The Origins of Policing

Posted in , By Jade* 2 comments


"A functioning police state needs no police."- William S. Burrough (1914-1997, American Writer)

There is a Chinese saying that says that " the police are the babysitters of the people." The system of policing has been guarding and helping our society to keep order for a long time. In fact, the origin of policing can be traced back to the early medieval Britain. Here is an article extracted from the Cambridge Initiative:A Course for Advanced Learners that tells us about it.

The Origin of Policing

In early times Britain was settled by waves of different invaders. Among the last of these were the Anglo-Saxons. When they settled in England they lived in small communities, that is, in villages rather than in towns. They brought their own customs and laws to protect people and their property. According to the Anglo-Saxon custom, if someone broke the law it was not just a crime against the victim, but a crime against the whole community.

The Anglo-Saxon kings expected their people to keep good order, and this they called keeping the peace. A crime was an act against the peace, and some of the more serious crimes were said to be against the King's Peace. Gradually the idea grew that all crimes were against the King's Peace.

Under Anglo-Saxon rule, it was the duty of the citizens themselves to see that the law was not broken, and if it was, the offenders were captured. All the males in the community between the ages of 12 and 60 were responsible for this duty. They were organized in groups of about 10 families and each group was called a tithing: at their head was a tithing man. Ten tithings were grouped into a hundred and were supervised by a constable. Groups of ten hundreds created a shire, controlled by reeves.Each member of the tithing was held responsible for the good behavior of the others. If one member of the tithing committed a crime, the others had to capture him and bring him before the court, or the moot as the Saxons called it. If they failed to do so, they were all punished, usually by paying a fine. In a way, the tithing man is a very early ancestor of the policeman, because it was his duty to see that the King's Peace was kept. If anyone saw a crime, he raised a hue and cry and all men had to join him to trial before the court.

For minor offenses, people accused of crimes were brought to the local folk moot. More serious cases went to the hundred court, headed by a shire-reeve, or sheriff as he came to be known. The sheriff's responsibility to the King was to keep the peace of the whole area. In an emergency, the sheriff could call out the posse comitatus-all the available men in the shire.

Questions
1. What did the Anglo-Saxons consider a crime to be?
2. What was the original significance of doing something against the King's Peace?
3. Who was responsible for catching thieves?
4. What was a tithing?
5. What was a moot?
6. If someone saw a crime, what did he have to do?
7. What is the origin of the word sheriff?
8. What was a posse comitatus?