For those of us who feel passionate about police matters of today and yesterday — perhaps especially if we have been actively involved in police work — the author manages to get beneath the surface of his subject. However, even if you've only viewed the police from the outside, it still makes truly compelling reading.

It doesn't matter if you wouldn't normally have an interest in Suffolk, which just happens to be my home county, because the colourful account of the development of the county's police forces from their earliest days reflects the general evolution of policing throughout the counties of Britain.

This happened in 1869 after the departure of the West Suffolk Chief Constable, Captain F C Syer, through serious illness — at the same time as the East Suffolk force was also without a Chief Officer. The government of the day was eager to amalgamate the two forces, and, seizing a unique opportunity, the new Suffolk Constabulary (in its first incarnation) was established on June 2, 1869. The Chief Constable was Major Clement Henry John Heigham, a Suffolk man aged 39 years; under him were six Superintendents, six Inspectors, six Sergeants and 72 Constables.

The combined Suffolk force was not to last, though. Mr Heigham died in 1898, and the East and West Suffolk forces came back into being on February 21, 1899. They were destined to survive as such for a further 68 years.

However, throughout all this the Ipswich Borough force remained independent — a proud and dedicated establishment.

Policing was developing in its professionalism throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. During the 1870s, for example, West Suffolk introduced uniform changes that pointed the way towards the later patterns of dress.

For ranks below Inspector the frock coat and top hat were replaced by a tunic and badgeless helmet, along with silver-plated buttons carrying the Victorian crown surrounded by the force title. More senior ranks continued to wear an improved frock coat embroidered with black braid, and headgear changed to a pill box hat with small peak.

Soon after the re-division of Suffolk, the West Suffolk Chief Constable followed the fast-developing national trend and introduced a helmet badge for the first time. The insignia became a Tudor Crown in 1904-'05 in accordance with Royal wishes.

Telephones began to make a dramatic impact on communications for these rural forces at about the same time. However, in the case of West Suffolk, they were considered so important that only Superintendents were allowed to use them.

In the early days of the East Suffolk force there were also Borough forces for Lowestoft, Eye, Beccles, Dunwich, Orford and Southwold. However, these gradually disappeared.

Cutlasses, although not on general issue, were made available if required. These weapons - popularly referred to as hangers - were of a standard police pattern, and incorporated a safety catch to prevent loss or unauthorised release from the scabbard during a melee. The Secretary of State's ruling which led to their issue read:

Soon after the formation of the new East Suffolk Police, Captain Jasper Graham Mayne, the Chief Officer, introduced the first telephone link (in 1899), quickly followed by the police whistle after it had undergone successful trials in the Metropolitan Police. Helmet badges came along just after this.

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, and the Ipswich Borough force was formed on March 1, 1836, with three Inspectors and 15 Constables for a town with a population (then) of 22,000. The force headquarters was in the Town Hall, and would remain so located (albeit from 1867 in a new building on the same location) until 1967.

The town, with its docks and industry, would always be a busy place for its police officers. Frequent assaults on officers led to the introduction of whistles in 1862, decades earlier than many other forces.

Top hats were replaced early in Ipswich, too, giving way to the first form of helmet — with badge — in 1863. The Metropolitan Police had adopted helmets earlier the same year.

Police boxes were established around the town in 1933, a practical innovation for the outlying areas with their telephone, desk and stool and roof-mounted beacon which was to remain the only way to "call" an officer until the first personal radios found their way into the Ipswich force in 1966. The boxes, with their electric fire, were a welcome haven from winter storms for officers cycling their way around these outer beats — as any of us who have ever used them will gladly testify.

The force's CID were never housed in the Town Hall station, but used rented premises nearby, sharing with East Suffolk CID for a number of years.

Two-way radio came along in 1942 to keep station and cars in contact, but was removed at the end of the war. Fortunately, it was reinstated with an improved system later.

Chief Constable, from December 1946, was James Crawford, well-liked and highly-respected. He pushed the force forward considerably, and embarked on a programme of Cadet appointments from 1947 to ease general recruiting worries — on the basis that Cadets tended to naturally progress to Constables.

The Cadet uniform was the older-style full-buttoned tunic with Cadet insignia and flat caps, and was still the same in 1955 when I joined Ipswich Borough as a Cadet. Special Constables were similarly attired.

The force's first woman Sergeant, Pamela Russen, was appointed in 1949, having previously served as a WPC with Oxford City.

It was a sad day for this very proud force when the inevitable finally happened and, on the last day of March 1967, it finally ceased to exist.

Altogether, Constables of Suffolk is an excellent book and is highly recommended. Get hold of one if you can!