Peelian Principles

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When it comes to discussing the beginnings of the first organized police department in England, one of the main names that comes to mind is that of Sir Robert Peel. He is credited to have formed the first English police department. (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 4) He was very influential back in his time and he created the Peelian Principles, or Peel’s Nine Principles, that many police departments work off of today. He is not the only one that impacted the world of law enforcement, but he is definitely one of the names at the top of the list of influences. Sir Robert peel started out as the home secretary of England in 1828 and created what is known as the Metropolitan Police Act that was based off of Colquhoun and passed by Parliament in 1829. …show more content…

Even though he was never a police officer himself, it is noted that his involvement had much to do with his able to assist with getting new police bills based. (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 7) His persuasive ways were definitely needed and appreciated when it came to furthering the development for the police and gaining support. This fact definitely played a part in getting his Nine Principles passed. They were the guidelines for the London Metropolitan Police in 1829. (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 7) The principles covered a variety of points when it came to duties, restrictions, and much more. It covered a basic mission of the department, stating that their existence “is to prevent crime and disorder.” (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 7) And though this seems like a point that would be common sense to people today, in time where corruption among officials was as common as churches are in the south today, it was definitely something that needed to be stated. It also covered how important public cooperation was when it came to the police doing their jobs. (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 7) They knew, even then, that in order to make sure they could do their jobs they had to rely on the words and actions of the citizens they protected. Without them, their jobs would be much more difficult to do because without having the support and trust of the community, criminals would freely roam the city and terrorize people. It also touched on the police being there to serve the public for the god of all and not just the wants of few and on making sure that any force used was actually called for and not overly exerted on a whim. (Dempsey & Frost, 2014, p. 7) The Peelian Principles covered all of the basic of the responsibly the police in a clear and simple fashion, but still left very little open for error and blurred lines. It is still used by most police departments

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