GCSE HISTORY A
ASPECTS OF CRIME & PUNISHMENT
THE METROPOLITAN POLICE
FORCE
PAPER 2 REVISION GUIDE
Industrial Britain
Between 1750–1900 Britain changed from
an agricultural to an industrial society.
Huge numbers of people moved from
rural (country) areas to seek work in
industrial towns and cities – there was
overcrowding, poor housing and
sanitation, poverty a constantly
changing population.
Poor living and working conditions led to
increased crime, drunkenness, family
breakdown and violence.
Old methods of law enforcement were no longer effective:
 The Bloody Code was becoming less of a deterrent and was
gradually abolished in the 1820s and 1830s.
 Community knowledge and co-operation broke down.
 The chance of being caught in a large industrial town became
more unlikely.
Attitudes to crime and punishment
The wealthier classes looked for explanations for the increase in
crime. They saw a link between economic difficulties (depression
and recession) and the rise in unemployment, poverty and crime.
Studies in poverty in the mid C19th revealed that most of it was not
the fault of the poor.
Middle-class people could not accept that poverty caused crime.
They blamed idleness and bad habits. They saw the industrial
towns as home to a ‘criminal class’ especially in narrow streets in
towns such as London and Liverpool and demanded harsher
punishments.
The attitude of the authorities began to change. In the past a
professional police force was seen as too expensive. But as crime
increased and government revenue from tax grew attitudes to
policing began to change.
Crime in Industrial Britain
The crowded industrial towns were ideal for pickpockets,
garrotting became more common. Petty theft was the most
common crime but there was a lot of interest in murder.
Newspapers like the ‘Penny Dreadfuls’ printed lurid descriptions of
murders e.g. Black the Ripper.
Policing before 1829
Policing before the 1820s continued to be based on the old
system of local ‘policing’. Constables dealt with minor disorder,
beggars and petty criminals. Night watchmen patrolled the streets
at night and arrested drunks and vagabonds. The Army was used
to put down protests and riots.
In 1750 magistrates Henry and John Fielding replaced constables
with the Bow Street Runners – a team of thief-takers who patrolled
the streets of London at night. They also published the ‘Hue and
Cry’ – a newspaper which contained details of crime and
criminals. In 1792 the government applied their ideas to London
and set up seven districts with paid constables and watchmen.
In 1798 the Thames River Police was set up. They were the largest
police force in the city and won the respect of local people.
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The Metropolitan Police Force
The first major reform of law enforcement in the C19th was Robert
Peel’s Metropolitan Police Act of 1829.
Why did Peel introduce the Metropolitan Police Force in 1829?
Reasons why a police force was
NOT set up before 1829:
Reasons why a police force WAS set
up in 1829:
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Many people felt policing was the
responsibility of local communities not
central government.
Many people feared the cost. A
professional police force would have to
be paid for by an increase in taxation.
It was feared a police force would be
used by the government to limit freedom
or stop protests.
It was seen as a foreign idea. The French
had used a police force during the French
Revolution.
They didn’t think it work.
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Constables had little chance of success in
large towns and cities, especially London.
There was increased crime and an
increased fear of crime.
The upper classes feared a revolution.
There had been several protests in the
early 1800s over unemployment and high
food prices. Revolution seemed possible.
THESE PROBLEMS WERE WORST IN LONDON

The government had successfully raised
taxes which could be used on a police
force.
‘Peelers’ or ‘Bobbies’
 The government used tax revenue from income tax
to pay for the police force
 They had to be under 35 years old, 5’ 5” tall, in
good health and able to read and write.
 Their uniform was designed to look civilian; they
wore tall hats and only carried truncheons to make
them unlike a military force.
 They walked the beat – approx. 20 miles a day
There was much opposition to Peel’s Metropolitan Police Force.
 Fear that a police force could be used by the government to
limit freedom or stop protest.
 Fear of higher taxation.
 One police man was stabbed to death during a protest. The
jury returned a verdict of ‘justifiable homicide’
 Many recruits were unsuitable – approx. 80% were sacked or
left.
 They were poorly paid and attracted poor quality men – they
were often drunk. 2,200 0f 2,800 of the first recruits later resigned
or were dismissed.
 There were not enough of them.
 They were poorly equipped with truncheons against well armed
criminals.
Attitudes slowly changed in the second half of the C19 th:
 They brought prosecutions on behalf of vctims.
 Crime fell steadily from 1850-1900 by 42%. A police force acted
as a deterrent.
 They were better paid and trained.
 At first they were called ‘Raw Lobsters’ but by 1850 they were
called ‘Peelers’ or ‘Bobbies’ (after Robert Peel).
 Police
 Peelers were also better than the army at dealing with
protests/riots (remember than massacre at Peterloo!)
In 1842 the Metropolitan Police set up the first detective force.
They were plain clothes policemen. They began to photograph
criminals and by 1901 took fingerprints.
In 1856 it became compulsory for all towns and counties to set up
a police force.