The model developed in London in the nineteenth century has influenced policing in many parts of the world. Policing systems characterised by specialisation and professionalism can be traced back to the establishment of the Metropolitan Police, created in 1829.

Traditional histories of policing tended to be written by retired senior officers, politi­cians and civil servants, which partly accounts for a conservative tone that explains the development of the modern police service in terms of a natural evolution of arrangements long established in British history.

Anglo-Saxon policing was characterised by the direct involvement of ordinary people. The 1285 Statute of Winchester provided a framework for policing until the eighteenth century.

From the mid 1700s problems of urban lawlessness and political unrest exposed the inadequacy of established informal and unprofessional policing arrangements and the use of the military to quell public disorder.The demand for order increased during this period and the new police were shaped by social reform intended to regulate what was perceived as the problematic behav­iour of the ‘dangerous’ classes.

In 1829 the Metropolitan Police was established with two Commissioners, 17 Superintendents, 69 Inspectors, 323 Sergeants and 2,906 Constables. The service orientation of the new police was intended to overcome public suspicion and to cultivate cooperation.

Public opposition was not abated by these measures. The financial burden on local watch committees, the inability of the police to meet new demands for patrols, and the poor quality of officers led to sustained antipathy towards the Metropolitan Police.

From the middle of the eighteenth century anti-police sentiment was overcome. Central government contributed greater resources and it was perceived that the Metropolitan Police were becoming more effective.

Government legislation and local demand meant that the ‘new policing’ model expanded during the mid nineteenth century.

Orthodox accounts outline the development of policing in the nineteenth century in terms of a natural, if inspired, response to changing problems of crime and disorder and a growing realisation that established arrangements were ill-suited to the emerging urban and industrial landscape. The ‘genius’ of the new arrangements, orthodox histories suggest, was that they incorporated long-standing traditions of local policing that reflected the demands of the public.

Revisionist perspectives explain the development of the ‘new police’ as an attempt to control increasing working-class activism that emerged alongside urbanisation and industrialisation.

Both orthodox and revisionist accounts interpret the development of the police in terms of a response to changing social conditions. Others have argued that policing developed in the nineteenth century in a piecemeal fashion and cannot be under­stood as the coherent or consistent expression of a particular programme.

Another perspective notes that the distinction between the traditional ‘old police’ and the ‘new police’ of the nineteenth century is less marked than many accounts have suggested. In personnel terms and in the general roles police were expected to fulfil, considerable continuities can be identified.