Early roots of policing: Sir Robert Peel’s (1820s) nine principles and their connection to modern day policing Sir Robert Peel is known in the history books as the person who created the first form of an English police department, called the London Metropolitan Police. However, the first acknowledgement of any sort of police department or criminal justice system occurred 1000 years earlier by the English King Alfred the Great. King Alfred the Great came up with this idea when he was preparing himself for an invasion by the Danes. The King established a system of mutual pledge, which was a form of society control.
This system allowed the citizens to come together to protect each other and at the same time created an organized and controlled atmosphere for a police system in England. Sir Peel based-his idea of creating the London Metropolitan Police department on the 1828 Colquhoun. By Sir Peel being a big influence on the Metropolitan Police Act, the bill passed in 1829. This established the largest incentive in London’s police force. Police departments in the United States have adopted Peel’s model. Sir Peel’s mission in creating his police force was to grasp a control on crime.
Crime prevention reflected the utilitarian idea, which it is better to prevent crime than to respond after the fact. Sir Peel influenced by the military. He implemented the military’s organizational structure such as their uniforms, rank designations, and the authoritarian system of command and discipline. This same military approach is still one of the major assets currently embraced in today’s policing. Although Sir Peel is the founder to modern policing, he was not a police officer himself. Sir Peel guided the London’s police department with “Peel’s nine principles. The nine principles focuses on what Sir Peel core values of what a police officer should be. Sir Peel also introduced three elements, which became the basis for modern policing: mission statement, strategy, and organizational structure. Most police departments if not all have their core values stated within their mission statements. Sir Peel’s nine principles basically address the following: crime prevention, public approval, physical force, and community policing. The first principle crime prevention addressed establishing a police presence and which he did. He called them “Bobbies,” an early version today’s modernized police officers.
The main purpose was specifically to patrol the neighborhoods to decrease crime. Sir Peel stated “the basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder” (Dempsey & Forst, 2008, 2005, p. 329). Principles two and three deal with seeking the public approval. Sir Peel stated that the “ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions and they 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 public” (Dempsey & Forst, 2008, 2005, p. 29). According to (Hennigan, Maxson, & Slonance, 2002) the United States Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice research shows that police can improve public opinion by increasing their informal contacts with citizens. According to a survey of Los Angeles residents’ opinions of police job performance and officers’ demeanor, police can increase residents’ approval of their job performance by participating in community meetings, increasing officers’ visibility in neighborhoods, and talking with citizens.
Four, five and six principles addresses the use of physical force. Sir Peel explains that the use of physical force should be only used when nothing else has worked to restore order. In today’s society excessive force has been a public concern and also difficulty in regaining the public’s trust. It is a given fact that most if not all crimes are solve by the help of the public and gaining the trust of the public takes time; one incident taken out content will jeopardize the public’s trust.
By law, the police have the right to use force when it is necessary; however, the amount of force that should be applied is to this day questionable. Police officers are provided with adequate training within the police academy’s to use force and the public’s trust and respect can ensure that force is only used to the extent necessary (Larrabee, 2007). However, incidents like the Sean Bell and the Rodney King case causes mistrust among the public and the police.
Principles seven, eight, and nine address community policing; with the city’s population growing police departments also increased the patrolling areas from neighborhoods to being station at specific districts. The main focus was to bring a sense of community policing to local areas. Community-oriented policing is designed to take an approach toward crimes and addressing the underline causes of crime, which will allow police departments to apply their long-term problem solving to the issue through improved police-community partnerships and communication.
For example, programs such as community policing has been one of the main focus in policing within the communities. Most police departments like the Phoenix Police Departments has community programs and community liaison units that perform specific task to ensure positive relationships between the community and the Police Department. The Phoenix Police Department community police programs consist of but not limited to G. R. E. A. T (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Regional Training, G. R. E. A. T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Local, D.
A. R. E (Drugs Abuse Resistance Education), Silent Witness, Explorer Program, and G. A. I. N. (Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods) (Phoenix Police Department, 2006). American policing has changed significantly throughout the last 30 to 300 years. American policing in the last 300 years was the foundation of constructing the modern police departments and officers; and in the last 100 years American policing has demonstrated the disorganization and corruption within the police departments and the political organizations.
However, in the last 30 years American policing has shown vast improvements in personnel standards and system of accountability, including the values of due process and equal protection. Since, Sir Peel first introduction of his nine methods of policing the United States has implied his methods into our policing of today. Many researchers argue the method to social control can be provided through full-time presence of uniformed personnel in communities in hoping to establish a decrease in crime and disorder within the public.
Others would argue that the birth of the model police departments is credit to Sir Robert Peel and without a doubt laid the framework for one of the most used creation to law enforcement to date (Williams, 2003). It is without a doubt that many mistakes have been made along the last 300 years; however, the policing system is much better and continuing to strive for excellence. Today, police officers goes through an intensive hiring process; the officers then we uneducated men with bad health and with criminal records. All police departments today consist of some type of hiring process (Hiring Process, para. ). According to Dayton Police Department (2010), their intensive application process consists of the application, civil service exam, extensive background investigation, polygraph, police interview board, command staff review, civil service review, drug screen, medical, psychological testing and a physical fitness assessment to be appointed as a Police Recruit. Also police department also have some type strategy that has been put into place Peel’s nine principles that address: crime prevention, public approval, physical force, and community policing.
It been a long journey ever since Sir Peel has introduce his concept of policing and what it has been come today, I cannot wait to see what direction the policing systems will be in the next 30 years. Although Sir Peel is the founder of modern policing, he was not a police officer himself. Sir Peel guided London’s police department with “Peel’s nine principles. ” The nine principles focuses on Sir Peel’s core values of what a police officer should be. Sir Peel also introduced three elements, which became the basis for modern policing: mission statement, strategy, and organizational structure.
Most police departments have their core values stated within their mission statements. Sir Peel’s nine principles basically address the following: crime prevention, public approval, physical force, and community policing. The first principle of Peel’s method is crime prevention addressed establishing a police presence, which he did. Sir Peel called them Bobbies; an early version of today’s modernized police officers. The main purpose was specifically to patrol the neighborhoods to decrease crime. Sir Peel stated “the basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder” (Dempsey & Forst, 2008, p. 329).
Principles two and three deal with seeking the public approval. Sir Peel stated that the “ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions and they 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 public” (Dempsey & Forst, 2008, 2005, p. 329). According to (Hennigan, Maxson, & Slonance, 2002), the United States Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice research shows that police can improve public opinion by increasing their informal contacts with citizens.
According to a survey of Los Angeles residents’ opinions of police job performance and officers’ demeanor, police can increase residents’ approval of their job performance by participating in community meetings, increasing officers’ visibility in neighborhoods, and talking with citizens. Principles four, five, and six concentrates on the use of physical force. Sir Peel explains that the use of physical force should be only used when nothing else has worked to restore order. In today’s society, excessive force has been a public concern and also a difficult task in regaining the public’s trust.
Most crimes are solve by the help of the public, and gaining the trust of the public takes time; one incident taken out context will jeopardize the public’s trust. By law, the police have the right to use force when it is necessary; however, the amount of force that should be applied is to this day questionable. Police officers were provided with adequate training within the police academies to use force, and the public’s trust and respect can ensure that force is only used to the extent necessary (Larrabee, 2007). However, incidents such as the Sean Bell and the Rodney King cases cause mistrust among the public and the police.
Principles seven, eight, and nine address community policing; with the city’s population growing, police departments also increased the patrolling areas from neighborhoods to being stationed at specific districts. The main focus was to bring a sense of community policing to local areas. Community-oriented policing is designed to take an approach toward fighting crimes and addressing the major causes of crime, which will allow police departments to apply their long-term problem solving to the issue through improved police-community partnerships and communication.
For example, programs such as community policing have been one of the main focuses in policing within the communities. Most police departments such as the Phoenix Police Department have community programs and community liaison units that perform specific tasks to ensure positive relationships between the community and the police department. The Phoenix Police Department community police programs consist of but not limited to G. R. E. A. T (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Regional Training, G. R. E. A. T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Local, D.
A. R. E (Drugs Abuse Resistance Education), Silent Witness, Explorer Program, and G. A. I. N. (Getting Arizona Involved in Neighborhoods) (Phoenix Police Department, 2006). American policing has changed significantly throughout the last 30 to 300 years. American policing in the last 300 years was the foundation of constructing the modern police departments and officers; and in the last 100 years American policing has demonstrated the disorganization and corruption within the police departments and the political organizations.
However, in the last 30 years American policing has shown vast improvements in personnel standards and system of accountability, including the values of due process and equal protection. Since, Sir Peel first introduction of his nine methods of policing in our country has implied his methods into our policing of today. Many researchers argue the method to social control can be provided through full-time presence of uniformed personnel in communities in hoping to establish a decrease in crime and disorder within the public.
Others would argue that the birth of the model police departments is credit to Sir Robert Peel and without a doubt laid the framework for one of the most used creation to law enforcement to date (Williams, 2003). It is without a doubt that many mistakes have been made along the last 300 years; however, the policing system is much better and continuing to strive for excellence. Today, police officers goes through an intensive hiring process; the officers then we uneducated men with bad health and with criminal records. All police departments today consist of some type of hiring process (Hiring Process, para. ). According to Dayton Police Department (2010), their intensive application process consists of the application, civil service exam, extensive background investigation, polygraph, police interview board, command staff review, civil service review, drug screen, medical, psychological testing and a physical fitness assessment to be appointed as a Police Recruit. Also police department also have some type strategy that has been put into place Peel’s nine principles that address: crime prevention, public approval, physical force, and community policing.
It been a long journey from the time when Sir Peel has introduce his concept of policing and what it has been come today, I cannot wait to see what direction the policing systems will be in the next 30 years. Reference Page Dayton Police Department. (2010). Dayton Police Recruitment. Retrieved from http://www. joindaytonpd. com/recruit. htm Dempsey, J. S. & Forst, L. S. (2008, 2005). An Introduction to Policing (4th Ed. ). Belmont, Ca: Thomson Wardworth Hennigan, K. , Maxson, C. , & Slonane, D. (2002). Research for Practice. U. S. , 19(3), 565-587. Retrieved from http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/197925. df Larrabee, A. K. (2007, November 8). Law Enforcemnet: Sir Robert Peel’s concept of Community Policing in Today’s Society. Associated Content. Retrieved from http://api. turnitin. com/newsreport Phoenix Police Department. (2006). City of Phoenix Official Website. Retrieved from http://phoenix. gov/police/compro1. html Williams, K. L. (2003). Peel’s Principles and their acceptance by American Police: Ending 175 Years of Reinvention. Police Journal, 76(2), 97-120. Retrieved from http://search. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. apollolibrary. com/login. aspx? direct=true=tsh=24632398=ehost-live
