The Shadow of Great Britain-Chapter 664 - 324 Power Expansion_2

Although Arthur did not approve of strictly following the rules, bribing a professor after being caught selling lewd materials hardly seemed like a glorious deed.

Seeing Arthur change the subject, Viscount Melbourne quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"Although I had previously guessed you were an opponent of the ’Bloody Act,’ being able to confirm it in person is always reassuring. It’s indeed delightful to know that you’ve developed sound principles from your education at the University of London, but unfortunately, I feel you may have chosen the wrong college and department.

Considering your debating skills demonstrated in the courtroom, had you initially studied law under Lord Brougham, you certainly could have achieved greater heights than you have now. However, the establishment of the Greater London Prosecution Office means that we now have positions such as prosecutors, implying that even without a lawyer’s qualification, you can still try your best in a field you’re more proficient in.

More importantly, if you can perform well in the prosecution of the Swin riot, it would also effectively silence those who believe police officers are unfit for the duties of a prosecutor. In doing so, our nomination of you as the Deputy Chief Prosecutor for Greater London would become well justified."

Arthur had not anticipated that Viscount Melbourne would play a move of acting first and reporting afterwards.

Without his consent, Viscount Melbourne had already unilaterally started planning his career vision after the job’s completion.

Arthur knew that the Home Office was probably dead set on promoting him.

After all, the arm can’t twist the thigh, so taking on this job wasn’t out of the question.

And in front of Lord Brougham, he also didn’t want to spoil his image of a good student.

Since a forceful approach wouldn’t work, after pondering for a moment, Arthur quickly decided to outwit from another direction.

"It’s a great honor to be entrusted with such an important task and distinction. However, prosecuting so many people with my own strength would likely be impossible. The Greater London Prosecution Office has just been established, with an insufficient number of prosecutors who are also unaccustomed to the work of criminal prosecution. If we want to ensure the quality of the prosecutions, it might be necessary to draw on some police officers from Scotland Yard with extensive prosecution experience."

Arthur’s request wasn’t excessive, so Viscount Melbourne had no intention of refusing.

He nodded, "You have considered very thoroughly. If there is such a need, I will ask Chief Rowan to help coordinate."

Lord Brougham, standing beside him, saw his student taking on a daunting task and said in a low voice, "I’ve not yet resigned as the President of the Britain Law Society; if you need lawyers, I can also help you contact some through my personal connections."

Smiling, Arthur nodded, "If that’s the case, then my confidence in completing the prosecution work has greatly increased."

At this point, Arthur turned to Viscount Melbourne, "Your Excellency, I’ve heard that the Home Office is considering the ’Metropolitan Police Act’ of 1829, and Scotland Yard might undergo reorganization?"

Amending legislation was naturally something that couldn’t be kept from others, and Viscount Melbourne had no intention of hiding the fact.

In the view of the Home Office, the main obstacle to amending the ’Metropolitan Police Act’ lay with the local municipal authorities, as the local governments were unwilling to pay an additional security fee and yet not be able to fully control the newly established local police forces.

The gunshot Arthur had taken in Liverpool, much like his brilliant speech in the court years ago, instantly quelled the local opposition to establishing a police force.

The measures taken to quell the Swin riot had also led Viscount Melbourne to a conclusion—criminals might not necessarily be punished, but those with merit must be rewarded.

If Arthur, the young man who had resolved many troublesome issues for him, wished to make some ’reasonable’ suggestions during the amendment period of the ’Metropolitan Police Act,’ in light of their friendship and in consideration of Lord Brougham, Viscount Melbourne was not entirely opposed to the idea.

"Currently, the amendment is still in the research and investigation stage, and we are very willing to listen to everyone’s voice, especially those of police officers who have served on the front lines for a long time."

Viscount Melbourne blinked: "Actually, I had already convened a seminar with senior officers from Scotland Yard before, but you were in Liverpool at that time, so your opinions were missed. Now that we have the opportunity, why not discuss your views here?"

Arthur didn’t immediately throw out his views but instead inquired, "What suggestions have other officers made?"

Viscount Melbourne, with his legs crossed, leaned back on the sofa: "Mostly about strengthening Scotland Yard’s professional functions. The management of Scotland Yard is still too extensive as is, with overlapping duties in various departments. Besides frontline patrol duty, other responsibilities are not entirely clear.

Moreover, when Scotland Yard was established, it was only positioned as a department for maintaining daily patrol and public order in the Greater London metropolitan area, neglecting the case investigation work that greatly influences the social reputation of the police. Besides, officers also pointed out the negative impact of deploying the army and military police during riot suppression, and proposed establishing a dedicated department within Scotland Yard to handle similar situations."

So, in this restructuring process of Scotland Yard, we preliminarily believe we should focus on these two areas. Arthur, in terms of criminal investigation, I am particularly eager to hear your suggestions."

Arthur asked, "Have they mentioned to you my suggestion of setting up separate divisions under the Criminal Investigation Department, such as a Crime Records Center, Fingerprint Division, Archives Division, and Toxicology Examination Division?"

"Hmm?"

When Viscount Melbourne heard this series of new terms coming out of Arthur’s mouth, he was momentarily bewildered: "I did hear Rowan suggesting that the London Police Intelligence Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Department should be merged. I also think, since they are all police departments, there is no need to manage them in parallel, which is too troublesome."

"Merge management?"

Upon hearing this, Arthur immediately understood what Rowan was planning.

Although the Police Intelligence Department is nominally a secondary department of the Greater London Police Department, its budget is directly allocated by the Home Office, avoiding having to go through Scotland Yard once again.

As is well known, if you cannot control a department’s finances, then you effectively cannot control it in any way.

Therefore, the officers working in the Police Intelligence Department have always been indifferent to the commands of Scotland Yard, only listening to the Director Arthur Hastings.

This situation, naturally, made others in Scotland Yard uncomfortable. Given the opportunity, they naturally wanted to find a way to rein in this brother department, which was eating up police funds but not obeying management.

Seeing that the new departments under his command weren’t yet established, but his backyard might catch fire at any moment.

Arthur quickly picked up on the most important issue to clarify: "Your Excellency, if the Police Intelligence Department only dealt with police intelligence, then merging would certainly not be an issue. But in fact, we handle much more than just police intelligence. If we merge, some matters would become unclear."

"Unclear?" Viscount Melbourne asked with great confusion: "Do you have other lines of business besides police intelligence?"

Because Lord Brougham was present, Arthur could only hint vaguely: "Regarding this matter, you might consult Sir Peel or the Duke of Wellington and Viscount Palmerston. Of course, if you need a detailed report, after we go back, I will have someone summarize this year’s work achievements of the Police Intelligence Department for your review.

If you insist on merging the Police Intelligence Department into Scotland Yard, my suggestion is to partially split it, that is, blend the intelligence into the Criminal Investigation Department, and divide the rest into a new department, renamed as the London Intelligence Bureau. But in that case, I’m afraid it won’t be easy for you to explain to Parliament and the media what this new system is for."

Upon hearing this, Viscount Melbourne also understood Arthur’s meaning. He took a sip of his drink and opened the document on the table: "Let’s talk about the Crime Records Center, Fingerprint Division, Archives Division, and Toxicology Examination Division you just mentioned. What are they for?"

Seeing Viscount Melbourne no longer dwelling on the issue, Arthur smiled and said: "Actually, I also suggest that you establish a specialized police training school to cultivate professional officers for Scotland Yard and establish a police education system to provide Scotland Yard and local police organizations with a continuous flow of fresh blood."