-
Self-policing. Group of 10 men (over 12 years old). If one broke law, others had to bring him to court or pay fine.
-
Victim/witness raised hue & cry. Village joined hunt to catch criminal. If anyone didn't join, village had to pay heavy fine.
-
Put down protests, dealt with riots & captured more organised criminal gangs. Unpopular with ordinary people. Gave impression that government ignoring concerns & silencing by force.
-
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.
-
5,000 knights couldn't keep control of 1.5 million Anglo-Saxons so kept self-policing system.
-
Introduced in 1190. Dealt with suspicious deaths
-
Appointed by king. Keepers of 'king's peace'.
-
Introduced by Edward I in 1285.
-
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.
-
Constable expected to lead. Local posse could be called out (led by royal sheriff). Less effective in towns.
-
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.
-
Rewards could be very high, e.g. equivalent to year's income for middle-class family.
-
Employed in larger towns. Patrolled streets during day/night. Arrested drunk & vagabonds. Peered into windows to check no-one breaking law. Poorly paid & ineffective.
-
Employed in towns. Enforced market regulations, e.g. weighed goods. Collected fines if traders behaved badly.
-
Offered for arrest of particular criminals. Usually for more serious crimes.
-
Generally hated, along with those who informed on poachers for rewards. Villagers often provided alibis & lied in court to protect poachers.
-
Set up around London to target highwaymen. High rewards encouraged informers to report highwaymen.
-
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
-
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.
-
Fielding brothers introduced horse patrol to stop highwaymen in 1763. Effectively ended highway robbery around London. When patrols stopped, robbers returned.
-
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.
-
Government started to pay them in 1785.
-
Success of Bow Street Runners led to more detective offices being set up in Middlesex & Westminster, e.g. 1792 Middlesex Justices Act.
-
Patrol of 54 men set up.
-
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.
-
Responsible for prevention/detection of crime & maintenance of public order.
-
Towns allowed to set up own police forces.
-
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.
-
Met. Police set up first detective branch to gather evidence, investigate & solve crimes after committed. Wore plain clothes. Some accused them of being spies.
-
1856 Police Act made compulsory for all towns/counties to have centrally-controlled professional police force. Police regarded with more respect than suspicion.
-
National Crime Records set up. Different police forces could communicate by telegraph.
-
Commissioner Henderson introduced rules to increase quality of recruits & raise standard of literacy.
-
Charles Vincent (head of CID between 1878 & 1884) reformed Met. Police Detective Branch into Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
-
39,000 policemen. Over 2,000 separate forces.
-
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.
-
Used fingerprints & chemical analysis of blood samples to identify suspects since 1901.
-
Female officers introduced in 1920. 7% in 1977 to 28% in 2015.
-
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.
-
999 emergency telephone number set up in 1937.
-
Since 1947, new recruits have undertaken 14 weeks basic training at National Police Training College. Local forces have specialists to continue training.
-
Shift towards crime prevention. Crime Prevention Officers introduced in every force. Advised locals on crime prevention & security.
-
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.
-
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).
-
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.
-
First murder conviction from DNA technology in 1988.
-
126,818 officers as of March 2015. Spread across 43 local forces in England/Wales.