Telegraph Lines

In 1845, John Tawell poisoned Sarah Hart at her home in Slough. He boarded a train for London. His appearance was suspicious, and a message was sent from Slough to London on the new telegraph system. Tawell was arrested when he arrived at the London terminus.

Telegraph messages were also used to apprehend the famous murderer, Dr. Crippen. After poisoning his wife, Crippen sailed to Canada on the SS Montrose. The ship's captain, recognising his passenger from photographs that had appeared in the press, telegraphed detectives in England. They sailed to Canada on another ship and arrested Crippen when he arrived

Public Safety Radio Communications

In 1999 a new radio communications system was introduced that works just about anywhere. It works across different forces and it is a secure system so no one is able to listen in. Now, not only are officers able to speak to each other, they are also able to send documents and photographs to officers on patrol.

In the past, it has often been difficult for officers to communicate by radio if they were, for instance, in the hills and valleys of Wales, Yorkshire and the Peak District. The new system makes poor radio coverage a thing of the past.

Fingerprints

very person has a unique pattern of ridges on their fingers. Although these patterns get bigger as we grow, the formation stays the same. Identification by fingerprinting and taking photographs was introduced in 1889. The police began a 'Rogues Gallery' of sample prints and pictures against which they could compare suspects.

Now a new computerised system is being introduced. The National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) allows law enforcement personnel to capture fingerprint impressions and marks from crime scenes. They can then submit them electronically to a national database. Fingerprint impressions can then be compared automatically against each other by an automated identification system. Possible matches can be returned within seconds. The NAFIS system allows police forces to search for fingerprint matches within their own force records, and against those held by all other police forces.

This new system is beginning to be used in forces.

Forensic Science

Forensic science involves many different disciplines including pathology, chemistry, biology and handwriting analysis. It wasn't until the 1930s that forensic science was established as an important part of crime detection in this country. In 1934, a police laboratory was established at Hendon next to the Police College. Officers worked with scientists to gain first-hand knowledge of the traces and specimens they needed to look for at the scene of a crime.

An important part of forensic science is DNA profiling, sometimes known as genetic fingerprinting. Because genetic material is unique to each person, identifications can be made through isolating this material from traces of body fluids or tissue.

DNA analysis

DNA analysis is now so sensitive that a criminal can be identified from a single cell: a fleck of dandruff or a single sperm. A DNA cell is like a fingerprint but for the whole body. DNA profiles differ from person to person.

According to Forensic Science Service Researchers there is a fifty million to one chance of two people having the same DNA profile.

There is now a national DNA database which holds around 200,000 samples from known criminals, suspects and crime scenes.

It is believed that soon scientists will be able to create an image of a person from DNA samples. They should be able to identify physical features such as eye and hair colour.

Source: Police Review 17th October 1997 Lisa Crandon

The Special Branch

The origins of the Special Branch lie in the fight for Irish independence. Some members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (the Fenians) were imprisoned in England. A plot to free them resulted in a bomb explosion at Clerkenwell Jail. Tension continued to rise between the Irish Republicans and the British Government and in 1883, the Special Irish Branch of the CID was set up. After the Troubles died down, the 'Irish' part of the name was dropped but the Branch was maintained.

Special Branch deals with matters that affect national security and political conspiracies. It is a low-profile section of the police force but something is known about its early days thanks to the autobiography of one of its most famous members - John Sweeney.

Sweeney was sent to Scotland Yard as a probationary detective in 1884. In the same year, he narrowly escaped a bomb explosion at the Yard. He acted as a royal bodyguard for Queen Victoria and also helped protect visiting dignitaries from other countries.

National Criminal Intelligence Service

The British NCIS was launched in 1992. Staffed by members of the police, Customs and Excise and the Home Office, it targets major criminals in the United Kingdom. Its operations include processing and disseminating information, analysing major criminal activity and helping law enforcement agencies both at home and abroad.

The NCIS gathers information on many different offenders including drug traffickers, money launderers, organised criminal groups and football hooligans.

The International Division of the NCIS is linked to anti-drugs networks in other countries and to Interpol.

The Black Museum

The Black Museum is the nickname for the Crime Museum at Scotland Yard. It first opened in 1874 and displays items from the scenes of different crimes, clues which helped solve crimes and some of the possessions of famous criminals.

The museum is not open to members of the public - too many people would want to visit it and it is located in the buildings of a major police centre. Some visitors are admitted but these are usually people whose work or interests are directly linked to the study of crime.

Exhibits include artefacts and pictures related to the crimes of Jack the Ripper, weapons and early scientific instruments used by the police.

Interpol

Interpol, the International Criminal Police Commission, was first launched in 1914 in Monaco. In 1946, its constitution was changed and its headquarters moved from Vienna to Paris.

Interpol's purpose is to promote assistance between police forces across the world. It enables the authorities to track down criminals who cross national boundaries. The core staff of Interpol is relatively small, but investigations include officers seconded from member police forces who act as field workers to seek out and arrest criminals.

The organisation's focus is its communications centre just outside Paris. Records are kept on thousands of top criminals. Here information is collated and despatched across the world. Britain joined Interpol in 1946 and the office of Interpol, Great Britain, was set up in 1949. It is housed in New Scotland Yard.