In June 1780, Londoners saw rioting when the Protestant Association protested a minor easing of the
then anti-Catholic laws. The suppression of these riots required soldiers, and
soon after there was an attempt to establish a professional Metropolitan
Police. It failed, due to the hostility of the Lord Mayor and of the City of
London Corporation.
So at the beginning of the C19th,
Britain did NOT have a nation-wide, professional police force. The first local
police force, funded by local taxation, was in Scotland - The City of
Glasgow Police was founded in 1800! In those days, Glasgow police
undertook more duties than just policing, including fire fighting.
Robert Peel (1788–1850)
was born in Lancashire to a cotton mill owner. He was educated at Harrow and
Oxford, and then he entered parliament in 1809 as a member of the Tory party.
Peel held prominent positions within government early in his career, becoming
Under-Secretary for War and Colonies 1809 and Chief Secretary for Ireland 1812. Peel introduced broad criminal
law and prison reform, and established the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1822, to
deal with rioting and sectarian violence.
Following the success of the Royal
Irish Constabulary it became clear that an organised crime prevention system was
needed in London, a city with a population of 1.5 million people that was
policed by only 4,500-nightwatchmen.
By the time Sir Robert Peel was Home Secretary in Lord Liverpool’s
Tory Cabinet for a second time (1828–30), he had the Metropolitan
Police Act of 1829 passed in London. The Act provided permanent and paid
Metropolitan Police Force constables to protect the capital city & improve public law.
Peelers aka bobbies in long coats and top hats, 1870
photo credit: Getty
Sir Robert Peel
by Sir Thomas Lawrence (who died in 1830)
credit: Tamworth Borough Council
In London the selection rules were quite strict: men had to be aged 20-7, minimally 5′ 7″, physically healthy, literate and have no criminal history. Dressed in long blue tail-coats and strengthened top-hats for protection, policemen began to patrol London’s streets in Sep 1829. The uniform was chosen so that the Peelers looked like ordinary citizens, rather than like soldiers with red coats and military helmets. Each Peeler was given a wooden truncheon carried in the long coat pocket, a pair of handcuffs and a wooden rattle/ whistle to raise the alarm.
Many people feared that the police would be used to arrest opponents of the government, stop protests & destroy free speech. Since police were seen as a threat to civil liberties, and some police were seriously harmed by the public, Peel's Principles of Law Enforcement were quickly published in 1829:
1.The basic mission for which police exist is to prevent crime and disorder as an alternative to the repression of crime and disorder by military force and severity of legal punishment.
2.The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behaviour and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect.
3.The police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law.
4.The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes, proportionately, to the necessity for the use of physical force and compulsion in achieving police objectives.
5.The police preserve public favour by constantly demonstrating impartial service to the law, and without regard to the justice of the substance of individual laws; by ready offering of individual service to all members of society without regard to their race or social standing, with courtesy; and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
6.The police should use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of advice and warning is found to be insufficient.
7.The police should never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary by avenging individuals or the state, or authoritatively judging guilt or punishing the guilty.
Weapons issued to London policemen
Scotland Yard (striped building on the right hand side of the photo)
Victoria Embankment
Why was the legislation slow to be implemented? Firstly the new police were seen by some as a means of enforcing the new Poor Law, which was desperately unpopular. Secondly the system was thought to be too expensive. But mostly there was no provision for government inspection or regulation, so many simply did not bother.
Clearly the policemen’s lives had to be strictly controlled. They worked every day, with only 5 days unpaid holiday per year for which they received £1 per week. They were not allowed to vote in elections and required permission to get married. Nonetheless the initial officers didn’t last. Of the 2,800 new policemen, 2,200 Metropolitan policemen were sacked for drunkenness or for disobeying Peel’s rules. The Metropolitan Police soon had 17 divisions, with 4 inspectors and 144 constables each. Under the Home Secretary, the force’s headquarters were located in Scotland Yard.
Why was the legislation slow to be implemented? Firstly the new police were seen by some as a means of enforcing the new Poor Law, which was desperately unpopular. Secondly the system was thought to be too expensive. But mostly there was no provision for government inspection or regulation, so many simply did not bother.
Clearly the policemen’s lives had to be strictly controlled. They worked every day, with only 5 days unpaid holiday per year for which they received £1 per week. They were not allowed to vote in elections and required permission to get married. Nonetheless the initial officers didn’t last. Of the 2,800 new policemen, 2,200 Metropolitan policemen were sacked for drunkenness or for disobeying Peel’s rules. The Metropolitan Police soon had 17 divisions, with 4 inspectors and 144 constables each. Under the Home Secretary, the force’s headquarters were located in Scotland Yard.
Earl Grey’s Whig Government was dismissed in 1834 by the king, who appointed Peel as the new prime minister (1834-5). Although in power, Peel's Tories remained a minority in the House of Commons, so Peel resigned in 1835.
The Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 allowed Borough Councils to organise a police force but only half of the 171 boroughs had enacted the law within a few years. The Rural Constabulary Act of 1839 allowed the English Counties to raise and equip a paid police force. The Act allowed for one policeman per 1,000 population, but it still did not meet the demand for a national police force. Thus the Metropolitan Police was the controlling power, almost by default.
Still, these policemen became the model for the creation of all the provincial forces; at first in the London Boroughs, and then into the counties and towns.
Peel was prime minister once again from 1841-6. In June 1846, with support from the Whigs, the much hated Corn Laws were finally repealed in 1846, splitting the Tory party. When Peel was defeated on another bill, he permanently resigned, dying in 1850.
The police force in London was very effective in reducing crime and increasing detection, yet there were still only 12,000 policemen in England and Wales in the mid 1850. In 1856 73,240 persons were arrested just in London - for drunkenness, larceny, assaults on policemen & prostitution.
In 1869 new telegraph systems meant a National Criminal Record could be created, using rapid communications between counties.
Read The Great British Bobby by Clive Emsley, 2009.
In 1869 new telegraph systems meant a National Criminal Record could be created, using rapid communications between counties.
Read The Great British Bobby by Clive Emsley, 2009.
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12 comments:
Peelers and Bobbies yes, but who was the Old Bill?
Deb
Peelers and Bobbies were named for Sir Robert Peel, but "Old Bill" may have originated in any number of places:
1. It referred to the act of parliament that empowered the police. Before they got uniforms, they relied on their paper credentials to show their authority. Each officer carried around a copy of the authorising act of parliament.
2. It was a reference to King William IV. This was because constables were citizens locally appointed but had authority under the crown.
3. The expression inspired the television series The Bill, but which came first?
4. Old Bill became the nickname for the Met police following the Great War. Their fashion for wearing moustaches looked like the soldier cartoon character Old Bill, by George Bairnsfather.
Peel's principles sound very modern and humane. "The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behaviour and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect". "The police preserve public favour by constantly demonstrating impartial service to the law, and without regard to the justice of the substance of individual laws; by ready offering of individual service to all members of society without regard to their race or social standing, with courtesy". Modern police, take note.
The selection rules I think would have precluded so many. People were shorter back then and surely literacy levels were much lower, although some may think differently when talking about our children's current literacy levels.
No doubt our Peel Street in North Melbourne and the one in Collingwood were name after Sir Robert, along with the old Sir Robert Peel Hotel, later known just as The Peel. A friend in Launceston lives in a Peel Street
Andrew
Selection rules are higher when there are more applicants than spaces available, and lower when the spaces available cannot be filled. For example in 1914 in the army, there were so many volunteers that people with trivial issues like flat feet were rejected. By 1916, men were taken into the army even if they had a broken spine.
There are many pubs named after Sir Robert Peel, and not just in London. Perhaps pub owners liked the names of famous people, especially the names of men with a bit of a sharp reputation. But why in Melbourne?
Hels
what a remarkable fellow. It really beggars belief that a city of 1.5million could function without a police force . Were they the first in the world ?
mem
Before 1800 in France, felonies were tried by the various city parliaments which acted as courts and provided the accused with the safeguards stipulated by the law. Minor, everyday violations were dealt with by police officers and, if needed, by police courts.
But until 1800, public order in Britain remained the responsibility of the justice of the peace, his constable, a watchman on the city gates, and private guards on valuable properties. Only when riots occurred did the military turn up. I suppose we can conclude that the investigation and prosecution of crimes largely remained a private matter, to be handled by the victims. Until Glasgow and London starting changing their history.
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In 1749 magistrate Henry Fielding (also known as the author of Tom Jones) founded the Bow Street Runners who were, in fact, Britain's first police force. Before that time most crime was solved privately (for a fee) or by citizen's arrest. They lasted until 1839 when Peel's police force largely superseded them. Bow Street Magistrates was finally closed down in 2006. Now, inevitably, it has become a luxury hotel.
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bazza
correct! The reason I didn't include the Bow Street Runners was because there were too few of them (5? 6?) to patrol even one shopping centre. However they were important because they forced Parliament to deal with the critical issues of legislation and funding.
And Fielding created a magistrates’ court that for the first time was open to the public every day. This was another important innovation.
Hello Hels, It seems that policemen have always been beset with problems--either unappreciated and in danger, or they go the other way and become corrupt and threatening. It makes me long for the days of the old song:
He's one of the Finest,
Guarding our safety and peace.
Brave and courageous,
Never outrageous,
One of our Finest police!
"The Finest" of course refers to New York City's famous police force.
--Jim
Parnassus
I think most police forces understand that dilemma now, except perhaps in extremely brutal regimes, but it looks as if Peel understood it 200+ years ago. Clever man.
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