Evolution of Policing

Presentation to Criminology Students

Definitions

• Police: a civil force for maintaining order and enforcing the law

• Constable: comes from the Latin comes stabuli, literally meaning count of the stables. In the Roman Empire, the keeper of the horses eventually became a high military rank

Police in Pre-Modern Times

• In Ancient China, law enforcement persons were called “prefects.”

• In Ancient Greece, slaves were used for crowd control purposes and to guard public meetings.

• In the Roman Empire, “Vigiles” served as nightwatchmen and guarded against fires.

Early Police in Europe

• Knights served to maintain order in medieval Brittan.

• In medieval Spain, a peacekeeping association called the Hermandad looked after this role.

The France Example

• In 1667, commissioners and inspectors were assigned to police the city of Paris.

• In 1829, this police force was reorganized and the members were uniformed.

The Early British Model

• From the 1500’s on, Brittan's only police services were provided by private watchmen and “thief takers.”

• These quasi- police received payment only by private citizens who paid rewards for catching criminals or they received a portion of the restitution courts ordered criminals pay their victims.

Bow Street Runners

• British people of the 1700’s were hesitant to have a public police force as they felt it would symbolize oppression by the state.

• There was however one magistrate’s office located on Bow Street in London that employed it’s own group of thief takers, and these employees were funded publicly.

London Metropolitan Police

• London, 1829: the Metropolitan Police Act brought into effect by Sir Robert Peel.

• Police in London are referred to as “Bobbies” to this day, after Robert Peel.

• Increased urbanization made it necessary to formalize methods of maintaining public order, but the public did not want the military doing this.

Sir Robert Peel

• Bobbies patrolled neighbourhoods on foot.

• The organizational structure of the London Police was based on the military but police were not meant as a military force.

• Public order was the goal, as opposed to strictly law enforcement.

• All modern police departments are based on the London Metropolitan model.

Peel Principals

1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime disorder.

2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon approval of police actions.

3. Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the law.

Peel Principals Continued

4. The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.

5. Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.

6. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.

Peel Principals Continued

7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.

Peel Principals Continued

8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.

9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

Policing Issues in the New World• Settlements in North America were beginning to

experience lawlessness.

• Lynch mobs were being resorted to in an attempt to find justice.

• The London Model was adopted throughout North America.

• The first municipal police force created in North America was the Toronto Police (in 1834).

Development in the US

• With a rapid expansion westward, many small towns were established before any police agency was put in place. This created what is often referred to as the “Wild West.”

• In the eastern states, many police agencies were set up directly under municipal governments. This led to much corruption that continued well into the 1900’s.

Policing in Canada

• Many of the problems seen with early policing in the US was sought to be avoided by Canadian officials.

• One solution was the creation of the North West Mounted Police (known today as the RCMP). This federal force “Marched West” before many settlers made the journey. Thus the Canadian West was more orderly than the US West.

US v Canadian Policing

• While police agencies on both sides of the border are very similar today, they started out with some major differences.

• Police in the states were very much created to assist the goals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

• Canadian police fell under the principle of “peace, order, and good government.”

Changing Technology

• The advent of telephones, radios, and motor vehicles changed policing from its roots of a uniform patrolman walking the beat.

• A Response Oriented style of policing developed where a police response was only a phone call away.

• There was an emphasis placed on things like response times and number of arrests.

Response-Oriented Policing

• As technology advanced, less reliance on neighbourhood level policing.

• Demand for police services increased and communities began to decrease reliance on their own informal modes of conflict resolution.

• As well, to combat corruption, early police professionalized, resulting in focus on crime control.

Changes in Society

• Along with technological changes, social changes in society caused policing services to adapt to response/enforcement focused.

• Cities become larger and more complex, made up mostly of mobile strangers.

• There was a decrease in small town living where there is a level of social control through shaming.

Limits of “Traditional Policing”• Focus on crime control can increase incarcerations

but have little impact on crime rate.

• Not every matter referred to police is crime related.

• Reactive role (symptoms vs causes)

• Little employee empowerment

• Police separated from communities they serve (barrier of car door)

A Return to Community Policing

• The 1980’s saw a trend towards more Community-Based Policing initiatives.

• Neighbourhood Watch and other crime prevention programs were pushed.

• Most police departments created Community Policing sections.

Benefits of Community Orientation

• Improved relations

• Matching police priorities with community priorities

• Greater problem solving potential (two heads better than one)

• Community as a source of information

• Increased accountability of police

• Overall greater sense of social cohesion

Community Policing Problems

• The effectiveness of most Crime Prevention programs are un-measurable.

• Community Policing sections became known as “grin and wave” sections.

• Community Policing did not have a real impact on community issues such as drugs, prostitution, break and enters, etc.

Policing Pendulum

• Both proactive and reactive policing need to be balanced.

• While emergencies and crimes that have occurred must be responded to, prevention initiatives are part of the policing mandate as well.

• Importance of Problem-Oriented, Strategic, and Intelligence led policing.

Strategic Policing

• Grouping “Incidents” linked by time, place, & people. Focusing on overall “Problem.”

• Task Force development to deal with specific issues.

• Targeting Prolific Offenders as a means of Crime Reduction.

• Using statistics to guide resource allocation.

• Cooperation with other agencies.

Six Policing Functions

Reactive• Enforcement• Response• Investigation

Proactive• Prevention• Referral• Public Education

Other Changes to Policing

• Police efforts, and the Criminal Code in particular, have always been focused on the “greater good.”

• In 1982, the Charter of Rights was enacted. The Charter is focused more on individual rights.

Charter Rights

• Section 7: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

• Section 8: Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.

• Section 9: Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned.

Charter Rights Continued

• Section 10: Everyone has the right on arrest

a)To be informed promptly of the reasons therefor;

b)To retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and

c)To have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus.

The Charter and Police

• Section 24 of the Charter states that any breaches of the Charter can amount to the exclusion of evidence, if the admission of that evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

• Thus many defences now focus on Charter violations, adding another level of accountability to police.

Conclusion

• The subject of policing has been evolved over time. This evolution has been caused by changes in society, changes in technology, and changes in laws.

• Policing is not static. Policing reflects the society it serves. It will continue to evolve, just as society evolves.