Name/Title
Brighton Borough Police pocket notebook issued to PC 127 Rowland 1965Entry/Object ID
162Description
Blue coloured card top bound Brighton Borough Police notebook, approximately 100mm x 160mm", numbered "22" consisting of entries on numbered lined pages, issued to PC 127 Rowland for use between 18th June 1965 to 27th December 1965. Marked "County Borough of Brighton Police Official Note Book" on label on front and written in pen "22", "Rowland", PC 127", "18-6-65" and "27-12-65". There is also a date stamp for "B Division Brighton Police"Use
For an officer to record their duties and any relevant information, including evidence and visits by supervisorsContext
Since the 19th century police officers have been issued with pocket notebooks to record anything relevant during their periods of duty, and they would often be referred to when an officer gave evidence at court. Generally the use of these notebooks has not changed significantly over the last 100 years and there are strict guidelines concerning their use. In the past as now, they are signed out to officers and date stamped. Each page is numbered to prevent removal and officers are instructed to note leave spaces, so that entries can be backdated. The time an officer begins his duty and finishes, together with any breaks should be recorded and any entry should be timed. Often notebooks would have leather notebook covers.
This particular notebook was used by PC 127 Rowland between 18th June and 27th December 1965. Of note are the entries that show him being visited by a sergeant, whose role involved regular checks on an officer to ensure they were on their allocated patrol area or beat. Also there are periods where the officer begins and ends his duty at a "box". In the 1960s Brighton still used a "box system" where officers did not always start and finish their duties at a police station but often more remotely at a police box. In Brighton these were a small offices, sometimes hut like structures, but not like the "Tardis" type police boxes used in London.
This style of notebook was adopted in Brighton in 1958 and replaced an earlier sale which was side bound and had yellow/buff covers.
Notebooks very similar to this one are still issued in Sussex Police. However officers are encouraged to use mobile devices more to record their activities, and in some police forces pocket notebooks have been withdrawn altogether.