Policing in the United Kingdom

Most countries have a national police force which is controlled by central Government. Britain has no national police force, instead there is a separate police force headed by Chief Constable for each of 52 areas into which the country is divided. The modern policeman needs a great variety of new professional skills to enable him to deal with new-style crime which affect life in Britain no less than in other countries. All members of the police must have gained a certain level of academic qualifications at school and undergone a period of intensive training.

Like the army, there are a number of ranks: after Chief Constable comes 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. Policemen are to be seen in towns and cities keeping law and order, either walking in the streets (“pounding the beat”) or driving in cars (known as “panda cars” because of their distinctive markings).

Each police force has its own Criminal Investigation Department¹ (CID). Members of CID 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. It is the police who are responsible for controlling offences like speeding, careless driving and drunken driving).

There are Regional Crime Squads in England and Wales with experienced detective officers. The object of the Squads is to provide trained flexible mobile groups of crime investigation.

In most countries, the police carry guns. The British police generally do not carry firearms, except in Northern Ireland. Only a few police are regularly armed – those who guard politicians and diplomats or who patrol airports. In certain circumstances specially trained police officers can be armed, but only with the signed permission of a magistrate.

The duties of the police are varied, ranging from assisting at accidents to safeguarding public order and dealing with lost property.

The Royal Commission on the Police listed eight main functions of the contemporary police force: to maintain law and order, to protect persons and their property, to prevent crime, to detect criminals, to decide whether to prosecute, to perform road traffic duties, to befriend the public.

About a quarter of the police strength of the country is in the Metropolitan Police² of London which is responsible for the area of 788 square miles (excluding the City of London).

The Home Secretary³ in England and Wales and the Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland⁴ are concerned with the organization of the police service.

The decision to commence criminal proceedings in England and Wales is, in most cases, made entirely by the police. In practice the police bring about 97% of all criminal cases to court.

Notes:

1. Criminal Investigation Department – департамент уголовного расследования

2. Metropolitan Police – столичная полиция

3. Home Secretary – министр внутренних дел

4. Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland – министр по делам Шотландии и Северной Ирландии

 

Ex. 1. How are the following ideas expressed in one word?

1. an official body of men whose duty is to protect people and property, to catch criminals;

2. a policeman whose special job is to find out information that will lead to criminals being caught;

3. the condition in which laws and rules are obeyed by most of the people and the government or the person(s) in charge can keep control;

4. a certain type of clothing which all members of a group wear, esp. in the army or the police;

5. an official who helps to see that certain laws are obeyed;

6. the offence of driving faster than the lawful limit;

7. to examine the reason for something, the character of someone;

8. to go at regular times round an area or building to see that there is no trouble, that no one is trying to get in or out unlawfully.

 

Ex. 2. Match English phrases and their Russian equivalents.

1. the police forces	a) носить форму
2. professional skills	b) период интенсивной подготовки
3. to keep law and order	c) профессиональные навыки
4. a certain level of academic qualification	d) соблюдать правила парковки
5. to wear uniforms	e) уполномоченный по поддержанию порядка на дороге
6. traffic wardens	f) полицейские силы
7. to obey the parking regulations	g) обнаруживать преступников
8. to be armed	h) поддерживать правопорядок
9. to guard politicians and diplomats	i) оказывать помощь при дорожно-транспортных происшествиях
10. to patrol the airport	j) быть вооруженным
11. to assist at accidents	k) выполнять обязанности дорожно-патрульной службы
12. to deal with lost property	l) охранять политических деятелей и дипломатов
13. to perform road traffic duties;	m) патрулировать аэропорт
14. to detect criminals	n) иметь дело с пропавшим имуществом

 

Ex. 2. Fill in the missing words in the sentences below. Choose from the following.

abolished	coroner	internment	martial law
alibi	damages	justice	warder
amnesty	injunction	legislation	warrant

1. The _____________ of political prisoners is quite common in some countries. Britain tried it unsuccessfully in Northern Ireland to combat the IRA.

2. The government is thinking of introducing ___________ making it compulsory for every citizen to carry an identity card.

3. A person who looks after prisoners is called a prison officer or a ____________.

4. Since there was something very suspicious about the man’s sudden death, the __________ was held at the Town Hall.

5. In Britain, capital punishment in the form of death by hanging was ____________ in 1969.

6. The court issued an _________ forbidding the newspaper from publishing any more photographs of the Princess of Wales at a private Health Club.

7. The police have issued a ____________ for her arrest.

8. Trial by jury is an important part of the British system of _____________.

9. The new governor issued a general ____________ to all the rebels.

10. After the unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government, the whole country was put under ___________ for a month.

11. His ____________ for the night of murder was that he had been at his girlfriend’s, watching TV.

12. He successfully sued the newspaper for libel and was awarded nearly $50,000 in __________.

 

Внеаудиторная работа

 

1. Complete the following text with the words and expressions from the box.

misconduct, opinion polls, justice, sympathy, mob violence, failures, complaints, terrorist offence

Most people have a positive attitude to the police, and _____ _____ have indicated that there is much public _____ with men and women who have to deal with _____ _____. There is a formal system through which _____ of police behaviour may be investigated, but in the late 1990s it was found that these procedures had not prevented some serious _____ in the system of administering _____. Some Irish people had been convicted of a _____ _____ on the basis of confessions which had been improperly extracted from them, and the truth was discovered only after they had spent several years in prison. There were other cases too in which there were grounds for suspecting that the police had persuaded people to confess to crimes which they had not committed. Some other inquiries revealed more cases of _____ by the police.

Ex. 1. Mark the statements which are true.

1.The founder of the police force is Theodore Roosevelt.

2.Britain has its national police force.

3.The police are helped by members of public working voluntarily.

4.The police are not responsible for controlling offences like speeding, careless driving.

5.All police forces are armed.

6.The Metropolitan Police of London are responsible for the whole area of Great Britain.

7.In practice the police bring about 97% of all criminal cases to court.

8.A few police are regularly armed – those who investigate serious crimes.

9.All members of the police have no any level of academic qualification.

Ex. 2.Complete the following sentences by adding the phrases given in part B.

Part A

1. Britain has no national police force …

2. Britain is divided into 52 areas each has …

3. The police are helped by a number of Special Constables …

4. Traffic wardens make sure …

5. The English police force has become well-known ...

6. Any regular reader of English detective stories is familiar with ...

7. All members of the police must ...

8. There are Regional Crimes Squads in England and Wales with ...

9. In certain circumstances specially trained police officers can be ...

10. The decision to commence criminal proceedings in England and Wales is ...

11. The duties of the police are ranging from ...

12. The main functions of the contemporary police force are ...

Part B

1. armed but only with the permission of a magistrate.

2. assisting at accidents to safeguarding public order.

3. experienced detective officers.

4. made entirely by the police.

5. throughout the world from the great mass of fiction about crime.

6. have gained a certain level of academic qualification.

7. the figure of the ordinary policeman sometimes called the “bobby”.

8. to maintain law and order, to prevent crimes, to detect criminals.

9. instead there is a separate police force headed by Chief Constable.

10. a police authority.

11. members of the public who work for the police voluntarily.

12. that drivers obey the parking regulations.

 

III. Case study.

a) Read the following newspaper headlines and decide what forms of terrorism each headlines describes. Choose one of the headlines and talk about it as if you were a witness.

President Killed at a Peace Conference		Thousands suffocate in attack on Tokyo’s underground
OUTBREAK OF KILLER VIRUS – WHO IS TO BLAME		EXPLOSION DESTROYES SHOPPING CENTRE
$1 Million Ransom for Businessman’s Son		180 Hostages In Airline Drama

 

b) Read the article then discuss in pairs 1) what the family should have done to prevent the robbery, 2) what effect this incident has had on their lives, 3) what measures they will take in future, 4) what are the functions of the police.

Mr Robinson whose home was burgled last week, was interviewed by our reporter “We were absolutely horrified to find that we had been burgled. They left us without nothing; some valuables weren’t even insured. Fortunately, my wife’s jewellery is in a safe and there was no money in the house but they absolutely ransacked the place. I know that I stupidly left a window open and yes, we should have asked our neighbours to keep an eye on the house while we were away. The children were very upset; they are staying with their grandparents until we sort everything out. We’ll be more vigilant from now on. We’ve to change all our locks and we are going to have a burglar alarm installed. It’s really shocked all our neighbours because this used to be a really safe area. We are going to organize a neighbourhood watch scheme. I think the worst thing is knowing that someone was in our house. It makes us feel really uncomfortable and uneasy. My wife doesn’t want to stay at home on her own any more. It has been a terrible invasion in our privacy.”

 

IV. Translate the following text into English.

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 (subway).

Полицейская служба финансируется центральным правительством и местными властями. Полицейские подразделения Англии и Уэльса подведомственны органам местной полиции. 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 (Commissar) Столичной полиции и его непосредственные подчиненные (direct subordinate) назначаются по рекомендации министра внутренних дел.

Ex. 1. Speak on the police force in Great Britain.

1. The organization of the police force in Britain: police officer; founder; to divide into 52 areas; police authority; to be seen in towns; national police force; to work voluntarily;

2. Duties and functions of the police force: to keep law and order; to cooperate; to give assistance at accidents; to deal with lost property; to safeguard public order; traffic wardens; to obey the parking regulations; speeding; careless driving.

3. Members of the police: a number of ranks; to carry firearms; to gain a certain level of academic qualifications; a period of intensive training.