Police in the Age of Improvement by David Barrie

Author:David Barrie [Barrie, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Criminology
ISBN: 9781317436638
Google: aV9sBgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2008-05-15T03:38:44+00:00

Structure, organisation and significance

In terms of accountability, control and organisation, the police model in urban Scotland was similar to the municipal model of provincial England and continental Europe.10 Police commissions were locally controlled and financed, accountable (in most burghs) to local ratepayers of sufficient property requirements, and responsible for administering and enforcing local police legislation. There were, of course, local nuances – in terms of powers and priorities – but in general commissions were constituted on fairly similar principles.11 Like watching and improvement committees in the municipal towns of England, police boards were very much involved in the day-to-day running of local affairs, meeting usually at least once a month and often every week. They oversaw the management of a wider range of municipal services than was often the case in England, where it was not uncommon for multiple improvement trusts to exist.12

The establishment of such bodies was extremely significant. Aside from introducing a degree of community control over representatives, commissions were empowered to levy rates and borrow on future rateable income which helped finance a new range of essential services.13 The contribution of these was often considerable. In 1830, William Chambers could boast that Edinburgh ‘may now be reckoned as the cleanest [city] in Great Britain’ due to the ‘vigorous [police] regulations’ which ensure that ‘a certain purity in the air of the town is thereby preserved’.14 Although councils had been responsible for municipal services for centuries, the creation of elected police boards signalled a significant switch from the concept of individual personal service to the community to one of collective responsibility, not least in terms of watching and warding.15 It created a new institution of power, authority and urban management and was an important development in the move towards greater specialisation in municipal services.16 Through powers enshrined in police legislation, commissioners were able to control and regulate more effectively aspects of society which hitherto had been neglected or which had been extremely difficult to enforce.

Within each commission it was common for police business to be carried out by committees. Who sat on watching committees was a topic of controversy, with magistrates often attempting to acquire a majority representation over elected commissioners. Ultimately, though, all commissioners had a duty to maintain law and order, not just those who were assigned to watching. Apart from the fact that major decisions taken by watch committees (and other committees) had to be approved by a quorum of commissioners at general meetings, all commissioners were given the power of head constable in the wards for which they were elected. Among other duties, they were responsible for supervising day officers and night watchmen. In this, they were often assisted by resident commissioners who were also elected by qualified householders, although the qualification for office was often set at a lower level in line with the electoral franchise.

Most of the larger police forces were characterised by a disciplined, hierarchical command structure. In burghs which had not previously employed full-time, salaried officers, this represented an important

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