Origin and Development of

Policing: International
Perspectives

Monirul Islam bpm (bar), ppm (bar)

Additional Commissioner (CTTCU)
Dhaka Metropolitan Police
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Lecture Plan

Introduction;
Ancient Practices;
Early History of Policing;
Development of Policing;
Contribution of British Policing System;
Development of American Policing;
An Overview of Bangladesh Police
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Introduction
Law Enforcement can be traced back to Cave dwellers;
Tribes and clans;
Justice was reactionary: Punish the offenders;
Punishment delivered by victim or victims family

Met a social need for prompting a group’s well-being

Banishment was the most effective means of punishment.
Camp Guards of early civilization represent the first traces
of law enforcement practices.
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Origin of Law Enforcement

• First recorded Law Enforcement Organisation-
1340 B.C., in Egypt, under the reign of Pharoah
Hur Moheb
 River security force established to ensure
security on the Nile;
 Responsible for preventing piracy, guarding
commerce, and searching suspect ships
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Ancient Practices
• ‘Police’ is a derivative of the Greek work “Politeria”
-the portion of government that deals with protection
of life and property.

• Emperor Augustus Caesar

 Law Enforcers were a special feature of the Roman
government;
 Various Grades of officers;
 Seven divisions with 14 districts; districts represent
the first city precincts.
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Early History of Policing : English Roots

Anglo-Saxon Period:
Law enforcement concepts originated in England
in 900 A.D.
Justice was primarily a private matter based on
revenge and retribution
Victims and/or family members would seek justice
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King William 1066

Frankpledge system
Tithing
Shires
Shire Reeve
Constables
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Tithing system: 10 Families:

 Responsible for maintaining order;
 Enforced two laws: Murder & Theft;
 Hue and Cry
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Anglo-Saxon Period
• Reeve: 10 Tithing:
 Chief of Hundreds;
 Elected a constable;
 First English police officer
 Hundreds were consolidated into Shires or
Counties

• Head of the Shire was the Shire-Reeve: Both

police officer and judge
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Justice of Peace 1326

Replacement of Shire Reeve:

 crime investigation,
 securing criminals, and
 organizing the night watch system

The system lasted into the 1700’s

Citizens were the police
Law enforcement organization was local
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Henry Fielding 1700’s

• Establishment of the ‘Bow Street Runners’:
apprehension of criminals and stolen property
recovery

 More effective than any other law enforcement;

 Paved the way for a more professional and

efficient response to crime, and the apprehension
of criminals
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History of Modern Policing

Beginning of Modern Policing: Evolving
field of criminology;
Early Public Opposition to the Police
Force;
Principles of Policing: The Why and How
of Policing;
Gaining Public Support for Police;
Police Evolution in the United States
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In early 19th-century Britain, attempts by the government to set

up a police force for London met with a lot of opposition:
People were suspicious of the idea of a large police force,
possibly armed. They feared that it could be used to suppress
protest or support unpopular rule;
Paris had the best-known, best-organised and best-paid police
force at the time. Britain was at war with France almost
continuously from 1793 to 1815, and during most of that time,
France had a secret and political police, so many people disliked
the idea because of the association with France.
People did not think that it was the job of the national
government to set up and control a police force. They thought it
should be under local control.
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The concept of professional policing was taken up by Robert Peel

when he became Home Secretary in 1822. Peel's 
Metropolitan Police Act 1829 established a full-time, professional
and centrally-organised police force for the Greater London area,
known as the Metropolitan Police.
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Sir Robert Peel

 “Father of Modern Policing”

 Proposed community responsibility for preserving

law and order;

 Worked with the English Parliament to mandate a

Govt. funded police force;

 Lead to the organization of the Metropolitan Police of

London in 1829
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Uniformed police force “Bobbies’ or “Peelers”;

Primary function was crime prevention through

patrol;

Appointment of two women to supervise

women convicts in 1883;

Women conducted inquiries in cases involving

women and children in 1905
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Peelian Principles
To prevent crime and disorder, as an
alternative to their repression by military
force and severity of legal punishment;

The power of the police to fulfill their

functions and duties is dependent on public
approval of their existence, actions and
behaviour, and on their ability to secure and
maintain public respect;
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To secure and maintain the respect and

approval of the public means also the
securing of the willing co-operation of the
public in the task of securing observance of
laws;

The extent to which the co-operation of the

public can be secured diminishes
proportionately the necessity of the use of
physical force and compulsion for achieving
police objectives;
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To seek and preserve public favour, not by

pandering to public opinion, but by constantly
demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in
complete independence of policy, and without regard
to the justice or injustice of the substance of
individual laws, by ready offering of individual
service and friendship to all members of the public
without regard to their wealth or social standing, by
ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good
humour, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice
in protecting and preserving life.
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The need for strict adherence to police-

executive functions, and to refrain from
even seeming to usurp the powers of the
judiciary, of avenging individuals or the
State, and of authoritatively judging guilt
and punishing the guilty;

The test of police efficiency is the absence

of crime and disorder, and not the visible
evidence of police action in dealing with
them.
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To use physical force only when the exercise of

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persuasion, advice and warning is found to be in

sufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent
necessary to secure observance of law or to restore
order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical
force which is necessary on any particular occasion for
achieving a police objective;

To maintain at all times a relationship with the public

that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police
are the public and that the public are the police, the
police being only members of the public who are paid
to give full-time attention to duties which are
incumbent on every citizen in the interests of
community welfare and existence.
American law enforcement concepts
paralleled the British Model
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Historical Eras of Law Enforcement

Political Era/Reform Era (1840-1930)

Professional Era (1930- 1980)

Community Era (1980 to Present)

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Political /Reform Era (1840-1930)

 Decentralized organization
 Intimate relationship with community;
 Uniforms were introduced in 1853 in New York
 The ‘Spoils’ system; the metropolitan police in the 19th
century were powerful, corrupt, poorly trained,
unsupervised, and frequently abusive to the public they
were to serve and protect;
 The primary focus was on crime prevention and the
maintenance of order through the foot patrol
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Reform Era
• Began in early part of the 20th century, as a
result of the middle and upper class citizens’
concern with corruption
 To get rid of political patronage
 To improve the efficiency of government, especially
in law enforcement
 They called for professional police forces,
 To separate law enforcement from politics
 To introduce modern technology to make law
enforcement more efficient
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Reform Era
One result of the Reform Era was the
establishment of police administrative boards who
were responsible for appointing police
administrators and controlling police affairs;

Those civilian review boards were established to

reduce local political control over the police;

These review boards failed because the appointed

leaders often lacked law enforcement knowledge
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Professional Era (1930- 1980)

• August Vollmer (1876-1955):

Chief of Police in Berkley (1909-23), Chief of LAPD (1923-24),
California- the most famous police reformer in the early part of
the 20th century
 Instituted university training for police officers
 Helped to develop the School of Criminology at the
University of Criminology, California. The School
became the model for university-level criminal justice
programs around the U.S
 Believed that the police should be a professional force
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Professional Era contd….

• The model of professional policing was developed
from Vollmer’s
essential elements’:

The police force should stay out of politics;

Members should be well trained, disciplined, and
tightly organized;
Laws should be equally enforced;
The police should use technological developments;
Merit should be the basis of personnel recruitment
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Striking Features

Crime control
Centralized and efficient organization
Professional remoteness from community
Motorized patrol
Emphasized importance of college
educated officers
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Failures

• Research findings indicate that the professional model was

not working, because:

Increasing the number of patrol officer in a

neighborhood was found to have little effect on crime;

Rapid response to calls for service does not greatly

increase the arrest of criminals;

It is difficult, if not impossible, to improve rates of

solving crimes.
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Community Era (1980 to Present)

Service to the Community

 In the late 1970’s there was a movement away from crime-

fighting focus of law enforcement towards a greater
emphasis on maintaining order and providing service to
the community;

 It was suggested that police officers get out of their patrol

cars and spend more time on the street assisting citizens,
while maintaining their crime fighting role.
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Salient Features
Community support;
Professionalism;
Broad range of services;
Problem solving approach;
Proactive.
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Indian Subcontinent
Koutillya’s “Arthashashtra”
King Ahoka
Mughal Period (Akbar)
British Period Prior to Sepoy Mutiny in
1857
 Enactment of ‘The Police Act 1861’
Pakistan Police (1947-1971)
Bangladesh Police
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The Police Act 1861

Organised and Govt. Controlled Police Force;

Unified Policing System;
Inspector General as the Chief;
Creation of Range, District, SDPO, Circle,
Police Station;
Functions derived from The London
Metropolitan Police Act 1829
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Bangladesh Police
Total Manpower: 204000
Chief : Inspector General
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Mission:
Bangladesh Police is committed to enforce law,
maintain social order, reduce fear of crime,
enhance public safety and ensure internal
security with the active support of the
community.

Vision:
To provide quality service by competent,
efficient and dedicated professionals enjoying
trust and respect of citizens to make
Bangladesh a better and safer place to live.
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Ranks
IGP

Addl IGP/DG

DIGP/PC

Addl DIGP

IG-Inspector General
SP/DC/AIG/SS Addl IG-Additional IG
DIG-Deputy Inspector General
SP- Superintendent of Police
Addl SP/ADC/ DC-Deputy Commissioner
AIG-Assistant Inspector General
SS-Special Superintendent
ASP/AC ASP-Assistant Superintendent
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Ranks
OC-Officer-in-Charge
Inspector/OC/TI
TI-Traffic Inspector
SI- Sub-Inspector

SI/Sergeant

ASI/ATSI

Constable
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Recruitment System

Three Tiers of Recruitment:

Lowest Tier: Constable-Recruiter-SP;
Second Tier: Sub-Inspector/ Sergeant
Recruiting Authority: DIG-IGP
Highest Tier: ASP- President through PSC
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Q&A
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Thanks