ABSTRACT
How did one turn men from widely different backgrounds and occupations into policemen? By the 1930s everyone who joined the police had to undergo some period of formal training before being assigned to a division and station - unlike their nineteenth century counterparts who received most of their training on the job. Nevertheless, the extent and content of the training varied greatly between forces, from structured and wide ranging in the Metropolitan police to the most cursory and basic. Many small forces had difficulty in running their own training schemes, and relied on those offered by larger forces. Thus Chief Inspector Sheen, who joined the Norfolk police in 1933, was posted to Attleborough, issued with a uniform, and sent out on the beat.
