Q2

Briefly provide an overview of Sir Robert Peel’s contributions to policing.

There are nine major principles that Sir Robert Peel contributed to policing. One of those
principles is that police exist primarily to prevent crime and disorder, not to simply be there to
punish when it occurs. The second principle is the thought that police are only as good as their
relationship with the community they serve. Thirdly Peel believed that law enforcement must
secure from the community it serves, the willing obedience to laws. In the fourth principle Peel
explains that the more force that is necessary to control the public the less control the police truly
have and the less respect of the community it serves. The fifth principle expresses the idea that
by consistently upholding the law impartially the police will garner the respect and cooperation
of the community. The sixth principle encapsulates the idea that physical force must only be used
when absolutely necessary and when all other avenues are exhausted. In his seventh principle
Peel state that the police are the public and the public are the police and that this knowledge and
the history of policing must be preserved and remembered. The eighth principles states that law
enforcement must never abuse their power or act outside of the law. The ninth principle states
that the absence of crime is what police should measure their success by (Nazemi, n.d.).

References

Nazemi, S. (n.d.). Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles of Policing. Retrieved from

http://lacp.org/2009-Articles-Main/062609-Peels9Principals-SandyNazemi.htm