Police Education
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X3901200213 |
| Date | 01 April 1939 |
| Author | George Scott |
| Published date | 01 April 1939 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Police Education
By
SUPERINTENDENT
GEORGE
SCOTT
Wigtownshire
Police
WHIL E the appeal through might is at present rampant in
the world's affairs, within
our
country it is being less and
less resorted to with the passage of the years.
At one time there was a definite gap between the police
officerand citizen, much the same as
that
whichexisted between
the school teacher and the pupil. But of recent years both the
police officer and the teacher have come to realise
that
the
greatest and best discipline is self-discipline, and not
that
which
is impressed from without.
The
police officer in the exercise
of his duties,
just
as the teacher in the exercise of his, is now
beginning to place greater emphasis on making crime and
delinquency impossible rather
than
perfecting
the
machinery
for their detection. Slowly
the"
belt"
is going
out
of fashion
in teaching circles. And we see evidence as
the
years go by
that
the
baton is following suit.
Few would disagree with
the
ideal of fostering a large
measure of self-discipline in our communities;
but
the road to
the goal is one which is fraught with many hazards and diffi-
culties. And yet if the Police Service is to reach the heights
towards which it is patently moving, an effort
must
be made to
open the way to this very desirable objective.
How
is this to be
done?
There
seem to me to be two necessary requirements.
First of all, all efforts to raise the prestige of
the
Service should
be encouraged, so
that
the best type of manhood,
both
physically and mentally, will be attracted. Self-discipline can
only be fostered in the community
under
the supervision of
men who have themselves in hand, and who, within them-
selves, have a more potent corrective for right living
than
the
" rod of affliction."
In
the second place there is the prime necessity of an
246
To continue reading
Request your trial