Changing Policing: Revolution not Evolution
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Policing: A Short History by Phillip Rawlings Cullompton: Willan (2002) ISBN 1 903240 26 3 (274 pages, £16.99)
Changing Policing: Revolution not Evolution by Michael O’Byrne Lyme Regis: Russell House (2001) ISBN 1 903800 4 (152 pages, £14.95)
Reviewed by Colin Roger Recently, there has been considerable discussion about changes in policing methods and the structure of the public police in the United Kingdom, making the publication of these works a timely and much-needed addition to our collective knowledge. Phillip Rawlings provides an overview of the history of the police in the United Kingdom, from Anglo-Saxon times through to the present day. The strength of the book lies in the fact that Rawlings helps us to understand that policing did not commence with the introduction of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829, but traces its roots to far more ancient times. This is an important and often neglected area for students of policing, as it contextualises contemporary developments. Rawlings spends considerable time exploring and explaining the role and function of different policing activities, encompassing the ‘blood feud’ and the Anglo-Saxon laws during the period 600–1400 AD, through to the London watch, including the private and quasi-public watch schemes that existed in the 18th century. This part of the work is concise, clear and to the point, and leaves the reader with a good understanding of the evolution of policing techniques and their similarity, in some instances, to recent proposals for change in policing methods in this country. The remainder of the book traces the introduction of the modern police, and the trials and tribulations associated with the conservative view of the introduction of the police as a new 24-hour social service. However, Rawlings does not dwell unnecessarily on this area, and includes several criticisms leveled at the introduction of the police at the time. Rawlings’ view is that the history of policing has passed through three distinct phases. The first can be seen in what he refers to as the ‘blood feud’, whereby aggrieved individuals took direct action against the offender. This is followed by the introduction of early forms of communal policing and the attempted bureaucratisation of policing, and finally to the third stage, that of the professionalised version of police and policing as seen in the period up to around 1800. These three aspects of the history of policing, Rawlings argues, form the basis of the introduction of policing during the 19th and 20th centuries. By using historical analysis Rawlings rightly points out that the public police, since its inception embodied in the Metropolitan Police Act 1829, has never really enjoyed a monopoly in policing in this country, given the vast range of services provided by other agencies. By recognising that policing covers a number of wide and diverse activities it becomes clear that popular and wider community involvement in policing should not only be welcomed, but seen as a continuance of what policing has always been about. Wit
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