Early Policing Essay

Early policing used to be a “...private matter. Citizens were responsible for protecting themselves and maintaining an orderly society. However, in Rome in the 5th century B.C.E the first specialized investigative unit was formed known as the questors. According to the textbook, questors means “trackers of murder,” but in another article I found that the word is quaestor and means “the man who asks questions.” They actually started with two men who served as accountants and then led into a group “who served under the Roman kings. Their task was to investigate murder cases - they were police inspectors.” Then came the sixth century in Athens when we first saw unpaid magistrates that would adjudicate cases, but private citizens made the arrests

In this time period there weren’t any policing officials, but there was the bow street runners. A group of men who only dealt with investigations led by Henry Fielding. However this system, or lack of was successful for a while since the English “...viewed a system of professional police and prosecutors, government-paid and -appointed, as potentially tyrannical and, worse still, French.” It wasn’t until the end of this century when the crime rate increased and they needed a new

They incorporated practices that the English used centuries before such as, Sheriffs being paid fees like the thief-takers. The Sheriff took on the role of “the main law enforcement figure,” in more rural areas. Today we use methods of retribution, deterrence, punishment, and incapacitation which evolved from the use of “law enforcement that is reactionary.” The use of the watch was used widely throughout history in England, but “the city of Boston created the first colonial night watch in 1631.” The British ended up adopting this police system “in 1664 when they took over the city and renamed it New York.” In this time period the population was growing and society was changing which led to new and bigger problems. Needless to say the watch didn’t last very long, but it did work in the early