Old Time Policing
A History of How Policing Was in the Mid 20th Century
by
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I was sworn in as a Police Constable 1960 in North Wales after having been a Cadet for a year and, now here I was in June, 1966 in London infiltrating, eventually living with, working with and, reporting on a gang of criminals of mixed English and Hungarian races, who were committing crimes in London and the surrounding areas. It was in 1963 when I transferred to a North East of England City Police Force and, after some six months moved to the CID and,was then seconded to the newly formed Regional Crime Squad in April, 1965. It was an outfit that was set up to infiltrate and gain information about major crime and criminals who were spreading themselves about and, taking advantage of the divide lines between police forces. The Crime Squad was there to go over the borders and continue investigations anywhere and investigate and infiltrate the criminal wrong doings, of criminals who were now starting to use the motorway networks that were being constructed. At this time the Crime Squads were still trying to sell themselves to the local and regional police forces and, show them that it was an advancement and, within the police service then advancement was never recognised - "the old methods were always the best".
Anyway I was in the Crime Squad at a very young age, and more than enthusiastic, the adrenalin was flowing freely. I then by accident, got to know a Hungarian who had moved from London to the North East after having met, his by now wife, in London, where she had been working as a prostitute and, they had returned to her home City to get out of the heat that was being created by the crime that her now husband was involved in, in the Capital and surrounding areas. He and many others from Hungary had fled their homeland following the 1957 uprising and, many had settled into the community, but others had come here to England to continue their criminal activities............................
The Hungarian had been criminally very active with a gang of English and Hungarian villains, they specialised in "smash and grab" raids, their modus operandi being, to steal a high powered car, usually a Jaguar, with four of them in the car, a driver and the other three to do the "smash", then drive onto the front of the designated jewellers or furriers. Two of them would be armed with pickaxes and they would rush out of the car to put the pickaxes through the shop windows and pull the reinforced glass out and, then the third would throw the displayed jewellery into the boot of the car, display pad by display pad. Once the window had been cleared the driver would be at full throttle to speed away from the scene. The more I got to know him, the more information he was giving me...........
Some months after having met, one of his Hungarian gangland friends came up to see him, seemingly to get out of the heat in the kitchen after having carried out a raid on a furriers that had gone wrong. His friend stayed for a couple of weeks, during which time I had been introduced to him as "Taff", and I was accepted by him as being just a member of the local criminal fraternity and a mate of his mate...............
I eventually travelled to London and became initiated into the gang with the purpose of relaying information to the Metropolitan Flying Squad who I was liaising with My initiation into actively taking part was a smash and grab raid on a clothing shop. The job was set up by a chap named Brian who, it eventually transpired to be a prison escapee after having done two years of a six year sentence for armed robbery. He had been on the run for two years and was living in the Fulham area with a quite stunning female, but had kept his freedom by virtue of paying a detective in Fulham a weekly rent for that freedom, because he had previously identified him and done nothing about it, other than charge him for that freedom. Sadly that was to be be my continued experience of certain officers of the Metropolitan Police............
The development of my relationship with the gang I was involved with and, the engagement I had with the Flying Squad had to be judged and, truth be known I could have trusted the villains more than the Flying Squad..........
My involvement with the gang continued for a further six months, but it surely needs explaining how it all came about from a small police force in North Wales to being involved in under cover work in London - so I'll tell you how my career started
A Probationary Police Experience AS IT WAS in the mid twentieth century.
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About the Book
In the mid nineteen sixties the Author had progressed from being a country copper, a city copper to the C.I.D. and to the newly formed Crime Squad to combat the nationwide crime.
He starts off by telling you of one of his experiences of undercover work in London and surrounding areas in the mid sixties, liasing with the Metropolitan Flying Squad, as a Crime Squad Officer and, wonders how he arrived there so, the story is then told of how his carreer began as a Copper.
It is a story of the beginning of an adventure within a job, the training, the unusual, the standard of leadership, the equipment available, the real life of a Copper – AS IT WAS THEN – during the first three years of services as a Police Officer.
Life is now so different in the 21st century.
About the Author
For twenty two years Barrie Davies was a Police Officer, that being between 1959 and 1981.
He went on to progress through ranks to attain the rank of Detective Chief Inspector, but on the way when at the rank of Sergeant the police sponsored him at University where he gained a LL.B.(Hons) degree .
He experienced the life of policing in the mid-twentieth century, which was so different from today, so that is what he wishes to portray.
Following his retirement he changed his legal direction from criminal law to family law which he practiced until retirement.
The author is also the subject referred to as “Bobby James” in the book by James Morton entitled “Supergrasses and Informants”, which tells the story of, some of the under cover work that the author was engaged in, in London, in 1966.