Sole Commissioner
As sole Commissioner, however, Mayne became increasingly aloof and distant from both the public and his men. He was feared and respected by his men, but not loved as Rowan had been, lacking the older man's talent for conciliation and explanation. He embraced the new Victorian 'morality' introduced by Prince Albert, and instructed his men to enforce regulations that were seen by many as petty and unnecessary (such as forbidding children to throw snowballs in public places). In fact, in many ways his new attitude was conflicting with the instructions written by him as a younger man; now the police were very much enforcing middle-class morality and were treating the gentry and aristocracy with a deference that sometimes interfered with their duties. Senior officers also started to be drawn from the officer classes, which conflicted with the original idea that only the Commissioners should be appointed from these classes. This issue was not resolved until the 1940s.
In 1866, Mayne took personal charge of suppressing the Hyde Park demonstration, and lost control, suffering physical injury himself. The Home Secretary, Spencer Walpole, let him take full blame, although he did refuse his resignation. In 1867, his resignation was again refused after the police mishandling of the Clerkenwell bombing.
Mayne died, tired and embittered, at his home in Chester Square on Boxing Day 1868. Although he had made mistakes, he had achieved astonishing things. The original force of less than 1,000 men had grown during his commissionership to nearly 8,000. The area it policed had increased to ten times its original area, and the idea had spread to every county and town in the country. Mayne was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery, London. He was survived by his widow, Georgina Marianne Catherine, eldest daughter of Thomas Carvick of Wyke Manor, Yorkshire, whom he had married in 1831, and children including his son, Vice-Admiral Richard Charles Mayne of the Royal Navy.
In the television film The Suspicions of Mr Whicher (2011) and its 2013 sequel he was played by Tim Pigott-Smith.
| Police appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by First incumbent |
Second Joint Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 1829–1850 |
Succeeded by William Hay |
| Preceded by Sir Charles Rowan |
First Joint Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 1850–1855 |
Succeeded by Last incumbent |
| Preceded by First incumbent |
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 1855–1868 |
Succeeded by Douglas Labalmondière (Acting) |
Read more about this topic: Richard Mayne
Famous quotes containing the word sole:
“Unless a group of workers know their work is under surveillance, that they are being rated as fairly as human beings, with the fallibility that goes with human judgment, can rate them, and that at least an attempt is made to measure their worth to an organization in relative terms, they are likely to sink back on length of service as the sole reason for retention and promotion.”
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