Sir Robert Peel (The Founder of Modern Policing)

Sir Robert Peel , the founder of modern policing

There have been police forces in action since the days of the ancient Greeks , who used

slaves to keep at public meetings . In the United Kingdom however one person

stands out when one thinks of the setting up of a police force and that is of course Sir

Robert Peel . In England one of the more pleasant names for a policeman is the `Old Bill ' which refers to King William IV whose constables were the predecessors of the modern force . Another common name

is for an individual member of the force referred to as a `Bobbie . In earlier times they were referred to as `Peelers ' a title that persists mainly in Ulster . Both of these titles refer back of course to Sir Robert Peel (1788- 1850 ) the founder of the modern police force . He was once described by Charles Greville as having a character :-

of mixed good and evil , that it is difficult to strike an accurate balance

between the two , and the acts of his political life are of a corresponding , of questionable utility and merit , though always marked by great ability

Peel entered the House of Commons aged only 21 in 1809 as a Tory According to the web page `Robert Peel ' his father bought the seat of Cashel , in Tipperary , for him as a reward for his success academically While serving as Home Secretary , after entering the Cabinet in 1822 , he became a major reformer repealing more than 250 out dated statutes that he considered to be outdated . As soon as he entered the Cabinet he began to consider the state of the criminal law as it was then . He was able to ensure the passing of eight pieces of legislation between the years 1822 and 1827 that between them served to change and consolidate criminal law . Marjie Bloy on her web page `Sir Robert Peel ' quotes one time Prime Minister George Canning who thought that Peel was 'the most efficient home secretary that this country ever saw . He summoned experts on the subject so that he could be fully informed

Later , in 1834 , King William IV appointed him as Prime Minister . What he is mainly remembered for though , apart from his introduction of Income Tax , is that he helped to form the concept of a modern police force . His Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 enabled the formation of London 's police force . Changes in the criminal law that he helped to bring about were wide ranging . For instance when he came into office there were more than two hundred capital offences as well as many for which the punishment was deportation . This matter of the same punishment being given for quite trivial offences and gross ones led to the idea contained in the popular saying of the time `I might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb ' as quoted by Marjie Bloy on her web page `The Metropolitan Police . Peel quickly decreased...