Peel

• 1834-35 and 1841-46 – Robert Peel was Prime Minister, 1822 – he had become Home Secretary


  As home secretary, he was responsible for bringing in a wide range of changes to criminal law and for reforming prisons
• Some historians – Peel should be seen as the ‘father of modern policing’ as he set up the Metropolitan Police Force, which became a model for other police forces across the country
• Peel's key strengths were:

  • Well-informed and open to new ideas e.g. after Elizabeth Fry spoke to Parliament about conditions in prisons, Peel took on board many of her suggestions in his work on penal reform
  • Skilful at seeing bills through parliament – carefully managing the reactions of other MPs
  • Made the most of his senior positions as home secretary, then prime minister, to implement his reforming ideas
• Peel’s penal reforms in the 1820s

  • Peel advocated a system aimed at preventing crimes and reforming criminals, rather than focusing on punishments as a deterrent
  • He reformed the penal code by reducing the number of crimes punishable by death by 100
  • Many more crimes were therefore punished more proportionately (i.e. minor crimes received less harsh punishments)
• Peel also reformed prisons, He had some sympathy with C19 prison reformers like Elizabeth Fry

  He also wanted to use the law more effectively by bringing in a more logical and organised system of punishment, in which the same crime was always punished in the same way
• Peel persuaded parliament to pass the 1823 Gaols Act. This said that:

   Prisoners should receive regular visits from prison chaplains

   Gaolers should be paid (so they would not need to make money from prisoners)

   Female prisoners should be watched over by female wardens

   Prisoners were not to be held in chains or irons
• the measures of the 1823 gaols act brought some improvements but had limited effect, as there

  were no paid inspectors to ensure the new laws were enforced

  There was no official prison inspectorate until the 1853 Prison Act was passed
• Peel’s penal code reforms, 1822-27

  • 1822 Last hanging for shoplifting
  • 1823 Gaol Act
  • 1825 Capital crimes reduced by 100
  • 1827 Black Act repealed
• Robert Peel was already thinking about the policing of London in 1822, when he set up a parliamentary committee to look into the issue

  • From 1826, there was an economic downturn
  • This led to unemployment and poverty, which resulted in a crime wave and rioting, and the army had to be called in to restore order
  • Peel thought it would be better to have a centralised system for keeping the peace that did not rely on lethal weapons
  • He wanted a system that would ensure similar standards of policing were provided all across London
  • Some wealthy London parishes had good numbers of trained watchmen, while some poorer areas had very inadequate policing
• The first Metropolitan Police officers were appointed in September 1829
• • Peel was careful in the way that he constructed the Metropolitan Police bill
  • Police were not to have authority over the ‘square mile’ of the rich and influential city of London
  • The City was determined to preserve its independence and had blocked previous attempts at unifying London’s policing
  • The Mayor and Corporation of the City of London refused to be part of the wider centralised force
  • Even in C21, the City of London still had its own, independent police
• What did the job involve? (of being a policeman)

   Applicants had to be men of good character with no criminal record

   Supposed to prevent crime and disorder through foot patrols of 7-10 miles per day

   Had to be willing to use force when necessary

   Had to be fit and healthy and at least 5’7” tall

   Provided with a uniform and equipment (paid for from their wages):-
• old night watch system:

   Responsible for lighting lamps in the street

   Help with various public services like administering

  street cleaning

   Expected to call out the time

   Tasked with watching out for fires and raising the alarm

   Prevent crime by patrolling the streets

   Expected to capture criminals caught in the act
• New Metropolitan Police

   Organised in a military-style hierarchy

   Employed full-time and weekly pay funded through increased public taxation

   Centrally organised, under one clear authority for London,

  answerable to the home secretary

   Headquarters set up at Scotland Yard

   Standardised training for all officers

   2000 new recruits
• The public and the press were hostile

  • Cartoons portrayed them, to some extent fairly, as poorly-trained, recruited from dubious backgrounds and having immoral tendencies
  • Early on, 2800 recruits were signed up, but only 600 were retained for a year or more
  • The most serious concerns centred on fears of oppression
  • They thought the police would limit their individual liberties and worried that the police would be a military-style presence on the streets
  • Some people were also concerned about the increased costs imposed on taxpayers for the new service
• Peel and his police commissioners understood the public concern about the introduction of the Metropolitan Police

  The commissioners drew up and issued clear guidelines to all new police recruits, including

  • Basic mission is to prevent crime and disorder

  2. Public approval was needed for the police to be effective

  3. Police need to secure cooperation and support of the public