The Universities and the Police
| Author | J. L. Thomas |
| Published date | 01 January 1958 |
| Date | 01 January 1958 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X5803100108 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THE
UNIVERSITIES
AND
THE
POLICE
45
by the only sensible and impartial method,
that
known to the public
as "trapping." No other method is so effective, trailing by patrol cars,
for example, quite fails to deal with the persistent speeder who is also
mirror conscious.
If the law on these two matters
can
be
put
into such shape as to
make real enforcement practical, much else
that
is awry will drop
into
position.
It
is certain
that
whether or
not
changes are made there is
stern work ahead for the police. Leave things as they are
and
the
work will consist of unravelling traffic tangles; alterations in law
and
enforcement policy will at least hold out a hope
that
the wheels will
keep turning.
The Universities and the Police
By
SUPERINTENDENT
J. L. THOMAS,
Bradford City Police.
DP to fairly recently the connection between the universities and
the police was a very slight one. In the main it
took
the form
of
assistance given by members
of
the staff of universities either by giving
lectures at police training establishments or by rendering valuable aid
in the field of forensic science.
However, during the past few years a close relationship has come
into being between the police
and
the extramural departments
of
certain universities, which have organised
and
conducted criminology
courses for police officers. The pioneer in this field was the University
of Leeds, which instituted such a course (comprising lectures, summer
schools and seminars) in 1953, whilst the extramural departments
of
several other universities have since followed suit. They include those
of
Sheffield, Liverpool, Durham, Nottingham, Glasgow
and
South
Wales and Monmouth.
These courses, it is worth noting, came into being as a direct result
of
asuggestion by the Police, and when the universities invited applica-
tions they were staggered by the magnitude
of
the response. Nearly
five hundred officers applied for enrolment for the Leeds University
course, and this is what the Deputy Director
of
the Extramural
Department
of
the Manchester University had to say about the res-
ponse in his area:
"For
workers in adult education, hardened by long
experience to expect
that
some
of
their finest offerings in the way
of
classes and courses may attract only a handful
of
students, the response
was both astonishing and embarrassing. Although we never managed
to obtain exact figures we estimated
that
at least 750 members
of
police
forces applied for the 50 places available."
E
To continue reading
Request your trial