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Peelian principles
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Peelian principles
The Peelian principles summarise the ideas that Sir Robert Peel developed to define an ethical police force. The approach expressed in these principles is commonly known as policing by consent in the United Kingdom and other countries such as Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
There is now however a growing body of evidence that Peel neither wrote nor conceived of them, and that several existed prior to his policing reforms and were codified by Richard Mayne in his 'Instructions to New Police Officers', whilst others were a later introduction by Charles Reith c. 1952.
In this model of policing, police officers are regarded as citizens in uniform. They exercise their powers to police their fellow citizens with the implicit consent of those fellow citizens. "Policing by consent" indicates that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers, and their accountability for doing so.
In early 19th-century Britain, attempts by the government to set up a police force for London were met with opposition. People were suspicious of the idea of a large and possibly armed police force, and feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule. Since 1793 Britain had been at war with France, home of the best-known, best-organised and best-paid police force at the time, as well as a secret and political police force, and many Britons were uncomfortable with any police force's association with France. Most people did not think that it was the job of the national government to set up and control a police force, and thought it should be under local control.
Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816, several factors drove the country into a severe depression. The increased industrialisation of the country, combined with the demobilisation of the forces, led to mass unemployment. The Corn Laws led to massive increases in the price of bread, while the repeal of income tax meant that the war debt had to be recovered by taxing commodities forcing their prices even higher. In addition, 1817 was unusually wet and cold, producing a very poor harvest. This led to the so-called Pentrich rising, for which three men were hanged and beheaded at Derby Gaol.
The 1819 Peterloo Massacre in St Peter's Field, Manchester occurred when at least eighteen died after 60,000 people who had gathered to stand up for universal suffrage (amongst other ideas) were overrun by multiple cavalry charges. This was followed by the 1820 Yorkshire West Riding Revolt and the 1821 Cinderloo Uprising, the latter of which resulted in two deaths and one man hanged subsequently. It was against this background that Peel said that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger" and thus the principles known as Peel's were developed.
London in the early 19th century had a population of nearly a million and a half people but was policed by only 450 constables and 4,500 night watchmen who belonged to many separate organisations. Several parliamentary committees examined the policing of London and made proposals to help evolve the existing state of affairs. The concept of professional policing was taken up by Robert Peel when he became Home Secretary in 1822, emphasising a rigorous and less discretionary approach to law enforcement. Peel's Metropolitan Police Act 1829 established a full-time, professional and centrally-organised police force for the Greater London area, known as the Metropolitan Police.
The Peelian principles describe the philosophy that Sir Robert Peel developed to define an ethical police force. The principles traditionally ascribed to Peel state that:
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Peelian principles
The Peelian principles summarise the ideas that Sir Robert Peel developed to define an ethical police force. The approach expressed in these principles is commonly known as policing by consent in the United Kingdom and other countries such as Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
There is now however a growing body of evidence that Peel neither wrote nor conceived of them, and that several existed prior to his policing reforms and were codified by Richard Mayne in his 'Instructions to New Police Officers', whilst others were a later introduction by Charles Reith c. 1952.
In this model of policing, police officers are regarded as citizens in uniform. They exercise their powers to police their fellow citizens with the implicit consent of those fellow citizens. "Policing by consent" indicates that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in exercising those powers, and their accountability for doing so.
In early 19th-century Britain, attempts by the government to set up a police force for London were met with opposition. People were suspicious of the idea of a large and possibly armed police force, and feared that it could be used to suppress protest or support unpopular rule. Since 1793 Britain had been at war with France, home of the best-known, best-organised and best-paid police force at the time, as well as a secret and political police force, and many Britons were uncomfortable with any police force's association with France. Most people did not think that it was the job of the national government to set up and control a police force, and thought it should be under local control.
Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1816, several factors drove the country into a severe depression. The increased industrialisation of the country, combined with the demobilisation of the forces, led to mass unemployment. The Corn Laws led to massive increases in the price of bread, while the repeal of income tax meant that the war debt had to be recovered by taxing commodities forcing their prices even higher. In addition, 1817 was unusually wet and cold, producing a very poor harvest. This led to the so-called Pentrich rising, for which three men were hanged and beheaded at Derby Gaol.
The 1819 Peterloo Massacre in St Peter's Field, Manchester occurred when at least eighteen died after 60,000 people who had gathered to stand up for universal suffrage (amongst other ideas) were overrun by multiple cavalry charges. This was followed by the 1820 Yorkshire West Riding Revolt and the 1821 Cinderloo Uprising, the latter of which resulted in two deaths and one man hanged subsequently. It was against this background that Peel said that "though emancipation was a great danger, civil strife was a greater danger" and thus the principles known as Peel's were developed.
London in the early 19th century had a population of nearly a million and a half people but was policed by only 450 constables and 4,500 night watchmen who belonged to many separate organisations. Several parliamentary committees examined the policing of London and made proposals to help evolve the existing state of affairs. The concept of professional policing was taken up by Robert Peel when he became Home Secretary in 1822, emphasising a rigorous and less discretionary approach to law enforcement. Peel's Metropolitan Police Act 1829 established a full-time, professional and centrally-organised police force for the Greater London area, known as the Metropolitan Police.
The Peelian principles describe the philosophy that Sir Robert Peel developed to define an ethical police force. The principles traditionally ascribed to Peel state that: