Really? Am assuming that's not dramatic licence where we see him in jail at the start for car theft, but I find it hard to believe he would be eligible to work as a policeman after he's released - even during wartime when all the more suitable candidates would be otherwise engaged...
shareApparently his background wasn't checked and as such a mild mannered appearing man I assume they thought he was ok.
Mal,they are starting to damage my calm!
Not dramatic licence I'm afraid. The authorities *beep* up like they did with the Evans investigation.
shareWell, yes, the local force would hardly have been headhunted for a CSI squad given their performance re Evans... Acc to Wikipedia, Christie was jailed several times for theft and assault (one of them presumably the landlady incident referred to in court) so they obviously didn't have the toughest selection process... I seem to remember the prosecution in Evans's trial said Christie was a 'police reserve' or something, meaning he wasn't a proper copper anyway, but still, it makes you wonder who they DID turn away!
"Wait till they get a load of me!"
[deleted]
He was not a regular police officer but a Special Constable . While of course , his previous criminal record should have came to light , we have to remember the context was World War Two.At this time many errors like this occurred.
Gordon P. Clarkson
Christie was a War Reserve Constable. This was a hurriedly established auxiliary police force set up on the outbreak of war in 1939, staffed by men too old or otherwise unfit for active military service, somewhat similar to the Home Guard. They were armed and expected to assist the military powers in the event of German invasion; they were not really expected to be career policemen so that is probably why few checks were made into candidates; they were just glad to get them.
IIRC in the old days becoming a Special Constable was sometimes done very hurriedly - in the General Strike of 1926 I believe thousands of men were sworn in as specials, given a tin helmet, whistle, truncheon and armband, and sent off on policing duties with no training whatsoever.