Bedford - Mobile Police Station Is Here - 1951

Mobile Police Station is here

Hertfordshire Mercury, 3rd August 1951

When the next  ” major incident ” occurs in the county , a large blue trailer caravan  – the new Hertfordshire Constabulary mobile police station – will leave its Hatfield base manned and equipped for any emergency.

Among the incidents with which the crews of the new vehicle will deal are serious crimes , large county gatherings , race meetings , rail and road crashes etc .

The travelling police station , weighing two and a quarter tons with equipment , and built to police specification , is one of the best equipped caravans in the country .

Inside there are four separate offices , each panelled in light oak . One office is for the officer commanding police action at the incident . Another is for interviewing people and taking statements .

The communications office , housed at the front of the van , provides facilities for wireless and telephone contact to all parts of the county .

The radio equipment comprised a transmitter and receiver operating with the police county wireless scheme , enabling contact with control at Hatfield and any police patrol car in the county .

A smaller aerial in the roof of the van links ‘walkie-talkie’ operators working up to five miles from the mobile police station .

Field telephone conversations through cables run from the caravan to places up to half a mile distant can be fed to any office through a switchboard serving the van’s internal telephone system .

The entire communications equipment and lighting is self-contained , working from batteries which could be recharged at the incident if necessary .

Spacious lockers at the side of the caravan hold complete rescue equipment , from a jack capable of lifting 12 tons to a 14 foot ladder and coils of rope .