Crime and punishment in 18th- and 19th-century Britain - EdexcelRobert Peel and the Metropolitan Police

Sir Robert Peel was appointed Home Secretary in 1822. He was determined to reduce the amount of crime by improving the conditions in prisons and introducing a professional police force.

Peel and the Metropolitan Police

• a centralised policing system with similar standards across London
• a police force that did not use weapons so that it was different from the army
• a non-military uniform so that the British people did not think they were being controlled by the government

The Met was the first professional and full-time police force. In 1829 it had 3,200 men, who wore a uniform with a blue overcoat and top hat and carried a truncheonrattle and handcuffs.

Initially, the new police force was criticised by the British public and newspapers, as many people were worried that the police would be used as a means of oppression. They thought that plain-clothed officers were no more than spies on the public. Some people were also worried that the police would intrude on personal freedoms, doubted they would reduce crime and were against increased taxation to pay for the police force.

Peel overcame these concerns by giving the police officers clear guidelines on expected behaviour. These included establishing a positive relationship with the British people. Police were:

• only allowed to use physical force when necessary
• required to ensure that they behaved within the law

These guidelines are still used by police forces in Britain today.

Peel and penal reform

• Sir Robert Peel also believed that it was important to reform criminals, rather than focus on harsh punishments.
• His penal reforms reduced the number of crimes punishable by death by 100, including by removing many minor crimes.
• Peel also improved the conditions in prisons by persuading politicians to pass the Gaols Act in 1823.
• Influenced by the ideas of John Howard and Elizabeth Fry, he wanted to focus on helping criminals to change their behaviour, rather than punish them harshly for their crimes.
• The Gaols Act was limited in its impact because there were no paid inspectors to check the changes were consistently carried out across Britain.