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed which turned the Bow Street Runners into the Metropolitan Police Force.
It was Robert Peel who was responsible for ensuring that the uniform of the Metropolitan Police (and most police forces around the world) wear dark blue uniforms, and why most British police don't carry guns. Due to public fears concerning the deployment of the military in domestic matters, Robert Peel organised the force along civilian lines, rather than paramilitary. To appear neutral, the uniform was deliberately manufactured in blue, rather than red which was then a military colour, along with the officers being armed only with a wooden truncheon and a rattle to signal the need for assistance. Along with this, police ranks did not include military titles, with the exception of Sergeant.
The police in Britain and other English-speaking countries are known as "Cops" or "Coppers". Why? Because the wooden truncheons of the early Metropolitan Police each had a copper band around them. The British also refer to the police as "Bobbies" and "the Old Bill", due to the fact that "Bobby" is short for "Robert" (Robert Peel) and "Bill" is short for "William" and William IV was on the Throne when the Metropolitan Police was established in 1829.
dailymail.co.uk
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