Police

1852 · AQ35188 — Melbourne: Printed by John Ferres at the Government Printing Office 1852. x 66pp. Printed on powder blue paper. Stitched as issued. Title page and verso of terminal leaf a trifle marked very occasional light spotting. 'The existing Police Force is insufficient in numerical strength - deficient in organisation and arrangement - and utterly inadequate to meet the present requirements of the country'. A rare survival of a disparaging report cataloguing the inadequacies of the police force in the 'Colony of Victoria' Australia. In 1851 the discovery of gold at Victoria resulted in an unprecedented and overwhelming influx of potential prospectors to the region. The vast increase in population placed immense pressure on the police force faced with a meteoric rise in local criminal incidents. The need to recruit additional officers to combat the escalating crime rate as the present report details was hindered by a reluctance from potential applicants - and indeed existing law enforcement personnel - to abandon the opportunity to share in the wealth pouring from the gold mines. In consequence the local police committee resolved to petition the Home Government to supply experienced officers to bolster their numbers offering the 'extravagant' sum of ten shillings per diem in order to induce 'men of a proper class'. There is a single entry in OCLC without a location reference. . First edition. Folio. Printed by John Ferres, at the Government Printing Office unknown