History of the Police Profession

Abstract

Policing as a professional metier emerged in many European countries and in Northern America throughout the 19th century, although in many countries gradually only. The move towards professional policing came from two sides: The authorities governing the police (the state, municipalities) strived for a more efficient and above all for a more accountable law and order maintenance, while members of the (uniformed) police perceived and used the enhancement of professionalism within the police a strategy for promoting career prospects, pay and status. Police schools and police unions were part of this development. The strive for professionalism remained limited throughout most of the 19th century, because most of the uniformed policemen were rather a sort of general factotum than professional agents for law and order maintenance. The late 19th century saw in many countries the advent of specialized police branches, specializing on crime investigation, detection and control (crime detections units, when rising fears of crime and disorder in the cities enhanced the demands for professional crime control. The social defense modus of crime control during the decades before and after the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, focusing on perpetrators threatening 'property' served a very specific notion of crime. In addition with the high level of public prominence allotted to crime investigation work, the (societal) status and prestige of the work of uniformed policemen decreased, whereby crime investigation acquired the status of 'real' police work, although, seen from a quantitative perspective, crime detection is a minor part of overall police activity.