Sir Robert Peel's Nine Principals Applied to Modern Day Policing

by Sandra Nazemi

Born in Bury Lancashire in 1788, Sir Robert Peel was a social reformist, who served as Prime Minister, Home Secretary, and in other offices during his lifetime. During his time as Prime Minister, Peel passed modern legislation addressing working class issues. He introduced The Mine Act of 1842, prohibiting women and children from working underground in mines and The Factory Act of 1844 limiting the number of hours worked by women and children employed in factories.

Serving as Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel introduced a number of important reforms to British criminal law. His changes to the penal code system resulted in fewer crimes carrying a death penalty sentence and education for inmates. Often remembered today as “The Founder of Modern Policing,” Peel created the “Metropolitan Police” based on nine principles he developed for law enforcement.

“The Peelian Principles” These nine basic principles are often referred to as “The Peelian Principles.” Upon close examination of each of the Peelian principles, not only are direct connections to policing in today's world apparent, but often the nine principles are cited as the basic foundation for current law enforcement organizations and community policing throughout the world. Many law enforcement agencies currently quote the Peelian Principles on their community websites as their own principles.   Sir Robert Peel 1788 - 1850 “The Founder of Modern Policing”   Peelian Principle 1 - “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.” Peelian Principle 2 - “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.” Peelian Principle 3 - “Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.” Peelian Principle 4 - “The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.” Peelian Principle 5 - “Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.” Peelian Principle 6 - “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.” Peelian Principle 7 - “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.” Peelian Principle 8 - “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.” Peelian Principle 9 - “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.”

The basic mission of most police organizations today is represented .as crime prevention and law enforcement. Most familiar today in policing organizations is the phrase “protect and serve.” This directly is reflected in Peelian Principle 1, “The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.”

Members of police and the government are being held accountable for activities that the media chooses to focus on. The public has more opportunity to review and scrutinize inappropriate, inefficient and illegal activity by these officials. Unfortunately, the activities of one police officer or governmental official can be extremely detrimental to an entire police force, local government or community. Peelian's Principle 2 “The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.” With today's media focusing on any questionable law enforcement or governmental activities this principal is more important today than it was in 1829. The establishment of community policing seeks to gain public assistance and approval.

The public must be ready and able to accept the laws created by legislation. People will resist and make the duties of the police officers more difficult and at times impossible if the laws are unreasonable. Current technology and media advances allow communities to be made more aware of laws and the reasoning behind them. Peelian Principle 3 “Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public” refers to the necessity of public cooperation.

In 1992, four officers were acquitted for the videotaped beating of Mr. Rodney King, sparking riots and resulting in arson, looting, assault and murder. Racial tension combined with public disapproval resulted in the deaths of over fifty people. Peelian Principle 4 “The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force” states that the public is resistant to excessive force and and generally disapproving.

The police force has a moral and ethical obligation to serve the public with impartiality based on race, finances, or politics. Any variation from this obligation results in immediate public and media scrutiny in today's world. Maintaining the same standards for everyone is important in the processes and helps in establishing respect from the community for law enforcement and judicial systems. Peelian Principle 5, “Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law” clearly refers to this aspect of law enforcement.

Police agencies and law enforcement are under immediate scrutiny when there is an injury or death during any incident in which they are involved. Physical force is rarely acceptable to the public except in the case of self-defense. Even cases of self defense are heavily criticized by the media and public. Principle 6 states “Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.”

Peel's most quoted principle is Principle 7. “Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence” clearly is the basic foundation for the establishment of the other eight principles.

Police and law enforcement agents are not expected to be a part of the judicial system. In the United States, a person is “innocent until proven guilty” and entitled to various rights regarding their status including a trial by jury. Principle 8 reinforces this concept. “Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.”

Some law enforcement agencies create quotas for issuing tickets for seat belts, speeding and traffic violations. Police organizations have found the issuance of such tickets to be a detriment to public abuse of these laws though it does seem to be adverse to Principle 9, “The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.” Police departments today are striving to evaluate crime statistics more efficiently and focus on areas of crime prevention where the most attention is needed.

Community policing involves and is certainly justified as necessary by the Peelian Principles. Established in 1829, The Peelian Principles currently are applicable and used in law enforcement agencies and community policing organizations today. Though they are not officially declared a code of ethics, they are indeed based on required ethical behavior of law enforcement and the public. Accountability is a key element for the success of law enforcement with the Peelian Principles. Modern technology and the media have increased the need for law enforcement, police, and the community to adhere to these principles.