Before the Bobbies The Night Watch and Police Reform in Metropolitan

Historians, legal scholars, sociologists and crime readers will learn from this book that modern policing emerged long before Scotland Yard. Police reform developed over decades, the work of local authorities motivated more by fears of property crime than

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BEFORE THE BOBBIES

Before the Bobbies The Night Watch and Police Reform in Metropolitan London, 1720-1830 Elaine A. Reynolds

Associate Professor ofHistory William Jewell College Liberty Missouri USA

© Elaine A. Reynolds 1998 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1998 978-0-333-69936-2

All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 1998 by

MACMILLAN PRESS LTD

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN 978-1-349-14563-8 ISBN 978-1-349-14561-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-14561-4

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10

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9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98

To all my teachers, especially my parents

Contents List of Maps

viii

Acknowledgements

ix

1

Introduction

1

2

Westminster, 1720-39

7

3

An Expanding Watch, 1748-76

29

4

Collaboration, 1750-74

45

5

New Means to Old Ends

58

6

The War Years, 1793-1815

84

7

Night Watch to Police, 1811-28

103

8

Why 1829?

125

9

148

Charlies to Bobbies

Notes

167

Select Bibliography

205

Index

220

vii

List of Maps 1.1

Parochial Night Watch Acts, 1735-1823

9.1

Establishment of the New Police, 1829-30

viii

2

150

Acknowledgements This book came about because I always liked Chief Inspector Parker better than Lord Peter Wimsey. A mystery fan, I was intrigued by fictional Scotland Yard detectives and wanted to know more. So when I had to write a doctoral dissertation, I gravitated to Robert Peel and the origins of the Metropolitan Police. All the work in that project is distilled here. Thus all the gratitude I owe to the people who helped with that is still owed. I would especially like to thank Daniel Baugh for his continued support and encouragement, above and beyond what most doctoral supervisors give. Since completing the dissertation, I have received generous fmancial support from the taxpayers of the state of New York, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and William Jewell College. My debts to many libraries and archives and all their staff are enormous. I would especially like to thank all the local history librarians and archivists all over London. I know their warm welcome was due, in part, to