Law Enforcement Organization and Administration (Inter Agency Approach) Topic 2
Law Enforcement Organization and Administration (Inter Agency Approach) Topic 2
Law Enforcement Organization and Administration (Inter Agency Approach) Topic 2
agency approach)
Topic 2
Kin Police [Policing]. After the Kingdom of England was formed in 927 citizens were
responsible for law enforcement in their communities; people were responsible for watching out
for their relatives or kin which was known to the English as Kin Police. Usually, the family, clan
or tribe assumes the responsibility for administering justice.
Rome (5th Century B.C.). This century marked Rome for the creation of the first
specialized investigative unit which was named as Questors or Trackers or Murderers. Athens
(6th Century B.C.). This era adapted an unpaid magistrate (judge) to make decisions to the cases
presented to them. This magistrate was only appointed by the citizens.
Anglo-Saxon Period: Reign of Alfred the Great (9th Century). In the later part of the
ninth century, Alfred the Great established a system of Mutual Pledge (social Control), which is
organized for the security of the country. The very concept is that every male over 12 years of
age, unless exempted of his social status, was accountable for maintaining peace and answerable
for his neighbor's behavior. When a male over the age of 12 saw an offense committed, it was his
duty to raise the hue and cry and give with other males after the culprit. This system is organized
into several levels such as the following:
1. Ten Tithing. This is done by grouping a hundred persons into one under the charge of a
High Constable. Hue and Cry is employed. The constable who is considered the first form
of English Police deals with more serious breaches of the law.
2. Tithing. This is performed by grouping ten persons together to protect one another and to
assume responsibility for the acts of the group's members. The one who heads the group is
called Chief.
3. One Hundred Tithings. It would be organized into a shire (county) and placed under the
authority of a shire reeve (sheriff), appointed by the king. This is supervised by constables
(English first police officers).
Note: William Norman divided England into shires (districts) and was headed by a reeve
(ruler). This is also called the Shire-Reeve System.
The Mutual Pledge [System] started during the Reign of King Alfred the Great (1870-
1901 A.D.). It was later called' as Frankpledge [System] after Norman invasion in the
year 1066 to 1300s with modifications (England was invaded and conquered by William
Duke of Normandy).
1. Praetorian Guard. This guard is considered to be the first police officer in Rome with the
job of protecting the Palace of Rome and the emperor.
2. Praefectus Urbi (Urban Cohort). The function of the Praefectus Urbi is to protect the city
exercising both executive and judicial power.
3. Vigiles of Rome. The Vigile began as fire fighters, granted with law enforcement
responsibilities and patrolled Rome's streets day and night. The Vigile was considered as a
civil police force designed to protect citizens. Vigile was considered quite brutal, and it is
where the word "Vigilante" came from.
The Statute of Winchester (England 1285 A.D.). The Statute was enacted to establish a
rudimentary criminal justice system in which most of the responsibility for law enforcement
remained with the people themselves. It was promulgated by Winchester. The statute established
the following:
1. The [Night] Watchman and Ward. The (Night) Watchman also known as Bellman or
Charlies [named after King Charles II] required all men to serve on the night watch with
three major duties:
a. Patrolling the streets from dusk till dawn to ensure that all local people were indoors
and quiet and that no strangers were roaming about.
b. Performing duties such as lighting streetlamps, clearing garbage from the streets and
putting out fires.
c. Enforcing the criminal law.
The Ward are semiformal guards required to render policing during daytime.
Note: The members of the Watch and Ward were typically the dregs of society, people
who today would be called indigent.
2. Hue and Cry System. The requirement for good people to shout and come to the aid of
people in distress from a crime. In order to ensure that the Hue and Cry could be enforced
the Statute further established the Assize of Arms. It required every male between ages of
15 and 60 to keep a weapon in his home as a means for keeping the peace.
3. Parish Constables. The primary urban law enforcement agents in England. Constable
supervises those Watch and Ward and were assigned to very large districts.
In this period, all males shall keep weapons in their home for maintaining public peace. If
there was any trouble, the Watch and Ward would raise Hue and Cry, and then all the citizens
would come out from their homes and assist the Watch and Ward. The office of Parish Constable
was responsible for organizing and supervising the Watch and Ward.
Three names are generally associated with the development of the first modern police
forces in England, namely:
1. Henry Fielding
2. Patrick Colquhoun
3. Sir Robert Peel
1. Henry Fielding (1748). He founded or created the Bow Street Runners (Thief-Takers) and
became the Chief Magistrate assisted by his half-brother John Fielding, who later
succeeded Henry as Chief Magistrate. This was called London's first professional police
force (originally numbered just eight) and was considered as the foundation to all modern
police forces. Henry published a pamphlet entitled, An Inquiry into the Causes of the
Late Increase of Robbers, which called for many sweeping changes in the laws and the
execution of their laws. Henry believed that in order to ensure crime prevention, private
citizens should join forces with municipal patrol force. He was credited with two major
contributions to the field of policing such as:
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a. First, he advocated change and spread awareness about social and criminal problems
through his writings.
b. Second, he organized a group of paid non-uniformed citizens who were responsible for
investigating crimes and prosecuting offenders. This group, called the Bow Street
Runners, was the first group paid through public funds that emphasized crime
prevention in addition to crime investigation and apprehension of criminals. While
citizens responsible for social control used to simply react to crimes, the Bow Street
Runners added the responsibility of preventing crime through preventive patrol,
changing the system of policing considerably.
Henry established mounted officers patrol of the Bow Street. The Bow Street Horse and
Foot Patrol was certainly the most cohesive and effective policing force of its time when it began
in 1805.
However, despite the Bow Street Runners' efforts, most English citizens were opposed to
the development of a police force. Their opposition was based on two related factors: (l) the
importance placed on individual liberties, and (2) the English tradition of local government. To
reconcile these issues, Patrick Colquhoun developed a police force.
2. Patrick Colquhoun (late 1700s). He was a Scottish magistrate who developed the science
of policing. Colquhoun suggested that police functions must include detection of crime,
apprehension of offenders, and prevention of crime through their presence in public. The
function of crime prevention was supported by other influential scholars at the time. In his
1763 essay On Crimes and Punishment, Italian theorist Cesare Beccaria proposed that
“it is better to prevent crimes than to punish them.”
Colquhoun published a book known as, The Commerce and Policing of the
River Thames; which three decades later, led to Robert Peel's "new" police. Colquhoun
together with Master Mariner John Harriot developed (founder) the Marine Police Force
or sometimes known as the Thames River Police. It was said to be England's first Police
force. The police force was designed to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the
Pool of London and the lower reaches of the river. His main contribution was the
introduction of crime prevention, or preventive policing the fundamental principle to the
English police system.
Despite the virtues of the science of policing, issues regarding the English tradition of
local governmental control remained. This issue was addressed by Sir Robert Peel.
3. Sir Robert Peel (1829). Sir Robert Peel established the London Metropolitan Police
through Metropolitan Police Act (a bill passed in Parliament in 1829) which became the
world's first modern organized police force. It became model for the American police
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system and other police forces in Great Britain but also had great influence on the style of
policing in almost-all industrial societies.
The Metropolitan Police Force, also called as Scotland Yard was guided by the
concept of crime prevention as a primary police objective; it also embodied the most
memorable principle which states that: the police are the public, and the public are the
police (see Peelian Policing Principles below) and the idea that police constables were to
be civil and courteous to the people. The informal names are: Met and MPS; also referred
to as Scotland Yard Police. Police are often referred to as Bobbies or Peelers after Sir
Robert (Bobby) Peel. He also introduced the techniques in detecting crimes such as
detectives concealing themselves, and secretly photographing and recording conversations
and has employed the first undercover officer. Of this, Sir Robert Peel led people to
regard him the father of modern policing [law enforcement].
Three New Elements of the English Police Important for Modern Policing
First, borrowing from the Bow Street Runners, their mission was crime prevention and
control. The philosophy that it was better to prevent crime than simply respond to it greatly
influenced the role of modern police officers.
structure.
These three elements of policing developed in the early 1800s in the London police
department had a significant impact on modern policing.
Note: In France, the New Police also known as Serjents was established in March 1829,
the same year the MPS of Sir Robert Peel was created. The Serjents appeared on the
streets of Paris, dressed in blue uniforms to make them easily recognizable by all citizens.
They were lightly armed with a white cane during the day and a saber at night,
underscoring the fact that they were a civilian, not a military, body. However, the first
non-military policing role in France was established in Paris in 1667, under Louis XIV
known as Basse Police. The Basse, with its wide powers, ensures the welfare of the
citizens, and regulates aspects of food, housing, health and safety.
Nine Fundamental Principles of Law Enforcement by Robert Peel: The Peelian Policing
Principles
1. To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and
severity of legal punishment.
2. To recognize always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is
dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behavior, and on their ability
to secure and maintain public respect.
3. To recognize always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public
means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing
observance of laws.
4. To recognize always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured
diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for
achieving police objectives.
5. To seek and preserve public favor, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly
demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy,
and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready
offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard
to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humor,
and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
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6. To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found
to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure
observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical
force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
7. To maintain at all times relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic
tradition that the police are the public and that 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.
8. To recognize always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to
refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary, of avenging individuals or
the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
9. To recognize always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder,
and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
Night Watchmen in Boston (1636). As early as 1636 Boston had Night Watchmen, in addition
to a military guard. New York and Philadelphia soon developed a similar Night Watch system in
1658 and Philadelphia created one in 1700. The New York Night Watchmen were known as the
Rattle Watch, because they carried rattles on their rounds to remind those who needed
reminding of their watchful presence. Night Watch officers were supervised by constables.
Note: Early policing in colonial America was both informal and communal, which is
referred to as the "Watch, " or private-for-profit policing, which is called “The Big Stick.”
However, the Night Watch was not a particularly effective crime control device.
Watchmen often slept or drank on duty. While the watch was theoretically voluntary, many
"volunteers" were simply attempting to evade military service, were conscript forced into service
by their town, or were performing watch duties as a form of punishment.
Day Watch in Philadelphia (1833). The first Day Watch was created in 1833 in
Philadelphia; New York instituted a Day Watch in 1844 as a supplement to its new municipal
police force.
Augmenting the Watch System was a system of constables, official law enforcement
officers, usually paid by the fee system for warrants they served. Constables had a variety of non
law enforcement functions to perform as well, including serving as land surveyors and verifying
the accuracy of weights and measures. In many cities, constables were given the responsibility of
supervising the activities of the night watch.
Boston Police (1838). It was the first American police force [centralized municipal
police department] established in the city of Boston. It was the first publicly funded, organized
police force with officers on duty full-time. It was a day police force to supplement the Night
watch (two shift police systems). However, the New York Legislature passed a law in 1844 that
authorized creating the first unified day and night police, thus abolishing its Night Watch system.
Ten years later Boston consolidated its Night Watch with the day police.
In 1838, the city of Boston established the first American police force, followed by New
York City in 1845, Albany, NY and Chicago in 1851, New Orleans and Cincinnati in 1853,
Philadelphia in 1855, and Newark, NJ and Baltimore in 1857. By the 1880s all major U.S. cities
had municipal police forces in place.
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The first modern police forces in America borrowed heavily from those established in
England. In particular, American law enforcement agencies adopted the mission of crime
prevention and control, the strategy of preventive patrol, and the quasi-military organizational
design of the first modern police department established in London — the Metropolitan Police.
August Vollmer (Early 20th Century). He is famous for the development of the
principles of modern police administration. Advocates of the concepts of administrative
efficiency sought to “centralize the authority within police departments” and to “rationalize the
procedures of command control.”
The Berkeley Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Vollmer, was at the
forefront of Police innovation. These included:
Vollmer believed in the importance of proper training and education for police and helped
found the Berkeley School of Criminology, which evolved as an institution dedicated to studying
police problems and developing solutions. His contributions led the scholars to regard him the
Father of American [Modern] Policing.
1. Your main job as a cop on the beat is not to make a lot of arrests, but to help prevent
crime. The best way to do this is to start with the children. Make friends with them.
Guide them towards law abiding citizenship. Show them that the law is their friend not
their enemy.
2. The policeman's job is the highest calling in the world. The men who do that job should be
the finest men. They should be the best educated. They should be college graduates.
That's what policemen should be. And what are they? Dumbbells.
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Law Enforcement and Police in the Philippines
Pre-Spanish Period
1. Kin System. It is the practice of the barangay chieftains of the tribe [clan] to select able-bodied
young men to protect the tribe members [people] or the barangay during the night. Also, the
duties of the able-bodied young men were to protect the properties of the people the barangay
and protect their crops and livestock from the attack of wild animals.
2. Nightmen or Bantayans. The system of policing was organized in the year 1500s to patrol the
streets of Manila. The Nightmen were under the direction of the Alguacil Mayor who provided
them with muskets as weapons and alarm bells as their means of communication.
The law enforcement and policing in the country was, without doubt, primarily influenced
by the Royal Crown of Spain (Spanish Policing) during the colonial period (333 years) and by the
American policing (more or less 72 years) after Philippine Independence from the Spaniards.
Until this time, the country's policing is conceptually based on western thinkers. Accordingly,
throughout both Spanish and American periods, the primary responsibility for the law
enforcement and the maintenance of public order resided with the central governing authorities
— the Guardia Civil during the Spaniard.
3. Guardia Civil (1868). During the last 30 years of Spanish Rule in the Philippines the police
administration was centralized to the Guardia Civil. The forces of the Guardia Civil were
adjuncts of the colonial military establishment with members performing the dual function of
policemen and soldier. The personnel were drawn directly from the regular army of Spain.
Detachments of Guardia Civil were distributed through the provinces with central offices in
district capitals and company headquarters at provincial capitals. The auxiliary law enforcement
agencies are:
a. Cuadrilleros (January 8, 1836). It was a rural police organization formed by direct levies
on the able-bodied male (5%) inhabitants of each province. Its duty was to maintain
public security and order. According to the importance of the towns, Cuadrillefos was
composed of: 1 Captain, 1 Lieutenant, 1 Seargent, 4 Corporals, and 32 Soldiers. Their
arms were lances, machetes, and bolos.
b. Cuerpo de Carabineros de Seguridad Publica (December 20, 1842). It was largely
custom police with special port, harbor, and river duties.
The Guardia Civil, however, remained the most important among the aforesaid agencies. It
was effective and efficient in the apprehension of those violating the laws of the Crown. It had
jurisdiction over all sorts of violations and could use almost any means in tracking down
violators. It had the power to arrest. Of these, Guardia Civil exercised considerable influence
upon the development of later police institutions in the Philippines.
American Period
4. Philippine Constabulary [PC] or Insular Police (August 18, 1901). It was a gendarmerie
type [is a military force with police duties among the civilian population] police force of the
Philippines from 1901 to 1991. It was created by the American colonial government to replace
the Spanish colonial Guardia Civil by the authority of Act. No. 175 of the Second Philippine
Commission (Taft Commission). PC became the backbone of the Philippine Army by virtue of
National Defense Act of 1935 passed by the Philippine National Assembly on December 21,
1935 and was reestablished after World War Il and was known as both the Philippine
Constabulary
and as the Military Police Command. During the Commission Period, the role of the
Constabulary was chiefly to suppress guerilla resistance in the Philippines. But, its original
purpose
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was to aid the American forces of occupation in restoring the law and order in the strife-torn
Islands.
6. Japanese Military Police. It was also known as Kempetai or Kenpeitai, it was the main law
enforcement agency by the imperial Japanese government in the Philippines. Its headquarters
were located at Fort Santiago, Manila. It issued orders and directives as to the conduct and
business of individuals and groups meted out drastic punishments for the violation of its orders.
8. Bureau of Investigation. The Bureau was created during the Puppet Government on June 10,
1944 by President Jose P. Laurel. Its function was to make investigations of all government
employees and police officers and to "indict all extremists" and to "prevent activities against the
country."
9. Police Commission (POLCOM). The Commission, although it was not literally serving as
police, was established in August 8, 1966 by virtue of R.A. No. 4864 (Act Creating the
POLCOM, Amending and Revising the Laws Relative to the Local Police System, and for Other
Purposes) or Police Act of 1966 with the purpose of “achieving and attaining a higher degree of
efficiency in
the organization, administration, and operation of local police agencies with the end in view that
peace and order may be maintained more effectively and the laws enforced with more
impartiality.” It was also the object of this Act to place the local police service on a professional
level. The POLCOM was reorganized as National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) in 1972.
10. Integrated National Police (INP). The INP was established in August 8, 1975 by authority
of P.D. 765 integrating the police, fire, and jail [penitentiary] services into a unified national
police
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and civil defense formation. It was the municipal police force for the cities and large towns of the
Philippines. One of two national police forces in the country along with the PC. The Decree
further officially established the joint command structure of the PC and INP. The arrangement
became known as the Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP) placed
under the
Department of National Defense.
The INP was assigned responsibility for public safety, protection of lives and property,
enforcement of laws, and maintenance of peace and order throughout the nation. To carry out
these responsibilities, it was given powers “to prevent crimes, effect the arrest of criminal
offenders and provide for their detention and rehabilitation, prevent and control fires, investigate
the commission of all crimes and offenses, bring the offenders to justice, and take all necessary
steps to ensure public safety.” The Philippine Constabulary retained responsibility for dealing
with serious crimes or cases involving jurisdictions far apart from one another, and the INP took
charge of less serious crimes and local traffic, crime prevention, and public safety.
11. Philippine National Police (December 13, 1990). The Philippine National Police (PNP) was
created by R.A. No. 6975 (An Act Establishing the PNP under a Reorganized Department of the
Interior and Local Government, and for Other Purposes). It was national in scope and civilian in
character police force. It was later amended by R.A. No. 8551 in February 25, 1998 which led to
its the reform and reorganization.
Moreover, the R.A. No. 6975 also incorporated the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP/Fire
Bureau) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP/Jail Bureau). The Act
was later amended on March 10, 2004 by R.A. No. 9263 (BFP and BJMP Professionalization
Act of 2004). The R.A. No. 8551 was amended by the R.A. No. 9708 in August 12, 2009.
Similarly, the R.A. No. 9263 was amended by R.A. No. 9592 on May 8, 2009.
Note: For the purpose of law enforcement administration as presented in this manuscript the
“police” being referred herein are those mentioned in number 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 and ll. The BFP
and BJMP have law enforcement functions too but the PNP and its predecessors were the
primary law enforcement agencies in the country during their respective periods.
1. First Stage: Informal Policing. All members of a society share equally in the
responsibility for providing protection and keeping order.
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2. Second Stage: Transitional Policing. It occurs when police functions are informally
assigned to particular members of the society. This stage serves as a transition into
Formal Policing
3. Third Stage: Formal Policing. It occurs where specific members of the community
assume formal responsibility for protection and social control.
Reference:
Eduardo, Jesster P. (2020). Law Enforcement Organization and Administration with Inter-
Agency Approach.
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