The St. Johnston Report
| Published date | 01 June 1971 |
| Date | 01 June 1971 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000486587100400208 |
| Author | M. B. Round |
AUST. &N.Z. JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGY (June, 1971): 4, 2
CURRENT COMMENT
The 8t. Johnston Report
117
AREPORT ON THE VICTORIA POLICE FORCE FOLLOWING AN
INSPECTIO,N BY COLONEL
SIR
ERIC ST'. JOHNST'ON, C.B.E., Q.P.M.,
H.M. CHIEF INSPE,CTOR O'F
CO'NSTABUL,ARY
FOR ENGLAND AND
WALES, 1967-70, GOVERNMENT PRINTER,
M,ELBOURNE,
$2.80.
"You invited me to come to Australia to
examine
the
administration
and
organisation
of
the
Police Force
in
Victoria
and
to
report
and
make
recommendations
as to
the
means
by
which
the
efficiency of
the
Police Force
can
be improved."
(Page
9.)
THE basis of
the
author's
report
is a
study
of
each
department
of
the
force's
headquarters,
all
seventeen
district
headquarters,
and
a
large
number
of police
stations
(not
stated);
such
study
taking
aperiod of five
months,
including
the
writing of
the
report.
Although
the
time
spent
was brief,
st.
Johnston
has
had
approximately
thirty
years' experience in
investigating
police districts
in
England
and
Wales. St.
Johnston
was
educated
at
Bromsgrove School, Worcestershire,
and
later
at
Corpus Christi, Cambridge,
where
he
obtained
a
Master
of Arts
degreee. After
the
war
he
was employed
in
the
Civil
Staff
(Public Service)
of New
Scotland
Yard.
In
1934 he was
appointed
as a
barrister
of
the
Middle Temple only one
year
before
entering
the
police force, soon
after
which
he was
promoted
to inspector of
the
Metropolitan Police. Between
the
years
1940
and
1967 he was
the
Chief Constable of Oxfordshire,
Durham
County
and
Lancashire,
respectively, finally
reaching
the
position of Chief
Constable for
England
and
Wales between 1967-1970.
In
addition
to
his
service to
the
police force,
st.
Johnston
was invited to visit
the
United
States
and
lectured
at
the
University of California (1953).
In
1955 he was
avisiting
lecturer
to
the
police force of
Israel
and
was
appointed
a
British
Council
lecturer
in
Australia
and
New Zealan·d
in
1966.
St.
Johnston
believes
the
community
may
justifiably
demand
a
courteous,
enthustastic,
trained
technician
of complete
integrity,
in
return
for
adequate
remuneration,
sensible laws to
administer,
the
support
of
the
courts, judicial procedures
which
do
not
hinder
the
course of justice,
and
support
from
the
press, radio, television
and
the
community. No doubt, if
this
formula
for
mutual
responsibility were satisfied,
then
both
the
com-
munity
and
police force would
have
approached
a
near
perfect
relationship.
If
St.
Johnston
has
attempted
to
satisfy
this
formula,
then
he
has
failed.
Whereas
the
strength
of
the
report
lies
in
the
thoroughness
with
which
the
present
rank,
structure
of
organization
and
administration
of police
headquarters
and
metropolitan
and
country
districts
and
specialized
branches
of
the
force
are
analysed,
the
weakness lies in
the
assumption
that
the
demand
of
the
community
for efficiency is satisfied
at
present,
or
will be, upon
the
fulfilment
of
the
community's
obligations to
the
police
force.
Although no
members
of
the
general
public were interviewed,
St.
John-
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