The Police: Powers and Roles - 28/10/24

Policing in terms of revolution

Parish constable:

  • Each parish had a constable appointed by the Justice of Peace

  • Maintained their usual jobs, but paid for police duties

  • Later in the 18th century = semi-professional constables

  • By 1822 approx, 2860 parish officers policed London

Night Watchman:

  • Supervised by the Parish Constable

  • Patrolled the streets between dusk and sunrise

  • Responsibility was rotated around the village

  • From 1663 the Watchmen received payment for their duties

Policing the ‘enlightened’

  • In 1740 Sir Thomas De Veil set up a magistrate court

  • In 1748 after his death, Henry Fielding moved into the Bow Street as a magistrate

  • Middlesex Justices Act of 1792: established seven police offices across London

  • Police offices established in 1792 played a role in policing until 1839.

Formalising policing

  • The Metropolitan Police Service established in 1829

  • Established full time professional police force in London

    • Gentlemanly uniform = trustworthy, visible

  • Officers full time and paid, but not paid high enough to feel superior to colleagues in the community

  • Most officers were poorly trained and sustainable for the job

  • Initially married men were favoured as ‘stable’ but late 1800s favoured single men

A diverse police service

  • 1829 — First white male police officer

  • 1835 — First black male police officer

  • 1966 — First asian male police officer

  • 1919 — FIrst white female police officer

  • 1968 — First black female police officer

  • 1971 — FIrst asian female police officer

Women in policing

  • 1860s - 1914

    • Police Matrons (not employees)

  • 1883

    • FIrst female appointed by the MET

  • 1914 - 1918

    • WPS and NUWW patrols

  • 1918

    • Creation of the real womens police service

  • 1923

    • Full power of arrest

    • Labelled as WPC

    • No night shifts and had to leave once married (until 1946)

    • Allowed to join the police service

  • 1973

    • WPS merged with the police service

    • First female detective appointed

The modern police service

  • 43 Home Office Police Services in England and Wales, Scotland and N. Ireland

    • Some cover more than one country (i.e. W Mercia)

    • Some have collaborated services with neighbours

  • Other non-home office police services

Police officer rank structure

  • Used in all police services in the UK

    • apart from the MET and City of London police

  • Entry at PC level

    • Degree in professional Policing

    • Degree + graduate diploma

    • Degree apprenticeship

Police workforce facts and figures

  • at the end of March 2022, there were 140,288 full-time equivalent police officers in England and Wales, and ethnicity was known for 136,274 (97.2%) of them


  • out of police officers whose ethnicity was known, 91.9% were white and 8.1% were from Asian, black, mixed, and 'other' ethnic minority backgrounds

  • 5.5% of senior officers (Chief Inspector or above) were from the Asian, black, mixed and 'other' ethnic groups combined, compared with 2.8% in 2007

  • between 2007 and 2022, the percentage of police officers from each of the ethnic minority groups went up – the largest increase was for Asian police officers (from 1.5% to 3.7%)


How many powers

  • Police have numerous powers

  • Constantly changing and evolving

Before 1984

  • Police had to adhere to:

    • HO directives

    • Judges rules

    • Case law

  • Police had a lot pf discretion

  • Discretion = Power = Abuse

Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

  • Listed police powers

    • Arrest

    • Detention

    • Use of force

    • Recording interviews

PACE code of conduct

  • Code A: Stop and search

  • Code B: Searching premises

  • Code C: Detention of suspects

  • Code D: Identification procedures

  • Code E: Audio recording of interviews

  • Code F: Visual recording of interviews

  • Code G: Powers of arrest post - SOCPA 2005

  • Code H: Detention of terrorism suspects

Stop and search problematic

A police officer has powers to stop and search you if they have ‘reasonable grounds’ to suspect you’re carrying:

  • Illegal drugs

  • a weapon

  • stolen property

  • Something which could be used to commit a crime, such as a crowbar

You can only be stop and searched without reasonable grounds if it has been approved by a senior officer. This can happen if its suspected that:

  • Serious violence could take place

  • You’re carrying a weapon or have used one

  • You’re in a specific location or area

NAtional decision model

  • NDM — Provides a structure to construct a rationale of what they did during an incident and why

  • Managers and others can use it to review decisions and actions, and promote learning

First section of CJS

  1. Crimes recorded by the police

    • Duty to make records concerning searches

  2. Police arrest suspect

    • Duty to make an arrest with/without warrant

    • Informed that s/he is under arrest

  3. No further action / Formal caution/informal warning / charge or summons suspect

    • Duty to abide by detention — conditions and duration before and after charge.

    • Must adhere to conditions relating to questioning and treatment by police

    • Must document evidence

  4. CPS receive papers from the police for prosecuting