citizens didnt want a police force as they didn't want to be caught for their crimes. they saw it
as army-like and taking away their freedom and had a fear of the force of the government.
too expensive as the wealthy government were
unwilling to pay out and taxes were unpopular with
citizens
government were not too concerned as there
was other methods to stop crime such as H&C,
army and constables
how effective were the old methods of policing in new cities?
HUE AND CRY = not very effective as narrow, complex
roads and busy streets would make it hard to catch people
Citizens = not very effective as untrained and
unprofessional so would be ineffective despite large
numbers
REWARDS = quite effective as people want
money but were not very good at catching
criminals
THIEF-TAKERS = understood from their
experrience but often falsely accused
ARMY = it is extreme,
expensive and highlights
weakness in the government
(which was hated) and so
wasn't very effective
WATCHMEN AND SERGEANTS = quite effective as got to
the source of problems and removed it but could only deal
with drunks and may be outnumbered
CONSTABLES = may be
effective but large population
and lots of crime reduce their
effectiveness
STEPS TOWARDS THE FOUNDATION OF A POLICE FORCE
1=public used to existence of constable, watchmen,
thief-takers and the use of the H&C
2=1789 the Thames River Police was set up to try to prevent
and detect crime on the Thames and it was a forerunner for
many other police forces around the world.
3=John and Henry Fielding set up a
civilian horse patrol to stop highway
men
4=1805 the Fieldings created the Bow Street
Runners who were a team of paid thief-takers who
patrolled london's streets in the evening
5=fieldings started a
publication called the
H&C newspaper which
contained and passed on
details of crime and stolen
property. was shown to
magistrates and public
6=1822 Sir Robert Peel appointed Home Secretary
and supported ideas of Fieldings and increased
work of Bow Street runners to include a day patrol
too
7=Duke of Wellington said by 1829 there was 18 groups trying
to stop crime in Lodon, but none of them ever worked togetehr.
why was the first police force set up in london in 1829?
1=GOVERNMENTS AND TAXATION
government became more involved with
trying to change life in britain through
reform. after finding it easy to raise taxes
for the war with france they realised they
could raise taxes to be spent on reform.
they gave permission for local authorites
to collect taxes and spend it on policing
2=FEAR OF PROTEST after the revolution in france and
protests in britain over unemployment and food prices the
landowners wanted a way to prevent the breakout of riots
3=LONDON AND OTHER TOWNS eg liverpool and manchester had
expanded rapidly and become centers for poverty and related crime
such as theft, mugging and prostitution. they were so large and
overcrowded they were impossible for constables and watchmen to
police
4= INCREASED CRIME AND FEAR OF CRIME there was a
sharp increase in violence and crimes after the wars with france
and a fear among the public this would get out of control
aspects of 19th C policing
uniform-wore reinforced blue top hats, blue coats, no
decoration and carried a truncheon instead of a sword. although
they could be avoided by criminals and recognised, they
prevented opposition by not looking like soldiers who people
believed would interfere with their civil liberties
routine
jobs-included
clearing drunks and
vagrants from the
street and dealing
with traffic issues
and dangerous
drivers. this dealt
well with crime on
streets but not other
types eg homicide
dealing with
crimes-caught thieves and
arrested them and stopped
crime with their presence.
they had limited power and
ability so couldn't solve all
crimes but knowledge of
them and their power
prevented crime
staff turnover-was a problem as many people
left due to dismissal for drunkedness, to go
to their old jobs or better themselves in
another. in 4 years only 562/2800 constables
remained which reduced effectiveness of
force
pay-21 shillings a week, ten left over for
single man after all necessities paid for.
as pay improved police developed
reputation of being trustworthy. allowed the
force income and so resources and
reputaiton but it was less than a skilled
worker and still seen to be overpaying them
making police force compulsory-it was made
compulsory for every district to have a police force in
1856. some areas had remained unpoliced until then.
making it compulsory meant crime could be stopped
and police could benefit people on a large scale
introduction of plain clothes police-in 1833 police
raised issue of criminals avoiding them in their
uniform and so a plain clothed force was introduced. it
was 3x more effective and it removed the limitations
uniform had caused. detectives were also introduced
and they helped crime detection
dealing with riots instead of the army-london police were used around country
to stop riots or protests which sometimes caused injury or death. it led to less
violence as the police killed less innocent people than the army but they may
not have been as effective eg lack of weapons
chnaging public attitudes-police became respected and accepted
and by 1850's, insults had reduced. when PC Robert Culley was killed
in 1833 the jury said it was justifiable homicide. suspicion of police
reduced and meant they could work effectively without fear of harm
unlike 1833 and so people were more willing to use the force for help
police's effects on crime rates-crime fell
steadily for 50 years from 1850-1900 as police
prevented crimes such as robberies and so
helped to reduce crime rates and make streets
more safe and secure
why did the crime rate fall from 1750-1900
prisons kept people off the
street, reformed criminals and
separated children and adults
fairer punishments were used as the bloody code
was abolished and the number of crimes
punishable by executeion reduced
presence of police deterred people from
committing crimes, arrested criminals, plain
clothes couldn't be avoided and became accepted
and respected
increased employment
meant people were off the
street and earning money so
weren't short of money and
needing to steal
better wages meant people could
afford resources, support themselves
and family without needing to steal
and police could do job properly
why were protesters treated more leniently after 1850?
1=1850's and 1860's were times of prosperity
and the government began improving conditions
of work and tackling poverty but most men and all
women couldn't vote. workers lacked working
rights and had low wages.
2= different methods of protests were used and they were better organised and tried to win
public support eg london dock strike 1889 union leaders made great efforts to welcome
police and strikers were careful not to threaten non stricking workers and so only 20 arrests
were made
3= lots of different groups protesting
about lots of different issues and so
the government could not force them
all to stop.
4= parliament did not feel threatened
because workers were just protesting
against bad conditions and pay
how far did different areas reform?
attitude to criminals - criminals became viewed as deserving of a 2nd chance and
human beings with rights and backgrounds. rehabilitation was offered to them in prison
treatment of male criminals in prisons-did not really change accept they were separate from women and children
treatment of female criminals in prison-give rules, women wardens, clothing, furniture, education, work and shackling was abolished and women's only prisons were introduced
treatment of children in prisons-received almost everything women did and education
made compulsory until 10 yrs old (and later older). they made children only borstals which
stopped them mixing with adults but they had poor conditions
fairness of punishments-rules made punishments uniform and prevent gaolers
choosing which made them more proportionate to crime and lass brutal. more criminals
were effectively dealt with and fewer just killed.
use of capital punishments-number of capital offences went from 200 to 5 and meant only
major crimes were punished with execution and minor minor ones could be dealt with in a
less harsh way. criminal reform was more common and effective due to regulatd punishment
system.