A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis Part 1

A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis.

by Patrick Colquhoun.

PREFACE.

Police in this Country may be considered as a _new Science_; the properties of which consist not in the Judicial Powers which lead to _Punishment_, and which belong to Magistrates alone; but in the PREVENTION and DETECTION OF CRIMES, and in those other Functions which relate to INTERNAL REGULATIONS for the well ordering and comfort of Civil Society.

THE POLICE OF THE METROPOLIS, in every point of view, is a subject of great importance to be known and understood; since every innocent and useful Member of the Community has a particular interest in the correct administration of whatever relates to the Morals of the People, and to the protection of the Public against Fraud and Depredation.

Under the present circ.u.mstances of insecurity, with respect to property and even life itself, this is a subject which cannot fail to force itself upon the attention of all:--All are equally concerned in the Information which this Work conveys; the chief part of the details in which are entirely novel, not to be found in books, and never laid before the Public through the medium of the Press, previous to the first Publication of this Treatise.

It may naturally be imagined, that such an acc.u.mulation of delinquency systematically detailed, and placed in so prominent a point of view, must excite a considerable degree of astonishment in the minds of those Readers who have not been familiar with subjects of this nature; and hence a desire may be excited to investigate how far the amazing extent of the Depredations upon the Public here related, can be reconciled to reason and possibility.

Four years have, however, elapsed, since these details have been before the Public, and they still stand on their original ground, without any attempt which has come to the Author's knowledge, to question the magnitude or the extent of the evil.--On the contrary, new sources of Fraud and Depredation have been brought forward, tending greatly to increase the general ma.s.s of Delinquency.[1]

[Footnote 1: See Mr. Middleton's interesting Report on the County of Middles.e.x, and the extracts from thence in Chapter III. of this Work.]

In revising the present Edition, the Author felt a strong impulse to reduce his estimates; but after an attentive review of the whole, excepting in the instances of the Depredations on Commercial Property, (which have been greatly diminished by the establishment of a _Marine Police_, applicable to that particular object,) he was unable to perceive any ground for materially altering his original calculations.--If some cla.s.ses of Theft, Robbery, and Depredation, have been reduced, others have been augmented; still leaving the aggregate nearly as before.

The causes of these extensive and acc.u.mulated wrongs being fully explained, and accounted for, in various parts of the Work; a very short recapitulation of them is, therefore, all that is necessary in this Preface.

The enlarged state of Society, the vast extent of moving property, and the unexampled wealth of the Metropolis, joined to the depraved habits and loose conduct of a great proportion of the lower cla.s.ses of the people; and above all, the want of an appropriate Police applicable to the object of prevention, will, after a careful perusal of this work, reconcile the attentive mind to a belief of the actual existence of evils which could not otherwise have been credited.--Let it be remembered also, that this Metropolis is unquestionably not only the greatest Manufacturing and Commercial City in the world, but also the general receptacle for the idle and depraved of almost every country; particularly from every quarter of the dominions of the Crown--Where the temptations and resources for criminal pleasures--Gambling, Fraud and Depredation almost exceed imagination; since besides being the seat of Government it is the centre of _fas.h.i.+on, amus.e.m.e.nts, dissipation and folly_.

Under such peculiar circ.u.mstances, while immorality, licentiousness and crimes are known to advance in proportion to the excessive acc.u.mulation of wealth, it cannot fail to be a matter of deep regret, that in the progressive increase of the latter the means of checking the rapid strides of the former have not been sooner discovered and effectually applied.

It is, however, earnestly to be hoped that it is not yet too late.--Patriots and Philanthropists who love their country, and glory in its prosperity, will rejoice with the Author in the prospect, that the great leading features of improvement suggested and matured in the present Edition of this Work will ultimately receive the sanction of the Legislature.

May the Author be allowed to express his conviction that the former Editions of this book tended in no small degree, to remove various misconceptions on the subject of Police: and at the same time evidently excited in the public mind a desire to see such remedies applied as should contribute to the improvement of the Morals of the People, and to the removal of the danger and insecurity which were universally felt to exist?

An impression it is to be hoped is generally felt from the example of the Roman Government, when enveloped in riches and luxury, that National prosperity must be of short duration when public Morals are too long neglected, and no effectual measures adopted for the purpose either of checking the alarming growth of depravity, or of guarding the rising generation against evil examples.

It is by the general influence of good Laws, aided by the regulations of an energetic Police, that the blessings of true Liberty, and the undisturbed enjoyment of Property are secured.

The sole object of the Author in pointing out the acc.u.mulated wrongs which have tended in so great a degree to abridge this Liberty, is to pave the way for the adoption of those practical remedies which he has suggested, in conformity with the spirit of the Laws, and the Const.i.tution of the Country, for the purpose of bettering the state of Society, and improving the condition of human life.

If in the accomplishment of this object the Morals of the People shall undergo a favourable change, and that species of comfort and security be extended to the inhabitants of this great Metropolis, which has not heretofore been experienced, while many evils are prevented, which in their consequences threaten to be productive of the most serious mischief, the Author of this Work will feel himself amply rewarded in the benefits which the System he has proposed shall be found to confer upon the Capital of the British Dominions, and on the Nation at large.

CHAPTER I.

_A general view of the Evils existing in the Metropolis, and the causes from which they arise.--Necessity of a well-regulated Police.--Ineffective system of Criminal Jurisprudence.--Facility of eluding Justice. Severity and inequality of Punishments.--Necessity of revising our Penal Code.--Certain dangerous Offences not punishable.--Receivers of stolen property.--Extent of plunder in the Metropolis, &c.--Proposed restrictions on Receivers.--Coiners and Utterers of Counterfeit Money; the extent of their crimes.--Defects in the mode of prosecuting Offenders.--Pardons.--Periodical discharges of Prisoners.--Summary of the causes of the present inefficacy of the Police, under nine different heads._

Next to the blessings which a Nation derives from an excellent Const.i.tution and System of general Laws, are those advantages which result from a well-regulated and energetic plan of Police, conducted and enforced with purity, activity, vigilance, and discretion.

Upon this depends, in so great a degree, the comfort, the happiness, and the true liberty and security of the People, that too much labour and attention cannot possibly be bestowed in rendering complete the domestic administration of Justice in all cases of criminal delinquency.

That much remains to be done in this respect no person will deny; all ranks must bear testimony to the dangers which both life and property are at present subjected to by the number of criminal people, who, from various causes (which it is the object of the Writer of these pages to explain), are suffered with impunity to repeat acts of licentiousness and mischief, and to commit depredations upon individuals and the Public.

In vain do we boast of those liberties which are our birthright, if the vilest and most depraved part of the Community are suffered to deprive us of the privilege of travelling upon the highways, or of approaching the Capital in any direction after dark, without risk of being a.s.saulted, and robbed; and perhaps wounded or murdered.

In vain may we boast of the security which our Laws afford us, if we cannot lie down to rest in our habitations, without the dread of a burglary being committed, our property invaded, and our lives exposed to imminent danger before the approach of morning.

Imperfect must be either the plan or the execution, or both, of our Criminal Code, if crimes are found to increase; if the moral principle ceases to be a check upon a vast proportion of the lower ranks of the People; and if small thefts are known to prevail in such a degree, as to affect almost all ranks of the Community who have any property to lose, as often as opportunities occur, whereby pilfering in a little way can be effected without detection.

If, in addition to this, the peace of Society can, on every specious pretence, be disturbed by the licentious clamours or turbulent effusions arising from the ill-regulated pa.s.sions of vulgar life, surely it becomes an interesting inquiry, worthy the attention of every intelligent member of the Community, _from what source spring these numerous inconveniences; and where is a remedy to be found for so many acc.u.mulated evils_?

In developing the causes which have produced that want of security, which it is believed prevails in no other civilised country in so great a degree as in England, it will be necessary to examine how far the System of Criminal Jurisprudence has been, hitherto, applicable to the prevention of crimes.

If we look back to the measures pursued by our ancestors two centuries ago, and before that period, we shall find that many wholesome laws were made with a view to prevention, and to secure the good behaviour of persons likely to commit offences. Since that aera in our history, a different plan has been pursued. Few regulations have been established to restrain vice, or to render difficult the commission of crimes; while the Statute Books have been filled with numerous Laws, in many instances doubtfully expressed, and whose leading feature has generally been severe punishment. These circ.u.mstances, aided by the false mercy of Juries in cases of slight offences, have tended to let loose upon Society a body of criminal individuals, who under a better Police--an improved system of Legislation, and milder punishments,--might, after a correction in Penitentiary Houses, or employment in out-door labour, under proper restraints, have been restored to Society as useful members.

As the Laws are at present administered, it is a melancholy truth not to be contradicted, that the major part of the criminals who infest this Metropolis, although committed by magistrates for trial on very satisfactory proof, are returned upon the Public in vast numbers year after year; encouraged to renew their former practices, by the facility they experience in evading justice.

But this is not all:--The adroit Thief and Receiver, availing themselves of their pecuniary resources, often escape, from their knowledge of the tricks and devices which are practised, through the medium of disreputable pract.i.tioners of the Law; while the novices in delinquency generally suffer the punishment attached to conviction.

If, as is the case in some other countries, evidence were allowed to be received of the general character of persons, put upon their trial for offences, and the means by which they obtain their subsistence, so as to distinguish the old reputed Thief and Receiver from the novice in crimes, the minds of Jurymen would be often enlightened, to the furtherance of substantial justice; and a humane and proper distinction might be made between the young pupil of depravity, and the finished villain; as well in the measure of punishment, as in the distribution of mercy.

The severity of the punishment, which at present attaches to crimes regarded by mankind as of an inferior nature, and which affect property in a trivial manner, is also deserving the most serious attention. It is only necessary to be acquainted with the modern history of the _criminal prosecutions, trials, acquittals, and pardons in this country_, in order to be completely convinced that the progressive increase of delinquents, and the evils experienced by Society from the mult.i.tude of petty crimes, result in a great measure from this single circ.u.mstance.

It will scarcely be credited by those, whose habits of life do not permit them to enter into discussions of this sort, that by the Laws of England, there are above _one hundred and sixty_ different offences which subject the parties who are found guilty, to death without benefit of Clergy. This multiplicity of capital punishments must, in the nature of things, defeat those ends, the attainment of which ought to be the object of all Law, namely, _The Prevention of Crimes_.

In consequence of this severity, (to use the words of an admired Writer,) "The injured, through compa.s.sion, will often forbear to prosecute: Juries, through compa.s.sion, will sometimes forget their oaths, and either acquit the guilty or mitigate the nature of the offence: and Judges, through compa.s.sion, will respite one half the convicts, and recommend them to Royal Mercy."[2]

[Footnote 2: Blackstone's Commentaries.]

The Roman Empire never flourished so much as during the aera of the Portian Law, which abrogated the punishment of death for all offences whatsoever. When severe punishments and an incorrect Police were afterwards revived, the Empire fell.

It is not meant, however, to be insinuated that this would be, altogether, a proper system of Criminal Jurisprudence to be adopted in modern times.

In the present state of society it becomes indispensably necessary, that offences, which in their nature are highly injurious to the Public, and where no mode of prevention can be established, should be punished by the forfeiture of life; but these dreadful examples should be exhibited as seldom as possible: for while on the one hand, such punishments often defeat the ends of Justice, by their not being carried into execution; so on the other, by being often repeated, they lose their effect upon the minds of the People.[3]

[Footnote 3: Can that be thought a correct System of Jurisprudence, which inflicts the penalty of Death, for breaking down the mound of a fish-pond, whereby the fish may escape; or cutting down a fruit-tree in a garden or orchard; or stealing a handkerchief, or any trifle, privately from a person's pocket, above the value of 12d;--while a number of other crimes of much greater enormity, are only punished with Transportation and Imprisonment; and while the punishment of murder itself is, and can be, only Death; with a few circ.u.mstances of additional ignominy?]

However much we glory (and we ought to glory) in the general excellence of our Criminal Law, yet there is no truth more clear and obvious than this:--"That this code exhibits too much the appearance of a heterogeneous ma.s.s, concocted too often on the spur of the occasion (as Lord Bacon expresses it):--and frequently without that degree of accuracy which is the result of able and minute discussion, or a due attention to the revision of the existing laws; or how far their provisions bear upon new and acc.u.mulated statutes introduced into Parliament; often without either consideration or knowledge, and without those precautions which are always necessary, when laws are to be made which may affect the property, the liberty, and perhaps even the lives of thousands."

Some steps have indeed, been taken in Parliament, since this work first appeared, towards a general revision of our Statute Law;[4] and which, it is hoped, will ere long be adopted. Whenever the time shall arrive that the existing laws, which form the present Criminal Code, shall be referred to able and intelligent men effectually to revise, consolidate, and adjust the whole, in a manner best suited to the present state of Society and Manners, the investigation will unquestionably excite no little wonder and astonishment.

[Footnote 4: See the "Report from the Committee of the House of Commons on Temporary Laws;" May 13, 1796--and also the "Report from the Committee for promulgation of the Statutes," December 5, 1796; and the "Resolutions of a Committee of the whole House," March 20, 1797.]

Penal laws, which are either obsolete or absurd, or which have arisen from an adherence to rules of Common Law when the reasons have ceased upon which these rules are founded; and in short, all Laws which appear not to be consonant to the dictates of truth and justice, the feelings of Humanity, and the indelible rights of Mankind should be abrogated and repealed.[5]

[Footnote 5: Blackstone.]

But the deficiency of the Criminal Code does not arise solely from an erroneous and undigested scale of penalties and punishments. While on the one hand, we have to lament the number of these applicable to certain offences of a slight nature; we have equally to regret, that there exist crimes of considerable enormity, for the punishment of which the Law has made no provision.