The History of Crime Prevention and Security

Vocabulary flashcards detailing key terminology, foundational milestones, historical figures, and organizational developments in the history of crime prevention and physical security.

Crime Prevention

The anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the action taken to remove or reduce such risk.

Patrouiller

The French term meaning "to tramp in the mud," considered the etymological origin of the word patrol.

Laws of Hammurabi (c. 2100 B.C.)

The earliest codification of customs established by King Hammurabi of Babylon, under which messengers were appointed to execute legal commands, marking the earliest form of patrol duty.

Amenhotep's Marine Patrol (c. 1400 B.C.)

A coastal patrol unit formed by the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep, noted as the first recorded patrol unit in history.

Inquirers

Officials in ancient Rome who traveled to an accused person's residence and sounded a trumpet or horn to signal their formal arrest.

Praetorian Guard

A specialized Roman military force founded in 27 B.C. under Emperor Augustus to safeguard the emperor's life and property.

Vigiles Urbani

Ancient Roman nonmilitary watchmen and firefighters—originally enslaved individuals and later freemen—armed with staves and short swords, recognized as the original first responders.

Frankpledge System

An early English peace-keeping system requiring all males over age 12 to join a tithing to protect fellow citizens and deliver lawbreakers to justice.

Tithing

A collective unit of ten families formed around A.D. 700 to protect the community, raise the hue and cry when crimes occurred, and administer punishment.

Shire Reeve

The senior law enforcement official appointed over an English shire or county, serving as the historical precursor to the modern sheriff.

Norman Conquest of 1066

The conquest led by the Duke of Normandy that imposed a repressive security system across England by dividing the territory into 55 military districts led by appointed shire-reeves.

Feudalism

A contractual system between manor lords and peasant vassals wherein the landholder provided security in exchange for a portion of agricultural yields.

Magna Carta (1215)

The landmark charter that guaranteed political and civil liberties to individuals and returned local peace-keeping authority to English communities.

Marching Watch (1285)

A collective grouping of English night watchmen established for mutual protection, representing the earliest form of organized patrol.

Bow Street Runners

A municipal London policing unit created in 1748 by Henry Fielding that operated foot patrols across inner districts and horse patrols throughout outer zones.

Metropolitan Police Act of 1829

Legislation authored by Sir Robert Peel ("An Act for Improving the Police In and Near the Metropolis") that established the London Metropolitan Police along military organizational lines.

Peel's Police Regulations Poster (c. 1839)

A historical recruitment notice outlining employment rules for London police, specifying recruit ages between 23 and 40, 20-mile foot patrols, 8- to 12-hour daily shifts, strict beard limits, and mandatory uniform wear.

Peelian Principles of Policing

Twelve administrative guidelines established by Sir Robert Peel emphasizing that absence of crime proves police efficiency, forces must mirror military hierarchy, and officers must remain under state control.

Rattle Watch

A nighttime watch group organized in New York City in 1658 that utilized wooden rattles to sound alarms and communicate between members.

Philadelphia Police (1833)

The first municipal agency in the United States to institute paid compensation for police officers.

Allan Pinkerton

A Scottish immigrant who founded the premier American private protection and investigative firm in 1850, popularizing rogue tracking, centralized files, and armed response.

Kate Warne

The first female detective in the United States, employed by Allan Pinkerton in 1856, sixty years prior to the hiring of the first municipal female police officer.

Augustus Russell Pope

An inventor from Somerville, Massachusetts, who designed and patented the first modern electric burglar alarm in 1853.

Edwin Holmes

The entrepreneur who acquired Pope's burglar alarm patent and established the world's first central station for alarm monitoring and dispatch in 1858.

American District Telegraph (ADT)

A major alarm enterprise established in 1871 by Edward Callahan, which initially expanded nationwide by manufacturing magnetic contact switches for retail entry points.

Brinks Armored

The world's largest secure transit and armored vehicle firm, founded in 1891 by Washington Perry Brinks to transfer currency and valuables.

William J. Burns

The first head of the Bureau of Investigation who launched Burns International Security Services in 1909 and solved the 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing via bomb fragment evidence.

G4S Wackenhut

A private security corporation founded in 1954 by George Wackenhut that provided contract prison staffing and international military perimeter protection before its acquisition by Group4falck in 2002.

National Crime Prevention Institute (NCPI)

An educational facility established in 1971 that introduced formalized crime prevention training in the United States, modeled after the British Home Office Crime Prevention Training Center.

Bayonne Police Department (1933)

The first municipal law enforcement department in the United States to implement two-way mobile radio communication.

Industrial Security Era

A security industry movement during the 1940s spurred by World War II and the defense industrial complex that catalyzed officer employment and standardized protective procedures.