Early Roots of Policing: Sir Robert Peel's (1820s) Nine Principles and Their Connection to Modern

Police brutality and office involved shootings have sparked national debate and created a strain between police officers and citizens. Recently, there have been more home videos that display acts of aggression by police officers. These police officers often use excessive forces or a condescending tone towards people of color which is why there needs to be a better way to mend police and civilian relationship. People should be able to trust the police in their communities rather than fear them.

For over a century police departments in the United States and across the world have been following Sir Robert Peel's twelve principals of policing. Almost nothing or very little has changed since these principals were first implemented in England's "Scotland Yard". Many of these principals are behind today's investigating and policing practices.

Sir Robert Peel had a huge impact on England, American, and the world policing. He is also known as the father of modern policing. In 1829 Peel persuaded the Parliament of England to create the London Metropolitan Police, which is now recognized as the first modern police force. Peel created three elements he incorporated into London Metropolitan Police. First was mission. The mission was crime prevention and what can be done to prevent crime from happening. The second was strategy. Peel created a strategy to that he had hope would deter crime. The third was organizational structure. Peel set up hierarchical organization, a standard uniform, ran designations to police officers, and a chain of command similar to the military’s (Walker & Katz, 2011).

There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most

Police forces or Law enforcers have been used for centuries all around the world but America took particular interest in the English’s policing system. America’s policing ideas and process began

Our police system derives from the system our ancestors used in England. From this system we derive concepts of limited police authority, local control, & fragmented justice system that began in Anglo-Saxon England & continued until 19th century. In this system, community was divided into groups of 10 men who were responsible for ensuring that conduct of group was appropriate; if any laws were broken, these men were to ensure that offender appeared in court 10 of these groups were organized into larger group overseen by constables (who later

Policing has been a part of America for many decades. In fact, policing was known to exist prior to 1066, the year of the Normandy Invasion of Britain. Throughout the years policing has been a complicated and ongoing progress. The people of England did not have a stabilized policing standard and were often responsible for protecting and serving themselves. As early as the 1600s the Colonial America introduced the English styles of policing; citizens were responsible for monitoring community members’ behavior. Early constables and sheriffs were with the increased rate of crime and developed a ‘sort’ in community policing known as “watch and ward.” Later throughout history in the early 1700s policing became an

This essay will introduce two competing perspectives of policing, they are the orthodox and revisionist perspectives. This essay will then relate the orthodox and revisionist perspectives to the themes of lack of structure, industrialisation and finally hostility. It will then discuss whether the creation of the Metropolitan Police by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 was an effective solution to the changes within society as well as the challenges brought about through crime and disorder. The orthodox view is that the Metropolitan Police were, in fact, a rational decision made to adapt to the needs of the society. They argue that the establishment of the ‘new’ police was inevitable. The revisionist view would state that the ‘new’ police were not a rational decision. They believed that crime and disorder were not increasing, it was just that the ways of counting crime were largely different to previously. The revisionists also believe that the new system was in part beneficial for which to tackle issues that may have occasioned due to the new ‘dangerous class’ (Monkkonen, 1981, p147). In this essay, there will be reference made to the Brixton Riots in 1981 with a clear explanation as to how the orthodox and revisionist perspectives relate to modern policing activities.

Sir Robert Peel is known in the books as the founder of the first form of an English police department: the London Metropolitan Police. This was after his London Metropolitan Police Act passed in 1829, giving greater power to the English police force and establishing what he is known for today. Peels ideas were very well defined and offered a lot to policing even up to modern day. To understand the impact of this, we must take a look at Peel's act, and know how it would change policing.

Starting In 1829, Sir Robert Peel began developing his theory of policing. These nine principles are as relevant today as they were in the 1800's. Peel established the Metropolitan Police when he served as Home Secretary of England. Since Sir Robert Peel introduced his principles of policing in the early 1800's, our country has continued to follow his ideas of effective policing. Community policing is based on Peel's concept of prevention.

The history of policing dates back several thousand years ago when there was no order or peace and inhumane acts upon citizens was the norm with religious, political, or military police acting as the law. Policing was unstable and unorganized. Citizens took the law into their own hands and served as judge, jury, and executioner. There was not such a thing as being “innocent until proven guilty.” If the community believed an individual was guilty of a crime then the community would handle the offense themselves. American policing stems from the English heritage; crime prevention and control, preventive

Robert Peel is probably the most influential name associated with modern day policing. In the year of 1829, he formed the first modern metropolitan police department which the modern day police were known as “Peelers,” or “Bobbies.” He set up principles, which are called Peel’s Principles of Law Enforcement that have influenced that has set the foundation to how to keep the safety of fellow citizens as well as justice for actions. These nine principles set up what he envisioned the metropolitan police to stand for and he wanted people to mold themselves to the conformity of the nine principles.

In Bury, Lancashire, on February 5, 1788, the “Father” of modern day policing was born. Through his work and studies of public service, Sir Robert Peel developed principles and policies that have impacted what is considered modern day policing. He created what is commonly known as the Peelian Principles. While Sir Robert Peel’s principles still stand out in law enforcement policies today, nine points of policing stand true today.

For over a century police departments in the United States and across the world have been following Sir Robert Peel's twelve principals of policing. Almost nothing or very little has changed since these principals were first implemented in England's "Scotland Yard". Many of these principals are behind today's investigating and policing practices.

Policing uses 3 main styles in the UK to oppose crime, the first being legalistic style, secondly the watchman style and lastly the service style. Each of these styles has a different way of enforcing the law. The legalistic style focuses more on the law enforcement; arresting and detaining suspects (Dempsey, J. Forst, L, 2011). This style is mainly used in larger cities due to high crime rates. However, this style mainly concentrates on the law breaking than any social problems that may arise such as anti-social behaviour.