Book Review: The Best Police in the World: An Oral History of English Policing
| Published date | 01 April 1996 |
| Date | 01 April 1996 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X9606900224 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
THE BEST POLICE IN THE WORLD: AN ORAL HISTORY OF
ENGLISH POLICING, by
Barbara
Weinberger. Scolar Press.
Hardback £39.50.
The best in the world, and why not? It expresses a view still shared by
many.
The book is based upon interviews with police officers who served
between 1930and 1960 - said to be the"Golden Age" of policing when the
bobby on the beat reigned supreme.
The introduction contrasts the undoubtedly high reputation of the
police at the time with their actual conduct: sometimes violent, often petty,
corrupt behaviour that would be unacceptable today.
Anybody who has served will find the book interesting, in that it deals
with motivation and attitudes of recruits and educational standards. It was
evident to many that, during certain periods, educational standards were
reduced for various reasons; what may not be known - as the book claims
- is that it happened as early as 1950 in the Metropolitan Police. The book
provides an important reassessment
of
that period and is highly
recommended. Since it contains achapter on policemen and wives, it
should appeal to the whole family. Finally, for those who like old
photographs, there are some good shots of the old Birmingham force.
REVISION WORKBOOKS, from HLT Publications. £9.95 each.
Commercial Law, Company Law, Conflict
of
Laws, Constitutional Law,
Criminal Law. English Legal System, European Union Law, Evidence,
Family Law, Jurisprudence, Land Law, Law
of
International Trade.
Public International Law, Revenue Law, Succession, Tort, Equity and
Trusts. Contract Law.
Holborn Law Tutors have produced a new range of revision workbooks
designed for the undergraduate and covering all the main topics found in
university and college examinations. These 1995 editions contain final
chapters incorporating the University of London LLB 1994 (external
paper), with a suggested solution for each question.
There exists no better system of study then becoming familiar with past
papers and, to that end, these books are based on examination papers set
by the University of London over the last 12 years.
If
you are studying part-time for a law degree - which more police
officers do these days - you need this series to concentrate the study on
relevant material since time will, of course, be of the essence to you.
Each chapter consists of an introduction, key points, recent cases, and
questions. The Criminal Law book on page 42 states, (based onexperience),
"students can almost guarantee that there will be at least one question on
assaults". This kind of advice is vital if the part-time student is to useevery
minute to his or her advantage. Serving police officers would also benefit
from the relevant titles as aids to any study, eg, Criminal Law and
Evidence. All the workbooks are excellent revision aids.
186 ThePolice
Journal
April 1996
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