Policing – where diversity is a good thing

In the television programme The Young Morse, which I much enjoyed, the process of amalgamating the Oxford Police into the Thames Valley Police takes place. It is obviously a fictional portrayal, otherwise Oxford would have had more murders in the late 20th century than it did in its lawless mediaeval period, but it is a reminder of what happened, and that it was different, a fundamental change from what had gone before.

As is well known, the Metropolitan Police was established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel. It was a matter of fierce debate, because of fears of a gendarmerie-style force or even a secret police, as was common in continental Europe. It was only 10 years after the Peterloo Massacre. This was why Peel set up a civilian police, not a military-style one, that wore blue uniforms to distinguish it from the red worn by the army, and were normally unarmed.

It was also not set up as a national force, but initially just in London, subsequently in boroughs, and eventually in rural counties. The 1839 County Policing Act allowed counties to set up police forces if they wished, but it was only in 1856 that it was made compulsory.

In my local area, neighbouring counties took different approaches. The wild lands of Wiltshire used the 1839 Act straight away, and became the first county force, while the law-abiding people of Somerset waited until it was compulsory in 1856.

At this point the whole country was covered by a plethora of forces of varying sizes, although many were small and did not have the resources to investigate complex crimes. That is why, in old films or detective novels, the local police sent for Scotland Yard.

This had both the advantages and drawbacks of local accountability. Each force was subject to a watch committee of local politicians who would have known the area well and were not bound by the modern concept of operational independence for the police. Watch committees could and did tell chief constables what to do, and could override his professional advice. This meant that local priorities were dealt with, for example, Liverpool’s brothels were closed in the 1890s against the advice of the chief constable. But it also led to politically motivated cancellations of prosecutions and the diversion of resources to potentially petty interests.

Since that time, and particularly in recent decades, confidence in experts has risen and in politicians has declined, and the concept of complete operational independence has taken hold, with the view now being that it would be quite improper for any politician, local or national, to interfere with day-to-day policing decisions. This has made the police much less democratically accountable, but has not stopped elements of corruption, as the experts sometimes follow their own priorities or the interests of their fellow experts.