§ 39. Mr. D. G SOMERVILLEasked the Home Secretary whether the Metropolitan Police Force adopts the practice of permitting plain-clothes officers to stop motorists in order to see their licences; whether his attention has been called to risks of night driving on roads due to the presence of roughs and suspicious characters; and whether, in view of the natural disinclination of women drivers to stop at night when requested to do so by individuals in plain clothes, he will consider the desirability in all cases of issuing instructions that only uniformed officers must stop motor cars after sunset for the purpose of making inquiries?
§ Mr. CLYNESIf the suggested prohibition were made absolute, officers of the Criminal Investigation Department engaged in the detection of crime might be unduly hampered, but apart from such exceptional cases the practice of the Metropolitan Police already secures that only officers in uniform shall stop cars whether by day or by night.