The Police Exhibition
| Date | 01 July 1946 |
| Published date | 01 July 1946 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X4601900314 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
The
Police
Exhibition
THE .recent Police Exhibition at Brighton deserved more notice
than
was accorded to it in
the
daily Press.
The'
Dailies'
appear to have
regarded it merely as a collection of ' exhibits,' interesting chiefly to
readers of crime fiction, an obtrusive portrayal of
that
seamy side of
life of which we are all aware
and
to which
the
good citizen prefers to
turn
ablind eye. Nothing could be farther from the
truth.
It
was far
more
than
an
exhibition-as,
in their wisdom, the Mayor and Cor-
poration'of Brighton recognised.
It
was a milestone in the growth and
social development of a great public Service. Here, for
the
first time,
the uninstructed Public could see, and seeing appreciate, the evolution
of the Police from a body of men paid to protect
them
by repressing
evildoers to a great social Service co-operating with
the
Public, in
league with the Public, furthering and expediting
the
progress of
civilisation.
At an earlier page of this issue a writer remarks :
"I
cannot help
thinking it is more
than
time
that
some of the absurd nonsense circula-
ted about the Police was exploded."
What
better way of instructing the
Public could there be
than
an Exhibition such as
this?
We would like
to see it held annually throughout the cities and larger towns of England.
To
house this panorama of Police progress permanently in one place
will be to neglect one-half of its educational value. No verbal propa-
ganda, however skilful, can be so effective as visual
teaching-witness
the meagre effect ofverbal homilies and admonitions on Road Accidents.
The
Public
must
teach themselves if the lesson is to be remembered
and bear fruit, and an ounce of visual instruction is worth a
ton
of words.
The
exhibits at
the
Brighton Pavilion were noteworthy in them-
selves ;
but
praise-and
high praise at
that-must
be accorded alike
to the organisers, to those who arranged
the
exhibits, and to the very
knowledgeable officers who acted as guides.
The
Committee (a strong
one, presided over by
CAPTAIN
W. J.
HUTCHINSON)
deserve the thanks
of the Police Service no less
than
of the discerning Public. And since
the bulk of the practical work fell on the broad shoulders of its able
Secretary,
Mr.
F.
T.
TARRY,
it is fitting that this brief note should end
with " hearty congratulations and best thanks ! " to him.
239
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