9_Principles_Notes

1) The nine principles that was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1857 also better known as â The Peelian Principlesâ was to help begin the police force in the United Kingdom. It began a force and was used to cut crimes in London as well. These principles are the nine principles that are cited as the basic establishment for current law enforcement organizations and community policing throughout the world. The nine principles was established for a mission. Â The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorderâ (Peel, 1857). With this mission obtainable throughout the world, the nine principles will be connected to modern day policing. 2) Surely, Police Officers strive to serve and protect the people of the United States too the best of their ability as possible. It is therefore of great importance that officers whom are sworn into duty abide by nine principles which was founded by Sir Robert Peel also ….upon close examination of each of the peelian principles, not only direct connections to policing in today but world evident 3) Sir Robert Peel and Police Today When comparing modern day policing with the earlier roots of policing thatinvolve Sir Robert Peel’s nine principles one will discover that the two have avery distinct relationship. To understand fully this unique relationship it isvital that one understands policing and it’s developments prior to Sir Robert’sestablishment of the role of police in the mid 1820’s. In America during theearly 1820’s ordinary citizens, sheriff’s and their constables, or nightwatchmen controlled law enforcement. These approaches were most often informaland severally disorganized. With the acceptance of the Magna carter in early1215 an interest to solve crimes and establish order had begun to spread andpeel noticed similar issues and began to develop solutions. The most commonproblems that needed adjustment were recruiting more qualified policemen,establishing a protocol for penalties in reference to misconduct, and creating amethod of controlling police forces independently. Although most of these issueshad been discussed for centuries when Sir Robert introduced his nine principlesthere began to be a sense of professionalism created in police management.Now that there is a better understanding of policing prior to Sir Robert Peel’snine principles I will illustrate the connection between these principles andmodern policing. In order to establish the connection one must have a briefunderstanding of the nine principles themselves. The first principle states thatthe primary reason behind having a police force is to eliminate disorder insociety and prevent crime from occurring. Second, in order to be affectivepolice must first obtain public approval. Third, in order to gain public respectpolice must first secure a willingness to cooperate and obey the law. Fourth,when a use of force increases the degree of cooperation from the publicdecreases. Fifth, when showing impartialness in their services and the lawpolice will intern secure public favor. Sixth, the use of force must only beapplied after all other means to obtain compliance have been exhausted. Seventh, policemen are also members of the public but they have a formal duty toestablish a secure welfare of the general public. Eighth, police are to merelyenforce the law and do not have power to implement a punishment. Last,effectiveness of a police force is measures by the lack of crime andestablishment of order not just police activity.With these principles in mind one will find that growth within the Americanpolicing is infact similar to that of English legal traditions. Even with thesesimilarities there were still completely different circumstances behind thedevelopment of American police. The English system’s main principles were thatof restricted authority, local power, and split organization which one willnotice the American system used as well. Sir Robert Peel first recognized themajor failings of policing practices when he served as Home Secretary in theBritish Cabinet. This led him to develop the Metropolitan Police Act. Thepassage of this particular act in 1829 ultimately led to the establishment ofthe London Police Force. It also provided a structure for a professional police 4) The early roots of policing encompassing Sir Robert Peel’s nine principles have a distinct application to modern day policing. It is important to understand the genesis of policing and the development prior to Sir Robert’s codification of the role of police in the 1820’s. Prior to 1829, law enforcement in England and America had principally been in the hands of ordinary citizen volunteers, night watchmen, sheriffs, or constables. It was generally unorganized and informal in its application. As early as 1215, with the acceptance of the Magna Carta in England, the first serious interest to solve abuse at the hand of the policing authority and for the general maintenance of order originated. Peel recognized these same problems and suggested solutions to the traditional problems of recruitment of qualified policemen, a uniform application of penalties for official misconduct, and the creation of an independent method of control of the police. These issues had been debated for centuries but with the introduction of these principles Peel started the ultimate professionalization of modern police management. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the connection between Sir Robert Peel’s nine principles and their connection to modern policing. Any attempt to understand a connection to the nine principles Peel espoused requires a brief description as depicted by the New Westminister Police Service. The first principle states that basic reason for having a police force is to prevent crime and disorder. The second principle suggests that police must have public approval to be effective. Third, the police must secure the willing cooperation of the public to obey the law in order to have the respect of the public. Next, the degree of cooperation from the public declines with the use of force. Fifth, the police secure public favor by observing impartial service to the law. Sixth, the police must use force only after exhausting all other means to obtain compliance. Seventh, the police are members of the public who are discharging their official duty to secure the welfare of the public. Eighth, the police enforce laws and do not exercise the right to impose punishment. Last, the measure of police effectiveness is in the absence of crime and disorder and not just police activity. The growth of American policing is closely related to the English legal traditions. However, the American police developed under different circumstances, despite the similarities with the English. Three major characteristics that mirror the English system are principles of limited authority, local control, and fragmented organization. Sir Robert Peel, as Home Secretary in the British Cabinet, recognized the major failings of the prevailing policing practices and successfully orchestrated the passage of the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. This was the Act that ultimately created the London Police Force. It provided for a uniformly recruited, organized, paid, professional police force that we would recognize as very similar to those seen today. Further, the Metropolitan Police Act authorized Sir Robert to establish the police force with the quick recruitment of one thousand men in what would resemble military regiments. Sir Robert and his subordinates, known as commissioners, were faced with many obstacles with regard to organization and management of the new force. These problems are the same faced by modern Chiefs of Police. They include the thoroughness of training of police recruits, aptitude, maturity, and suitability of candidates, and the standardization of policy, discipline, and the maintenance of community relations. The stage for modern American policing was set in the 1830s following the English model. Large and diverse urban centers, similar to those in England’s industrialized areas, contributed to the growth of professional police beginning in New York and Boston. The presence of social disorder forced the civil governments to take action, albeit slowly and with some suspicion of uniformed agents in the civil setting. The influence of Sir Robert’s principles was felt and progress was substantial in the Northeastern States. This was in contrast to the role of law enforcement in the Southern and Western states. The various geographical areas of the United States evolved differently and can still be seen in the philosophical approached used by modern police agencies. The effect of the nine principles took hold in distinct phases of American History up to the present day. The first, the Political Era (1840-1920), showed the shortcoming of contemporary policing due to political interference and official corruption. It was probably the most substantial obstacle to Peel’s reforms. Political machines generally influenced hiring, salary, and even investigative activities. The Professional Model Era (1920-1970) recognized the shortfalls of previous era and focused on hiring competent, qualified applicants and in curbing police abuses and inefficiency. The most changes occurred during the 1960s primarily due to civil rights abuses. From 1970 to the present the police focus has been called the Community Model Era which has sought to put the police into more contact with the public it supports and to improve quality of police through higher standards. The evolution of modern day policing has had many failed attempts and false starts since the early Nineteenth Century and Peel’s principles. While the principles represent an idealized vision of police activity, they have served as a touchstone for modern law enforcement theorists and criminologists. The concept of community policing can be attributed to Sir Robert Peel in the sense that his principles form the core of police-community interaction. References Cole, George & Smith, Christopher. (2004). The American System of Criminal Justice. Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Wadsworth. Cromwell, Paul & Dunham, Roger. (1997). Crime and Justice in America. Creation of the Modern Police: London, 1829 More than any other single person, Robert Peel deserves credit as the “father” of modern policing. A member of England’s elite social and political class, he fought for over 30 years to improve the basic structure of law enforcement in the country. By the early nineteenth century the old system of law enforcement in England began to collapse. London had grown into a large industrial city, with problems of poverty, disorder, ethnic conflict, and crime. The 1780 Gordon riots, a clash between Irish immigrants and English citizens, triggered a 50-year debate over the need for better public safety. Peel took up the issue and after many years of political effort finally persuaded the English Parliament to create the London Metropolitan Police in 1829. The new police reflected his vision of an efficient, proactive police force. Officers soon became known as “Bobbies” in honor of Sir Robert Peel.7 The London police introduced three new elements that became the basis for modern policing: mission, strategy, and organizational structure. The mission of the new police was crime prevention. This reflected the utilitarian idea that it was better to prevent crime than to respond after the fact. Crime prevention, or deterrence, was to be achieved through a strategy of preventive patrol. Officers would maintain a visible presence throughout the community by continuously patrolling fixed “beats.” Peel borrowed the organizational structure of the London police from the military, including uniforms, rank designations, and the authoritarian system of command and discipline. This quasi-military style prevails in American police administration to this day. In a comparative study of the development of policing around the world, David Bayley argues that the essential features of the modern police are that they are “public, specialized, and professional.”8 They are public in the sense that government agencies have primary responsibility for maintaining public safety. They are specialized in the sense that they have a distinct mission of law enforcement and crime prevention. Finally, they are professional in the sense that they are full-time, paid employees. The continual presence of the police throughout the community was part of a general growth of government regulation in all aspects of social and economic life. Allan Silver argues that this presence reflected a “demand for order” in the emerging urban industrial society.9 Bayley cautions that these characteristics did not appear all at once. Although 1829 is traditionally cited as the date the London police were created, in reality it represented a consolidation of features that had been developing for centuries.10 Sidebar 2–2. Contributions of the English Heritage to American Policing 1. Tradition of limited police authority. 2. Tradition of local control. 3. Decentralized and fragmented police system. 9 Principles 1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder. 2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public 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 public. 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. 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 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. These principles listed above may have been Sir Robert Peel’s principles. However, the Metropolitan Police’s founding principles and, de facto the founding principles of all other modern (post 1829) UK police forces, was summarised by Sir Richard Mayne (the first commissioner) in 1829 in the following terms: