Law And Order In The 19th Century

Law and order in London during the nineteenth century progressed immensely. Whilst the same could not be said for other parts of Britain, law and order had improved. The nineteenth century saw law and order in a new light after the formation of the metropolitan police force in 1829, which consisted of mostly army men. Before this the main people incharge of law and order were the Justice of Peace, appointed by the monarchs. Such had been the system since the middle ages. The main reason for the establishment of the metropolitan police was the increase of population in London and the increase in the number of crimes. The current law enforcements before the metropolitan police were not successful, as there were less constables, this resulted in spies and local troops being involved to sort out the riots such as the Luddites and the Corn Law riots in order to restore peace in the community.

During the early years of the metropolitan police, the police also known as �bobbies’ or �peelers’ were considered a nuisance to society by many civilians. As many of them were recruits from the army, their rough ways of dealing with riots often caused problems, leading to force and violence being used to control the people.

Before the formation of the police there were many crimes being committed. One of the primary reasons for the formation of the police force was to put an end to London crime rates. Almost 75% of all crimes at the time were petty thefts. Other crimes were only a minority.

Pickpocketting was highly popular. London with its overcrowded streets and public executions provided the perfect opportunity for pickpockets. Another crime similar to Pickpocketting was garrotting. This was when the victim was half-strangled, making it easier for the victim to be robbed. It had occurred quite often but was only considered a serious crime after an MP was garrotted. Other crimes such as murder, rape, and manslaughter also took place but on a smaller scale.

In order to prevent these crimes several measures took place such as improving the metropolitan force. In 1842 the metropolitan police set up a detective department, although this wasn’t much of a success other improvements were made. By 1869 the National Criminal Record was set up; although it only dealt with the disreputable criminals. Messages were now sent faster, and communications had improved after the invention of the telegraph in 1867. A new department was set up in 1877, this department; Criminal Investigation Department, proved more successful than its predecessor; the detective department. The CID started with 200 detectives and increased to 800 by 1883.

As well as improving the system, tougher actions were taken against criminals,

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