Law & Order in the 19th Century (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

Timeline

Why Did Policing Change in the 19th Century? - Summary 

By the 19th century, England and Wales had experienced significant changes. The population had risen from around 2.5 million in 1500 to 10 million by 1800, with many people now living in growing industrial towns and cities. This rapid urbanisation made it difficult to maintain law and order using traditional community methods such as parish constables and watchmen.

In small medieval villages, these systems had worked well because everyone knew one another, but in large cities like London, crime increased faster than it could be controlled. In Wales, the town of Merthyr Tydfil had a population of over 30,000 people, yet it was still only policed by two justices of the peace (JPs). Watchmen and constables were unpaid, poorly trained, and often corrupt, and they could not deal with the rising levels of theft, violence, and disorder. As a result, there was growing public pressure for change. The 19th century saw the creation of organised, professional police forces to meet the demands of an industrial and urban society.

The Concept of State Police 

• Before the development of a formal police force in England and Wales, other forms of policing were used, such as 

  • Thief-takers 

    • Captured criminals and claimed the reward money 

    • They acted as unlawful law officers 

    • They were often corrupt 

    • Jonathan Wild was known as the ‘Thief-taker General of Great Britain and Ireland’ who ran his own empire of crime in Cripplegate, London. He would take items from thieves and claim the reward. Wild was arrested and found guilty, and hanged for his crimes in 1825. 

  • The Bow Street Runners 

    • Two brothers, Henry and John Fielding, created their own small police force of paid law officers in London 

    • They were initially volunteers who then charged fees and collected rewards for their work 

    • They were able to pay law officers to patrol the streets in London 

    • They had some success in reducing crime as they found criminals and returned stolen property 

    • Eventually, the government decided to pay them directly 

• The creation of a formal police force developed over time and was influenced by different local policing systems across England and Wales, including 

  • The Metropolitan Police Force

    • Created in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel 

    • It divided London into 17 divisions with 3,300 paid police officers 

  • The Rural Police Act of 1839 

    • Allowed JPs to create a police force in their counties 

Why Was There Opposition to the Creation of a Formal Police Force? 

• Many people opposed a formal police force in England and Wales because they believed 

  • A police force would be used by the government to remove political opposition 

    • In places like France, the police were used as spies 

  • A police force was an invasion of privacy 

    • People would not be able to criticise the government 

  • It was not the role of the government to prevent crimes

    • People believed they could do it themselves 

  • A police force was too expensive 

    • They did not want taxes to rise 

  • The best way to reduce crime was to make punishments more severe

    • Through the Bloody Code

    • Criminals were not afraid of constables, and therefore, they would not fear a police force  

The Creation of a Formal Police Force 

• As time went on, opposition towards a formal police force decreased due to 

  • Fear of a revolution in the UK 

    • The war with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France between 1793 and 1815 caused both the landowners and government to fear a revolution in Britain 

    • The violent protests of this time made the idea of a British revolution possible. Events such as the Luddite protests of 1812-1813, the Chartists of 1838-1850, and the Swing Riots of 1830-1831

  • An increase in crime 

    • Most people believed that violent crime was on the rise 

  • An ineffective policing system 

    • The reliance on JPs, constables, and watchmen was ineffective 

  • Growing towns 

  • Government reforms 

    • The British government was no longer laissez-faire 

    • The government raised taxes to improve local services and public health 

  • Changing attitudes 

    • People saw the benefits of a police force 

    • The presence of police on the streets reduced crime 

• In 1856, the Police Act created a professional police force 

• The police were responsible for 

  • Patrolling the streets 

  • Keep law and order 

  • Prevent crime

  • To investigate criminals and criminal activity

  • To arrest criminals 

• This police force was funded by the government and expected to employ officials to inspect the police forces regularly