UNIT 1. HISTORY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE BRITISH POLICE

Text: The Metropolitan police. Grammar: Tenses (revision)

I. Read the text. The Metropolitan police

London of the early 1700s was a city of frequent riots, a place where thieves and highwaymen moved freely. Residents were in fear.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, a reform had begun. Among the earliest reformers was Henry Fielding, a famous English writer. Appointed to the post of chief magistrate of Bow Street, the principal magistrate of London, he instituted an innovation. In 1750 Fielding organized six citizens into a small band of 'thief-takers', who were successful at breaking up some gangs. Henry Fielding's successor constituted the new system. The small band of paid thief-takers involved the earliest salaried police force in England. But it took nearly another three-quarters of a century before the idea of a formal, paid police force was accepted.

By 1828, the city of London had approximately 450 police officers. London also had 4,500 watchmen. The Metropolitan Police Act, enacted in 1829, created the Metropolitan Police, whose officers have ever since been known as 'bobbies' named after Sir Robert Peel (Home Secretary and later Prime Minister who steered his bill through Parliament^ The first bobbies patrolled a seven-mile radius from the center of London. At that time the police were armed only with a short wooden baton, a tradition that continues today.

The Metropolitan Police proved successful, and by 1856 professional police forces had been established in all the counties of England. Unlike the national police forces of some European countries, the system remained decentralized and the smaller forces were under control.

Active vocabulary

Riot, thief, resident, fear, to appoint, magistrate, band, watchman, Metropolitan Police, Home Secretary, to arm, baton, county.

II. Answer the questions.

1. Why were Londoners in fear in the early 1700s?

2. Who was the first principal magistrate of London?

3. When was the first band of' thief-takers' organized?

4. Who introduced salaried police force in England?

1. How many police officers and watchmen were there in London by 1828?

2. When was the Metropolitan Police created?

3. What were the duties of the first policemen?

4. What were the police armed with at that time?

5. When were professional police forces established in all the counties of England?

10. What was the difference between the police in England and police forces in other European countries?

III. Are these statements true or false? Correct the false sentences.

1. Londoners were not afraid to move freely in the 1700s because there were professional police forces.

2. H. Fielding was both a famous English writer and an innovator in a police system.

3. The Metropolitan Police was created in the 1700s.

4. The first policemen in England were armed only with a baton.

5. National police forces in England and other European countries are alike.

IV. Match a line in a with a line in b.

1) to appoint to the post	1) знищити банду
2) to institute an innovation	2) бути озброєним жезлом
3) to be armed with a baton	3) назначати на посаду
4) to break up a gang	4) виплачувати платню
5) to pay a salary	5) запровадити нововведення