The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 1671: Chapter 50: A Weasel Pays New Year’s Respect to the Hen (Part 2)

Earlier this year, in a report from the Special Committee of Parliament on the safety in London, it was noted that since the establishment of Scotland Yard, the loss of property in the London region due to crimes such as theft and robbery had decreased from 900,000 pounds in 1829 to 20,000 pounds in 1834.

Exactly how much of this should be credited to Arthur Hastings, Rowan had a clear understanding.

However, the highly efficient and remarkably successful Hastings system was not without its flaws.

As the first Minister of Scotland Yard, Rowan deeply understood: if a system cannot function without a particular individual, then it is absolutely not a good system.

The core of the system left behind by Arthur lay in that it was entirely a system held together by Arthur Hastings’s personal charisma and skills.

Perhaps it was indeed useful and had indeed contributed greatly to the security of London, but this system could only be operated by Arthur Hastings, and his unruly subordinates only answered to him.

In order to eradicate Arthur’s influence within Scotland Yard, and to win some breathing space between the Home Office and the Magistrate, Rowan had to make some painful decisions.

The strongholds of the Hastings Faction, the Police Intelligence Department and the Criminal Investigation Department, were subjected to a ”major cleansing,” involving transfers, reassignments, and demotions, as Rowan used every tool at his disposal to eliminate the past ”Hastings-style” approach.

Every report had to be submitted in the prescribed format, every arrest required approval from higher-ups, any investigation involving cases had to enter the formal recording system, and intelligence gathering actions could no longer rely on personal trust and understanding.

Although this effectively curbed the ungovernable phenomena within Scotland Yard, it also displeased the veteran officers who had become accustomed to ”flexible handling.”

”Back when superintendent Hastings was around...” This phrase almost became a catchphrase for certain older officers to reprimand the younger ones.

And an incident occurred last year that further ignited dissatisfaction within Scotland Yard.

Last year, the Police Intelligence Department sent an officer named William Bope to monitor a gathering organized by a radical faction. Bope disguised himself as a radical reformist at the assembly. Unfortunately, he was unmasked by a radical he had previously seen at the police station.

However, such a small matter stirred a huge uproar.

The radicals rallied the London International Political Alliance to declare war against Scotland Yard, calling for protest assemblies to condemn Bope’s actions and demanding severe punishment for this highly trusted senior officer of Scotland Yard.

On the morning of May 13, 1833, about 800 radicals gathered at the ruins of a cold bath in London.

As one inflammatory speech after another was delivered, the attendees could no longer remain calm.

They began to attack the Scotland Yard officers who came to disperse the crowd.

Baton strikes, stones, knives, and even bullets from handguns were all hurled at the officers.

Rowan, the Minister responsible for on-site command, immediately decided to deploy a 70-member riot police unit to provide support.

During this assembly, three officers were critically injured, and Chief Robert Cali of the Ghost Team was killed on the spot, along with many other officers who were lightly injured.

Although the riot was quickly quelled, Scotland Yard was subjected to widespread abuse from the local public and the press following the incident.

The jury’s coroner even argued that the killer of Chief Cali acted in ”self-defense,” and the suspect was acquitted by the court, while the Home Office remained silent about the court’s ruling.

When this news broke, it immediately caused an uproar within Scotland Yard.

Police chiefs from all major districts of London without exception rushed to White Hall No. 4 to pound tables with Rowan, with the most agitated being Thomas Plunkett, the superior of Chief Cali and the head of the Ghost Team. This sharpshooter from the ”Green Jacket” unit pointed at Rowan’s nose and cursed.

It is said that he even tore off his epaulet and threw it in Rowan’s face, and his roaring could be heard through the office door: ”Rowan, if you’ve got the guts, just shoot me already! We all survived raging battles, how could the 52nd Regiment produce such a coward like you! Tell me, just fucking tell me, how am I supposed to face Cali’s widow and children?”

If not for Sir Richard Mayne, the deputy minister, stopping Plunkett, with his temperament, there might well have been a duel with Rowan on the spot, followed by the Ghost Team slaughtering Fleet Street for its endless insults on Chief Cali.

Although Rowan did not dismiss Plunkett for his impulsiveness, the fatality occurred during duty, yet both the agency and the Home Office made no public statement, which indeed chilled many hearts.

This Cold Bath incident was somewhat different from the Parliament Reform Riot of 1832, although blood was shed on both occasions, in 1832 Arthur eventually ”resurrected,” and the government even accorded him the respect he deserved, paving the way for a dignified farewell.

However, during this Cold Bath incident, not only was the government lukewarm in its response, but Scotland Yard also had legitimate police fatalities. What was most unacceptable to the officers was that Chief Cali’s death was due to Rowan, the on-site commander, insisting on ”non-violence,” which meant that firearms were never used from start to finish.