Raising Standards in the Railway Police

Raising Standards in the Railway Police - 1948

I was never very good at managing people. I am a fan of the direct approach but there are limits and, in the end, most of the time leaders are trying to take their people with them. A carrot and stick approach is normally required. There are even times when a pure stick approach could be argued for. My ineffectual musings along these lines come from my latest excursions in the archives of the British Transport Police History Group (BTPHG). The memorandum below was clearly meant to raise standards – I wonder what inspired its creation and I wonder how successful it was (I think I know the answer). I am sure that there is no gossiping in the modern police service (!), although the phrase ‘general slackness’ did come to mind yesterday when I saw a group of officers from a large police force standing in close proximity to each other while they all stared at their telephones. But before I descend into full grumpy old person mode I would say that in almost every way policing has improved in the last 50 years. Those positive changes were not brought about by memoranda like this one, however well intentioned.

This blog is not the official view of BTPHG. #policehistory #btphg #btp

Image Courtesy of the BTPHG (Ref Q05)

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Films for Thought

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Policing Public Transport: A Neglected History

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