The Shadow of Great Britain

713: Chapter 343: Scotland Yard Co-building University_2 713: Chapter 343: Scotland Yard Co-building University_2 So, the matter was smoothly approved without much resistance.

With the help of the University of London, Scotland Yard was able to establish a framework for a police academy in a short time, and the University of London also secured guaranteed training income from the government departments, making it truly a win-win transaction.

The delighted Principal Horner even made many grandiose statements during an interview with reporters.

He stated that the University of London would take advantage of this cooperation with Scotland Yard to explore new disciplines in criminal crime and even boldly envisioned opening a dedicated police academy within the university.

The school’s educational purpose is not only to help train outstanding officers for Scotland Yard but also to possibly focus on producing specialists in forensic and toxicological fields in the future, deploying them across various departments of Scotland Yard to provide a more secure and safe social environment for the residents of London.

But when the reporters raised concerns that Britain had never before established a school specifically for training police, and asked if such a move indicated that the government was intending to tighten control over the British people,

Arthur, anticipating this line of questioning, had his responses prepared.

“I understand your concerns, but before that, please take a look at the achievements of the police department.

The case files from the various Magistrates’ Courts in London show that in a bit over two years since the establishment of Scotland Yard, the annual financial losses incurred by Londoners due to crimes like thefts and robberies have decreased from 760,000 British Pounds in 1828 to 330,000 British Pounds.

And along the docks of the Thames River, the frequency of theft has significantly reduced, and several once rampant criminal gangs in the London area have been decisively eliminated.

As an Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard, I can promise the citizens that with the establishment of the police academy, the crackdown on criminal activities will become even stronger and more efficient.

Moreover, the primary intent of establishing the police academy at Scotland Yard was to find a way to continuously improve service quality without massively increasing the number of officers.

Since the inception of Scotland Yard, we’ve repeatedly stated Britain will not become a police state like France.

Today, we have already proven this from a factual standpoint.

The social reputation of Greater London police is recognized not only by Londoners but also by the residents of other areas of England.

As far as I am currently aware, what the citizens should be concerned about is not that there are more and more police in Scotland Yard but rather that we might end up having fewer.

Since last year, we have been continually receiving invitations from private security associations in places like Birmingham, Manchester, and Bristol.

These propertied gentlemen, mistrusting the local security forces and fearing that their property might be robbed or stolen, have taken the initiative to fund and hope to hire experienced and capable officers from Scotland Yard to serve as security personnel in their areas.

All these matters I speak of are the whole truth, there’s not a shred of falsehood.

For example, many of you must have seen the brutal murder-robbery case in the Stow area reported in the newspapers.

Just yesterday, we received a plea for help from the private security association of the Stow foothills.

These gentlemen are willing to spend three times the standard salary of Scotland Yard officers to hire two skilled officers responsible for the security within a 3-mile radius centered around Stow.

The tasks mainly include: focusing on patrolling during the night, searching and overseeing suspicious individuals, supervising pubs, and inspecting rental homes where homeless people reside.

And when incidents occur, these two officers are also responsible for prosecuting the criminals they arrest, as well as gathering evidence, organizing testimony, and presenting the cases to the local Magistrates’ Court.

Honestly, this is almost exactly what we do at Scotland Yard, but those lucky devils only need to cover a three-mile area to earn three times the pay.

Speaking of which, gentlemen, do you know how much ground each officer at Scotland Yard covers each day?”

When Arthur posed this question, the reporters looked at each other, then one raised his hand to guess: “Six miles?”

Arthur joked: “Although you guessed wrong, I still appreciate your good wishes, sir.

On average, each officer at Scotland Yard has to patrol ten miles a day.

Moreover, this is after Scotland Yard increased its staffing.

When I first joined Scotland Yard over two years ago, I was covering fifteen miles a day, and the worst part is, the salaries for front-line workers hadn’t gone up yet.

So, instead of worrying about Britain becoming a police state, you might want to go talk to the gentlemen of the private security association in the Stow foothills; they’re progressing towards a police state much faster than London.

As for Scotland Yard, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.

According to my knowledge, organizations like the Stow Foothills Private Security Association number over three hundred in Britain, and if each association were to poach two people from Scotland Yard, London would very soon have no police left at all.”

Arthur made a joke, and immediately the reporters below burst into laughter.

Some reporters even joked with him: “Mr.

Hastings, how much would you charge to come work as private security for our newspaper?”