Case Study: Robert Peel

Who was Robert Peel?

Sir Robert Peel was an important British politician. As Home Secretary he introduced a wide range of changes to criminal law and for reforming prisons, as well as the Metropolitan Police Force.

What was Robert Peel's job?

Robert Peel played 2 important roles in government, from the point of view of crime and punishment.

• ❖ He was Prime Minister from 1834 to 1835, and again from 1841 to 1846.
• ❖ He was Home Secretary from 1822 to 1827, and again from 1828 to 1830. It was in this role that he introduced most of his crime and punishment reforms.

What were Robert Peel's strengths?

Robert Peel had 4 main strengths:

• ❖ He was well informed and open to new ideas. For example, after Elizabeth Fry spoke to Parliament about conditions in British prisons, Robert Peel took on board many of her suggestions in his work on penal reform.
• ❖ He was skilful at seeing bills through Parliament, carefully managing the reactions of other MPs. He used crime statistics to persuade fellow politicians to support his reforms.
• ❖ He made the most of his senior positions in government, as the home secretary and then prime minister, to implement his reform ideas.
• ❖ Some historians claim Robert Peel is the 'father of modern policing'.

What helped Robert Peel set up the Metropolitan Police?

There were 5 other key factors that helped Robert Peel set up the Metropolitan Police:

• ❖ Governments had become more involved in people's lives.
• ❖ The war with France (1803-1814) forced the government to raise more money through taxes. Local authorities were also given powers to raise their own taxes that could be used to pay for a police force.
• ❖ There was widespread belief that crime, especially violent crime, was on the increase. The crime rate had risen sharply in the years following the French wars, when unemployment was a problem.
• ❖ After the French Revolution governments and landowners feared something similar might happen in Britain. High food prices and unemployment led to many large-scale protests after 1815, making a revolution seem likely.
• ❖ The rapid growth of towns had made the use of constables and watchmen seem inadequate, especially in London.

What were Robert Peel's views on punishment?

Influenced by reformers, Robert Peel advocated a system aimed at preventing crimes and reforming criminals, rather than focusing on punishments as a deterrent.

How did Robert Peel change the penal code?

Robert Peel reformed the penal code by reducing the number of crimes punishable by death by 100. Many minor crimes were punished more proportionately as a result.

What did Robert Peel do to prisons?

6 key changes were made to prisons.

• ❖ As Home Secretary, Robert Peel persuaded Parliament to pass the 1823 Gaols Act.
• ❖ Prisoners needed healthy conditions, with proper food, a fresh water supply and adequate drainage. They should be separated into groups so hardened criminals were not mixing with first-time offenders.
• ❖ Gaolers (those in charge of the jail) should be paid so they would not need to make money from prisoners. Magistrates had a duty to visit prisons and check on them.
• ❖ Male and female prisoners were to be separated. Female prisoners would be watched over by female warders.
• ❖ Prisoners were not to be held in chains or irons. In addition, they should attend chapel and receive religious instruction from the chaplains.
• ❖ Although the Act only applied to around 130 prisons and was ignored in some, it was an important step in improving conditions and aimed to reform the prisoners.

How effective were Robert Peel's reforms?

There were 2 main criticisms of the effectiveness of Robert Peel's reforms:

• ❖ His prison reforms had limited effect as there no paid inspectors to ensure the new laws were put into practice. There was no official prison inspectorate until the 1853 Prison Act was passed.
• ❖ Similarly, his police reforms were mostly limited to London and it wasn't until after Peel's death in 1850 that all parts of the country had to adopt a police force as he envisioned.

What did Robert Peel do to policing?

Robert Peel introduced 2 important reforms to policing:

• ❖ He first took action on policing in 1822 when he set up a day patrol of Bow Street Runners in London.
• ❖ By 1829 he had won support for the setting up of the Metropolitan Police.

What problems did Robert Peel's police force have?

Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police faced 6 key criticisms:

• ❖ People had concerns this new police force would be overly repressive, as in France, and would limit individual liberties.
• ❖ People worried the police would be a military-style presence on the streets, not helped by many recruits being ex-soldiers or sailors.
• ❖ The police were viewed as poorly trained and having immoral tendencies. Out of 2,800 constables in 1830, only 562 remained 4 years later.
• ❖ Drunkenness was a major problem, leading to 80% of dismissals.
• ❖ The police weren't viewed as professionals. In 1836 in one force, 36% had previously been general labourers.
• ❖ Their pay of 21 shillings a week was less than a skilled worker earned. As a result, many constables would find alternative jobs.

How did Robert Peel try to solve the problems the Metropolitan Police faced?

Robert Peel is credited for overcoming many of the criticisms his Metropolitan Police faced in 3 key ways:

• ❖ To ensure the police force was viewed in a positive light, they had a uniform of blue overcoats and top hats to identify and distinguish them from the army.
• ❖ Any salary for the police was an achievement considering this cost was the biggest cause of opposition to a police force.
• ❖ To combat views of the police as violent, Peel had Metropolitan Police commissioners draw up and issue clear guidelines to all new police recruits that emphasised the need to win over the public with respect.

How significant was Robert Peel?

It can be argued that Robert Peel was significant in 3 main ways:

• ❖ The principles of the Metropolitan Police still provide the foundations for modern policing in Britain today.
• ❖ The police became accepted and respected. As first, they were called 'crushers' and 'raw lobsters'. By the 1850s they were more likely to be called 'Peelers' or 'Bobbies' - a reference to Robert Peel.
• ❖ While other factors were at play, crime rates fell steadily for 50 years from 1850 to 1900.