Burglary and Housebreaking
| Author | Frank Bunn |
| Published date | 01 April 1933 |
| Date | 01 April 1933 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X3300600208 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Burglary and Housebreaking
HOW TO ACT AND REPORT
By FRANK BUNN
Chief
Constable, Gravesend
Asraw recruits, no doubt each and
everyone
of us, who
joined the Police Service on the bottom rung of the ladder,
tried to imagine how we would act on discovering, or being
called upon to deal with a case of burglary, housebreaking or
other serious crime, and wondered what kind of reception
our
very first report would get.
Did
we not try to imagine ourselves catching a criminal
red-handed, and what steps we would take to capture and
render him hors
-de-combat
should he resist arrest?
How many of us can remember doing, or causing some-
thing wrong to be done, when that first opportunity to ' shine'
came along, as it always does, so unexpectedly? Did we try
to do too much ourselves or not enough, or did we, when first
on the scene of the crime, do something calculated to hinder
or prevent more experienced officers making a successful
investigation? Many of us did, and were perhaps forgiven,
while others suffered in more ways than one, and from that
very early lesson realized the necessity for quick thought,
quick action,
or'
looking before leaping,' as the case demanded.
The
constable first on the scene of a crime can do much
to make or mar the success of an investigation. A young
constable cannot afford to wait for his own experience, he
must learn from the experience and mistakes of others. He
must not expect to go through his career without making
mistakes,for is
it
not truly said, ' He who never made a mistake,
never made anything.'
r86
To continue reading
Request your trial