Versatile Fleet Aids Crime Detection
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Lancashire Police Force Fleet of 410 Vehicles Includes Specialized Types From a Photographic Studio to a Furniture Van HOW an important county police force employs motors to the full, . with a range of specialized transport vehicles as well as patrol cars, was demonstrated on Saturday last to the Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe. Q.C., M.P., when he made an official inspection of the Lancashire Constabulary headquarters at Hutton, near Preston.
Privileged civilian visitors were given an opportunity to see some of the secrets of the equipment employed in facilitating the work of this force, which has responsibility for a population of about 2,097,400 and for an area approximately 77 miles long and 40 miles wide. Out of a total fleet of 410, :here are 41 headquarters vans and special cars, and 18 accident-prevention vehicles.
Police As Bodybuilders
Modern police operations demand much unusual equipment and in a number of cases the bodywork required is built at the famous Hutton motor police training school, under the direction of Chief Superintendent T. C. B. Hodgson, Traffic and Communications Department.
For the general public, the " star " of Saturday's show was the Humber Pullman crime van. Rushed to the scene of serious occurrences, this vehicle is fitted out to carry all the necessary equipment for preliminary investigation. Cameras include a miniature mounted on a long swinging atm that also carries synchronized flash equipment, so that it is possible to photograph any particular incident in plan.
Provision is made for high-speed developing and printing on the spot, so thats retake can be made if results are not entirely satisfactory. The many other special fittings include a fingerprint recorder, a generator for a small searchlight, signalling lamps and a canopy for protecting bodies from weather or curiosity.
From the. transport angle there was notable interest in the conversion of a former Wallasey Corporation doubledecker on a Leyland Titan chassis, into a mobile police headquarters, this being an example of the work carried out by the constabulary motor department. This vehicle is intended for employment as a control point at the centre of a major investigation, at the scene of air or railway crashes, and for use as a police station at important race meetings or other similar functions.
The forward half of the top deck has been cut away and below there is an office, with access by means of portable steps. The rear section has been reduced to II-deck height and here there is to be powerful four-channel radio for the control of a group of cars up to 20 miles radius and of personnel equipped with walkie-talkie apparatus. Whereever the Lancashire police trafliccontrol aeroplane happens to be in use contact will be maintained; there will also be direct contact with the Hutton information room and, through there, with the public telephone system.
Frequently, the speedy mobilization of a body of police is necessary and the constabulary's own Bedford bus may pick the men up individually. Alternatively, if other transport facilities are good, they may concentrate at one point, being carried forward by bus as a party.
Over a dozen personnel carriers, which also convey prisoners, are employed in the divisions. They are mainly Commer vans with longitudinal bench scats. Where bodies of men must remain on duty for hours at a stretch there must be provision for their refreshment, and another important unit is the canteen van on a Ford V8 chassis.
Transport For Horses
Many difficult situations arecontrolled by the mounted police, which number 27; they were seen on parade on Saturday in their magnificent ceremonial uniforms. Also in the offing were four modern Leyland horse-boxes which ensure that the animals arrive in good fettle at the scene of activity. The horses also have a canteen, in the form of a fodder tender.
Among the duties of a Commer lorry is the transport of a flat-bottomed boat, a metal detector and an electro-magnet. The detector can be used for locating weapons thrown in water and the magnet brings them to the surface. An International van is equipped as 2 mobile switchboard for emergency use, with ten instruments and 15 miles of wire. There is also an up-to-date furniture van which is used to carry out removals for policemen who have been posted to fresh stations.
By the use of the most modern radio equipment messages can now be exchanged between the Hutton headquarters and county police vehicles anywhere on the extensive network of roads in Lancashire.