In 1805 two magistrates made a breakthrough in policing. John Fielding and his brother Henry were based in Bow street and realised more men were needed to fight crime. Their new ideas included, a horse patrol of 54 men to stop highwaymen. A team of thief-takers who patrolled London called the Bow Street Runners. They also started a newspaper called the Hue and Cry which contained information about criminals and crimes so the public could help.
The idea of a full time police force was still being met by strong opposition during the early 1800s, this was because of a number of reasons, the first is people feared the cost, people also thought that it was an invasion of privacy and that it wouldn’t work.
The big breakthrough came in 1822 when Sir Robert Peel was appointed Home Secretary. Peel believed that police were needed straight away and he set up day patrols in London. In 1829, Robert Peel set up the Metropolitan Police. At the start there was 3200 men who policed a seven-mile circle around the centre of London.
After 1829 the police force grew. In 1835 a new law was set up that said towns could start their own police force. In 1839 a law was set up to say that counties were able to have their own police force, the Bow Street Runners and other London police forces were joined with the Metropolitan Police. In 1842 the Metropolitan Police set up its first detective department and by 1856 it was compulsory for all towns and counties to have a police force.
Crime also changed a great deal by the middle of the 19th century. Crime wasn’t officially recorded until 1805, historians had to guess the figures for before then. The general idea is that from 1750 to 1840 there was a gradual rise in crime. With new laws came new crimes, such as, obstructing a police officer or failure to send your children to school. 90% of crimes were still theft and the most common were pickpockets. Thomas and Louisa Parsons were a notorious husband and wife pickpocket team.
The industrial changes in Britain had a big impact on crime. More factories, shops, ships, warehouses, wagons and trains gave more opportunity for stealing. People were better off, giving a higher reward to criminals. Highway Robbery became died out as the roads became busier and more patrols were set up. There are many reasons for the rise in crime in the early 1800s. Population played a big factor, as the population increases so did crime rates, this is because there are more people to steal from. Poverty also played a part. People returning from the army had no skills and no money so some resorted to crime. Some people were just so poor that there was no other way.
Crime also increased because of public interest. During the 19th century many newspapers were devoted crime and showed in graphic detail crimes being committed. People saw crimes in these newspapers and copied what they saw.
I think that policing had become successful by the middle of the 19th century. The police force had faced much opposition but was finally introduced full time in 1829 and although crime rates rose until 1840, after that they declined.
