The Police and the Law
| Published date | 01 July 1935 |
| Date | 01 July 1935 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X3500800303 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The Police and the Law
1910-1935
DURING
the twenty-five years since His Majesty King
George V came to the Throne, Parliament has
put
many new duties on the shoulders of the police.
There
is
no end to the development of those laws, the enforcement
of which has in the main to be undertaken by the police;
and during the period of His Majesty's reign a very large
number of new statutes, regulations, and by-laws have
appeared and have increased enormously the list of minor
offences which are triable summarily.
Many people complain, not without justification, of
the multiplication of such offences. But it would be unwise
to expect that this tendency will receive any serious check.
In
every civilized community new circumstances arise and
new developments take place which, if not regulated and
controlled in some way by the State, would certainly result
in serious abuses. Restriction is often necessary in the
interests of liberty, decency and good order.
The
growth
of greyhound racing is a case in point.
Ten
years ago there
was no organized effort to amuse the public and to stimulate
their gambling instincts by making greyhounds
run
after
an electric hare. Once started this form of amusement
caught the public fancy; a large amount of capital was
invested in establishing " dog
tracks",
and before very long
betting facilities for
that
kind of racing became available
on a scale never dreamt of in horse-racing. As everyone
is aware, Parliament had to step in and set up powers and
machinery for the purpose of preventing the growth of dog
racing from becoming a menace.
The
result is control and,
incidentally, the creation of new offences.
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