Development of the Police Force

History of the Police UK

Before the development of the police force, policing was done through several localised means. This varied from private watchmen to parish constables.

In some locations, some salaried constables and watchmen would be the beginnings of the modern police force, but in the following 200 years a proper, organised police force would eventually develop. The old model was rather problematic for several reasons. Firstly, due to the localised nature of policing, it was unorganised, unprofessional and could not undertake a proper criminal investigation. Secondly, localised policing was extremely vulnerable to bias and corruption, with unpaid constables left extremely open to local influence and opinion. Finally, the only response to public unrest was to introduce the army.

This was not only time-consuming and often unsuitable, but it was also completely impractical. The army was not suitable for controlling large crowds, as demonstrated during the Peterloo Massacre in 1819. Instead of calming the crowd down, the soldiers escalated the situation and led to fifteen people's death.

Development of the Police Force c1700-c1900

The modern development of the police force is defined by three stages of policing, beginning with localised police constables and watchmen. As crime increased and cities expanded, magistrates sought the assistance of bounty hunters and eventually organisations such as the Bow Street Runners, who worked for the magistrates to catch criminals and were more reliable than bounty hunters. They wore uniforms and resembled modern forces much more closely. The final stage was full professionalisation, with forces paid by the central government and accountable to the public. The first modern police force in the world was the Glasgow City Police Force in 1800. Previously Scottish cities had been policed by unpaid watchmen. The new professional police force was born with the Glasgow Police Act 1800 and would set the precedent for future acts to establish police forces in other cities.

Glasgow police, 1919. Wikimedia Commons.

Although technically the first modern police force, the Glasgow police officers held similar duties to the previous watchmen. These police officers did street sweeping and fire fighting and were a small force and so were not truly police officers in the modern sense. By contrast, the London Metropolitan Police was dedicated to maintaining law and order, and was a much larger organisation. The Met was founded by Robert Peel with the Metropolitan Police Act 1829. But even the Metropolitan Police did not have executive powers. The Met had to compete with local forces, even in London. Due to its size and professionalism, the “Met” is often regarded as the first official professional police force.

Modern Policing

What was notable about these new police forces is unlike previous parish watchmen and parish constables, the aim was not only to deal with criminals after a crime was committed but also to take on a preventative role. This summed up a new attitude in Victorian society that crime could be beaten altogether. By the 1850s based on the success of other forces, police forces began to be established uniformly across the country.

This suddenly gave the government more control over not just policing, but made them directly responsible for dealing with the issue of crime. The new police forces, therefore, answered to Parliament and by extension the people. This made it one of the police’s key duties to deal with issues of public concern, rather than the interests of private landowners or other figures.

The Development of the Police Force in Britain

In London, crime had begun to spiral. There were only a few parish constables or watchmen for a city whose population had swelled to one and a half million people. Crime was now rapidly becoming a political issue and Home Secretary Robert Peel viewed the introduction of a professionalised police force as the only viable solution.

The Metropolitan Police was the benchmark for police forces in the UK, and police forces began to be formed in cities across the country.

Ramsgate Police Chief Constable, Wikimedia Commons.

By the early 1850s, the government began to strongly consider national policing. The first national police force was the Irish Constabulary, formed in 1837. In 1856, the government introduced policing across the nation. Although not a national police force, local authorities were required to form their own police forces that would be funded by the central government. In a period of fewer than thirty years, standardised policing had been adopted across the country.

Policing By Consent

A key concept of these newly created police forces was the idea of policing by consent. This meant that Police Constables were civilians in uniform and that their basis of maintaining authority was based on the support of the general public and their fellow citizens. The way to build this support would be through demonstrating integrity and always maintaining a high level of transparency and accountability. To maintain legitimacy, constables could not engage in corruption and discriminatory practices and they must adhere to the law like everybody else.

Victorian Police Officers in Canterbury, Kent, Wikimedia Commons.

The police were seen as a force to promote crime prevention instead of just dealing with criminals once a crime had been committed. From this perspective, police constables needed to be welcomed by communities both rich and impoverished and not seen as a threat.

First Police Force in England

The popularity of the police was varied, with many members of the public seeing them as a threat to civil liberties and essentially a backup to other law enforcement. The concept of policing by consent aimed to mitigate this, and over time trust strengthened. The British Police came to be affectionately known as “bobbies” after Robert Peel or in other cases “Peelers”.

Due to London’s size, the professionalism and organisation of the police were essential. The police were efficiently organised into different districts, while the principle of policing by consent was a core value. With a professional, unified police force, crime could be combatted effectively and in an organised manner.

City of London Police give a guard of honour to King George V outside St. Paul's Cathedral in 1915, Wikimedia Commons.

The Development of Police Forces was a key ingredient in the development of modern law enforcement. The role of police officers was to rather assist the public rather than suppress them. Led by the Metropolitan Police, Britain would soon have a professional police force nationwide.