We have all been made aware of which books we need to read and buy to educate ourselves and to further our careers. But depending on your age and era what was about to updated your knowledge on police laws and procedures nationally.
Names that come to mind are Moriarty, Gregg, Blackstones. but the earliest for Dorset Constabulary was Captain Amyatt E AMYATT the second Chief Constable of Dorset Constabulary. He was the first officer to compile a police manual for his officers. He took over the Constabulary in 1867 and in 1887 published what was later known as “ THE BLACK BOOK”.
This is a bit of a quick “cop out” for a weekly blog, as it is what is says on the tin, or a more common phrase “it is, what it is !”
This was an instruction book, to keep his officers in line and tell them exactly what to do in every circumstance.
A copy would have been given to each constable when they joined and it was updated and amended over time and was certainly their police BIBLE for at least 50 years.
It would be amiss of me to try and just write about it so instead I am just going to copy it for you and you can then read all or any part that interests you. The black book above was issued to PC 17,
There is also a fold out page next to the scale of allowances , which is the scales of pay for all officers, see below:
Within PC 17’s black book was also an insert on how to resuscitate a drowned person
17 Charles WORDSELL served from Aug 1858 to Feb 1889
17 A SUTER served from about Jul 1883 to 23/02/1889
17 John FORSEY served from 22/03/1884 to 07/12/1889
17 William John MANUEL served from Feb 1890 and died on 12/05/1909
17 William Alfred BARTLETT served from 1909 ,promoted Sgt in 1928
17 Robert Edward HARDY served from 1928 to 1932
17 Jack GRAY career started in 1932
Above are the list of officers that could have been the user of this black book.
