Having read the Traffic Committee minutes of 13th January 1971, ask the students the following questions:

1. Do they find it amusing that, as late as 1971, there were concerns that a male police officer might be thought rude by asking a woman her age? Does this tell us something about changes in public behaviour, and if so what are those changes? Do they establish a greater equality between citizens?
2. Should the police care about their ‘image’ and their relations with the public in this way, and if so why?
3. Should the requirements of central government and the need for centralised details of driving offences outweigh the rights of individuals?

Using St Johnston's letter to Frank Allaun, 19th May 1961, ask the students the following questions:

1. What has been the cause of Allaun’s complaint to which St. Johnston is now replying?
2. Do you think that the police were justified in acting as they did?
3. Do you think that Allaun and his constituents were justified in their complaints?
4. Is there a similarity between the complaints voiced here and more recent complaints about the police stopping people from ethnic minorities?
5. What should the police do if they believe that an individual is carrying stolen property or a weapon?

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