Letters to the Editor
| Date | 01 September 1961 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X6103400510 |
| Published date | 01 September 1961 |
| Subject Matter | Letters to the Editor |
Let'ters
to
the
IMItor
ARIPOSTE
Sir,
As I said in my previous letter, I am reluctant to enter into
controversy with Mr. Hails, but his comments in the POLICE
JOURNAL
for July-August, 1961,cannot be allowed to pass uncorrected.
It
is typical of him that, instead of dealing with the points at
issue in my letter, he falls back on a provocative aspersion on
Bootle.
For
his information, my remarks were general, and I did
not have Bootle in mind, the fact being that not one but several
members of the legal staff of the Bootle Corporation are competent
advocates, and they frequently conduct cases, on my behalf, in the
Courts. What they do not do is to spend hours of time in Court
on cases involving no legal difficulties, with which my staff (not me
personally, as he says) are quite competent to deal, merely to sustain
Mr. Hails's hobbyhorse of a " closed
shop".
When Mr. Hails quotes named forces, and implies that all their
cases are handled by solicitors, one knows just how superficial have
been his researches. The truth is that, probably without exception,
all forces have at their disposal such legal aid as they require.
If
Mr. Hails has a headache I doubt whether he calls a doctor to pres-
cribe an aspirin, nor will he, I imagine, invoke the aid of a steam-
hammer to crack a walnut. Likewise neither does every case require
the services of a solicitor.
It
is all a matter of common-sense-a
quality not monopolised by solicitors, justices' clerks, or policemen!
It
may be that eventually there will be sufficient solicitors, both
interested, and trained, in advocacy to take over the work,
but
until that stage is reached it is quite unfruitful, not to say unfair, to
denigrate the efforts of those doing the job, or to imply that Local
Authorities are reluctant to foot the bill. When the supply is there
the demand will no doubt follow, and it is from that angle that I
suggest the problem can most fruitfully be approached.
Yours faithfully,
H. E. LEGG,
Chief Constable
of
Bootie.
PROSECUTING OFFICER
This correspondence must now cease; we are grateful to all who
have taken part in it, and have discussed a subject
of
major Service
interest. To wind it up, we have asked Mr. T. C. Williams, Chief
Constable
of
Huntingdonshire and the Isle
of
Ely, to make a final
contribution to the theme. Barrister as well as police officer, and
372 September-october
To continue reading
Request your trial