2E. Enforcing Law And Order Flashcards

1
Q

Enforcing law and order in Saxon and Medieval times

A

people policed their own community.

Men were arranged into groups of ten called tithings. When a crime was committed within the tithing it was everyone’s responsibility to bring the person to justice.

If a crime was committed, the victim could shout for help and anyone who heard it was supposed to come and help - the hue and cry. If this did not work then the local royal official or shire reeve would create a posse of armed men to hunt down the criminal

Every year two chief constables were appointed to supervise law and order in each area. These were volunteers who had to perform duties + normal job.

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2
Q

Saxon Courts

A

Kings would judge cases involving their lords. Shire courts were established in the counties to enable lords to make decisions on serious crimes in their local area. Each shire was divided into hundreds and each hundred had its own court which dealt with less serious crimes brought forward by tithings. All landowners could also settle minor disputes in their own private courts.

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3
Q

Role of manorial, church and royal courts in later medieval period

A

Royal courts- heard the most serious cases. people on the jury usually came from the accused person’s own community. in 1924Edward 1 ordered royal judges to visit each county several times a year to hear serious cases in the area. These were called county assizes.

Church courts were overseen by ordained members of the church. These dealt with moral offences such as missing a service, being drunk and committing adultery. They also sometimes dealt with specific religious offences like not knowing the Lord’s Prayer. Punishments were often less severe than ordinary courts so people accused of crimes would therefore often claim sanctuary in churches.

Manor courts administered justice in local areas. The local feudal lord or a steward representing him would make judgements about minor offences with help of a local jury. This work was taken over by JPs by 1500.

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4
Q

The growth of civic and parish responsibilities in the 16th C

A

The feudal system was in decline and parishes rather than the lord of the manor were increasingly used as a way to organise and control local matters. The Tudor governments gave them increasing powers in local matters e.g in 1555 parishes were made responsible for the upkeep of nearby roads and in 1601, the act for the relief of the poor gave each parish the responsibility to look after it’s own poor

Justices of the peace were mostly responsible for enforcing law and order in their county. It was an unpaid role, held mostly for its prestige. The role included, organising road and bridge repairs, checking the accuracy of weights, licensing ale houses and supervising poor relief.
There were 20 JPs per county. They held petty session to deal with minor crimes such as petty theft and fighting, for more serious crimes like murder or rioting a large number of JPs met 4 times a year at quarter sessions. The most serious crimes were passed on to assize courts where a judge or jury would pass judgement

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5
Q

Watchmen in the 1600s

A

In 1663 Charles 2 set up a paid force of watchmen to patrol streets. They had no uniform but could be recognised for their heavy coat, lantern and bell. They were paid out of local taxes but were low paid and mocked.

However, this was the first instance of the monarch and policing rather than communities policing themselves.

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6
Q

the fielding brothers

A

Henry Fielding became chief magistrate at bow street court in 1748. He wrote a report about the rise in crime which stated that the crime rate was due to people expecting an easy life in London resorting to crime rather than work, corruption, ineffective policing.

His motto was ‘quick notice and sudden pursuit’ he believed in using the knowledge of the public and placed adverts in newspapers asking people to help him.

Him and his half-brother set up a paid force of 6 constables called the Bow street runners. They were trained, paid and worked as full time officers. By 1800 there were 68 Bow street runners on London.

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7
Q

Sir Robert Peel

A

Home Secretary, supported the idea of government taking responsibility for organising policing. Peel set up the first uniformed and organised police force in 1829

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8
Q

1829 metropolitan police act

A

Established the metropolitan police in central London. This covered an area with a radius of 7 miles from the centre of london. Outside the 7 mile radius, police had no authority.

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9
Q

1839 metropolitan police act

A

Extended the area covered by the metropolitan police to 15-mile radius from the centre of london.
Also ended authority of all other policing in london such as the bow street runners and Thames river police
Was responsible for the growth of the metropolitan police. By 1882 there were 11,700 men.

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10
Q

1835 Municipal Corporations act

A

Gave towns outside London the power to set up their own police force. And 1839 county police act gave each county the power to establish own police force. However these acts were permissive not compulsory.

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11
Q

The 1856 county and borough police act

A

Compulsory for all towns and countries to set up full time, paid police force of one policeman for every 1,000 people. The Home Secretary appointed inspectors of the constabulary to make sure the law was obeyed. This led to several hundred police forces across the country. Each police force had a chief constable, officers and constables.

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12
Q

Changing nature of policing in the 20th and 21 Cs

A

In 1900 there were 181 police forces in Britain. Each was small and had different structures, methods and records and there was limited contact between them. During the 20th C police forces were combined into larger forces covering bigger areas to make them more effective. In 2021 there were 43 police forces in England and wales and one in Scotland.

The first female police officer was Sofia Stanley recruited in 1919 and women were not originally given the same powers of arrest and duties as their male colleagues. The first black officer was John Kent who served in 1830s and 40s

Wages have been kept at a level which makes policing an attractive job compared to other professions.

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13
Q

How has purpose of policing changed in modern times.

A

Originally the role of police was to patrol streets, deter criminals, investigate crimes, arrest suspects. Now, their role is increasingly focussed on crime prevention and officers visit schools, attend community meetings + try to build better links with the community

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14
Q

Continuity of policing in 20 and 21 C

A

Police still and have always had the powers to arrest an detain suspects, search peoples property given a warrant issued by a judge, hold suspects in a cell for 24 hours without charging them of a crime in order to gather evidence, give fines directly to people who have broken the law.

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