Free Republic

The Modern Police Force was established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, the British Home Secretary, who later became Prime Minister. The Modern Police Force was established to solve minor crimes among a highly civilized, self-governing, and self-policing people. When policing was established, police officers did not carry guns, but carried a wooden baton and a whistle. In those days, it was the civilians who had guns, because the British people lived in a libertarian society that had very few restrictions on gun ownership. Police officers in Britain are called Bobbies, in memory of Sir Robert Peel. An ethical police...

Sunday, April 06, 2008 "The Police are the Public, and the Public are the Police." The title to this post is a quote attributed to Sir Robert Peel. Known as the "Father of Modern Policing", Sir Robert was the man responsible for the creation of what many believe to be the first modern professional police department -- the Metropolitan Police Force in London. Prior to Sir Roberts little experiment, the British in the 1800's had a strong antipathy for the idea of a full-time police department -- matter-of-fact, it was seen as a threat to liberty and a (and this...