Notable Events In Week Eleven

Hertfordshire Police Historical Society

This Week In History

March 1991

Sgt on the road to recovery
A sergeant from Stevenage is on the road to recovery following a stabbing incident on 7 March. The Sergeant was off duty in Letchworth town centre, when he saw wages snatch outside Barclays bank. Despite being shot at with an airgun and hit in the hand, the rugby playing sergeant gave chase and tackled the man would made off with over £2500. During the struggle, the sergeant was stabbed in the shoulder, but managed to hold onto his prisoner until colleagues arrived.
The Sergeant underwent a two hour emergency operation at the Lister Hospital, Stevenage, but happily is now recovering from his ordeal. A 29-year-old Stevenage man has been charged in connection with the incident. Hertsbeat

12th March 1935

Britain imposed a 30 mph speed limit in built up areas.

12th March 1853

The Horse Stealers—At the Central Criminal Court, on Thursday, Joseph Morell and John Morell were convicted of stealing a mare from Wandsworth Common. The same men were charged with stealing a horse from Hoddesdon, and with several other offences. The Recorder sentenced the prisoners to be transported for ten years. The Hertfordshire police and other witnesses, after attending the Court for four days, it will be seen, were not required to give evidence, the result, which was predicted by the Chief Constable of Police in the statement he recently made to the Hertford Bench, and which was reported in our paper. (Hertford Mercury)

12th March 1984

Brtish National Union of Mine Workers headed by Arthur Scargill supports regional strikes, calls for national action

13th March 1996

The Dunblane school massacre took place at Dunblane Primary School near Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland, when Thomas Hamilton shot 16 children and one teacher dead before killing himself. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in British history.
Public debate about the killings centred on gun control laws, including public petitions calling for a ban on private ownership of handguns and an official inquiry, which produced the 1996 Cullen Reports. In response to this debate, two new Firearms Acts were passed, which outlawed private ownership of most handguns in Great Britain.

13th March 1935

Driving tests introduced in Great Britain.

15th March 1963

Police shortage shock
Herts Police, fighting a desperate battle with rising crime and traffic figures, are in danger of being beaten through lack of manpower. That is the shock disclosure in the Herts Constabulary report for 1962. It contains a sorry tale of increases in every department of police work being dealt with by weary officers working “extra time, week in week out, as well as on public holidays”. The report states that “at least another 200 men are needed to give adequate protection throughout the county.”

17th March 1999

CLOSURE OF OPERATIONAL HELP LINE
As the result of Operational Support budget cuts the Operational Support Help Line is to be closed.
As from 17.00 hrs on Friday 26th March 1999 the Operational Help Line will stop taking incoming telephone calls, in order to enable the remaining staff to finalise all outstanding work prior to its final shutdown on 5th April 1999.
All nuisance or offensive telephone complaints now received should be referred to Divisional Operations Rooms for allocation and completion of a complaint of malicious/nuisance telephone call form. This includes a certificate, which must be signed by the subscriber before any further action can be taken. Complainants should not be referred to their service provider unless they are given an OASIS URN reference number, as service providers will not take any further action without this.
Officers dealing with these complaints should then follow local procedures for the investigation of these offences. Details of specific offences relating to telephone calls can be found on the Intranet.
All other telephone calls which were previously taken by the Help Line should now be directed to Divisional Operations Rooms, Enquiry Desks, or in accordance with local instructions. (GO 11/1999)