-
Period: 1000 to 1500
Tithings
Self-policing. Group of 10 men (over 12 years old). If one broke law, others had to bring him to court or pay fine. -
Period: 1000 to
Hue & Cry
Victim/witness raised hue & cry. Village joined hunt to catch criminal. If anyone didn't join, village had to pay heavy fine. -
Period: 1000 to
Army
Put down protests, dealt with riots & captured more organised criminal gangs. Unpopular with ordinary people. Gave impression that government ignoring concerns & silencing by force. -
Period: 1000 to
Sanctuary
Could claim sanctuary at a church. Under protection of Church. County sheriff couldn't remove them by force. 40 days to decide whether to face trial or leave country (barefoot & carrying cross). Henry VIII limited to 7 cities. Abolished by James I in 1623. -
1066
Hue & Cry
5,000 knights couldn't keep control of 1.5 million Anglo-Saxons so kept self-policing system. -
Period: 1190 to
Coroners
Introduced in 1190. Dealt with suspicious deaths -
Period: 1250 to
Justices of the Peace
Appointed by king. Keepers of 'king's peace'. -
1285
Parish Constables
Introduced by Edward I in 1285. -
Period: 1285 to
Parish Constables
Tithingmen became known as constables. Had to keep peace & look out for crime. Mostly dealt with everyday matters, e.g. begging without licence. Led hue & cry. Made sure suspects held in prison until trial. Unpaid. No weapons or uniform. Had power to inflict some punishments, e.g. whipping. Didn't track criminals across counties. Parish smallest unit of local government. Victims of crime could get arrest warrant from JP, then track down criminal & deliver to constable. -
1500
Hue & Cry
Constable expected to lead. Local posse could be called out (led by royal sheriff). Less effective in towns. -
1500
Justices of the Peace
Wealthy landowners took job for prestige offered. Judged manor court cases. Could fine people, send to stocks/pillory or order to be whipped. Assisted by constable. -
1500
Rewards
Rewards could be very high, e.g. equivalent to year's income for middle-class family. -
Period: 1500 to
Town watchmen
Employed in larger towns. Patrolled streets during day/night. Arrested drunk & vagabonds. Peered into windows to check no-one breaking law. Poorly paid & ineffective. -
Period: 1500 to
Sergeants
Employed in towns. Enforced market regulations, e.g. weighed goods. Collected fines if traders behaved badly. -
Period: 1500 to
Rewards
Offered for arrest of particular criminals. Usually for more serious crimes. -
Period: to
Gamekeepers
Generally hated, along with those who informed on poachers for rewards. Villagers often provided alibis & lied in court to protect poachers. -
Period: to
Mounted patrols
Set up around London to target highwaymen. High rewards encouraged informers to report highwaymen. -
Bow Street Runners
Fielding brothers believed rising crime result of breakdown in order as thousands flooded into London to make living & bad example of corrupt politicians. Set up team of thief-takers (Bow Street Runners) in 1748. Originally made up of 6 men -
Period: to
Bow Street Runners
Patrolled streets of London in evening, investigated crimes, detected criminals & presented evidence in court. No overall co-ordination of constable, watchmen & runners. Many feared cost of police force & worried government might use it to limit freedom. -
Mounted patrols
Fielding brothers introduced horse patrol to stop highwaymen in 1763. Effectively ended highway robbery around London. When patrols stopped, robbers returned. -
'The Hue & Cry' newspaper
Set up in 1772 by Henry & John Fielding (took over Bow Street Magistrate's Court in 1748). Published information about criminals, crime & stolen goods. Magistrates & gaolers passed on details across country. Created national network of information. -
Bow Street Runners
Government started to pay them in 1785. -
Bow Street Runners
Success of Bow Street Runners led to more detective offices being set up in Middlesex & Westminster, e.g. 1792 Middlesex Justices Act. -
Bow Street Runners
Patrol of 54 men set up. -
Police force
Metropolitan Police Act introduced in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel (Home Secretary in 1822). Replaced watchmen/parish constables. First professional police force. 3,200 men. 17 districts across London had own police division with 4 inspectors & 144 constables. Deterred criminals by presence on street or caught them in act. Especially petty theft or drunkenness. Patrolled beats of up to 20 miles. Military drill training. Unarmed & civilian uniform to distinguish from army. First patrols on 29th Sept. -
Period: to
Police force
Responsible for prevention/detection of crime & maintenance of public order. -
Police force
Towns allowed to set up own police forces. -
Police force
Counties allowed to set up own police forces (differences between regions as some didn't set up forces). Bow Street Runners merged with Met. Police. -
Police force
Met. Police set up first detective branch to gather evidence, investigate & solve crimes after committed. Wore plain clothes. Some accused them of being spies. -
Police force
1856 Police Act made compulsory for all towns/counties to have centrally-controlled professional police force. Police regarded with more respect than suspicion. -
Police force
National Crime Records set up. Different police forces could communicate by telegraph. -
Police force
Commissioner Henderson introduced rules to increase quality of recruits & raise standard of literacy. -
Police force
Charles Vincent (head of CID between 1878 & 1884) reformed Met. Police Detective Branch into Criminal Investigation Department (CID). -
Police force
39,000 policemen. Over 2,000 separate forces. -
Police force
Specialisation of police force as crime has become more varied/complex. Highly trained specialist units, e.g. Fraud Squad, Drugs Squad, dog-handlers, counter-terrorist squads & cyber-crime units. -
Police force
Used fingerprints & chemical analysis of blood samples to identify suspects since 1901. -
Police force
Female officers introduced in 1920. 7% in 1977 to 28% in 2015. -
Police force
Cars/motorbikes have improved police response speed since 1930s. Two-way radios in cars to communicate with station/hq. By 1970s, had effectively replaced beat. Many forces have reintroduced foot/bicycle patrols to build better community relations. Police helicopters track suspects & support officers on ground. -
Police force
999 emergency telephone number set up in 1937. -
Police force
Since 1947, new recruits have undertaken 14 weeks basic training at National Police Training College. Local forces have specialists to continue training. -
Police force
Shift towards crime prevention. Crime Prevention Officers introduced in every force. Advised locals on crime prevention & security. -
Police force
Police National Computer (PNC) has collected together several databases since 1974. Includes fingerprints, motor vehicles & missing person details. Officers have access to local/national information 24 hours a day. -
Police force
CCTV began to be introduced to prevent crime & identify/convict suspects. Automatic Number Plate Recognition also used (registration checked against database of vehicles of interest). -
Period: to
Neighbourhood Watch
Began in 1982. Members of community report suspicious behaviour to police who follow up. Aim to improve community safety, prevent crime, assist police in detection, reduce fear & improve relationships.Similar idea of community policing. Became national network in 2007. -
Police force
First murder conviction from DNA technology in 1988. -
Police force
126,818 officers as of March 2015. Spread across 43 local forces in England/Wales.