§ 37. Mr. BOTTOMLEYasked the Home Secretary whether it is the custom of the police, when inquiring as to the status of persons offering themselves as bail, to send men in uniform to the private residences of such persons; and, if so, whether he will takes steps to protect law-abiding citizens from the annoyance caused by this practice by the employment in future of plain-clothes men?
§ Mr. SHORTTThe answer to the first question is in the affirmative; to the second in the negative. I have no reason to think that the uniform is a cause of annoyance; on the contrary, it serves as a safeguard against deception, and an assurance that the inquiry is being made by proper authority, and is not a mere impertinence.