HISTORY OF THE POLICE

ENGLISH INFLUENCE Kin Police

People watch out for their own relatives and kin Watch System (until the mid-19th century)

Citizen Volunteers Provided social services

Light street lamps Soup kitchens Recover lost children Capture runaway animals

Minimal crime control

ENGLISH INFLUENCE

Policing in England and Colonial America was largely ineffective, as it was based on a volunteer system and their method of patrol was both disorganized and sporadic.

ENGLISH INFLUENCE

Responsibility of enforcing the law shifted away from citizen volunteers to groups of men living in the community. This was the frankpledge system in England Men formed groups of 10 called tythings

(tithings) 10 tythings were grouped into hundreds Hundreds were grouped into shires A shire reeve was chosen to be in charge of

each shire

ENGLISH INFLUENCE

Individual members of the tythings were responsible for capturing criminals and bringing them to court

The shire reeve provided oversight of the activities conducting in the tythings of the shire

ENGLISH INFLUENCE

The shire reeve evolved into what American law enforcement position today?

ENGLISH INFLUENCE

American system similar to the English system

Sheriff’s responsibilities … Catch criminals (least profitable act) Work with the courts Collect taxes (most profitable act)

ENGLISH INFLUENCE

Colonial America Night Watch (and later, Day Watch) groups

largely ineffective Members would sleep or socialize on duty Citizen-based watch groups not equipped to

deal with social unrest and rioting of late 1700s through the early 1800s

Emergence of publicly funded police departments

SIR ROBERT PEEL

Metropolitan Police Act Introduced to Parliament in 1829 by Sir Robert

Peel, Home Secretary of England Created a police force to manage social conflict

in London Created the first “modern” police department London Metropolitan Police, September 29, 1829

SIR ROBERT PEEL

Father of modern policing Integral part of the creation of the London

Metropolitan Police Created basic principles that would guide the

formation of police departments in the United States

SIR ROBERT PEEL

Why are past and current officers of the London Metropolitan Police referred to as Bobbies or Peelers?

SIR ROBERT PEEL

Believed primary function of police should be crime prevention Work in a coordinated and centralized manner Coverage across beat areas Be available in public night and day Preventative patrol to deter criminal activity

SIR ROBERT PEEL

Believed London Metropolitan Police Department should be viewed as legitimate

Identified several principles that he believed would establish credibility with the public

SIR ROBERT PEEL – PEELIAN PRINCIPLES Police must be under government control Military-like organizational structure Easily accessible central headquarters Quality of officers would contribute to legitimacy

Even tempered and reserved Appropriate uniforms Badge numbers No firearms Appropriate training

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

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.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police existence, actions, behavior and the ability of the police to secure and maintain public respect.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

3. The police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain public respect.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

5. The police seek and preserve public favor, not by catering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to the 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 society without regard to their race or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humor; and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

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 persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to achieve police objectives; and police should use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

7. The police at all times should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police are the only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the intent of the community welfare.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

8. The police should always direct their actions toward their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary by avenging individuals or the state, or authoritatively judging guilt or punishing the guilty.

PEELIAN PRINCIPLES

9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.