UNIT 2. THE ORGANISATION OF POLICE FORCES

The British Police

The British police officer is a well-known figure to anyone who has visited Britain or who has seen British films. Policemen are to be seen in towns and cities keeping law and order, either walking in pairs down the streets (" walking the beat") or driving specially marked police cars. Once known as 'panda cars' because of their distinctive markings, these are now often jokingly referred to as 'jam sandwiches' because of the pink fluorescent stripe running horizontally around the bodywork. In the past, policemen were often known as 'bobbies¹ after Sir Robert Peel, the founder of the police force. Nowadays, common nicknames include 'the cops', 'the fuzz¹, 'the pigs', and 'the'Old Bill' (particularly in London). Few people realise, however, that the police in Britain are organised very differently from many other countries.

Most countries, for example, have a national police force which is controlled by central Government. Britain has no national police force, although police policy is governed by the central Government's Home Office. Instead, there is a separate police force for each of 52 areas into which the country is divided. Each has a police authority —- a committee of local county councillors and magistrates.

The forces co-operate with each other, but it is unusuai for members of one force to operate in another's area unless they are asked to give assistance. This sometimes happens when there has been a very serious crime. A Chief Constable (the most senior police officer of a force) may sometimes ask for the assistance of London's police force, based at New Scotland Yard — known simply as 'the Yard'.

In most countries the police carry guns. In Britain, however, this is extremely unusual Policemen do not, as a rule, carry firearms in their day-to-day work, though certain specialist units

Just English. Английский для юристов

are trained to do so and can be called upon to help the regular police force in situations where firearms are involved, e.g. terrorist incidents, armed robberies etc. The only policemen who routinely carry weapons are those assigned to guard politicians and diplomats, or special officers who patrol airports.

In certain circumstances specially trained police officers can be armed, but only with the signed permission of a magistrate.

All members of the police must have gained a certain level of academic qualifications at school and undergone a period of intensive training. Like in the army, there are a number of ranks: after the Chief Constable comes the Assistant Chief Constable, Chief Superintendent, Chief Inspector, Inspector, Sergeant and Constable. Women make up about 10 per cent of the police force. The police are helped by a number of Special Constables —- members of the public who work for the police voluntarily for a few hours a week.

Each police force has its own Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Members of CIDs are detectives, and they do not wear uniforms. (The other uniformed people you see in British towns are traffic wardens. Their job is to make sure that drivers obey the parking regulations. They have no other powers — it is the police who are responsible for controlling offences like speeding, careless driving and drunken driving.)

The duties of the police are varied, ranging from assisting at accidents to safeguarding public order and dealing with lost property. One of their main functions is, of course, apprehending criminals and would-be criminals.

TASK L Answer the following questions:

L, Who was the founder of the British police?

2. What does ''walking the beat" mean?

3. Why are British police cars called 'jamsandwich' cars in colloquial speech?

4. Is there a single police force, organised by central government?

5. What is the major difference in police organisation between Britain and some other countries?

6. When do British police forces co-operate with each other?

7. What is the name of London's police headquarters?

8. Гп what situations can policemen carry arms?

9. What are the ranks of policemen?

 

10. What is the job of CID officers?

11. What are the duties of traffic wardens?

Chapter Ш. Law Enforcement

TASK 2. Read the text and fill in the gaps with the appropriate words and expressions from the previous text:

In Britain different areas have different________________________________. For

instance, the Metropolitan police operate in London, but there are different police forces in the counties outside London.

■ The top man in each police force is_____________________________________, He is

appointed by the local Watch Committee which is a______________________________________

of the local government The Watch Committee can dismiss him,
too, if the central government agrees. The Chief Constable
appoints all the____________________ below him in his force.

Things are slightly different in London. The top man is known as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and his appointment is arranged through the central government.

British police are normally not, In special cases,

when their work becomes dangerous, they can be given _________ however.

As is well known, the_________________________ of the British policeman

is blue, with a tall helmet. These days, though, you can see a different uniform in the streets. This is the uniform with the

yellow hatband worn by________________________. Their job is simply to control

traffic and.

The most famous name connected with the British police is

_____________. It is the headquarters of the London police force,

Besides dealing with local police matters, the London police also help all over England and Wales with difficult crimes. They do this at the request of the local police,

TASK 3. Render the following text into English using the information and vocabulary from the texts above:

В Великобритании существует 52 полицейских подразде­ления: 43 в Англии и Уэльсе, 8 в Шотландии и 1 в Северной Ирландии. Столичная полиция и Полиция лондонского Сити отвечают за охрану общественного порядка в Лондоне. Кроме того, специальное подразделение транспортной полиции пат­рулирует железнодорожную сеть» а также метро Лондона,

Полицейская служба финансируется центральным прави­тельством и местными властями Каждое полицейское подраз­деление имеет своих специальных констеблей-добровольцев, которые работают в полиции в свободное время и помогают кадровым офицерам полиции, причем их работа не оплачива­ется. Они являются своеобразным связующим звеном между полицией и населением.

Just English- Английский для юристов

Полицейские подразделения Англии и Уэльса подведомст­венны органам местной полрщии. Столичная полиция находится в подчинении у Министра внутренних дел. Подразделения в областях возглавляют главные констебли. Они несут ответ­ственность за свою работу перед центральными полицейскими органами, которые назначают начальника полиции и его по­мощника. Комиссар Столичной полиции и его непосредствен­ные подчиненные назначаются по рекомендации министра внутренних дел.

TASK 4, Complete the following text with the words and phrases from the box:

^ —_ _ __—, _ _ _ _. ^^

walkie-talkie, plain clothes, detective, uniform, policeman, police force, rank, join