§ 7. Mr. HALL-CAINEasked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the difficulties which confront the mobile police in following road offenders, he will consider providing them with motor-cars capable of faster speeds and fitted with special sirens which would clear a way for them through the traffic in the same way as fire-engines?
§ Sir J. GILMOURI think the hon. Member's question is based on a misapprehension. When arrangements were made by my Department with the Ministry of Transport for the institution of the mobile police the object was to bring about a better standard of road behaviour among drivers generally by the presence of the patrols on the roads rather than by chasing offenders in fast cars. For this purpose it was not considered either necessary or desirable to equip the patrols with particularly high power vehicles and I am not aware of any need for departing from the present policy.