Describe Law and Order in London in the late nineteenth century.
At the start of the nineteenth century the enforcement of law and order was the same in England has it had been in the Middle Ages. The main people in charge of law and order were the Justice of Peace who were chosen by the King. "Bow Street Runners" were appointed in London and the Thames River police force was set up in 1800. When serious problems occurred, the government would summon the army.
However, as Britain's population rapidly increased so did the crimes that were being committed and law and order was under constant threat. The growing cities were becoming dangerous places. Many people had to be put in slum housing. Some of them were unemployed, had little to eat and had not received an education. So consequently many people turned to crime. The need for a preventative police force was highlighted by the Peterloo Massacre and Chartist uprisings in London. These mass movements frightened the British government into wanting an organised police force. The tactics for preventing and dealing with crime in London was often insufficient and caused many more problems. Added to this situation was the apparent growth in homicide, robbery, theft and burglary, all of which were increasing as a result of the Industrial Revolution. .
The first major reform of law enforcement in the nineteenth century was the metropolitan Police Act in 1829. It was a bureaucratic police force for the whole of London (apart form the City). It was the work of Robert Peel; he was a .
humane man and wanted to change the harsh penal code as he thought it was.
inefficient. There were 3,200 men to cover an area extending 7 miles from the centre of London. There were 17 divisions, each with four inspectors and 144 constables. There were many problems at first. Firstly, police recruits were unsuitable often due to drunkenness and laziness and were soon sacked. Secondly, they were immediately known as "Bobbies" or "Peelers" and were not immediately popular, as accounts show.