Rensselaer Journal, Volume 12, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1903 — THE POLICE OF LONDON. [ARTICLE]

THE POLICE OF LONDON.

They Keep Great Metropolis Comparatively Free From Crime. The annual report of the chief of the metropolitan police of London sent to the home secretary is interesting reading. London has an area (exclusive of the city proper) of 688 square miles, being a radius of fifteen miles from Charing Cross. The London corporation and its police have control over the .small area which includes the district of St. Paul’s and the Bank of England. But for the large area outside London has a police force of 16,000 men, 60 per cent of whom are employed on night duty. The number of persons apprehended in the year 1901 was over 119,000, or 1,200 more than in 1900.

The police cost London $6,980 ; 000 for the. year 1901, which is not grudged when it is remembered that felonies relating to property were over 17,000 in 1901, or 1,000 more than in the previous year. And yet, for all this mass of crime, ‘London, <or that part of it Which the visitor sees, is as reputable and as crimeless and as safe as any rural village. The police find most of their work in the overcrowded districts, where poverty and public 'houses keep each other company.