"Charles Rowan, Director of the Metropolitan Police of Greater London, and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police of London, reads hereby Executive Order No. 1 of 1832 of the Home Office, "Consultative Proposals for the Reorganisation of the Organs of the Greater London Metropolitan Police and the Establishment of a National Police Commission......"

In the conference hall of Scotland Yard, Director Rowan recited at length the latest Home Office resolution.

As he read it, the senior officers in the audience were also whispering.

Superintendent Mathurin, who was sitting by the window, raised his elbow and pestled Arthur, who had taken off his coat and was wearing only a white shirt beside him: "Boy, is there any news?" ”

Arthur covered the corner of his eye with one hand to block the sun, and replied in a low voice: "New news? It's just reform, and what new news can there be. ”

The muscular Superintendent Vaughn glanced at them and muttered, "I have some new news here, but it's from the Admiralty." ”

"What does the Admiralty have to do with us?" Superintendent Mathurin took a sip of tea: "If the news from the Ministry of War and Colonial Affairs is of some use, after all, we are both from the army, and the police system is much more related to the army than it is to the Royal Navy." ”

Superintendent Vaughn snorted, he lowered his body and whispered, "Brother, you don't know anything about this, right?" Reform is a whole, and our Scotland field is at most implicated and moved together. ”

Although Mathurin was not interested in Vaughn's news, Arthur was different, after all, he also had friends in the Royal Navy.

Arthur turned his face and asked, "What's going on at the Admiralty?" ”

Idle is idle anyway, and the voice of Director Rowan reading the manuscript is not very good, and Superintendent Vaughn doesn't mind chatting with Arthur more.

"I have heard that Lord Lord James Graham, Lord of the Admiralty, seems to be doing some kind of meritocracy in the Admiralty, saying that he is preparing to break down partisan lines and appoint civilian officers in the department according to merit."

When Superintendent Mathurin, who was still lacking in interest just now, heard this, his eyes widened and he asked, "Is he crazy?" The Whigs have been suppressed for so many years, and it is not easy to return to the ruling position, Graham is doing this, can the Whig members who are waiting for the fat to be divided? ”

Superintendent Vaughan shrugged his shoulders and said, "Of course they don't agree, but now Sir Graham is the one who sits in the first position of the Admiralty, and he says he has to do it." The other day, he had already officially appointed two secretaries of the Admiralty with Tories backgrounds. ”

Arthur was also surprised when he heard this: "Although the opponents can't influence the personal opinion of the Admiralty, it is impossible to even have no voice in protest, right?" ”

"Who said they didn't protest?"

Superintendent Vaughan covered his mouth and snickered, "I heard from my sister-in-law that the Whigs held a collective meeting at the Reform Club last night, and the counter-reformers were firing on Sir Graham. He said that he was planning to give away the hard-won victory of the Whigs, and that Graham was an undercover agent sent by the Tories. But the most coaking thing came from the protest of the Ministry of Finance. ”

Superintendent Mathurin asked, "Does the Admiralty reform have a penny to do with the Treasury?" ”

Vaughn clapped his palms and reminded, "Did you forget? In the past, civil appointments were handled by the Treasury Personnel Secretary, but Sir Graham now bypassed them and appointed the secretary himself, and they certainly couldn't do it without protesting. ”

Arthur took a sip of tea: "I'm not afraid of the Ministry of Finance protesting, I'm afraid that they will make a fuss about the annual budget." Sir Graham is such a hand, and next year's Admiralty allowance and subsidy will be fiercely manipulated by the Ministry of Finance. ”

"Not necessarily."

"How?"

Superintendent Vaughan replied, "For as far as I can see, Sir Graham did this, and it may not have been at the private behest of the Prime Minister, Earl Grey." ”

"The Prime Minister's instructions?"

Superintendent Mathurin took such a fine taste, and suddenly sniffed out something: "This...... Will Earl Grey ...... Is it trying to bribe members of the Tories who vacillate on parliamentary reform through civilian positions in the Admiralty? ”

"I didn't say that!" Superintendent Vaughan quipped, "Mathurin, how dare you so easily speculate on the Prime Minister's subtle intentions?" ”

"Hiss......"

Mathurin gasped, and he pondered, "I suddenly realized when you said that...... The recent reforms seem to be a bit out of the ordinary. Even if the establishment of local health committees in various places is a last resort, is it necessary to be so urgent in other aspects? ”

"Yes! Is it necessary to be in such a hurry? ”

Superintendent Vaughn, who looked like he was five big and three thick, took a sip of his teacup, and let out a long burst of hot white vapor: "But then again, the Tory Party has been in power for more than 30 years, and if the Whigs want to make a comprehensive turnaround in all fields, they really have to be bold and enterprising in reform." Wherever the Tories have an advantage, they change it. ”

The two superintendents chatted here, but Arthur didn't say a word.

Although they appear to be talking about the reform of the Admiralty, in reality they are talking about changes within Scotland Yard.

The Admiralty's civilian reform of appointments and the Army's disarmament and downsizing, which seem to have nothing to do with each other, are in fact a combination of punches aimed at the Tories.

And Scotland Yard was built by Sir Peel, and the backbone police officers were all from the Department of Army Veterans in the Tories stronghold, so naturally they couldn't avoid the fatal blow of the Whigs.

However, due to the large scale and many functions of Scotland Yard, and the current law and order in the London metropolitan area does need to be managed by senior police officers, the Whigs can only slowly change Scotland Yard through reform.

Even in the process of transfusion, there are only a handful of people who can be selected for them.

First of all, the newly promoted senior police officers must have a sufficiently impressive transcript and a social reputation, so that the name of reforming maladministration can be justified.

Secondly, there can be no problem with the composition of the person. To be more precise, this person cannot be from the army, that is, he cannot be a Tory military tycoon such as the Duke of Wellington.

For this alone, nearly 90 percent of Scotland Yard's senior police officers have been screened out.

Finally, this man could ideally also be considered to be the Whig's own. Although police officers at Scotland Yard were required not to show their political leanings, they were to be politically neutral. However, this did not prevent him from having a relatively Whig educational background.

And at today's work meeting of the Metropolitan Police Department of Greater London, where senior police officers from Scotland Yard gathered, looking around in such a big circle, picking and choosing everywhere, it seems that there is only one person who meets this condition.

"Superintendent Hastings."

"Here."

Arthur stood up and looked at Director Rowan.

Luo Wan put down the three-page thick document in his hand, rubbed his head, and let out a long breath: "Although I know that the task on your shoulders is already very heavy, whether it is your personal character, work ability or academic knowledge, it determines that you are the best person to lead the preparation for the establishment of the London Police School, are you willing to shoulder this responsibility?" ”

For Director Rowan's praise, Arthur didn't take it seriously.

After all, he had only been in Liverpool for a few weeks, and Rowan almost destroyed his police intelligence bureau in London.

However, no matter how you say it, Rowan is the supreme leader of Scotland Yard after all, and he still has to take care of his face to some extent.

Arthur replied with a smile: "Although I do not seek my position, and I still take it as my duty to benefit the country, if the public expects, only the establishment of a police school can best benefit the country and the citizens of London, then I can only take the responsibility and completely abandon my selfishness to help Scotland Yard establish a good reserve police education system." ”

Just like Arthur didn't care about the scene, Rowan was also not interested in the scene.

But there was no way, he had to go through such a process after all, so he could only pinch his nose, show the usual dignified and decent smile of the police officers, and encouraged: "I think all the police officers here are like me, we all think that it is best for you to build a school." Arthur, do a good job, we're sure you'll be able to do it there. ”

Arthur raised his hand and saluted, "Yes, sir!" ”

As soon as Arthur's words fell, Rowan changed his words and said, "However, considering that the burden on your shoulders is too heavy. So, we'll give you some relief as well. The Ministry of the Interior had already informed us before, and this time the adoption of the Municipal Police Act was almost certain.

Therefore, after the passage of the bill, Scotland Yard will also undergo a new round of restructuring. Your future focus will be on the establishment of the Police Intelligence Service and the Police School, while the Criminal Investigation Department will be split into separate functions under the Act, namely the Criminal Records Centre, the Crime Arrest Division, the Toxicology Research Centre and the Major Crime Investigation Division, under the direct supervision of the Deputy Director, Sir Richard Mayne.

Of course, in the process of power transfer, there will definitely be many inconveniences. Therefore, in the transition stage, you still have to work as a criminal investigation consultant for a period of time to help the new employees become familiar with the relevant business of criminal investigation, and there should be no problem in this regard, right? ”

For the upcoming reshuffle, Arthur had already done a detailed understanding from the Viscount of Melbourne beforehand.

And the separation of the Criminal Investigation Department from his own hands was also Arthur's initiative to suggest.

Of course, Arthur did this not because he was so selfless, but because he felt that he could not take all the good things on himself.

Parliament is very sensitive to the monopoly of power in government departments and even more sensitive to the concentration of power in the hands of one person.

It would not be a good thing if the MPs found out that half of the functions of Scotland Yard were in the hands of Mr. Hastings.

Moreover, in good conscience, the Criminal Investigation Department is not exactly a good job.

Although there is a big case in London, they are in the limelight, but the premise of being in the limelight is that they can solve the case. If you can't solve the case, you can only be foamed.

It's a place where the risks and benefits come together.

Moreover, there are many specific matters about the restructuring of Scotland Yard, which Rowan did not say at the meeting.

Just because Arthur is no longer directly in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department doesn't mean that he really doesn't care about serious crimes in London.

The London Police Intelligence Service, which he is in charge of, will also undergo a round of reshuffling after the bill is released.

After this round of reshuffling, the Intelligence Bureau will become more independent from Scotland Yard.

Even the Intelligence Bureau will set up a special arrest team, a criminal record center, and a file management center, just like the split criminal investigation department. And, of course, there are the Illegal Publications Censorship Center.

But the only difference between these departments of the Intelligence Bureau and the Scotland Yard brothers is that they are listed under different names.

They are the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Divisions of the London Police Intelligence Service, among others.

As to why the numerical code was used instead of the specific function to refer to the new department.

Arthur's official answer is - I have a bad memory, the number is encoded, simple, easy to remember.

Of course, because of the national security involved, Superintendent Hastings is inconvenient to disclose too much of the detailed information in this.

If you want to know more about it, you can go to the Fifth Division of the reorganized Police Intelligence Bureau for direct consultation.

However, although the restructured Police Intelligence Bureau looks good, there are still various limitations in their operation compared to an organization like Scotland Yard that is on the surface.

Except in most cases of a state of emergency, there is no way for them to apply for an arrest warrant and arrest someone directly in front of their door, as is the case with their brother departments.

Moreover, Arthur felt that even if the Viscount of Melbourne gave them the power to directly arrest people, he would probably not take the initiative to exercise it.

After all, the power of the judiciary is too complicated, and if the judges ask what kind of organization the Police Intelligence Bureau is, it will be really difficult for him to answer.

Director Rowan watched Arthur regain his seat amid the applause of the superintendents, and could only console himself with the fact that the Criminal Investigation Department had finally regained his control.

And in the face of the expectant eyes of his subordinates, Luo Wan also understood what they were thinking.

Is it nothing more than that you want to go to the Criminal Investigation Department to be gilded?

After all, in the past year, Arthur has been in the limelight in this position.

However, how to arrange the follow-up, Luo Wan has not yet figured it out.

Just as the Whigs had handpicked Arthur in Scotland Yard, he had to find a few obedient ones to let go of the department where Arthur had once covered the sky with one hand.

Luo Wan poured cold water on his subordinates as soon as he opened his mouth.

"From now on, we should understand that the main goal we want to achieve is crime prevention. The police should work towards this great goal, which will enable us to protect people and property more effectively, to maintain the stability of social order and to achieve all the other objectives of the police. Our task is not just to investigate and punish a criminal after he has successfully committed a crime. In that case, it would be a failure for policing. ”

The superintendents replied in unison, "Understood, sir. ”

"Okay." Luo Wan stood up and picked up the documents: "Then today, the meeting is adjourned." ”

As soon as he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned to his subordinates and said, "I forgot to say, cholera prevention and control is still the top priority this year. If he can't even do a good job of regional control, I don't think this kind of person should be able to give him further expectations. ”

With that, Rowan led the Deputy Director, Sir Mayne, to push the door and walk out.

The officers looked at each other, and after a long time, they saw that several superintendents in charge of Eastern District control suddenly woke up from a dream, and they hurriedly followed, shouting as they went, "Director, we think this is unfair." ”

(End of chapter)