Police

Law

and

order

THE POLICE

IN BOURNE

Until the formation of an established police force, the maintenance of law and order was in the hands of parish constables appointed annually by the magistrates. They were usually farmers and yeomen who combined their official duties with their normal work. Riots and disturbances were not uncommon and when such events were anticipated they called on a body of special constables who were recruited and sworn in from various walks of life provided they were of respectable character, such as labourers, shop keepers, clerks, tradesmen and even pensioners. This enabled the parish constable rally a large body of men to a given place at` short notice and if the incident got out of hand, then they could call out the military.

It was during the Victorian age that law and order began to adopt a more modern guise with the appearance of an organised police force. By the early 19th century, the pursuit and detection of crime in Bourne was being undertaken by the New Association for the Prosecution of Felons operating within a 20 mile radius of the parish and subscribers held an annual meeting to discuss the year's activities and to plan for the next. A typical such gathering was held in April 1832 at the Bull Inn (now the Burghley Arms) when business began at noon followed by dinner at 2 p m and so this was a social as well as a business occasion.

But organisations such as this were to become defunct when the County Police Act of 1839 paved the way for the establishment of county police forces. Further legislation, the County and Borough Police Act of 1856, brought together the Lincolnshire divisions of Lindsey, Holland and Kesteven, that included Bourne, and a meeting of magistrates appointed the first chief constable, Captain Philip Blundell Bicknell, who was interviewed and selected from 102 applicants on 19th December 1856. Although there was only one chief constable, each of the three divisions was to have its own police force although overall, it was known from the start as the Lincolnshire Constabulary.

Bicknell reported in April 1857 that 129 officers had been appointed although they had an authorised strength of 207 and the recruitment of suitable applicants was continuing and by the end of that year the force was practically up to strength. In March 1891, Bicknell introduced an examination that had to be passed by constables and sergeants before they were eligible for promotion and it is thought that Lincolnshire was the first police force in the country to introduce such a system that was eventually adopted by other constabularies throughout Britain.

Police on paade in the late 19th century

A contingent from the county police force marching down North Street, Bourne, circa 1890 (above) for the annual meeting of Lincolnshire Constabulary that was held in various towns each year. Wake House is on the left and the police station can be seen at the corner of Burghley Street on the far right.

The police station can be seen in the picture below, circa 1930, on the corner of North Street and Burghley Street, a site now occupied by eight council maisonettes for old people which were built in 1987.

North Street and the police station circa 1930

By 1861, a town police station had been built in North Street, Bourne, at the junction with Burghley Street, a site now occupied by a block of old people's maisonettes, and the police strength was 16 officers but this had increased to 19 by 1875. The coming of a regular police force brought a considerable decrease in crime and general lawlessness. One local historian noted: "Although the conduct of the people has vastly improved, their honesty is undoubted, and, with a few unhappy exceptions, the country people are extremely sober."

The Great War of 1914-18 necessitated numerous changes in the police force after recruiting for military service considerably depleted the numbers stationed in Bourne. In 1916, several officers who had retired and placed on the pension list were re-sworn in as constables and Mr Matthew Leeson, who had moved to the town two years before after retiring from the Manchester police force, was also sworn in as a constable.

The police station in Bourne, now downgraded to a police office, and (below) the police who staffed the station when it was opened in 1960.

The police station in North Street continued in use until 1960 when it was replaced by a new building in West Street and Bourne is now part of the South Division whose headquarters are at Grantham and commanded by a chief superintendent. This division contains five sector beats, each with a police inspector responsible for their particular area and reporting directly to the command team based at divisional headquarters.

During the early years of the 20th century, uniformed policemen on point duty were a familiar sight on the streets of Bourne to keep vehicles moving in the increasingly busy town centre, especially on market days when stalls erected at the kerbside reduced the amount of road left for passing traffic. But when the first traffic lights were introduced in 1973, they were no longer became necessary and so began the reduction in the police presence on the streets.

By 2001, Lincolnshire Police, as the force is now known, had its highest ever total strength with 1,240 officers and men and a further 633 civilian support staff and an annual budget of £72.6 million. Their performance is monitored by the Lincolnshire Police Authority, a body of 17 local people whose duty it is to secure the maintenance of an efficient and effective organisation.

Point duty in Bourne town centre

The police force now costs each resident in the county 30p a day but in return, the force has an impressive record and during the year 1999-2000 they dealt with 61,600 emergency calls, solved 80% of recorded violent crimes, 90% of all drugs cases, 80% of sexual crimes, 82% of assaults and 43% of robbery cases. Overall, their detection rate for all crimes was 28% when compared with the national average of 25%.

The police station at Bourne however was downgraded to a police office in 2000 and although crime, especially minor offences, appeared to be on the increase, fewer constables were actually on the beat. There was also great public concern that petty crime was going unchecked and that the environment was being damaged by litter, graffiti and vandalism that was not investigated.

A LADY TO THE RESCUE

The public were always willing to come to the aid of the police but it was a lady who intervened when she saw a policeman being attacked at Langtoft, near Bourne, early in 1910. Constable Darcey had stopped two men suspected of poaching and started searching them when they began to resist arrest and a violent struggle ensued. The policeman was knocked to the ground twice and one of the men was about to hit him with a gun when Miss C Bennington arrived on the scene and grabbed his arm to prevent the blow from being delivered.
Her actions prompted the two men to run off but they were later arrested and convicted of poaching and assaulting a policeman but Miss Bennington, who lived at Langtoft, was later honoured for her brave act at a ceremony at Bourne police station when she was presented with a handsome leather case containing a silver-backed mirror, hair bush and comb, and the inscription: "Presented to Miss C Bennington by the police of the Bourne Division in appreciation of the assistance rendered by her on 21st February 1910."
Superintendent H Bailey, who made the presentation, said: "It is the desire of the whole force to recognise in some tangible form our appreciation of the assistance which Miss Bennington rendered Constable Darcey when he was in great risk of receiving serious injury. We appreciate not only her courage at going to his assistance at considerable risk to herself but also the goodwill which prompted her to do so. We hope that she will like this gift which is both useful as well as ornamental and also that she might live very many years to enjoy the use of the articles and that the inscription on the back of it will remind her of our appreciation of her conduct."
Bourne magistrates also awarded Miss Bennington £1 and a further £1 was given by the chairman of the bench, the Earl of Ancaster.

CHANGING TIMES

Police officers and special constables are being drafted into Bourne to ensure that the town centre is trouble free during the late night shopping event this evening.
- news item from The Local, Friday 6th December 2002, when the population was estimated at 13,000.

Permanent police strength in Bourne based at the county police station in North Street is one superintendent (Herbert Bailey), one inspector, two sergeants and 17 constables. - entry from Kelly's Directory of Lincolnshire, 1913, when the last population count for Bourne (1911) was 4,343 including six officials and 85 inmates of the workhouse.

NOTE: I am indebted to Lincolnshire Police for permission to use a photograph of their badge.