FREE ESSAY ON THE CONTRIBUTORS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO MODERN SECURITY

THE CONTRIBUTORS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO MODERN SECURITY

The Contributors and their Contributions to Modern Security
The need for security has been around since the beginning of recorded time. Many came
together in an effort to protect themselves and their belongings, from such threats as
animals, weather and other humans. This grouping also made it easier to find food and
satisfy their need for socialization. They donned weapons, erected walls, built barriers,
and made laws, in an attempt to shield themselves from danger and fear. Humans evolved,
as did their types of security, weaponry and barriers. Often, rulers selected individuals
to aid in the enforcement of laws, as well as provide security for the ruler himself.
Many of those individuals were men chosen from the military, which were often ruthless,
and dangerous. 
The Romans relied upon the military force of the legions. To place the military on a
stable foundation and disperse the power that the legions held, Augustus, the Emperor of
Rome, created The Praetorian Guard, a type of bodyguard police, The Urban Cohorts, which
were comprised of soldiers with police and military duties. Also, The Vigiles, large
groups of firefighter police.
During the Middle Ages, the Serfs, working for Noblemen, who answered to the King, worked
the land, provided arms and fought in the Kings' wars. In exchange, the Serfs received
food and security from the noblemen. Anglo-Saxons brought the idea of mutual
responsibility for protection of individuals. Tithings, a Grouping of ten families,
collectively assumed responsibility for maintaining law and order. The tithing system was
later replaced with the Frankpledge system after the Norman Conquest. The Frankpledge
system demanded that all free Englishman swear to keep the peace. The Magna Charta,
challenged the feudal system during King John's reign as his lords revolted and forced
him to sign, giving all Englishmen "due process" of law. The Magna Charta is the basis
for modern justice.
The Statute of Westminster formalized the practice in criminal justice and apprehension
of criminals. The watch and ward system required townsmen to patrol the cities during the
night, while the constables patrolled during the day. Those who did not serve were placed
in the stocks. The hue and cry system served as alarm for the citizens of the town or
city. When a criminal resisted the watchman cried out and the people of the town came to
his aid. Enforcement of the hue and cry was brought about by the assize of arms, which
required every male between fifteen and sixty years of age to keep a weapon in the home
as a "harness to keep the peace." 
Many merchants were not satisfied with the quality of the protection provided them,
therefore they hired private police. These private police guarded their businesses,
investigated crimes, and recovered stolen property. Oliver Cromwell attempted to use his
army as a police force as a means of crime prevention. There was no effective police
mechanism between the people and his army. Therefore, the people resisted and the watch
and ward system remained the primary crime control procedure until the industrial
revolution. 
The Industrial Revolution of England brought about many changes. Famine hit the rural
community, forcing many into the cities to find jobs at mills and factories. Crime
intensified within the cities brought on by the countless poverty stricken people trying
to survive. Furthermore, Political extremists triggered angry mobs, which caused riots.
Because there was no organized police to handle riots, a magistrate ordered the "Riot
Act" and called in the military. 
In London, 1748 Henry Fielding was made the Chief Magistrate of Bow Street. During this
period of time there was no police force. He was known for his leniency in dealing with
petty theft. He also wrote and published pamphlets about the poverty in London, and the
causes of the rising crime. Fielding envisioned an idea that the people may join forces,
go out into the streets, and stop crime before it had a chance to cause ruin.
Fielding chose six men to form a volunteer force. These men "swept clean" the Bow Street
area. Many were arrested, and the rest fled from the neighborhood. Even after Henry
Fielding's death, his brother John carried on his ideas. The Bow Street volunteers
eventually became a professional outfit known as the Bow Street Runners, the first
detective agency in England.
In 1785, William Pitt proposed a bill to establish a strong police force, to act through
out the city. The bill was rejected by the press, the public and the justices and was
defeated. Another attempt at reform in 1792, his Middlesex Justice bill established seven
public offices, each having three paid magistrates, and six paid constables.
Patrick Colquhoun was one of the magistrates under Pitt's Justice bill. Colquhoun offered
" A Treatise on the Police of Metropolis" and showed startling statistics pointing out
the need for a large police force, and also believed in separating the police from
judicial power. His treatise was a milestone in using statistics in correlation with
crime.
Sir Robert Peel, "the father of modern policing", originated the Metropolitan Police of
London in 1829. The police were appointed and paid by the city, and their objective was
to be the prevention of crime. Sir Robert Peel had nine principles regarding the police:
-  The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.
-  The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of
police actions. 
-  Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of
the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public. 
-  The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes
proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force. 
-  Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by
constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law. 
-  Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or
to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be
insufficient. 
-  Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives
reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the
police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time
attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community
welfare and existence.
-  Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never
appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary. 
-  The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible
evidence of police action in dealing with it.
Although the objective was on crime prevention, the focus eventually turned to
investigation and apprehension of criminals. Therefore, the need for private police was
still great.
Allen Pinkerton was one of the developers of the railroad police, as well as contract
security forces. He was appointed the deputy sheriff of Cook County, and in 1843,
Chicago's first detective. Pinkerton later resigned his position due to economic
pressure. He then started the Pinkerton National Detective agency, and focused on
apprehending railroad criminals, and setting up security systems for railroads. During
the Civil War, Pinkerton was called on by President Lincoln to establish a secret service
department, where he did intelligence work for the Union Army. In the 1860's and 70's
Pinkerton's agency received National attention by apprehending train robbers and bandits.
Currently Pinkerton Inc. is the largest private security organization in the U.S. It
became a public corporation in 1965 and continues to grow annually. 
*Quotes taken from Introduction to Private Security And Introduction to Law Enforcement
and Criminal Justice 6th ed. by Karen M. Hess & Henry M. Wrobleski
.