Chapter 380: The Hastings System

Chapter 377 The Hastings System
“The Commissioner of the Greater London Police, Superintendent of Police of the London Metropolitan Police, Charles Rowan, hereby reads Home Office Executive Order No. 1 of the year 1832, ‘An Inquisitorial Proposal for the Reorganization of the Division of Functions of the Internal Bodies of the Greater London Police, and for the Establishment of a National Police Commission’ …… “

Inside the conference hall of Scotland Yard, Director Rowan recited at length the latest resolution from the Home Office.

As he read from his side, the various senior police officers on the stage likewise whispered.

Superintendent Matherling, sitting by the window, raised his elbow to pestle Arthur, who had taken off his jacket and was wearing nothing but a white shirt beside him, “Any updates, lad?”

Arthur put one hand over the corner of his eye to keep the sun out of his eyes and lowered his voice, “What’s new? It’s the reforms, what else could be new.”

The stocky Superintendent Vaughn glanced at the two of them and mumbled, “I do have some new news here, but it’s from the Admiralty.”

“What does the Admiralty have to do with us?” Superintendent Matherling took a sip of tea, “It might be useful if it came from the Ministry of War and Colonial Affairs, after all, we’re both from the Army, and the police system is much more relevant to the Army than it is to the Royal Navy.”

Superintendent Vaughan chortled as he lowered himself to a whisper, “You don’t realize that, do you, old boy? The reforms are a whole, and we at Scotland Yard are at best implicated in moving together.”

Although Matherlin was not interested in Vaughan’s news, Arthur was different, after all, he had friends on the Royal Navy side.

Arthur twisted his face and asked, “What’s going on over at the Admiralty?”

“The Prime Minister’s authorization?”

Arthur sniffed back in surprise, “Although the opponents can’t sway the Admiralty Minister’s personal opinion, it’s not possible that there’s not even a voice of protest, is it?”

The big and burly looking Superintendent Vaughn picked up his teacup and took a sip, letting out a long puff of burning white vapor, “But then again, the Tories have been in power for over thirty years, and if the Whigs want to turn the tide across the board in all areas, they will indeed have to be bold and aggressive in their reforms. Where the Tory Party has an advantage, they’ll change it.”

Superintendent Vaughan returned, “Because from what I’ve observed, Sir Graham did this, and it’s possible that it came from a private authorization from the Prime Minister, Earl Grey.”

The two superintendents chatted here, yet Arthur said not a word.

Anyway, being idle, and Director Rowan’s voice was not much better when he read from the script, Superintendent Vaughan did not mind chatting with Arthur for a few more words.

“I’ve heard that the Secretary of State for the Navy, Sir James Graham, seems to be working on some kind of meritocracy at the Admiralty, saying that he’s ready to break down party lines and appoint departmental civilians according to their abilities.”

Superintendent Matherlin finely so a taste, suddenly sniffed out a bit of flavor: “This …… Earl Grey should not …… be trying to buy the Tory MPs who have a wavering stance on parliamentary reform through the Admiralty’s civilian positions, right ?”

When Superintendent Mathurin, who had just been in lack of interest, heard this, he stared at him with wide eyes and asked, “Is he crazy? The Whig Party has been suppressed for so many years, and it’s not easy for them to return to power, but if Graham does this, how can those Whig members who are waiting for their share of the fat agree?”

Superintendent Vaughn covered his mouth and snickered, “I heard from my sister-in-law that the Whig Party held a collective meeting at the Reform Club last night, and at the meeting those anti-reformists were literally on fire against Sir Graham. Said he was planning to give away the hard-won victory of the Whigs, and shaded Graham, saying he was an undercover agent sent by the Tories. But most colossal of all were the protests from the Treasury.”

“That’s not necessarily true.”

“It is! Is it necessary to be in such a hurry?”

“How so?”

“Who says they didn’t protest?”

“I didn’t say that!” Superintendent Vaughan snickered, “Marceline, how dare you speculate so readily on the Lord Prime Minister’s arcane intentions?”

“Hiss ……”

Arthur sipped his tea, “I’m not afraid of the Treasury’s protests, I’m afraid of them working on the annual budget. Sir Graham came this way, I’m afraid that the Admiralty’s stipend grants will be taken hard by the Treasury next year.”

Superintendent Matherlin asked, “Admiralty reform, and the Ministry of Finance has a penny to spare?”

Superintendent Vaughan shrugged his shoulders and said, “Of course they don’t agree, but Sir Graham is the one sitting in the Admiralty’s first chair now, and if he says he’s going to do it then he’s going to do it. He’s already officially appointed two Admiralty secretaries with Tory backgrounds the other day.”

Vaughan clapped his hands together and reminded, “Have you forgotten? Civilian appointment matters were previously handled by the Treasury Personnel Secretary, and now that Sir Graham is directly bypassing them and appointing his own secretaries, they’re certainly not going to be able to do it without protest.”

Matherlin sucked in a breath of cool air as he pondered, “When you say this, I suddenly realized …… that the recent reforms seem to be a bit much out of the ordinary. Even if the creation of local health boards in various places was forced upon us, but otherwise, was there a need to be so hasty?”

Although they appeared to be talking about the reform of the Admiralty on the surface, in reality the point was all about changes within Scotland Yard.

The Admiralty’s appointment of civilian reforms, the Army in disarmament and downsizing, seemingly the two are unrelated, but in reality it is a whole set of combination of punches against the Tories.

And Scotland Yard as Sir Peel single-handedly set up, the backbone of the police officers all from the Tory base camp army veterans of the department, naturally, can not escape the Whig’s fatal blow.

Only, due to Scotland Yard’s large scale and many functions, and the current security of the London metropolitan area really also need senior police officers to manage, so the Whig Party can only take advantage of the reform of Scotland Yard to carry out a slow blood change.

Even in the process of replacing the blood, there are only a few officers for them to select.

First of all, the newly promoted senior police officers should have a bright enough report card and social reputation so that the name of reforming the maladministration can be justified.

Secondly, the person’s composition must not be questionable. More accurately, the person cannot be of Army origin, that is to say, he cannot be a Tory military bigwig such as the Duke of Wellington.

For this item alone, nearly 90% of Scotland Yard’s senior police officers had already been screened out.

Lastly, it was also preferable that the person could be considered one of the Whigs’ own. Although Scotland Yard’s police officers were asked not to show their personal political leanings and to strictly adhere to political neutrality. However, this does not prevent him from having a relatively Whig educational background.

And in today’s early year working meeting of the Greater London Police Department, where Scotland Yard’s senior police officers were gathered, looking around in such a big circle and picking around so much, it seemed that there was only one person who met this condition.

“Superintendent Hastings.”

“Present.”

Arthur stood up and looked at Director Rowan.

Rowan put down the three-page thick document in his hand, rubbed his head, and let out a long breath, “Although I know that the task you are carrying on your shoulders right now is already very heavy, but whether it’s your personal character, work ability, or academic knowledge, all of them decide that you are the best person to lead the preparations for the formation of the London School of Policing, will you be willing to shoulder this responsibility? ”

Arthur did not take Director Rowan’s boasting seriously.

After all, it had only been a few weeks since he had gone to Liverpool, and Rowan had nearly taken his Police Intelligence Bureau by storm in London. However, no matter what, Rowan was ultimately the top leader of Scotland Yard, and his face had to be taken care of more or less.

Arthur smiled and said back, “Although I do not seek my own position, but also still to benefit the country as its own responsibility, but if the public’s expectations, the only way to best benefit the country and the citizens of London is to establish a police school, then I can only take up the responsibility to completely give up their own selfishness, to help Scotland Yard to establish a good system of education for reserve police officers. ”

Just as Arthur did not care for spectacle, so Rowan was equally uncomfortable with spectacle.

But there was no way, there was always a process that had to be followed, so he could only pinch his nose, show the usual dignified, decent smile of police officers, and encourage, “I think all the police officers here are the same as me, and we all agree that it would be best for you to establish the school. Arthur, do a good job, we’re sure you’ll be able to do a great job there.”

Arthur raised his hand and saluted, “Yes, sir!”

As soon as Arthur’s words left his mouth, Rowan changed his tone and said, “However, considering that the burden on your shoulders is really too heavy. Therefore, we will also appropriately relieve you of some of it. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has already shined a light on us earlier, and the passage of the Municipal Police Bill is almost a foregone conclusion this time around.

Therefore, after the bill is passed, Scotland Yard will also undergo a new round of reorganization. Your future focus will be mainly on the establishment of the Police Intelligence Bureau and the School of Policing, while the Criminal Investigation Department will be split into separate functional divisions, such as the Criminal Records Center, the Crime Apprehension Division, the Toxicology Research Center, and the Major Cases Investigation Division, in accordance with the bill, and will be directly supervised by the Deputy Commissioner, Sir Richard Mayne.

Of course, there will certainly be many inconveniences during the transfer of power. Therefore, during the transition phase, you will still have to serve as a criminal investigation consultant for a period of time to help all the newly-installed officers familiarize themselves with the operations related to crime investigation, there should be no problem in this regard, right?”

Regarding the upcoming reorganization, Arthur had already done a detailed understanding from Viscount Melbourne beforehand.

And divesting the Criminal Investigation Department from his own hands was also a suggestion that Arthur had taken the initiative to make.

Of course, Arthur did this not because he was so impartial, but because he felt that he couldn’t take anything good onto himself.

The Parliament was very sensitive to the situation where government departments were monopolizing power, and even more sensitive to the concentration of power in the hands of a certain person.

It would not be a good thing if the MPs found out that half the functions of Scotland Yard were in the hands of Mr. Hastings.

And, in all conscience, the Criminal Investigation Department is not exactly a good job.

They’re in the limelight when there’s a big case in London, but they’re in the limelight only if they can solve the case. If they can’t solve the case, they’ll just get spit on.

It’s a place where risk and reward go hand in hand.

Moreover, regarding the specifics of the reorganization of Scotland Yard, there are many places where Rowan did not speak out in the meeting.

Just because Arthur was no longer directly in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department didn’t mean he really didn’t care about serious crimes in London.

The London Police Intelligence Service, which he is responsible for, will also undergo a round of reorganization after the bill is released.

After this round of reorganization, the Intelligence Bureau will become more independent compared to Scotland Yard.

Even the Intelligence Bureau will be like the split Criminal Investigation Department, with specialized arrest teams, criminal records centers, and file management centers. And, of course, the Illegal Publications Review Center.

But the only difference between these departments of the Intelligence Bureau and their Scotland Yard brethren is that they will be branded under different names.

They are the First, Second and Third Branches of the London Police Intelligence Service, and so on.

As to why a numerical code was used, rather than a specific function, to refer to the new divisions.

Arthur’s official answer was – I have a bad memory, numerical coding, simple, good to remember.

Of course, the detailed information here, since it involved national security, it was not convenient for Superintendent Hastings to reveal too much.

Anyone who wants to know more about it can go to the Fifth Division of the reorganized Police Intelligence Bureau for direct consultation.

However, although the reorganized Police Intelligence Bureau looked good, there were still various restrictions when they acted compared to an organization like Scotland Yard that was out in the open.

In most cases other than emergencies, there was no way for them to apply for an arrest warrant like their sister departments and just go straight to the door to arrest someone.

Moreover, Arthur felt that even if Viscount Melbourne gave them the power to directly arrest people, he would most likely not take the initiative to exercise it.

After all, the forces in this area of justice were really too complicated, and if the judges asked what kind of organization the Police Intelligence Bureau really was at that time, then he really wouldn’t be able to answer.

Director Luo Wan looked at Arthur in the superintendents of a round of applause to re-seat, can only use the criminal investigation department at least is back to his control to comfort himself.

And facing the expectant eyes of his subordinates, Rowan also understood what was on their minds.

It’s just that they want to go to the Criminal Investigation Department to platinum, right?

After all, in the past year, Arthur had been in this position for a long time.

But exactly how to arrange the follow-up, Rowan hadn’t thought clearly yet.

Just as the Whigs had handpicked Arthur at Scotland Yard, he’d have to find a few obedient ones to put in that department where Arthur had once had only his hands in the air.

Rowan opened his mouth and poured cold water on his men.

“From now on, we should understand that the main goal we want to achieve is crime prevention. The police should work towards this great goal, which will make us more effective in protecting the safety of persons and property, maintaining the stability of the social order, as well as realizing all the other goals of the police. Our task is not just to detect and punish a criminal after he has successfully completed a criminal act. That would actually be a failure for policing instead.”

The superintendents responded in unison, “Understood, sir.”

“Good.” Rowan stood up and clipped the documents, “Today then, meeting adjourned.”

He had just walked to the door when he suddenly stopped again, twisting his head and snapping at his subordinates, “I forgot to mention that cholera control remains the top priority for this year. If he can’t even do a good job of area control, I don’t think such a person should be given anything further to look forward to.”

With those words, Rowan pushed out the door leading the Deputy Director, Sir Mayne.

The officers looked at each other in disbelief, and after a long time, they only saw a few superintendents in charge of the eastern district control suddenly waking up as if in a dream, they hurriedly followed them out, shouting as they walked, “Director, we don’t think this is fair.”

(End of chapter)