CHAPTER 10 - One-tier policing

Abstract

This chapter discusses the principles of British policing and Lord Scarman's view on British policing. The origins of the British police system and the establishment of a paid professional police force are generally credited to the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel. However, it can be argued that while the London Metropolitan Police Force was established during his Home Secretaryship, that creation rather than being an inspiration was really the hallmark of his failure. The first professional paid police system, in what was then one united country, had some years earlier been established in the form of the Royal Irish Constabulary—a force that Peel as Secretary for Ireland during the years 1812 to 1818 had used to contain order in that ever-troubled island. Throughout Lord Scarman's Report, the basic precept of British policing is stressed: that without the consent of the general public the system simply will not work. All British policemen would support this view, for as practical police operatives their whole existence sustains it, and it is notable that Lord Scarman took the point that the majority of the Brixton community support the police operations to reduce street crime. However, it is quite unreasonable to suppose that the police could enjoy total public support at all times—or indeed that they should seek it. Perhaps in this respect, the service has become the victim of an unreal middle-class expectation of the universally benevolent policeman—an expectation impossible to sustain. Policy and methods of policing will not ultimately be determined by the adoption of recommendations in a report. They will instead be determined by the nature of the community to be policed and the resources available to carry out that task.