Civic Identity and Police Leisure in Birmingham during the Inter-War Years

Abstract

Although social historians agree that work and leisure time had been separated by the inter-war years through the interlocking processes of industrialisation and urbanisation,2 there remained a strong bond between the two spheres in some specialised occupations. Miners, for example, developed strong communities reflected through the diffusion of sporting competitions and an enduring and integrated canteen culture.3 Fire-fighters, imbued by masculine trust through the heroic action of 'eating smoke' in a team environment, invariably socialized amongst themselves. Moreover, as the majority of professional fire-fighters worked the continuous duty system, they had limited scope for leaving the station grounds to pursue leisure activities.4 Similarly, police constables, through working in a close-knit community bound by the quasi-military ties of strict discipline, uniform and obedience, largely avoided recreational pursuits outside of the service. Rather, police employers (comprising senior officers and elected local authorities) pressured officers to mix together when off-duty to instil a sense of loyalty, honour and comradeship within the service. According to Haia Shpayer-Makov this helped create a 'multifaceted and vibrant' police subculture in the Metropolitan Police by 1910, created jointly by employers and employees. Police leisure was part of a broader strategy of building a homogeneous police community which extended into other areas of welfare, including housing, pay and pensions, holidays and education.5 Rooted in the process of greater central co-ordination of local policing during the First World War, the police was one such public service subj ected to increasing central regulation after 1918. With the vital role played by the police in protecting national sovereignty, it was deemed politically sensitive to disclose policy widely amongst municipalities, which inevitably led to greater vertical co-ordination between the Home Office and chief constables. 6 Moreover, following the failed police strike in 1918, the Home Secretary seized far-reaching powers to standardize force strengths, pay and conditions of service under the Police Act, 1919. The expansion of the annual police grant, from one-half of local expenditure on pay and uniforms to one-half the net cost of police administration, sweetened municipalities in preparation for the normalization of work practices, which naturally shifted the balance of financial power from the localities to central government. 7