Concept Map

1785

Legislative Changes

London and Westminster Police Bill

1792

Middlesex Justices Act

The New Police

1829

The Metropolitan Police Act

1835

Municipal Corporations Act

1839

Rural Constabulary Act

1856

County and Borough Police Act

The Bow Street Runners

1750-1839

Henry and John Fielding

national government beginning to debate the idea of a new police force

No consensus

The Gordon Riots

Anti-Catholic protest instigated by suggestion by General Gordon that constraints on Catholics be lifted (RE: political involvement)

Escalated to attacks on any sign of authority.

London was out of control and on fire for 3 days

would have created 9 new police divisions in Metropolitan London

3 salaried magistrates

25 constables

did not include the City of London

movement toward a more professional form of justice

created 7 new offices

6 north of the Thames

1 south of the Thames

series of unconnected forces

potential reform was sidelined because of the French Revolution

concern with foreign over domestic policy

specified hours for JPs

paid JPs and constabulary force

Sir Robert Peel

Home Secretary and PM

Preventative policing - based on patrols

No form of detective division

would not have passed; detection is still associated with spying and gov. surveillance

Private detection was not trusted

corruption

public and gov. disillusioned with Bow Street

Bow Street continues to run parallel to the new police until 1839

responsibilities were diminished due to reinforcement of preventive policing

new system superimposing over the old - gradually taking over

fluidity in personnel between the two

uniformed and salaried police force

answerable to a minister of the state

focused on new towns

old towns had charters specifying institutions of gov. and how roles would be filled

instructed to create police forces

traditionally been a local affair

established Watch Committees to form police forces

some towns were quicker than others to establish police forces

Agricultural unrest

Riotous behaviour became alarming after the Gordon Riots and the French Revolution

officials were apprehensive of public perception of the police force

Permissive act - voluntary

Provide a degree of national supervision

create local police force with centralized inspectors with financial incentive

paying half of the expenses of these new forces by the end of 1800s

extending the New Police system throughout England

The New Police in the Provinces

Public Perception

Scotland Yard

1834

1842

1869

Class and Criminals

Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

1795-1807

Classifying Criminals

Class and Detective Priorities

Lord William Russel

Jack the Ripper

1888

Ratcliffe Murders

Class within the Police

Social Composition

Recruitment and Promotion

Victorian Fears

urbanization

massive population growth

Victorian Beliefs

inherent immorality of the lower classes

upper classes were "respectable"

fixation on working class crime and interest in murder

Early Policing in Britain

The Bloody Code

"The Police"

Cultural Context

Traditional Personnel

Justice of the Peace / Magistrates

Parish Constable

The Night Watch

Problems in Metro London

punishment as deterrent

Magistrates

increase in property crime

under control of the JP from Bow Street

detective force able to infiltrate criminal groups was necessary

obtain intel

rewards for private prosecution

led to manipulation of the system to obtain rewards

wanted to create salaried, profressional police force

unpaid, amateurs

influenced legislative attempts to reform the police

public opinion was still generally negative

Role of the central government

secretly fund Bow Street

consolidation of policing

less variation between systems

Magistrates now only have judicial power

separating functions

1839

Parliamentary committees suggest Bow Street be absored into Metropolitan Police

Thief Takers

Private Initative

Bow Street Runners are Disbanded

Forensic Medicine

Policing Priorities

Policing Failure and Public Outcry

occasional need for a specialist detective force

looking for individuals with foreign language skills

"infiltrate" places of foreign congregations

listen, observe, report

wanted Bow Street gone

distrusted by the people

wanted Bow Street back

Established Scotland Yard

respectable people; aristocrats

Lord William Russel

2 superintendents, 6 sergeants

Full-time divisional detectives

Constance Kent

Jack the Ripper

1888

Joseph Bell

murder

foreign nationals

example of Scotland Yard investigating oitside of London

1869

Reformed as Criminal Investigation Division

The Press

crime sells

Public forum of discussion

influenced public opinion

1839-1842

played-up the failures of policing

Lower Echelon

resentful and suspicious

concern that they were being targeted

didn't benefit from the services

Organization

similar to the military

Police seen as "soldier-like"

wanted to avoid association with the military

Policing Morals

Examples

management and general governance

people suspicious of the idea of the police

associated with the French police system

threaten crime with severe punishment - death by hanging

private prosecutioin

conviction hinges on prosecution

created centrally

administered locally

guarded privilege over policing and punishment

the law

Central Gov. vs. Localities

Context

population expansion in London

biggest city in Europe by the 19th century

need greater policing force to handle large metropolis

protecting the librety of the subject and preserving public order

important to English national identity

conflicting desires

liberty vs. order

"The Slippery Slope"

Moral regulation

"moral failure" as an explanation for crimes

Religious Justice

Criminal Justice

Tension between crime and punishment

too many capital punishments makes th estate look criminal

the system and its application diverged

victim can decide whether to pursue judicial avenues/formal proceedings

"legal fictions"

Benefit of the Clergy

exempt from secular punishment

obtained by reading

literacy as proof of clergy

began to be used as a method to avoid hangins with no reading tests

only available once - branded to show previous cinvicion

The Pardon System

did not want to hang everyone, but did not want to release criminals back into society

The Old Baily

King and cabinet reviewed every capital conviction to determine who to hang

set an example with choice

discretionary justice

used to avoid hanging all convicts

unpaid, little training, amateurs

relied on manuals

new power bestowed upon by virtue of social power they already had

needed respect of the community

initiates formal proceedings for prosecution

lack of community

viewed as greedy - in it for the money

amateur, unpaid, no uniform

duties confined to parish boundries

community members serve for 1 year

appointed locally

check doors and windows; call out time

Early example of profiling

early use crime scene photography

from then on all prisoners had to be photographed

photos sent and housed at Scotland Yard

lower class victims - prostitutes

knowledge in anatomy; doctor or butcher

Policing the Poor

poor are more likely to be investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and receive harsher sentencing

Class Structures

18th Century:

social order takes precedent; less strictly defined

19th Century:

belonging to a class that encompasses interests and work; defined in opposition to other classes

The French Revolution

poor and working class - viewed as dangerous

shift from individual moral failure to entire lower class

threat to social order

Gradual shift - no corresponding revolution in England

criminal working class as a subset of the working class

fixation dominates thinking until the end of the 19th century

Post-1850s: genetics added to classification

genetically predisposed to criminality

influence of genetics / eugenics / Darwin

Patrick Calquhoun

made little influence on policing legislation

fixated on the belief that crime was a problem emanating from the poorest sections of society

Juvenile Offenders

mostly dealt with informally - unlikely to be persecued

rise in persecution

reflects increase in anxiety about the behaviour of juveniles

public concern

combination of "Slippery Slope" and working clas concerns

"underworld of crime" - source of concern

Victorians became obsessed with observing, understanding, and classifying

knowledge made it less threatening

keen to impose order on a disordered world

5 major headings

Henry Mayhew

20 subheadings

100 categories to thieves

lifestyle of the poor becomes a concern

imposing Victorian middle class values on the lower classes

crack-down on old forms of entertainment

combined idleness and mass gatherings

dangerous activities

blood sports

gambling

Targeting:

drunks, vagrants, paupers, proditutes, gamblers, street-traders, small-time theieves

concern for decent public order

attacking traditional lifestyles and pastimes

part of the community

familiar with social norms

knows boundaries

purposely sent local constables outside of local communities

uniformity in policing

Versus Old Policing System

19th Century Society

reflective of changing moral beliefs of society

NOT the police imposing a new order

Evolution of the communities over time - policing themselves

social acceptance of behaviours

social standards and tolerance for violence and cruety

Example: Wife beating

seen as a failure of masculinity; should be able to command respect without physical correction

White-Collar Crime

fraud and embezzlement

damaging to the economy

often ignored/not discussed

dismissed as "bad apples"

employers unlikely to take action

bad publicity - need to maintain public confidence

intense press coverage

criticism for the response to this crime compared to other overlooked murders

victims: prostitutes - working class; not respectable

unsolved - led to police criticism

respectable working class murders

public attention and outrage

violent, unclear motives

Recognizing Detection

unsolved murders

Early Crime Fiction

Criminal Biography

Compilation of Trials

The Ordinary's Account

Last Dying Speeches

Public Interest

Criminals Remembered

18th Century

19th Century

Bow Street Runners

Newgate Novels

Dramas

early 20s

minimum height of 5'9''

preference for recruits from the country

labourers, farmers, etc.

secure employment, wages, way out of the country

thought to be healthier - physically and morally

distance police from those they were policing

by 20th century: most were drawn from London