Crime and Punishment / 1856-1869
Crime and Punishment: Policing Developments
By the late 1800s, policing was becoming more national, organised, and technical.
What To Remember
- Police reform outside London was slow because local areas disliked cost, central control, and compulsory change.
- The 1856 Police Act required all areas to have professional police forces and linked funding to inspection.
- Late 19th-century policing became more organised through detectives, National Crime Records, telegraph communication, and early forensic methods.
The 1856 change
Before 1856, some places still used older systems, so there were big regional differences.
The new law pushed England and Wales towards a national police system.
Government inspectors checked forces, and areas only received funding if their police were run effectively.
Detection and records
A detective branch was set up at Scotland Yard in 1842 with 16 officers who investigated crimes in plain clothes.
In 1869, National Crime Records helped forces share information about suspects and offences.
The telegraph allowed news of crimes and wanted people to travel much faster than letters or messengers.
CID and new methods
The Criminal Investigation Department was created in 1878 and grew from 200 detectives to hundreds more in the 1880s.
Detectives were sometimes viewed with suspicion because plain clothes officers looked like spies.
By 1902, fingerprint evidence helped secure a burglary conviction, showing the move towards scientific policing.
Revision Prompt
Why was 1856 important, and why did policing still need further developments after it?