INTRODUCTION TO POLICING

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF POLICING

CHAPTER 1

Developments during the Middle Ages to the Modern Period

The term "police" was derived from the Roman word politia, which means condition of a state,
government and administration. Politia originated from the Greek word "politeia" which means
government, citizenship, or the entire activity of a "polis", a city. The French changed the
word to "police" and used it to those authorized people who actually enforce the law. The
Americans borrowed the word from the French and used it to describe a law enforcement
officer.

Police means the internal organization or regulations of a state, the control and regulation of a
community or state through the exercise of the constitutional power of the government.
(Webster's Dictionary)

Development of Policing in the International Setting

A. Anglo Saxon (Ancient England) Period-600-1066 A.D.

1. Thanes Policing System

● It was introduced by King Alfred the Great.

● A type of internal police force where landowners throughout the kingdom were
responsible to police their own territory.
● Landowners were empowered to arrest offenders and deliver them to the King.
● The landowners were also empowered to settle civil litigations.

2. Frankpledge Policing System

● This policing system was carried out under a system of mutual pledge.
● Every male over twelve (12) years old joined nine (9) of his neighbors to form
Tythingmen..
● Said tythingmen performed police works and anyone who failed to join and perform this
duty was severely fined.
● Policing responsibility lies on the hands of the citizens.

3. Tun Policing System

 ● This policing system required all male residents to guard the town to preserve peace and
order, protect the life and property of the people and suppress other factors affecting
peace and order.
● Tun was the forerunner of the word "town".

4. Hue and Cry Policing System

● Complainant or victim will go to the middle of the community and shout to call all male
residents to assemble.
● Once heard, male residents will automatically assemble to go after the criminal and
apprehend him.

5. Royal Judge System

● The Royal Judge conducts criminal investigation and gives appropriate punishment for
the crime committed.
● It started the identification of criminals..

6. Trial by Ordeal

● It requires a suspect to put his hands over boiling water or is required to perform any
other act which may hurt him.
● If he was hurt, the society considered him guilty; otherwise, he was not considered guilty.
● This was in accordance with the belief by the people before that God will protect the
innocent one from being hurt.

B. Normal Period - 1066-1285

1. Shire-Reeve System

● It was observed during the time when King William Norman became the ruler of England.
● King Norman divided the kingdom into 55 military districts known as Shire-reeves.
● Shire-used to refer to a district.
● Reeve-used to refer to the ruler of the district who made laws, rendered judgment, and
imposed penalties.

2. Court of the Tourn

● It settles a range of cases, more often dealing with petty offenses and civil matters.
● From the Court, 12 tythingmen were selected to hear serious cases.

3. Court Leet
 ● To handle local legal matters in some, but all, communities, the Normans established the
Court Leet which looked after matters of purely local interest and petty village nuisances.
● The head of the court was appointed by the King to be "Master of the House".
● The Comes Stable was also appointed by the King to be responsible in keeping peace
and order in a specific area. This appointee was, however, under the responsibility of
local officials who could petition to remove him if he did not perform his job properly.
● Comes Stable became Constable which is used today to refer to members of the police
force.

4. Legis Henrie

● This law was passed during the time of King Henry I which imposed the following
features:
● Law violations were classified as offenses against the King.
● Policemen were considered as public officials.
● The police and the citizens were given the power to conduct arrest.
● Grand Jury was created to inquire on the facts of the law.

5. Keepers of the Peace

● It was issued by King Richard of England in 1195.

● It requires the appointment of knights to keep the King's peace.
● The knights were posted on bridges and gates to check the people entering and leaving
the town or cities.

6. Magna Carta (Great Charter)

● It was sealed by King John of England on June 15, 1215 which became a law upon the
demand of the Knights of the Round Table.

● It declared the following:

a. No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned, disposed, outlawed, or bowed except by

legal judgment of his peers.
b. No person should be tried for murder unless there is proof of the body of the victim.
c. There should be national and local government as well as the national and local
legislation.

C. Westminster Period (1285-1500)

1. Statute of Winchester (1285)

● It was enacted for law and order.

● This law introduced the Watch and Ward system.
2. Statute of 1295

● It began the closing of the gates of London during sunset.

● This started the observation of the curfew hours.

3. Justice of the Peace

● This was a position given to a respected citizen, who has the power to arrest, pursue
and imprison offenders.

4. Star Chamber Court

● This was established as a special court that tried offenders against the state.
● Later on, it became both a court of law to determine civil rights and a court of revenue to
enrich treasury.

D. Modern Period

1. Night Watchmen or Bellmen

● It was created by virtue of a law passed by King Charles II in 1663.

● They were employed to be on duty from sunset to sunrise.

2. Bow Street Runners (Thief Catchers)

● It was organized by Henry Fielding, Chief Magistrate of Bow Street in London in 1748.
● Later on, he formed the Bow Street Horse Patrol whose duty was to patrol the main
roads thus secure the travelers from highway bandits.

3. London Metropolitan Police

● It was established by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 which became force.

● the world's first modern organized police It was later called Scotland Yard

E. French Police System

1. During the 17th century, King Louis XIV maintained a small central police organization
consisting of some 40 inspectors who, with the help of numerous paid informants, supplied the
government with details about the conduct of private individuals.

2. Officers de Paix (1791).

● It was the origin of the term peace officers.

3. Sergent de Ville (Servant of the City)

● These were called the first uniformed police officers.

4. Other contributions:

● Conceiving street signs

● Assigning house numbers
● Installing street lighting Creating emergency and rescue services
● Use of police ambulances
● Use of warrant card and ID signifying authority to arrest.

F. American Police System

1. Rattlewatch

● It was organized in New York, Philadephia and Boston which was similar to the night
watchmen in London created during the reign of King Charles II.
● They carried rattles while on duty to inform the public of their watchful presence.

2. Municipal Police Force

a. Night watch (1638) - Boston, Massachusetts

b. Rattlewatch (1658) - New York
c. Night watch (1700) - Philadelphia
d. Introduction of police regulation that "No watchman has the liberty to sleep" (1722) - New
Haven, Connecticut
e. It became a government policy that able-bodied males over 16 years old were required to
serve without pay (1800).
f. Daytime police with pay (1833)
g. Full police uniform (1856) - New York City

3. State Police Force

a. Texas Rangers (1835)

b. State Constables (1865) - Massachusetts
c. Pennsylvania State Police (1905)

4. Federal Police Force

a. Post Office Inspection System (1829)

b. Investigation on crimes against the government (1861)
c. Detective forces (1868) were formed to investigate problems on revenue services,
immigration and smuggling.
d. In 1934, Federal government attention focused on lotteries, drug regulations, and
transportation guidelines.
e. Enactment of the Anti-White Slavery Act and Motor Vehicle Act (1910)
f. In 1934, National Kidnapping Act, Banking Act, and Racketeering Act were passed by the
United States Congress.

Evolution of the Philippine Policing System

Before the Spanish came, there has been already a policing system that was in place in the
Philippines. That was when there were few people and governing them was quite not difficult
unlike nowadays that we have complex problems brought by globalization, diverse population.
In earlier times, most places, in some parts of the country, the function of seeing to it that the
rules and regulations of the community were enforced devolved on the Headman or whoever
heads the tribe. He performs all the jobs of the offices of what we call now the chief of police,
prosecutor, judge and jail warden.

A. Spanish Period

● The police force was considered as part of the military system by the Spanish
government.
● The locally organized police forces, although performing civil duties and seemingly
created for the sole purpose of maintaining peace, were in fact directly commanded by
the colonial military government.
● Police functions during the Spanish Regime consisted mainly in

° The suppression of brigandage by patrolling unsettled areas

° Enforcement of tax collection, including church revenues

° Looking into the work and movement of the people

The Police forces organized during the Spanish Regime:

1. Carabineros de Seguridad Publico (Mounted Police) - 1712

● It was organized for the purpose of carrying out the policies of the Spanish government.
● It was given the special commission as custodian of the tobacco monopoly.
● It was later known as Cuerpo de Carabineros de Seguridad Publica by virtue of a Royal
Decree on December 20, 1842. Its duties became police-like and more general including
the prosecution of law breakers, maintenance of peace, order. and security, and the
vigilance on the execution of laws and ordinances of good government.
 ● It was subsequently given limited power to discharge specific duties as port, harbor and
river police.

2. Guardrilleros (January 8, 1836)

● A body of rural police organized in each town which composed of 5% of the able-bodied
male inhabitants of each town or province, enlisted to serve for 3 years.

● The duties of this local police were

° To make patrol and carry mails at times

° To guard dark and unsafe places.
° To guard the tribunal and prison houses

3. Guardia Civil (February 12, 1852)

● It partially relieved the Spanish Peninsular Troops of their works in policing towns.
● It consisted of a body of Filipino policemen organized originally in each of the provincial
capitals of the central provinces of Luzon under the Alcalde (Governor).

B. American Occupation until World War II broke out

1. Insular Police Force (November 30, 1890)

It was established during the Filipino-American war (1898-1901) upon the

recommendation of the Philippine Commission to the Secretary of War.

2. Insular Constabulary (July 18, 1901)

● It was created by virtue of Act No. 175 otherwise known as "An Act Providing for
the Organization and Government of an Insular Constabulary".
● The members were declared peace officers and were authorized and empowered to
prevent and suppress brigandage, unlawful assemblies, riots, insurrections and other
breaches of the peace and violations of law.

● They were empowered to make arrests upon reasonable suspicion without warrant for
breaches of the peace or other violations of the law, and were also empowered and
required to execute any lawful warrant or order of arrest issued against any person or
persons for any violation of the law by any Judge of the First Instance or Justice of the
Peace or any other officer authorized by law to issue a warrant. Prisoners, with or
without warrant, shall in all cases, within twenty-four hours if reasonably practicable, be
brought before a Judge or Justice of the Peace having jurisdiction over the offense, for
examination and release after bail, if the offense is bailable.
 ● When in pursuit of criminals the Provincial Inspector of one province in charge of Insular
Constabulary is authorized to continue the pursuit beyond the borders of the province in
which he has ordinary jurisdiction, and arrest the offenders.

3. Manila Police Department (MPD) - July 31, 1901

● It was organized by virtue of Act No. 183 of the Philippine Commission.

● Capt. George Curry a U.S. Army officer appointed by the TAFT Commission on
August 7, 1901 as the first Chief of Police.
● Capt. Columbus Piatt - last American Chief of Police (COP) of MPD before World War II
broke out.
● Col. Antonio C. Torres - first Filipino COP when MPD became an all Filipino police
organization; declared Manila as an open city when World War II broke out in 1941;
during the World War II, MPD was placed again under the American control.
● Col. Marcus Ellis Jones - a U.S. Provost Marshall who was named as MPD Chief of
Police just after the Manila Liberation.
● Col. Lamberto T. Javalera - the first Filipino COP of MPD appointed by Pres. Roxas
under the Republic Government.

4. Philippine Constabulary (October 3, 1901)

● Insular Constabulary was changed to Philippine Constabulary by virtue of Act No.

255.
● Capt. Henry T. Allen first Chief of the Philippine Constabulary from 1901-1907 such
that he was called as the Father of Constabulary in the Philippines.
● It was mostly manned by Filipinos but officers were mostly Americans.
● Based on Revised Administrative Code of 1917, specifically Section 825, it stated
that the Philippine Constabulary is a national police institution for preserving the
peace, keeping order and enforcing the law.
● Brig/Gen. Rafael Crame - first Filipino Chief of Police. He served as the PC Chief
from 1917-1927.