The Police Code

THE POLICE CODE AND GENERAL MANUAL OF THE CRIMINAL LAW BY SIR HOWARD VINCENT, K.C.M.G., C.B. FIFTEENTH EDITION. 1912 • Title pages, Advertising, Preface and Introduction • An Address to Police Constables on their Duties by The Late Right Hon. Lord Brampton • Police Code • Appendices • Index e-text notes: This book was originally used by London's Metropolitan Police Force, adopted by police forces throughout the United Kingdom, and subsequently adapted for the use of police forces in other Commonwealth nations. It is my belief that all European copyright in the original text has expired; however, the heirs of the late F. T. Bigham may still own copyright in the revisions he made for this edition. I have been unable to contact them, but would be grateful if they could let me know if there is any objection to continued free publication of this work. This volume did not originally have a table of contents, except at the start of the appendices. The main Police Code section is organized alphabetically; embedded links in the code correspond to the page numbers of the book, and are used as links from the Index and from many of the entries. For convenience I have added links to the first page for each letter at the beginning and end of this section. It should be obvious that this is NOT a reliable guide to current British law and police procedures; there have been many changes since this edition was originally published, not least in the degree of responsibility expected of constables. It's most useful as a snapshot view of law enforcement a century ago, which may be helpful to anyone reading or writing about this period, or as a starting point for finding the specifics of a later period. I've done my best to correct OCR errors etc., but undoubtedly some remain, and the original book was not entirely free of typos, inconsistent spelling and layout, etc. which I have only fixed in the worst cases. If in doubt you should try to refer back to the original volume; copies should be reasonably common, since it was for many years issued to most British policemen. Many thanks to Don Sample and Bridget Bradshaw for their help with proofreading etc. The original online version of this document is “pure” HTML; to avoid having to redo every one of thousands of internal links the PDF version is generated from a combination of Word files (for sections which contain few links) and HTML pages (the main “Police Code” section and the index). Unfortunately this means that the latter pages have poorer layout than I would prefer; I currently don’t have time to fix this, but hope to do so in a later revision. Some text that was originally in footnotes is instead in smaller type immediately following the section which refers to it.† † Like this‡ ‡ and like this Marcus L. Rowland January 2012 www.forgottenfutures.co.uk THE POLICE CODE. GENERAL VISCOUNT KITCHENER OF KHARTOUM AND THE VAAL. "There is a great civilising power in the Policeman." "This work should be in the hands of every member of the Force." SNOWDEN'S MAGISTRATES' ASSISTANT AND POLICE OFFICERS' GUIDE. ELEVENTH EDITION. BY T.O. HASTINGS LEES, M.A., Barrister-at-Law ; late Chief Constable of the Isle of Wight and of Northamptonshire ; D.I. of the Royal Irish Constabulary. AND J. RIDLEY SHIELD, Solicitor ; Clerk to the Justices of the Alresford and the Petersfield Divisions of Hampshire. PRICE, 10/6 ; FOR CASH, POST FREE, 8/11. The Standard, Indispensable Work- STONE'S JUSTICES' MANUAL. [PUBLISHED ANNUALLY.] FORTY-FOURTH EDITION, 1912. NOW READY. BY J. R. ROBERTS, Solicitor ; Clerk to the Justices and to the Visiting Committee of H.M. Prison, Newcastle-on-Tyne. PRICE, 25/-; FOR CASH, POST FREE, 20/7. BUTTERWORTH & CO., BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR, W.C. SHAW & SONS, FETTER LANE, E.C. THE POLICE CODE AND GENERAL MANUAL OF THE CRIMINAL LAW BY THE LATE COL. SIR HOWARD VINCENT, K.C.M.G., C.B. FIFTEENTH EDITION. REVISED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE OF THE METROPOLIS. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY SIR CHARLES MATHEWS, K.C.B. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS. LONDON: BUTTERWORTH & CO., BELL YARD, TEMPLE BAR. SHAW & SONS, 7 & 8, FETTER LANE, E.C. 1912. BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO, LD, LONDON AND TONBRIDGE. PREFACE. HE late Sir Howard Vincent, M.P., who throughout his life was so earnest and devoted a supporter of the Metropolitan Police Charities, bequeathed at his death This interest in the copyright of his Police Code to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis in the hope that fresh editions may published from time to time and the profits derived therefrom applied to the Metropolitan and City Police Orphanage. In fulfilment of his wishes, this new edition is now issued. The text has been revised and to a great extent re-written Mr. G. L. Craik and the Honourable F. T. Bigham, Chief Constables of the Metropolitan Police, assisted by Supertendents Moore and Olive. They have devoted much time and thought to their self- imposed task, a task which, in my opinion, they have performed most satisfactorily. E. R HENRY, The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. NEW SCOTLAND YARD, S.W. March, 1912. INTRODUCTION. HE popularity of this little book seems to be inexhaustible, and the grounds of its popularity are neither far to seek, nor difficult to understand. T In the first place, it is the only complete Criminal Code which has been published in any portable form; in the second, it is so simple in its language that it speaks intelligibly to all readers; and in the third, it deals with all offences which are punishable by law from card-sharping to murder; and whether a delinquent be liable to the supreme penalty of death, or to the mere infliction of fine, his offence is to be found in its alphabetical place. To a short and clear general statement of the law which is applicable to the oath in print, are added words of excellent advice to enable police officers in cases of difficulty to perform their duties with efficiency and vigilance, and throughout the whole of the little work the obligations of discipline, of civility, and above all of humanity, are enforced. We of the legal profession who have, or who have had, our practice in the Criminal Courts are under a large debt to the successive Editors of Archbold, and to the steadfast Editor of Stone, but their volumes are such that no pocket is large enough to hold them, and few heads, even the swollen ones, are large enough to retain the varied and useful information which has been so laboriously collected by these men of learning. This little book can be fitted into any ordinary pocket as easily as its contents can be fitted into any fairly intelligent head, and the quickness with which it gives a direct answer to a direct question is amongst its attractions and its merits. Complete, in the sense of being entirely exhaustive, the Manual cannot and does not pretend to be, but that it fulfils its main purpose is undeniable; and that the late Sir Howard Vincent was justified in giving form and substance to an excellent idea is, perhaps, best proved by the fact that it is for the fifteenth edition of his work that this preface has been requisitioned. Turning from the book itself to the Force for whose assistance it was principally intended, may I offer my congratulations to the members of that Force upon the great advance they have made in the esteem of all sections of the public since I was called to the Bar close on forty years ago. In those days, it was a matter of everyday occurrence for defending Counsel to attack the credit of the police witnesses in any case to which there was no defence. To-day, this practice has become almost obsolete, and, I rather think, because now to wantonly attack a police officer would be to recommend him to the protection of a jury — that omnipotent body which no discreet defender will run the risk of offending. In those days, the street public rather tolerated the policeman as an institution than relied on him as an individual, whereas now it is to him that they turn, and, as it would seem, naturally turn, for advice in difficulty, for assistance in danger, and, of course, for "the time," and for "the nearest way." In those days, few prisoners, however innocent, would have been so venturesome as to have confided in the police constable who arrested them, by telling him the truth, and by sending him in search of witnesses to support their statements — a confidence which now, to my own knowledge, is very frequently given, and a search which now, greatly to the advantage of the innocent accused, is both frequently and fruitfully made. In my belief, it is mainly owing to a great change in the police themselves that these great changes in the public attitude towards the Force have been brought about, and as they are changes which have converted the suspicion and disaffection which are apt to attach to an official into respect and friendship for a valuable public servant, I have availed myself of this opportunity of recording them. Courageous — and this in the highest degree — the police have always been, and the manner in which they have faced and sometimes courted death at the call of duty has often been the subject of praise, and if on occasion their detective skill has come under criticism, this is because their critics have not made the necessary allowances for the opposition which is offered by our English procedure to such successful detective results as are obtained on the Continent and elsewhere.

Load more