The Shadow of Great Britain

Despite the birth of the Hastings College, it was not endowed with many academic ideals. At least in official documents between White Hall and the board of the college, its position has always been: a professional training institution affiliated with the University of London, aimed at compensating for the structural gap in the country’s police talent training.

Or, we could say more bluntly: it serves Scotland Yard.

The first batch of students at the college were far from glamorous, most of them coming from recommendation lists from various divisions of Scotland Yard.

The reasons for recommendation were varied, such as demonstrating extraordinary judgment in a street incident, showing rare organization in paperwork, and some were sent here by their higher-ups for the vague reason of being ”wasted on night patrol forever.”

These young officers mostly came from humble backgrounds, held no interest in classical languages, and stayed far away from metaphysics.

Fortunately, the goal of Hastings College’s teaching is not to turn them into gentlemen, but to turn them into experienced officers.

No long Latin citations, no lengthy theological history reviews, instead: regulations texts, case reconstruction, simulated inquiries, and on-site exercises.

The law course taught ”how to act without overstepping authority,” the history course taught ”why precedents fail,” and even writing training was explicitly limited to one use, which is ”how to write a report that withstands investigation and inquiry.”

These courses don’t strive for elegance but are extremely effective.

Within a few short years, these students from Hastings College grew to become key forces in the police system, with the most successful among them becoming heads of local police stations, and the less successful at least becoming Chief of Police at Scotland Yard.

For this reason, undergoing training at Hastings College was no longer considered a tough task by officers at Scotland Yard.

On the contrary, every one of them is eager to squeeze in.

Nowadays, Hastings College does not only recruit officers from Scotland Yard, but quite a few students from night schools at the University of London from less affluent backgrounds also submit applications, hoping for a future here.

Among this year’s students at Hastings College, one student stood out particularly brightly, even the professors who came to teach couldn’t help but be amazed; the last student to pass with full marks like him at the University of London was Sir Arthur Hastings himself, the founder of this college.

The classroom’s long tables were arranged in rows, and before the examination, the surfaces had already been repeatedly wiped by the students, making the wood grain particularly clear. Ink bottles were neatly placed at the top right corner, with quill pens laid horizontally, and no one dipped ink in advance.

The windows were slightly open, the early summer air mixed with the street’s smell wafted in, yet no one dared to be distracted by it.

They had all been sitting there for at least a quarter of an hour.

No one spoke.

Not because they didn’t want to, but because even while studying at school, these students had to strictly adhere to police discipline.

They were all well aware that this final evaluation of the police trainee class would determine whether their academic transcripts would be labeled ”promising” or marked ”hardly usable.”

Behind the long table at the front of the classroom, the examiners had likewise taken their seats.

Today’s examiners were not the scholarly professors, but a set of high-ranking Scotland Yard officers, or in other words, the students’ future direct superiors.

The insignia on the examiners’ epaulettes varied in size, but the folders placed in front of them were identical. However, no one flipped through the papers, nor did anyone bow down to record; they just sat there, as if the answers had long been etched into their minds, and what they were doing now was merely confirming whether these juniors had genuinely learned seriously.

”What is the standard size of advertising boards allowed to be displayed on public streets?”

”Width of 20 inches, height of 32 inches.”

”You see a carriage crossing a main road, covered in advertisements for a theater’s repertoire. Someone inside is distributing leaflets to the public, causing severe traffic congestion. What action will you take?”

”Approach to inquire if permission has been granted by the Police Chief. If no permission is granted, record the names and addresses of all personnel working in the carriage, as well as their employer’s name and address, and promptly report to carry out the summons procedure.”

”If you see someone selling or even displaying obscene printed materials on the street, what would you do?”

”Detain the individual.”

”Is demonstrating boxing skills illegal?”

”No.”

”But if both parties continue fighting and cause serious injury, who should determine whether it is a professional boxing match?”

”Determined by the jury.”

”What is the best way to prevent a professional boxing match if there is prior intelligence obtained?”

”Control the participants in advance and take them to the Magistrate, who should force them to pay a bond to ensure peace before the next circuit court or quarter sessions. If the participants refuse to pay the bond, then imprison them.”

”What is a riot?”

”A riot is a gathering of three or more people, intending to assist each other in defying obstructers, using violent disturbance to collectively execute a private action that causes public alarm, resulting in savage unrest that severely disrupts social peace.”

”If more than twelve people gather in a riotous assembly, how should they be charged one hour after the Riot Act is read?”