| The British police are a group of similar but independent police services
which operate in the United Kingdom.
History
While constables had existed since Saxon times the creation of a police force comparable to modern structures did not come about until the early
19th century, with the introduction of a nationwide system of local forces
on a broadly common pattern (with some variation). However this had been foreshadowed in the late 18th century with the establishment of the Marine
Police based in Wapping, although this was only a localised force with a limited
remit.
In Britain in 1812, 1818 and 1822 a number of committees had examined the policing of London. Based
on their findings the home secretary Robert Peel passed the Metropolitan
Police Act of 1829, introducing a more rigorous and less discretionary approach to law enforcement. The new Metropolitan Police Service, founded on September 29, was depersonalized, bureaucratic and hierarchical with the new police constables (US = patrol officers) instructed to
prevent crime and pursue offenders. However in contrast to the more paramilitary police of continental Europe
the British police, partly to counter public fears and objections concerning armed enforcers, were initially clearly civilian and
their armament was limited to the truncheon, a fear of spy systems and political
control also kept 'plain clothes' and even detective work to a minimum. The force was independent of the local government, through its
commissioner it was responsible direct to the Home Office. The new constables
were nicknamed 'peelers' or 'bobbies' after the then home secretary, Sir
Robert Peel.
Outside of the metropolitan area the Municipal Corporations Act of 1835 and further legislation in 1839 and 1840 allowed counties to create their
own constabulary. The first county force created was Wiltshire in 1839. Around
thirty counties had done so before the County and Borough Police Act of 1856 made such forces mandatory and subject
to central inspection. There were over 200 separate forces in England and Wales by 1860, while in Ireland a more centralized paramilitary force, the Royal Irish Constabulary, was created (see Royal Ulster Constabulary).
Within the Metropolitan Police a detective force was founded in 1842 and following the
Turf Fraud scandal of
1877 it was reorganized into the CID in 1878. A pension was guaranteed by the
Police Act of 1890,
previously it had been discretionary. The police became unionized during World
War I and the strikes of 1918 and 1919 resulted
in the Police Act of
1919, prohibiting trade unions but creating the Police Federation. However the
fragmented nature of the police resisted change, there were still over 200 separate police forces before World War II and 117 before the mass reorganization of the Police Act of 1964 which created 49
larger forces covering several counties or large urban areas. These new forces were distanced from the public and operated with
limited accountability.
In addition to the regional constabularies, there exist a small number of special police forces that have particular powers.
The most notable of theses is the British Transport
Police, who are responsible for policing on Britain's railway network.
In 2004 the creation of the national Serious Organised Crime Agency was announced.
Accountability
Except in Scotland a Police Authority, normally consisting of 3 magistrates,
9 local councillors and 5 independent people, is responsible for overseeing
each local constabulary. They also have a duty under law to ensure that their community gets best value from their police force.
Use of firearms
Unlike the police in most other countries, the British police are not routinely armed, except in Northern Ireland, at airports,
nuclear facilities, and on protection duties.
In fact, officers on night patrols in some London divisions were frequently armed
with Webley revolvers (and, after the
Battle of Stepney Webley semi-automatics) for over 50 years following the murder of two officers in 1884, though individual
officers were able to choose whether to carry the weapons. The practice ended in July 1936,
after which arms could be issued by a sergeant if there was a good reason, and if the officer had been trained.
The issue of routine arming was next raised after the 1952 Derek Bentley case, and again after the 1966 murder of three
officers in London, following which around 17% of officers in London were authorised to carry arms. After the deaths of a number
of members of the public in the 1980s, control was considerably tightened and many
officers had their firearm authorisation revoked, and training for the remainder was greatly improved and later extended to
include some training from the SAS. Currently around 7% of
officers in London are trained in the use of firearms. Firearms are also only issued to an officer under strict
guidelines (http://www.acpo.police.uk/policies/Chapter3.pdf).
In order to allow armed officers to rapidly attend an incident, weapons are now frequently carried in the secure armoury of
patrolling Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs). ARVs were modelled on the Instant Response Cars introduced by the
West Yorkshire
Police in 1976, and were first introduced in London in 1991, when 132 armed deployments were made.
In a 1995 ballot amongst members of the Police Federation of England and Wales, over 75% of the vote was against routine
arming. However the huge increase in gun crime since the late 1990s is seen as a major
issue. For the first time since 1936, the routine carrying of firearms on normal police patrols was re-introduced in Nottingham in February 2000, in response to a
number of gang related shootings on the St Ann's and Meadows estates.
As of September 2004 all forces in England and Wales also have the Taser available, but it may only be used where a full firearms authority has been granted.
The weapons carried routinely by ordinary police constables (US = patrol officers) are currently an extending baton (US = nightstick) and, in all but 2 county police services, CS spray (personal issue incapacitant spray) (o-chlorobenzylidine malononitrile) dissolved in the solvent MiBK
(methyl iso-butyl ketone). Its effects are designed to be short-lived, subsiding within 30-60 minutes and clear even quicker in
well ventilated areas.
Recent and current issues
Evidence of corruption in the 1970s, serious urban riots and the police role in controlling industrial disorder in the 1980s, and the changing nature of police procedure
made police accountability and control a major political football from the 1990s
onwards.
The UK miners' strike
(1984-1985) saw thousands of police from various constabularies deployed against miners, frequently resulting in violent
confontation.
The presence of Freemasons in the police caused disquiet in the early
1990s.
Despite attempts to end racism and what has been described as "institutionalised
racism" in the Police, especially since the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, there have been ongoing
problems. At the same time, some commentators and citizens' groups have claimed that political correctness and excessive sensitivity to issues of race and class have reduced the
effectiveness of the police force, not least for people living in deprived areas or members of minority groups themselves.
In 2003, ten police officers from Greater Manchester
Police, North Wales
Police and Cheshire
Police were forced to resign after a BBC documentary, The Secret Policeman, shown
on 21 October, revealed racism among recruits at Bruche Police National Training Centre at Warrington. On 4 March 2005 it
was announced that minor disciplinary action would be taken against twelve other officers (eleven from Greater Manchester Police
and one from Lancashire Constabulary) in connection with the programme, but that they would not lose their
jobs.
In November 2003 allegations were made that police officers were members of the far-right British
National Party.
The absence of a visible police presence on the streets also frequently causes concern. This is partially being addressed by
the introduction of uniformed civilian Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), following the passing of the Police Reform Act 2002
[1] (http://www.policereform.gov.uk/reformact/index.html).
At the beginning of 2005 it was announced that the Police IT Organisation (PITO) signed an eight-year 122m pound contract to introduce biometric identification
technology
[2] (http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=135998&liArticleTypeID=1&liCategoryID=2&liChannelID=22&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1).
PITO are also planning to use CCTV facial recognition systems to identify known suspects; a
future link to the proposed National Identity
Register has been suggested by some
[3] (http://www.computerweekly.com/articles/article.asp?liArticleID=136743&liArticleTypeID=1&liCategoryID=2&liChannelID=22&liFlavourID=1&sSearch=&nPage=1)
Police Complaints Authority
Scotland Yard
Serious Organised Crime Agency
Special Branch
Special Constables
UK police ranks
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Databases
External links
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