From Thief-takers to the Bill, to
the envy of the world?
The History of the Police
Content
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Introduction of policing in the UK
The History and development of Policing
Case study of the Metropolitan Police
International Policing
Consent
Accountability
Where does ‘Police’ come from
• First known use in the English language came in
the 16th century, from old French.
• This was taken from the Latin ‘Politia’, which
was taken from the Ancient Greek words
‘Politeia’ (citizenship, administration, civil
polity) and ‘Polis’ (City)
Ancient Greece Policing
• Groups of Slaves of Middle-east (Scythian’s) used
to make arrests, organising criminals, guarding
public meetings.
• Citizens investigated crimes for themselves
Ancient Roman Policing
• The Army provided security, and people
comparable to magistrates investigated crimes.
• Victims or families had to organise and manage
prosecution themselves.
• Under Augustus reign, with Rome’s population
growing to over 1 million he protected the city
with men called ‘Vigles’ that did policing
Policing in Europe
• Spain:
12th
century
the
‘Hermandad’
(brotherhood) a peacekeeping association of
individuals bearing arms emerged. Protected
their own and public interests from bandits
• France: The Constabulary, under the control of
the Constable of France established in 1337, as a
military body with police type responsibilities
The History of Policing in Britain(1)
• Until 17th Century most communities were selfpoliced.
• Prior to this:
• ‘Assize of Arms’-1252, that saw the appointment
of constables to summon men to arms, end
uprisings, bring criminals to reeves
• Statute of Westminster of 1285, revived local
courts, reformed local watchman system
• From 1500’s private watchmen, funded by
private groups and individuals, and made money
by charging for catching criminals, and make
them pay restitution
The History of Policing in Britain(2)
• 1st paid law enforcement were the London watchmen
that guarded the streets from 1663, known as ‘Charlies’
after King Charles II
• In the 18th Century the first signs of organised policing
appear with the parish constables and ‘night
watchmen’ (e.g. Bow Street Runners)-the foundation of
all Modern police forces on these
• By the end of the century, with riots and popular
manifestations, industrial revolution and duplication of
the population in London, concern increased with
policing population.
Bow Street Runners-London’s First Professional
Police force
• Formed in 1749 by the author, Henry Fielding.
• Name came from Bow Street Magistrates where they
were based.
• Patrolled upon horseback, where men of London, with
an intimate knowledge of the city
• Searched the length of the country.
• Formed the basis with which future police forces
operated upon.
• Disbanded in 1839
1st British Police force: Marine Police
• Established in 1798 to protect the merchandise
held at the Port of London, that imported
produce from the West Indies primarily.
• Oldest police force in the world, today part of the
Metropolitan Police
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPSYe6ydOp
8
Glasgow Police Act of 1800
• Act of Parliament that established a police force
in Glasgow under the control of the Lord Provost,
three magistrates and nine elected
commissioners.
• Other Scottish towns and cities then followed suit
and created their own police force
29th September1829: Metropolitan
Police Act
• London’s Police act founded by home secretary
Robert Peel, hence their nickname ‘Bobbies’.
• Primary role for them and the rest of the British
police was keeping the ‘Queen’s Peace’
• By 1839 The Bow Street Runners, The Police
Office constables who were attached to and
under the control of the Magistrates all became
part of the Metropolitan Police Force.
Firearms and The Metropolitan Police
• 1860’s the pistols were replaced with 622 Adams
revolvers and were carried after the ‘Clerkenwell
Bombing’ of December 1867
• 1883 Police officers were balloted about being
armed, and d 4,430 of the 6,325 officers
requested to be allowed to carry a weapon.
• The norm has been for British police officers to
be unarmed, only police officers in Northern
Ireland carry a firearm.
New Scotland Yard:
The Home of the
Metropolitan Police:
The size of The Metropolitan Police
• Upon 29th July 1829 Peel approved the force to
initially consist of 895 constables, 88 sergeants,
20 inspectors and 8 superintendents.
• Today the Metropolitan employ 31,478 sworn in
police officers, 3,831 community support officers
and 5,479 special constables.
Queen’s Peace
• Used throughout the Commonwealth for the protection of
the Monarch, to their subjects.
• Officers of the Queen’s peace have the right to detain
anyone creating a breach of the peace
• Murder, Assault etc, is an offence under this law “Where a
person of sound mind and discretion unlawfully kills any
reasonable creature in being and under the Queen’s peace
with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm”-in times
of war this excludes the killing of an enemy.
Policing the 2012 Olympic Games
• 12,000 officers on duty across London during the Games,
largest peace time operation ever conducted.
• Every Police force across the country provided officers
towards the Games force.
• Police leave cancelled during the period around the
Games.
• ‘As with other major events this is not just terrorism, but
public order, serious and organised crime and nonmalicious incidents such as accidents and natural
disasters’.
London 2012: Figures
• 276 arrests made by officers on Olympic duty, for 29 different
offences, and only 9 inside games venues
• 139 arrested for touting
• The most serious suspected offences included possession of a firearm
(1), possession of an offensive weapon (2), robbery (5), and assault
(16)-just 9 at Games venues
• Crime fell by 5% in London compared with the last years figures
Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
• Metropolitan CID, first of its type established in 1878 by
Charles Vincent
• Today required to have served in uniform for 2 years
before joining, take a 2 year course before they become
fully fledged.
• Their cases often are most serious murder and rape,
fraud, and are often complex cases and rely heavily upon
intelligence to build cases.
• Famous fictional CID’s: Inspector’s Morse and Frost
Evolution of British Police Forces
• County Police Act of 1839 allowed justices of the
peace in England and Wales to establish Police
forces in their counties
• By 1860, over 200 separate forces in England
and Wales
• 1964: Police Act, changed from 117 Police forces
to just 40 in England and Wales, today 42
• Scotland today has 8 Police forces and Northern
Ireland just one: Police service of Northern
Ireland
Police Forces
• Cities: City of London (separate to Metropolitan
Police), Greater Manchester, Merseyside
• Regions: West Midlands, South Wales, Thames
Valley, Avon and Somerset, Metropolitan
• Counties: Bedfordshire, Essex, Hampshire,
Norfolk, Nottinghamshire
Kent Police
• Created as ‘Kent County Constabulary’ in 1857,
with the first headquarters in Maidstone-and still
does today
• Changed its name to ‘Kent Police’ until 1990’s
• Today has 6 regional divisions. Ashford in South
Kent,.
• In 2010, had 3,787 serving officers, employing
over 6,000 people in total.
Consent
• Held in high esteem in the 1950s
• British police built on the philosophy of ‘policing
with consent’.
• Keeping in touch with the public.
• Constitutional freedoms and liberties.
• Non-political
• Not armed
• Non-militarised
9 Principles of Policing:
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1. To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal
punishment.
2. To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on
public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour and on their ability to secure and maintain public
respect.
3. To recognise always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the
securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
4. To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes
proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving police objectives.
5. To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion; but by constantly demonstrating
absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or
injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all
members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and
friendly good humour; and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
6. To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be
insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore
order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion
for achieving a police objective.
7. To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the
police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are
paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of
community welfare and existence.
8. To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even
seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively
judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
9. To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the
visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
Accountability
• Discretion
• Fisher v Oldham Corpn 1930: police officers
have legal powers in their own right.
• Individual Accountability:
• A) police officers can be sued just like any other
individual (legal accountability).
• B) Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
• C) Codes of conduct
• D) Written records of the use of police powers
• E) Independent Police Complaints Commission (Police
Reform Act 2002)
Accountability
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Collective Accountability:
A) Home Secretary
B) Chief Constables
C) Police Act 1996
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Metropolitan Police Authority
National objectives
Performance tables
Local policing plans
• D) Police Reform Act 2002 (National Annual
Policing Plan).
• Managerial-type of organization.
International Policing:
International Criminal Police
Organization (ICPO) Interpol
• Founded in 1923, and is the second largest
intergovernmental organisation behind the UN, with a
membership of 190 countries. Based in Lyon, France
• Its constitution forbids it to become involved in any
political, military, religious or racial matters.
• Primary focuses on terrorism, organised crime, war
crimes, drug’s, weapons smuggling, human trafficking,
money laundering, computer crime, corruption, crimes
against humanity, intellectual property crime.
Interpol history
• Established at the International Criminal Police
Congress held in Vienna in 1923.
• Britain did not join until 1928, the USA in 1938.
• In 1930 it established specialised departments to
deal with currency counterfeiting, criminal
records and passport forgery.
• In 1949, the United Nations grants it consultative
status as a non-governmental organisation. In
1971 it recognised it as an intergovernmental
organisation.
Recent famous Interpol cases
• One of the 2004 Madrid train bombers was
identified and brought to justice thanks to
cooperation between officials in Belgrade,
Baghdad and Madrid.
• It found Abu-Musab Al-Zarqawi, of al-Qaeda in
2005 through finger prints and photograhy, and
allowed US forces to take him
• Its incident response team helped coordinate
humanitarian and law-enforcement agencies
following the 2004 Tsunami.