In many ways, the prospects of a constable joining in the 1930s had changed considerably from a constable joining in the 1900s. The 1900s recruit had one chance in three that he would take off his uniform within three years, while the 1930s recruit had only one chance in seven. Policemen perceived the 1933 drop in recruits pay to sixty-two shillings as a setback from the 1919 Police Act standard of seventy shillings, even during a period of deflation, but overall pay and conditions were a vast improvement over prewar standards. However, even with better educational standards and recognition as a skilled occupation, men applying to the force after 1919 still did not have clear ideas about the reality of the job, and forces continued to have problems finding quality recruits. Formal training improved but was never very good, and probationers still learned most of their policing from veterans. Both pre-and postwar constables needed to unravel the differences between their own expectations, formal and informal training, and the reality of walking a beat, and to adapt to the culture of supervision. Probationers never ceased to be held to a higher standard than veterans, weeding out potential problems quickly. This rather haphazard system could not create the ideal police constable presented to probationers in their instruction books but did produce working-class constables suited for the realities of their jobs.