History of law enforcement in the United

Kingdom
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Law enforcement
in the United Kingdom

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  Civil enforcement officer
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Concepts[show]

Acts[show]

Statutory instruments[show]

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 v
 t
 e

The history of law enforcement in the United Kingdom charts the development of law
enforcement in the United Kingdom.[1][2]
Victorian Police Officer with itinerant circa 1900 - recreation. The officer is pictured wearing a duty armband on
his left wrist.

David Kirkwood being detained by police during the 1919 Battle of George Square.

Eurocopter EC 135 T2 providing law enforcement and medical assistance in the Avon and Somerset Police,
and Gloucestershire Police areas, based at Bristol Filton Airport.

Contents

 1History
o 1.1Watchmen and Constables
o 1.2London
o 1.3Boroughs and Counties
o 1.4National Policing
 o 1.5Modern Policing
o 1.6Height of officers
 2Timeline
 3See also
 4References
 5Further reading

History[edit]
Watchmen and Constables[edit]
The Statute of Winchester 1285 was the primary piece of legislation that regulated the policing of the
country in the period after the Norman Conquest until the nineteenth century. Of particular note was
the requirement to raise hue and cry, and that "the whole hundred … shall be answerable" for
any theft or robbery, in effect a form of collective responsibility.[3]
During this period, law enforcement and policing were organised by local communities such as town
authorities. Within local areas, a constable could be attested by two or more Justices of the Peace, a
procedure that some sources say had its roots in an Act of the Parliament of England of
1673.[4] From the 1730s, local improvement Acts made by town authorities often included provision
for paid watchmen or constables to patrol towns at night, while rural areas had to rely on more
informal arrangements.[5] In 1737, an Act of Parliament was passed "for better regulating the Night
Watch" of the City of London which specified the number of paid constables that should be on duty
each night.[6] Henry Fielding established the Bow Street Runners in 1749; between 1754 and
1780, Sir John Fielding reorganised Bow Street like a police station, with a team of efficient, paid
constables.[7]
In 1800, some town authorities became more involved in improving local policing. An Act of
Parliament in 1800 enabled Glasgow to establish the City of Glasgow Police. As the population in
industrial towns grew, more local Acts were passed to improve policing arrangements in those
towns, such as Rochdale in Lancashire in 1825, and Oldham in 1827.[5] In Ireland, the Belfast
Borough Police (1800), Dublin Metropolitan Police (1836) and Londonderry Borough Police (1848)
were founded. (At this time, all of Ireland was part of the UK.)
In November 1830 the Liverpool and Manchester Railway set up their own police establishment
under legislation going back to 1673. They were to preserve law and order on the construction site
and to control movement of railway traffic – by hand signals. This practice spread with the
development of railways, and small shelters were erected at these stations, becoming known as
police stations. Where there was no police control they were just known as stations. To this day
signalmen are known as ‘bobbies’.
Sir Robert Peel, appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1812, found local magistrates and the
Baronial Police unable to maintain law and order. he set up a Peace Preservation Force in 1814 and
a system of county constabularies under the Irish Constabulary Act 1822.[8]
London[edit]
Further information: History of the Metropolitan Police Service and Peelian Principles
London in the early 1800s had a population of nearly a million and a half people but was policed by
only 450 constables and 4,500 night watchmen. The idea of professional policing was taken up
by Sir Robert Peel when he became Home Secretary in 1822. Peel's Metropolitan Police Act
1829 established a full-time, professional and centrally-organised police force for the greater London
area known as the Metropolitan Police. The new Metropolitan Police were responsible for an area of
7 miles in radius from the centre of the city (excluding the City of London), which was later extended
to 15 miles. The government intentionally tried to avoid creating any likeness between the police and
a military force; in particular the officers of the new police force were not armed and a blue uniform
was chosen, dissimilar to that of the army. During this period, the Metropolitan Police was
accountable directly to the Home Secretary (whereas today it is accountable to the Mayor of London
and the Metropolitan Police Authority).[9][10]
The City of London was not included within the remit of the Metropolitan Police because the Mayor
and Corporation of the City of London refused to be part of a London-wide force because the City of
London had certain liberties dating back to Magna Carta.[9] The London City Police was formed in
1832, later renamed in 1839 to the City of London Police.[11]
Boroughs and Counties[edit]
In the early 1800s, Newcastle had a police force that was accountable to the mayor and council.
Liverpool, which was at the time a city of around 250,000 people, had only watchmen and parish
constables for policing, with a small police force for the dock area. The establishment of more formal
policing in cities started to gain more support among the public as cities grew and society became
more prosperous and better organised through understanding of legal rights, education and better
informed through the press.[12]
In 1835 the Municipal Corporations Act was passed by Parliament which required 178 Royal
Boroughs to set up paid police forces.[6] In 1839 the Rural Constabulary Act allowed county areas to
establish police forces if they chose to at a local level; Wiltshire was the first county to do this.[10] a
further eight county police forces were formed in 1839, twelve in 1840, four in 1841 and another four
by 1851.[6]
By 1851 there were around 13,000 policemen in England and Wales, although existing law still did
not require local authorities to establish local police forces.[10]
National Policing[edit]
The UK's first national police force was the Irish Constabulary, established in 1837. It received the
appellation Royal Irish Constabulary in 1867 after its success in suppressing the Fenian Rising.
In 1847 two pieces of national legislation were enacted - the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 and
the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847.[4] Parliament continued to discuss the idea of
national policing and, by the early 1850s, the Government was thinking about implementing policing
across the nation.[13]
After the County and Borough Police Act in 1856, policing became a requirement throughout
England and Wales paid for by central government Treasury department funds distributed to local
government. In addition, the Act formed a "central inspectorate of constabulary" that would assess
the effectiveness of each constabulary and report regularly to the Home Secretary. Parliament
passed a similar Act for Scotland in 1857.[10]
By 1900, England, Wales and Scotland had 46,800 policemen and 243 constabularies.[10]
The Police Act of 1946 led to the merger of a number of smaller town forces and surrounding county
forces, leaving 117 constabularies. Further mergers took place following the 1964 Police Act which
cut the number of police forces in England and Wales to 47, and Scotland to 20.[10]
Modern Policing[edit]
Since the 1960s, police forces in the United Kingdom have been merged and modernised by several
Acts of Parliament.
Height of officers[edit]
In the 19th and early 20th centuries most forces required that recruits be at least 5 feet 10 inches
(178 cm) in height. By 1960 many forces had reduced this to 5 feet 8 inches (173 cm), and 5 feet
4 inches (163 cm) for women. Many senior officers argued that height was a vital requirement for a
uniformed constable.[14] Some forces retained the height standard at 5 feet 10 inches (178 cm) or
5 feet 9 inches (175 cm) until the early 1990s. In May 1990, the minimum height requirement was
dropped by the Metropolitan Police, and other police forces had followed suit by September 1990.
No British force now requires its recruits to be of any minimum height.
The MacPherson report of 1999 recommended against height restrictions, arguing that they may
discriminate against those of ethnic backgrounds who are genetically predisposed to be shorter than
average.[15] The shortest officer in the UK, PC Sue Day of Wiltshire Police, is 4 feet 10 inches
(147 cm) tall.[16] The tallest is PC Anthony Wallyn of the Metropolitan Police who is 7 feet 2 inches
(218 cm) tall.[17] Both officers had to have their uniforms specially made for them due to their size.

Timeline[edit]

England and Wales Scotland Ireland/Northern Ireland

At the time of the formation of

the Kingdom of Great Britain,
only Edinburgh had any sort of
1707 police force - the Edinburgh
Town Guard that had been
formed in 1682 to police the city
and enforce an initiated curfew.

Edinburgh Town Guard gained

notoriety when its Captain
1726
Porteous became the trigger for
the Porteous Riots.

London's Bow Street

Runners established - considered the
1749
foundation to all modern police
forces.

Glasgow Magistrates appoint

James Buchanan as the first
Inspector of the Glasgow Police,
1779 with an establishment of eight
police officers, though it was
disbanded in 1781 due to a lack of
money.

The Glasgow Police re-

1788 established, but failure to succeed
in getting a Bill before Parliament
meant that the force again failed,
 in 1790.

The Marine Police was established,

1798 based in Wapping - a localised force
with a limited remit.

The Glasgow Police Act, the first

such Act in Britain, was finally
passed through the persistence of
Glasgow city authorities. This
allowed the formation of the City
Belfast Borough
1800 of Glasgow Police, funded by
Police founded|
taxation of local citizens, to
prevent crime.[18] This was quickly
followed by the establishment of
similar police forces in other
towns.

A committee examined the policing

of London, and made several
1812
suggestions on their findings to help
evolve the existing state of affairs.

The Peace Preservation

Act creates the first
organised police force in
Ireland, becoming the Irish
1814
Constabulary in 1822, and
was awarded the Royal
prefix after putting down
the Fenian Rising of 1867.

Edinburgh Town Guard

1817
disbanded.

1818, Further committees examined the

1821 policing of London.

Based on the committees'

findings, Home Secretary Robert
1829
Peel introduced the Metropolitan
Police Act 1829, prompting a
rigorous and less discretionary
approach to law enforcement.
The Metropolitan Police was
founded on 29 September
1829.[19] The new constables were
nicknamed 'peelers' or 'bobbies' after
the Home Secretary, Robert Peel,
the latter nickname continuing to
this day.

 1831: Special Constables Act 1831 passed.

 1835: Municipal Corporations Act 1835 passed. Among other
matters this required each borough in England and Wales to
establish a Watch Committee, who had the duty of appointing
constables "for the preserving of the peace". The jurisdiction of the
borough constables extended to any place within seven miles of the
borough.
 1836: Irish Constabulary reorganised under the Constabulary
(Ireland) Act; Dublin Metropolitan Police founded.
 1839: County Police Act 1839 passed.
 1839: First county police force created, in Wiltshire.
 1840: County Police Act 1840 passed.
 1842: Within the Metropolitan Police a detective department was
founded.
 1856: County and Borough Police Act 1856 made county and
borough police forces compulsory in England and Wales and
subject to central inspection. By then around thirty counties had
voluntarily created police forces.
 1857: The General Police Act (Scotland) 1857 required each
Scottish county and burgh to establish a police force, either its own
or by uniting with a neighbouring county, the latter was usually the
case if the area in question was small and had little means of
acquiring such manpower.
 1860: By this year there were over 200 separate forces
in England and Wales.
 1867: Irish Constabulary renamed Royal Irish Constabulary.
 1873: Thomas Hartley Montgomery is hanged for murder, the only
policeman in Ireland to receive that punishment.
 1878: As a result of the 1877 Turf Fraud scandal, the Metropolitan
Police's Detective Department was reorganised and renamed
the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1878.
 1914: Special Constables Act 1914. Allowed for the appointment
of Special Constables during wartime, due to the fall in numbers of
regular officers.
 1914–18, World War I: the police became unionised.
 1918 and 1919: The police went on strike over pay and working
conditions, because of this the polices' right to strike and form a
union was revoked.
 1919: Police Act of 1919 passed in response to the police striking. It
criminalised the police union, replacing it with the Police Federation
of England and Wales. The act also guaranteed a pension for
 police; previously it had been discretionary. The fragmented nature
of the police was resistant to change, and there were still over 200
separate police forces before World War II. During the War,
resignations were not permitted except on grounds of ill-health.
 1919–21: Irish War of Independence. 410 policemen (RIC, DMP
and Harbour Police) are killed during the conflict.
 1920: Ulster Special Constabulary founded as a quasi-military
reserve special constable police force.
 1922: Following partition, the Royal Irish Constabulary is replaced
by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland and the Civic
Guard (later renamed Garda Síochána) in the Irish Free State.
 1923: Special Constables Act 1923 throughout the UK is passed.
 1946: Police Act 1946 passed. This abolished nearly all non-county
borough police forces in England and Wales. This left 117 police
forces.
 Ministry of Civil Aviation Constabulary founded.
 1964: Police Act 1964. This created 49 larger forces in England and
Wales, some covering two or more counties or large urban areas.
 1970: Ulster Special Constabulary disbanded.
 1974: Local Government Act (1972) reduced the number of forces
in England & Wales to 43.
 1975: Amalgamation of Scotland's 17 police forces into 8 new
forces, as a result of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.
 1977: Corruption at the Flying Squad of the Metropolitan
Police leads to the Operation Countryman investigations by Dorset
Constabulary and the conviction of Detective Chief Superintendent
Kenneth Drury.
 1984: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Regulated
the actions of the police in England and Wales, particularly in
relations to arrest and searches/powers of entry. Also instituted
the PACE Codes of Practice. PACE did not extend these matters to
Scotland but dealt with other subjects there.
 1989: The West Midlands Serious Crime Squad is disbanded,
as series of around 100 criminal cases fail or are overturned in the
West Midlands, as it is shown to have been tampering with
statement evidence to secure convictions, including the Birmingham
Six.
 1999: Most police powers and functions in Scotland are devolved to
the Scottish Parliament as a result of the Scotland Act 1998.
 1999: MacPherson report describes the Metropolitan Police
Service as "institutionally racist."
 2001: Royal Ulster Constabulary disbanded and replaced by
the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
 2002: Police Reform Act 2002. Introduced Community Support
Officers, commonly referred to as Police Community Support
Officers (PCSOs) notwithstanding that this term does not appear in
any legislation, as well as investigating officers and detention escort
officers - all in England and Wales only. None of these are Police
Constables although they have certain specific powers of a
constable, e.g. in relation to lawful detention.
  2006: Major provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police
Act 2005 come into effect including the overhaul of powers of arrest,
institution of the Serious Organised Crime Agency and extension of
powers available to PCSOs; these (other than SOCA) applying in
England and Wales. The majority of the Act applies only to England
and Wales with only a few sections applying to Scotland or Northern
Ireland. In Scotland, the Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice
(Scotland) Act 2006 comes into force.
 2013: Amalgamation of 8 Scottish territorial police forces into
one, Police Scotland.

See also[edit]
 History of criminal justice § Modern police
 Law enforcement

References[edit]
1. ^ Terrill, Richard J. (2015). World Criminal Justice Systems: A
Comparative Survey(revised ed.). Routledge. pp. 30–
53. ISBN 1317228820.
2. ^ Dempsey, John S.; Forst, Linda S. (2015). An Introduction to
Policing (8 ed.). Cengage Learning. pp. 6–8. ISBN 1305544684.
3. ^ Critchley, Thomas Alan (1978). A History of Police in England and
Wales. The Statute of Winchester was the only general public
measure of any consequence enacted to regulate the policing of the
country between the Norman Conquest and the Metropolitan Police
Act, 1829…
4. ^ Jump up to:a b "Independent Port Constabularies - History" (PDF).
Independent Port Constabularies. Archived from the original (PDF) on
30 December 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b "Watchmen and constables". UK Parliament.
Retrieved 29 December 2013.
6. ^ Jump up to:a b c "British Police Service". City of London Police.
Retrieved 28 December 2013.
7. ^ "Sir John Fielding". The National Archives. Retrieved 29
December 2013.
8. ^ https://www.psni.police.uk/inside-psni/our-history/a-history-of-
policing-in-ireland/
9. ^ Jump up to:a b "Sir Robert Peel and the new Metropolitan Police".
The National Archives. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f "Metropolitan Police". UK Parliament.
Retrieved 29 December 2013.
11. ^ "History of City of London Police Key dates". City of London Police.
Retrieved 29 December 2013.
12. ^ "Provincial Police Forces". The National Archives. Retrieved 29
December 2013.
13. ^ "Creating the nation's police force". UK Parliament. Retrieved 29
December 2013.
14. ^ Royal Commission on the Police, Interim Report, 1960
15. ^ "Britain's smallest police officer nicknamed laptop". 2010-01-16.
Retrieved 2017-09-05.
 16. ^ "People look up to Britain's shortest cop". Swindon Advertiser. 2010-
01-17. Retrieved 2010-03-30.
17. ^ Cooper, Charlie (4 March 2013). "High and low security: Britain's
tallest policeman Anthony Wallyn stood guard with Met's shortest
officer outside hospital where Queen was treated for
gastroenteritis". The Independent. London.
18. ^ "The Glasgow Police Museum". Retrieved 3 January 2015.
19. ^ "History". Metropolitan Police Service. Retrieved 3 January 2015.

Further reading[edit]
 Churchill, David. Crime control and everyday life in the Victorian
city: the police and the public (2017).
 Churchill, David C. "Rethinking the state monopolisation thesis: the
historiography of policing and criminal justice in nineteenth-century
England." Crime, Histoire & Sociétés/Crime, History &
Societies 18.1 (2014): 131-152. online
 Emsley, Clive. "Police" in James Eli Adams, ed., Encyclopedia of
the Victorian Era (2004) 3:221-24.
 Emsley, Clive.Crime and Society in England, 1750–1900 (5th ed.
2018)
 Emsley, Clive. The English police: A political and social
history (2014).
 Lyman, J.L. "The Metropolitan Police Act of 1829: An Analysis of
Certain Events Influencing the Passage and Character of the
Metropolitan Police Act in England," Journal of Criminal Law,
Criminology, and Police Science (1964) 55#1 pp. 141-154 online
 Taylor, James. "White-collar crime and the law in nineteenth-
century Britain." Business History 60.3 (2018): 343-360.
 Wilson, David. Pain and Retribution: a short history of British
Prisons 1066 to the present (Reaktion Books, 2014).
Categories:
 History of law enforcement in the United Kingdom
 Legal history of the United Kingdom
 History of the United Kingdom topical overviews
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