Policing In Great Britain and Canada - Social Sciences Essay

Policing In Great Britain and Canada
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Policing did not start in this century, but it has been growing over the millennia, particularly in the nineteenth century, ever since the people felt that they needed to have some of control of what happens around them (Beattie, 2001). It brought with it the theme of justice, where those who felt they had been wronged by a certain person would report and the matter would come before the members of the community council or a family council that existed much earlier than the latter, to seek justice. Today, the system is such that the police belong to the state, but back then, even before the 1800s, the police work was done by the family members and much later by the community members. Families would produce males who most able physically, who would be charged with the role of policing the streets day and night, enforcing the bylaws in place then and curfews.
The other lot of the community members was supposed to report to this group of chosen police, whenever they were having disputes with one another, other than solving it informally in their homesteads, which more often than not ended up with serious implications, as most of the disputes ended up in fights for their perceived rights. To make sure that the families brought the wrong doers for their punishment; those families that did not oblige to exposing the wrong doers, the entire families would be punished (HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Clive+Emsley%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=7"Emsley, 2009).
At the heart of Great Britain was one such family, which according to the community was blessed with the seeds of warriors. The Williams as they were called were natives on the lands, north of Montana, and their ancestry extended more than 450 years. The family belonged to the Blackfoot tribe, which by the year 1802, was estimated to have a population of about 5000 tribesmen in the north. More than 30 years later the tribe commanded more than 15,000 tribesmen, but this population decreased quite significantly due to epidemics, such as the famous smallpox, diphtheria and most of all wars at the time. History recounts that some of the tribesmen in the central of Montana vanished during this period. However, halfway through the 19th century the tribe reigned on the northern plains, south of Alberta and the north of Montana.
The name William during the time resonated pride in the minds of most of the community members (HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Victor+Bailey%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=9"Bailey, 1981). It was one family that was blessed with heavily built men, most of the men were not just strong physically, but were also very wise in matters that related to living. Other the fact that they were deeply involved in matters of policing; they were also involved in hunting buffalos (HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Patrick+O%27Brien%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=9" O'Brien, HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Roland+Quinault+%28Ed.%29%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=9"Quinault, 1993).
Like the other families, the Williams also contributed strong men to the tribe council who would police the family territory. Later on this extended to the community level, where the men were supposed to police the streets; this was referred to as The Night Watch. For those that lived in the city like the Williams family, the men would be appointed per ward by a common council. However, there were some differences that occurred in the appointment, as those that hailed from Westminster came under the court, while those from the Middlesex came under the parish. When the citizens witnessed any form of felony they were supposed to report and then prosecute the wrong doers (HYPERLINK "http://tcr.sagepub.com/search?author1=Paul+Lawrence&sortspec=date&submit=Submit"Lawrence, 2012). The policing was done in a rotational manner where the men from various households would patrol in the night, usually starting at around 10 PM till the sun rose. Any of the character that seemed suspicious would be arrested and brought before the watch house. The duties of the night watch were not paid and the men that were chose from each family including the Williams were to juggle the watch and their daily jobs, which was onerous. They were also ill equipped as they only a staff to protect the cities from crime. The rate and sophistication of crimes rose through the 18 century. With brought the advances of the means to fight it, ushering in the constables, beadles, the bow street runners and finally the metropolitan police in the 19th century.
The role of the Williams in the active police work that most us know today, started sometime in the 18th century. They were acting as ‘thief takers’, a practice that was first introduced in Great Britain by a man called John Fielding and his colleague Henry. These thief takers were the same ones that came to be known as the bow street runners. Their reputation grew quite fast and would be rewarded by the victims, whenever they identified the suspects for them, whereas the state also recognized them for their hard work, when they successfully convicted felons.
The Middlesex Act ushered a new era of policing in the 19th century. This lead to the creation in the metropolitants, seven offices of the police. Each of the office was allocated, some six bow street runners as the constables and three magistrates that were stipendiary. This task force was then charged with the duties of identifying and apprehending the suspects of various crimes. Majority of the bow street runners from the Williams family were selected to fill these new dockets as they were known for their commitment to serve and protect the community from criminals (HYPERLINK "http://tcr.sagepub.com/search?author1=Paul+Lawrence&sortspec=date&submit=Submit"Lawrence, 2012).
The first year of the 1800s saw the revolution of the fight against crime change its stand from detecting the criminals and onto the art of preventing these criminals from committing their heinous acts of crime. There had been a need to increase the shipping traffic that took place on the river Thames, but the majority of the business merchants were worried they would lose their ships and cargo to theft. The Williams were part of the lot that was initiated into private security police forces, around the docks, to instill safety of the shipping process. This was one of the most ventures of the century, as the private police had managed to bring the insecurity levels to its knees (HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Victor+Bailey%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=9"Bailey, 1981). When the city caught wind of the successful venture, they took over the forces in 1800. It was during this time the use of horses came to use by the constables during day and at night.
The patrols were not only limited to the horses, but, there were also some of the patrols that were done on foot (HYPERLINK "/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Philip+Rawlings%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=5"Rawlings, 2012). As such, the only means of transport that were available were these two, although the horses were highly preferred as it was quite effective. Later on the horses were used to draw carts and wagons, which were even more effective as they allowed the officers of the law to carry with them more equipment. It was also very convenient for the officers to transport prisoners to the prisons. In the second decade of the 19th century, the industrial revolution was taking place and middle class in Great Britain were becoming increasingly wealthy and they wanted the streets cleaned off the thieves, prostitutes and beggars.
Tow...