Describe law and order in London in the late nineteenth century

... JAMES TOOKMAN: GCSE HISTORY COURSEWORK JACK THE RIPPER QUESTION 1: Describe law and order in London in the late nineteenth century [15] The specific idea of a police force was invented in 1829. Up until this point, law and order was the responsibility of the local justice of the peace helped by watchmen and parish constables as well as the occasional special constable. This was a fairly effective system however the job was part time and there was no rigidity to the force, which meant it had trouble dealing with crimes beyond ' small disturbances'. In 1829 the Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, set up the Metropolitan police. It was set up to carry out the functions of the watchmen and special constables by patrolling the streets keeping order and deterring crime. They also dealt with major disturbances such as riots, previously the job of the unpopular army who always made things worse.

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