PREFACE.

In fulfilment of his wishes, this new edition is now issued.

The text has been revised and to a great extent re-written by Mr. G. L. Craik and the Honourable F. T. Bigham, Chief Constables of the Metropolitan Police, assisted by Superintendents Moore and Olive. They have devoted much time and thought to their self-imposed task, a task which, in my opinion, they have performed most satisfactorily.

E. R HENRY, The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.

NEW SCOTLAND YARD, S.W.
March, 1912.

INTRODUCTION.

In the first place, it is the only complete Criminal Code which has been published in any portable form; in the second, it is so simple in its language that it speaks intelligibly to all readers; and in the third, it deals with all offences which are punishable by law from card-sharping to murder; and whether a delinquent be liable to the supreme penalty of death, or to the mere infliction of fine, his offence is to be found in its alphabetical place. To a short and clear general statement of the law which is applicable to the oath in print, are added words of excellent advice to enable police officers in cases of difficulty to perform their duties with efficiency and vigilance, and throughout the whole of the little work the obligations of discipline, of civility, and above all of humanity, are enforced.

We of the legal profession who have, or who have had, our practice in the Criminal Courts are under a large debt to the successive Editors of Archbold, and to the steadfast Editor of Stone, but their volumes are such that no pocket is large enough to hold them, and few heads, even the swollen ones, are large enough to retain the varied and useful information which has been so laboriously collected by these men of learning. This little book can be fitted into any ordinary pocket as easily as its contents can be fitted into any fairly intelligent head, and the quickness with which it gives a direct answer to a direct question is amongst its attractions and its merits.

Complete, in the sense of being entirely exhaustive, the Manual cannot and does not pretend to be, but that it fulfils its main purpose is undeniable; and that the late Sir Howard Vincent was justified in giving form and substance to an excellent idea is, perhaps, best proved by the fact that it is for the fifteenth edition of his work that this preface has been requisitioned.

Turning from the book itself to the Force for whose assistance it was principally intended, may I offer my congratulations to the members of that Force upon the great advance they have made in the esteem of all sections of the public since I was called to the Bar close on forty years ago. In those days, it was a matter of everyday occurrence for defending Counsel to attack the credit of the police witnesses in any case to which there was no defence. To-day, this practice has become almost obsolete, and, I rather think, because now to wantonly attack a police officer would be to recommend him to the protection of a jury — that omnipotent body which no discreet defender will run the risk of offending. In those days, the street public rather tolerated the policeman as an institution than relied on him as an individual, whereas now it is to him that they turn, and, as it would seem, naturally turn, for advice in difficulty, for assistance in danger, and, of course, for "the time," and for "the nearest way." In those days, few prisoners, however innocent, would have been so venturesome as to have confided in the police constable who arrested them, by telling him the truth, and by sending him in search of witnesses to support their statements — a confidence which now, to my own knowledge, is very frequently given, and a search which now, greatly to the advantage of the innocent accused, is both frequently and fruitfully made.

In my belief, it is mainly owing to a great change in the police themselves that these great changes in the public attitude towards the Force have been brought about, and as they are changes which have converted the suspicion and disaffection which are apt to attach to an official into respect and friendship for a valuable public servant, I have availed myself of this opportunity of recording them.

Courageous — and this in the highest degree — the police have always been, and the manner in which they have faced and sometimes courted death at the call of duty has often been the subject of praise, and if on occasion their detective skill has come under criticism, this is because their critics have not made the necessary allowances for the opposition which is offered by our English procedure to such successful detective results as are obtained on the Continent and elsewhere. If to the late Lord Brampton's admirable address to the police, which is printed in this volume, I might venture to make an addition, it would be, "When you take a man into your custody, take him into your care, and befriend him to the utmost your duty will allow. Whether he is innocent, or guilty, he is entitled to your protection; and innocent he must be assumed to be until his guilt has been declared by a competent tribunal."

CHARLES W. MATHEWS, Director of Public Prosecutions.

February, 1912.