Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/681

 POLICE 661 40 more; and besides these there were 863 parish officers serving without pay. The night watch and patrol consisted of 2,044 men for the entire metropolitan district, of whom 803 were in the city of London. The greater part of these men were aged, feeble, infirm, and many of them half starved; their compensa- tion ranged from 17 to 36 cents a night; and they were under the control of more than 70 different boards of officers. This state of things continued with little amelioration till 1829, when Sir Robert Peel's " act for improving the police in and near the metropolis " was passed. This act established an effective constabulary force under two commissioners, but left sev- eral petty detached bodies of peace officers within the district. In 1839 it was modified by an act consolidating the entire constabulary force of the metropolis, the city of London ex- cepted. By this act also the entire executive duties of police were intrusted to the commis- sioners; their sphere of action in regard to all matters properly belonging to police was greatly enlarged ; the police courts were as- similated to the other courts of justice, and a single magistrate was empowered to decide, without appeal, questions involving sums of money not exceeding 40 shillings, as well as those cases of offence against the person so constantly recurring in a police court; and the boundaries of the police districts were changed to adapt them to the growth of the metrop- olis. In 1856 the joint commissioners were superseded by one commissioner, whose salary was fixed at 1,500, and two assistant com- missioners were appointed, at a salary of 800 each. The metropolitan police district com- prises all the parishes within 15 m. of Charing Cross, except the city of London proper, which has an independent police organization. It em- braces an area of 687 sq. m., and in 1871 con- tained 3,808,360 inhabitants. The total length of streets patrolled day and night by the metro- politan police is 6,612 m. The police force on Jan. 1, 1874, consisted of 26 superintendents, 272 inspectors, 992 sergeants, and 8,593 consta- bles, making a total of 9,883 men. Of these, 4 superintendents, 37, inspectors, 84 sergeants, and 504 constables were employed at the royal dockyards and military stations, and 14 inspec- tors, 54 sergeants, and 472 constables at various government and private establishments, leav- ing 22 superintendents, 221 inspectors, 854 ser- geants, and 7,617 constables for ordinary duty in the metropolis. The total number of arrests in 1873 was 73,857. The number of designated points where a constable may always be found increased from 103 in 1869, when the system was adopted, to 248 in 1873. There were 161 constables employed on short beats near the principal hackney carriage stands, and a large force is also detailed for the regulation of traffic in the streets and for the protection of passengers at the crossings. Arresting va- grants, licensing peddlers, inspecting public car- riages, attending fires, registering the names of prostitutes and examining them under the con- tagious diseases act, and reporting nuisances, are prominent police functions. Cities, bor- oughs, and towns in England and Wales main- tain police organizations. The rural police or county constabulary force in England is of re- cent origin. The difficulty of arresting crimi- nals and preventing crime, especially among juvenile offenders, led to its organization. In 1840 parliament passed an act permitting any county, or part of a county, to organize a po- lice force on a plan somewhat similar to that of the metropolitan police. The county of Es- sex availed itself of the permission the same year; and between 1840 and 1853, 18 English and 4 Welsh counties had adopted it for the whole of each county, and 7 others for parts. In 1856 the "act to render more effectual the police in counties arid boroughs" was passed, and there is now a constabulary force in every county, which reports annually to the secreta- ry of state. The organization of this force has greatly diminished the amount of crime, espe- cially among the young, who are now prompt- ly committed to reformatories, and rendered property safer and the administration of jus- tice more uniform. The strength and cost of the police force in England and Wales for two years were as follows : Officers and DESCRIPTION. j 1869. 1870. 1869. 1870. County constabulary. . . Borough police 9.048 9,272 7,235 7,852 749,449 518,006 755,073 529,184 Metropolitan police, ) with her majesty's y 8,915 9,118 785,088 880,212 dockyard police ) City of London police. . 699 J 64,391 68,052 Total 25,897 26,441 2,116,884 2,182,521 The number of indictable offences committed, so far as known to the police, was 58,441 in 1869, and 51,972 in 1870. The number of per- sons arrested for such crimes was 29,278 in 1869, and 26,613 in 1870. The number of per- sons proceeded against for offences summarily determined was 517,875 in 1869, and 526,869 in 1870. In Scotland the organization of an efficient police in the large towns dates from 1834, and has been materially modified by sub- sequent laws. The rural police has been^ or- ganized under the law of 1857, which is simi- lar in its provisions to the English law of 1856. In Ireland until 1814 the police was in a cha- otic state. The law passed that year led to im- provements, but did not remove the manage- ment of the force nor the functions of the inferior magistracy from partisan control, by which they were often made the instruments of outrageous abuses. The act of 1836, and its modifications in 1848 and 1857, have greatly improved it. It is quasi-military, being well armed and occupying barracks. The entire po- lice force of Ireland in 1870 comprised 14,007 officers and constables, including the constab-