NCJ Number
148759
Journal
Policing and Society Volume: 3 Issue: 4 Dated: (1994) Pages: 269-286
Date Published
1994
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This paper describes the origins of police officers in England for the period 1840-1940, based mainly on a computerized database developed from the recruitment, discipline, and warrant records of several rural and urban police agencies.
Abstract
Findings reveal that, as initially intended, police recruits came mainly from the unskilled and semiskilled working class. However, those who could be described as agricultural laborers were fewer than suggested by the traditional view, while those who had previous military service were more numerous than expected. Locally born recruits were more common in rural police forces than in urban police forces. Cities with significant Irish immigrant populations had disproportionately high numbers of Irish-born police recruits. The appeal of both locally born men and former soldiers appears to have varied from one police force to another, suggesting caution in generalizing from a single local experience. Figures, table, notes, and 27 references (Author abstract modified)