Scotland Yard's Ghost Squad by Dick Kirby

Author:Dick Kirby [Kirby, Dick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: history, Military, Wars & Conflicts (Other)
ISBN: 9781848844513
Google: 9y72uAAACAAJ
Publisher: Wharncliffe Local History
Published: 2011-11-15T23:25:06.523950+00:00

A twenty-two-year-old seaman was arrested by Detective Sergeant Carter of ‘E’ Division for receiving stolen clothing coupons; in addition, clothing valued at £2,000 was found in his possession, for which he was unable to account. Lillian Harris, a thirty-seven-year-old tailoress, was able to give an explanation of the Persian Lamb coat and the mink tie valued at £700 which Detective Inspector Judge from the Flying Squad found in her possession. Shame-facedly, she admitted smuggling it into the country from New York. When Judge submitted his report to Customs and Excise, the case of the smuggled coat was the last Ghost Squad arrest of the year.

During 1947 the squad had carried out 186 arrests and recovered property to the value of £50,231 4s 0d – over double the amount recovered the previous year. Informants were paid out £1,038 from the Informants Fund and, it was stated, “on the whole, played the game”, and the squad officers charged incidental expenses of £545 3s 3d. It was money well spent, since some of the most dangerous criminals were now behind bars.

A constant battle with bureaucracy still raged over the supply of vehicles to the squad. They received strong backing from the Yard hierarchy, but the suppliers of the vehicles still dragged their heels. The Ghost Squad ‘borrowed’ a taxi until, six months later, their duplicity was discovered. They hired disreputable old cars and, on one occasion, a horse-drawn van, complete with peep-holes in the sides. But in spite of this, the results were exceptional. “This small squad has certainly justified its formation,” stated the detective superintendent at C1, and William Rawlings, the Deputy Commander (Crime), concurred. “The personnel are hard workers,” he wrote, “and possess many useful contacts. These have to be continually cultivated and the amount of money spent to this end is not excessive when the results achieved are considered… This squad has positively established itself as an asset of the Force, and of the CID in particular.”

If Rawlings considered that to be a good return, what would be achieved in 1948 would leave it in the shade.

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