No police academy course is complete without the lesson on policing principles established by Robert Peele. As Britain’s Home Secretary and Prime Minister, he was one of the most influential people in 19th century England. His work focused on working-class issues, social reforms, and criminal law. Most notably, Robert Peele created the “Metropolitan Police” based on his own nine principles of policing (Nazemi, n.d.).
This guide is centered around the idea of policing by consent. This notion has been very influential as police officers started to be regarded as citizens equal in their standing to other people. They exercise their powers legitimately only with the implicit consent of the citizens they are required to serve. Thus, it is evident that the value of such an approach has been tremendous. Policing became a legitimate practice in the eyes of the public. In addition, ordinary citizens now had the right to keep policemen accountable, which maximized integrity and transparency.
The focus of Peelian principles is on preventing crime and not necessarily catching criminals in the act. As a result, integrating such standards into practice led to departments becoming more proactive and community-oriented. In order to successfully prevent criminal activity, the police have to gain public support, which makes it important for policemen to ensure community members are involved in policing. They can do that by earning respect through demonstrating achievements such as low crime rates and upholding established standards. The value of Robert Peel’s approach is even more prominent today. As the United States tries to grapple with the rise of police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement, abolishing the police is not a sustainable solution, while investing in developing community initiatives in POC neighborhoods is.
Reference
Nazemi, S. (n.d.). Sir Robert Peele’s nine principles of policing. Web.