Chapter 381: Scotland Yard Co-College

Chapter 378 Scotland Yard Co-Establishment of Colleges and Universities
The new lecture hall of the University of London, which had just been inaugurated, was crowded with current news reporters from London newspapers of all sizes.

Wearing a full set of Scotland Yard senior police officer uniform, Arthur sat on the stage, he reached out his hand to take the signing pen from Louis’s hand, and sparingly signed his big name on the document in front of him.

Although his signing posture was as dashing as ever, if one looked closely, one would still be able to find out what was different about Arthur today.

If expressed in artistic terms, it was that the burden on Mr. Hastings’ shoulders was heavier.

If expressed in plainer terms, it would be that he had added a baton to his epaulettes in addition to the St. Edward’s badge.

Of course, with the addition of this baton, his calling card has been updated accordingly.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, London Metropolitan Police.

Director of the London Police Intelligence Service, under the Greater London Police Authority.
Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the London School of Policing, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
and proposed to be the first Headmaster, Mr. Arthur Hastings.

The ink on the card has not yet completely dried, and a few hints of warmth can still be felt when gently rubbed with a finger.

Although it didn’t take much time to sign, Arthur enjoyed the process.

Only, all he could say was to repeat the cartwheels that he had just said countless times.

And the locational factor of being in London saved the Treasury from the concern of reimbursing the officers for their high commuting costs.

The reason for this is that their tuition fees are really cheap compared to classical church universities like Oxford and Cambridge.

Seeing as he was in a good mood today, Arthur was happy to answer their questions.

Because this was probably the easiest job he had done in the past few months, and even in the months to come.

Oxford and Cambridge were the home base of the clergy, and King’s College, next door, was the training ground for the Tory Conservative fledglings.

“I have to admit that if the most important breakthrough achieved by the University of London in 1831 was the successful granting of a Royal Charter for Teaching, then our headline news in 1832 was the partnership agreement with Scotland Yard. Arthur, believe me, choosing the University of London as a partner is the best decision you have ever made in your life.”

Arthur smiled as he stood up and exchanged agreement papers with Principal Horner, who was sitting opposite him, before taking a firm grip on the former head teacher’s arm and shaking it vigorously.

And for the Ministry of Finance, which was responsible for preparing Scotland Yard’s annual budget, the University of London was a pretty good choice.

Not to mention that Arthur had convinced them that the quality of education at the University of London was indeed superior.

“Mr. Horner, I am delighted that Scotland Yard has reached a ministerial-university partnership agreement with the University of London. I have no doubt that the University of London will provide Scotland Yard’s mid-level cadre with adequate intellectual training, and they will use what they learn here to give back to the general public of London. I am confident that with our full cooperation, all of London’s vicious criminals will have nothing to hide.”

Horner laughed out loud, “Second right is also right, which is much better than going to some church university and making the wrong decision. Not that I’m boasting for the school’s ego, but you, as one of our distinguished graduates, should understand that the University of London’s talent pool in chemistry, geology, medicine, and other natural philosophies isn’t something that can be matched by one or two of the church universities.”

In fact, the real reason is not that complicated, as a glance at the list of King’s College’s governors will provide insight.

Although Principal Horner tried his best to hide his excitement, the corners of his mouth that could not stop rising still betrayed his true feelings.

After the death of the last King George IV, the Duke of Wellington was currently the Chairman of the King’s College Council.

Arthur just smiled and made a joke at his words, ”Mr. Headmaster, I don’t think so. I think the best decision of my life was choosing to become a student here, so brokering a cooperation agreement between Scotland Yard and the University of London ultimately only ranks as second best.”

As for why he had facilitated and was able to facilitate Scotland Yard’s choice to start a partnership with the University of London instead of the obnoxious King’s College next door, which also offered many disciplines in the field of Natural Philosophy, Arthur, of course, would not disclose the real reason.

Even if the University of London’s current social reputation and recognition could not catch up with Oxford and Cambridge, at the very least it could be ranked third in England.

Therefore, for Arthur, convincing the Ministry of the Interior to accept cooperation with the University of London was not too difficult a task.

The old and the young were happy on the stage, while the reporters under the stage couldn’t wait to ask questions.

“Of course.” Arthur smiled back, “After all, Scotland Yard didn’t expect police officers to weaken the power of criminals by reciting poems, what we need is more scientific theories, more advanced and specialized training, and that’s the most important reason why we chose the University of London.”

Although there were only four universities in England for the time being, but then again we weren’t in last place, were we?
At least as far as Arthur was concerned, if a university could even educate a guy like Elder, then what other people could they not educate?
It’s cheap, it’s efficient, it provides a relatively good quality education, and it’s still a Whig stronghold.

Even if you turned the land of England upside down, you would never find a university more suited to training a skeleton police officer than the University of London.

So, naturally, this matter passed through approval without much resistance.

With the help of the University of London, Scotland Yard could build a framework for a police school in a short period of time, while the University of London also reaped the training income from the government department’s droughts and floods, which was indeed a win-win deal.

The delighted President Horner even made a number of grand promises in his interview with reporters.

He said the University of London will make good use of this opportunity to cooperate with Scotland Yard, to explore the road to open up a new discipline of criminal justice, but also boldly think that the University of London in the future may be considered in the school to open up a specialized School of Policing.

The school’s teaching purpose is not only to help Scotland Yard to train in-service police officers, the future is more likely to be committed to the education of specialized forensic and toxicology talents, and they will be transported to the Scotland Yard under a number of departments to serve, for the people of London to provide a more secure and safer social environment.

And when journalists ask the history of Britain has never set up a school specializing in police training, such behavior is not a sign that the government is strengthening its control over the British people.

Arthur, who had anticipated that they would ask such things, then pulled out the words he had already prepared earlier.

“I understand your concerns, but before that please take a look at the achievements of the police department. The case files of the various magistrates’ courts in London show that in the two years or so since the establishment of Scotland Yard, the annual loss of property suffered by the citizens of London as a result of burglaries, robberies, and other criminal acts has dropped from 760,000 pounds in 1828 to 330,000 pounds.

The decline in the frequency of burglaries has been particularly significant in the docklands along the Thames, and several of the more prevalent criminal gangs in the London area have been targeted and eliminated. As an Assistant Commissioner of Police at Scotland Yard, I can promise the public that with the establishment of the School of Policing, the fight against crime will also become stronger and more efficient.

Moreover, the original objective of Scotland Yard in setting up the School of Policing is to find a way to continuously improve the quality of service without a massive increase in the number of police officers. From the very beginning of Scotland Yard’s existence, we have repeatedly stated that Britain will not become a police state like France. Today, we have also confirmed this on a factual level. The social reputation of the Greater London Police is recognized not only by the citizens of London but also by the public in the rest of England. From what I have been told so far, it is not the growing number of police officers in Scotland Yard that the public should be worried about, but the possibility that we may have fewer and fewer police officers.

For since last year we have been receiving a steady stream of invitations from private policing associations in Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol. These wealthy gentlemen, because they do not trust the local policing force and are anxious that their property may be robbed and burglarized by thugs, have taken it upon themselves to raise funds in the hope of hiring some experienced and competent police officers from Scotland Yard to go to their localities to act as policemen.

What I have said is the truth, and there is nothing false about it. Many of you will have read about the brutal murder and robbery in the Stow area, for example. Only yesterday we received an invitation to help from the Stowe Mountain Private Security Association.

These gentlemen are willing to pay three times the normal salary of a Scotland Yard constable to hire two able officers from us to police a three-mile area centered around Stow.

The tasks consisted mainly of concentrating on evening patrols, searching and supervising suspects, inspecting pubs and rented rooms occupied by vagrants. The officers are also responsible for prosecuting suspects they arrest when a case arises, as well as collecting evidence, organizing testimonies and presenting the case to the Magistrates’ Court.

Truth be told, it’s almost exactly the same job we do at Scotland Yard, but those two good-for-nothings get triple the good pay for covering a three-mile area. That said, gentlemen, do you know how much each Scotland Yard officer patrols per day?”

The reporters looked at each other when they heard Arthur ask the question, then someone raised a hand and probed, “Six miles?”

Arthur joked, “Although you guessed wrong, I thank you for your blessing, sir. The average Scotland Yard officer patrols ten miles a day each. And that’s with the expansion of Scotland Yard. When I first joined Scotland Yard over two years ago, I was sporting fifteen miles a day, and worst of all, front line pay hadn’t even gone up yet.

So if the guys want to worry about Britain being reduced to a police state, why don’t they go ahead and talk to the gentlemen of the Stow Hill Country Private Policing Association, who are much further along in building a police state there than they are in London. As for Scotland Yard, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

For as I understand it, there are more than three hundred other organizations like the Stow Hill Country Private Policing Association in Britain, and if each of them were to poach two men away from Scotland Yard, there would soon be not a single policeman left in London.”

Arthur made a joke, which instantly made the reporters on the stage burst into laughter.

Some reporters even joked with him, “Mr. Hastings, if I want to hire you to come to our newspaper as private security, how much do you offer?”

Arthur smiled and asked, “Which newspaper are you a reporter from?”

“The Manchester Guardian.”

“So it’s to Manchester?”

“Of course.”

“Then I won’t go for any amount of money.”

“Why?” The reporter asked with a smile, “Are you going to say that you are deliberately trying to get along with the money and have to stay at Scotland Yard to give yourself to the citizens?”

“No, sir, I am not so noble.”

Arthur smiled back, “I’m just worried that I can’t beat your Manchester dock hooligans, even the local London ones, I have enough trouble dealing with them. You see, didn’t I call in a shot last time I went to Liverpool? Liverpool is like that, going to Manchester I’m afraid of putting my life on the line.”

No sooner had Arthur’s words fallen than there was another burst of laughter from the lecture hall.

Principal Horner pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it, smiled, stood up and announced, “Gentlemen, it’s about time, that’s enough for the interview, you’ve been successful enough for today.”

“Goodbye Mr. Horner, today was indeed a successful interview, I’m sure we’ll come up with a good piece.”

The reporters dispersed sparsely, Horner saw that the people had almost left, then he turned around and smiled at Arthur, “Arthur, my good lad, when I awarded you the academic bonus for you a few years ago, I knew that you would have a good future. I also thought at the time that maybe one day you would give back to your alma mater, but I really didn’t expect that this day would actually come so soon.”

Arthur smiled back as he got up and sorted out the documents, “Mr. Principal, it’s not that I’m giving back to my alma mater, but in my opinion, the University of London is the optimal option at the moment. The word “giving back” is too heavy a word for you to use. If I really had the ability to give back to the school, then what I brought today would not be an agreement from Scotland Yard, but from the East India Company.”

“Hahaha! You still remember that one?”

Horner exclaimed, “Back then, the first batch of your students were most envious of the Beriol College in Oxford, or rather, all of Britain envied them. After all, Beliore is currently the only place in Britain where you can enter the civil service system of the East India Company through the normal recruitment process, and if you graduated from any other school, you’ll have to go more or less by hook or by crook if you want to go to the East India.”

Said here, Horner suddenly turned and said: “However, this time, the Governor General of India, Lord William Bentinck seems to push the reform within the East India Company, and even the Indians are allowed to enter the company as a position. If this trend continues, there is no way to say that someday our students will also be able to walk right into East India.”

“I read all about it in the papers.” Arthur snickered, “But I’m still more concerned about the ban against the Indian system of martyrdom than Lord Bentinck’s reforms in selection and hiring. The bit about what General Charles Napier, Commander of the Army in India, said to the Indians was really interesting.”

“What did he say?”

Arthur recalled, “General Napier said to the Indians: ‘It is all right for you to say that it is your custom to burn widows. But we Britons have our customs too! In Britain, when men burn a living woman, we tie a rope around their necks and hang them alive. Go ahead and build your woodpile, but beside it, my carpenters will build you a gallows too. You go according to your customs, and we will do according to ours!'”

Hearing this, Horner lamented, “Perhaps General Napier’s management is a bit rough, but the purpose he is trying to accomplish is truly noble, and we can’t blame him too much for his behavior. But …… then again, why do you suddenly care about India recently? Is it hard to believe that you also want to serve in the East India Company?”

Arthur smiled and shook his head, “I’m already past the age of looking for a job. I don’t particularly care about India either, I’ve just developed a bit of interest in General Napier. Because when I was in Liverpool a while back, I happened to meet his brother Admiral Charlie Napier of the Royal Navy there. Wow…… perhaps I shouldn’t have called it that, since he hasn’t actually been reinstated to active duty.”

“Charlie Napier?” Horner asked, “What’s he doing in Liverpool? It’s not exactly a good place for a vacation with all the cholera going on there, is it?”

Arthur smiled back, “But he could take a boat out to sea and find a sunny vacation spot.”

“These retired generals do live comfortably! After all, they have retirement annuities.”

Horner sighed, then said at Arthur, “Enough about that, Mr. Chopin is practicing in the music room, didn’t you say you had some business with him?”

Arthur nodded his head and said, “OK, then I’d appreciate it if you could lead the way. After all, when I was studying, there was no music room inside the school.”

Horner smiled gently, “Perhaps you should squeeze in a little more time to look around the school, we’ve built so much more than we used to since we got our teaching charter.”

(End of chapter)