The enormous and unprecedented growth of cities during the nineteenth century is often regarded as the result of a great migratory movement from the farm to the town; the process appears in full light when one studies the growth of the Lancashire district in the thirties or of Chicago with its vast throng of oversea immigrants. But before the recent growth of cities can be attributed solely to the factor of immigration from country districts at home or abroad, it must be shown that such immigration is of recent origin, coinciding with the recent concentration of population.
It is no secret that America inherited much of its governmental institutions from Great Britain. American law enforcement is no exception. British policing can be traced back to before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
The first Europeans who landed on our shores, found a strange and wondrous new land, inhabited by strange and wondrous people. The newcomers had all they could do to establish themselves and to protect themselves from those who did not wish to share their land. Thus, policing was the responsibility of all able-bodied men, and, of course, young boys as well.
After "things" got fairly well settled the job of maintaining order in the new colonies was given to Justices of the Peace, and one might see "culprits" in pillories or stocks, paying their debt to society. But, as colonies changed into towns and towns into cities, the Justice of the Peace system was not enough. It became time for an organized, and paid, police force.
In 1636 the city of Boston established Night Watch, which idea worked reasonably well as long as the area remained a rural and agrarian one. New York City established the Shout and Rattle Watch in 1651, but, by 1705 Philadelphia found it necessary to divide the city into ten patrol areas...........
