Watchmen were organised groups of men, usually authorised by a state, government, city, or society, to deter criminal activity and provide law enforcement as well as traditionally perform the services of public safety , fire watch , crime prevention , crime detection , and recovery of stolen goods . Watchmen have existed since earliest recorded times in various guises throughout the world and were generally succeeded by the emergence of formally organised professional policing .
80-665: The Watch may refer to: The town watch , a medieval precursor to the modern police The Watch (2008 film) , a made-for-TV film starring Clea DuVall The Watch (2012 film) , a science fiction comedy film starring Ben Stiller "The Watch" ( Seinfeld ) , an episode of Seinfeld "The Watch" ( The Amazing World of Gumball ) , an episode of The Amazing World of Gumball The Watch (band) , an Italian progressive rock band The Watch (TV series) , 2021 series, inspired by Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels See also [ edit ] Watch (disambiguation) Topics referred to by
160-538: A castellan , the officer charged with the defence of a castle. Even today, there is a Constable of the Tower of London . An equivalent position is that of marshal , which derives from Old High German marah ('horse') and schalh ('servant'), and originally meant "stable keeper", which has a similar etymology. In Australia, as in the United Kingdom, constable is the lowest rank in most police services. It
240-554: A police station , traffic police constables control road traffic, telecommunication constables manage communications, whereas armed police constables are attached to armed police units. The types of constables are based on nature of their duties. The Indian police constables do a wide range of duties like patrol, beat system, crime detection, escorting of prisoners and VIPs, guarding vital offices and installations, vehicle traffic control on roads, riot control, assisting civil administration during disasters, epidemics and elections. Generally
320-557: A constable is the lowest rank of police officer (it is also, when preceded by the term sworn , used to describe any police officer with arrest and other powers), while in the United States a constable is generally an elected peace officer with lesser jurisdiction than a sheriff ; however, in the Channel Islands a constable is an elected office-holder at the parish level. Historically, a constable could also refer to
400-532: A constable without holding this title. Historically, the title comes from the Latin comes stabuli ( attendant to the stables , literally 'count of the stable') and originated from the Roman Empire ; originally, the constable was the officer responsible for keeping the horses of a lord or monarch . The title was imported to the monarchies of medieval Europe, and in many countries developed into
480-461: A constable, that of the collation of evidence , comes from Bracton , a jurist writing between 1220 and 1250: In whatever way they come and on whatever day, it is the duty of the constable to enroll everything in order, for he has record as to the things he sees; but he cannot judge, because there is no judgment at the Tower , since there the third element of a judicial proceeding is lacking, namely
560-442: A dramatic device or a caricature, but successful dramatists nevertheless work with characters who strike a chord with their audience. A hundred years later such complaints were still commonplace. Daniel Defoe wrote four pamphlets and a broadsheet on the issue of street crime in which, among other things, he roundly attacked the efficacy of the watch and called for measures to ensure it 'be compos'd of stout, able-body'd Men, and of those
640-414: A force of salaried men. Under the new act, the ward authorities also continued to hire their own watchmen and to make whatever local rules seemed appropriate—establishing, for example, the places in their wards where the watchmen would stand and the beats they would patrol. But the implementation of the new Watch Act did have the effect of imposing some uniformity on the watch over the whole City, making in
720-619: A high military rank and great officer of state (e.g. the Constable of France , in French Connétable de France , who was the commander-in-chief of all royal armed forces (second to the king) until Prime Minister Cardinal Richelieu abolished the charge in 1627). Most constables in modern jurisdictions are law enforcement officers. In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations and some Continental European countries,
800-414: A horizontal bar), and leading senior constable (two chevrons and two horizontal bars). A senior constable is senior to a constable but junior to an incremental senior constable. Promotion to senior constable can occur after a minimum of five years' service (one year as a probationary constable in addition to four years as constable) and then upon passing probity checks and an exam. Incremental senior constable
880-555: A household watch that became known as the Beefeaters . As of the 1660s, it was already common practice to avoid night-time service in the watch by paying for a substitute. Substitution had become so common by the late 17th century that the night watch was virtually by then a fully paid force. An act of Common Council , known as 'Robinson's Act' from the name of the sitting lord mayor, was promulgated in October 1663. It confirmed
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#1732802332146960-454: A judge and jurisdiction. He has record as to matters of fact, not matters of judgment and law. In Bracton's time, anyone seeing a "misdeed" was empowered to make an arrest. The role of the constable in Bracton's description was as the "eyes and ears" of the court, finding evidence and recording facts on which judges could make a ruling. By extension, the constable was also the "strong arm" of
1040-485: A lawyer, junior police prosecutor, outranks the most senior rank for a policeman, chief superintendent, as the former is the most junior of the "higher ranks" whereas the latter is the most senior of the "lower ranks". The fire brigades (all municipal) still use "konstabel" as in "brannkonstabel" (fire-constable). In 2016 the Royal Norwegian Navy started using "konstabel" to describe the enlisted ranks in
1120-400: A police constable does his duty in his jurisdiction area, but can be assigned anywhere by his superiors depending on the situation or need. The duty hours of Indian police constables are erratic, many times without weekly time off or leave. Police recruitment is based on a written test, plus physical and medical tests. After appointment all police constables have to undergo compulsory training;
1200-447: A staff, along with their lantern. Another step in the evolution of the watch involved building 'watch howses' as the country lurched towards revolution after 1640. A City committee was asked to look into the question 'what watchhouses are necessary' and where 'for the safety of this cittye ' in 1642. Workmen began building watch houses in strategic spots soon after. They provided assembly-points for watchmen to gather to hear orders for
1280-418: A state. A constable may be an official responsible for service of process , such as summonses and subpoenas for people to appear in court in criminal and/or civil matters; on the other hand, they can be fully empowered law enforcement officers. Constables may also have additional specialized duties unique to the office. In some states, a constable may be appointed by the governor or a judge or magistrate of
1360-564: A sufficient Number'. Watchmen on roads leading to London had a reputation for clumsiness in the late 1580s. It was a temptation on cold winter nights to slip away early from watching stations to catch some sleep. Constables in charge sometimes let watches go home early. 'The late placing and early dischargering ' of night-watches concerned Common Council in 1609 and again three decades later when someone sent out to spy on watches reported that they 'break up longe before they ought'. 'The greatest parte of constables' broke up watches ' earlie in
1440-523: A tax levied specifically for the purpose of hiring full-time watchmen. Some voluntary prosecution societies also hired men to patrol their areas. While the societies for the reformation of manners showed there was a good deal of support for the effective policing of morality, they also suggested that the existing mechanisms of crime control were regarded by some as ineffective. Constable Dogberry's men from Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare, who would 'rather sleep than talk', may be dismissed as merely
1520-568: A watch fund that supported hired man. From the mid-1690s the City authorities made several attempts to replace Robinson's Act and establish the watch on a new footing. Though they did not say it directly, the overwhelming requirement was to get quotas adjusted to reflect the reality that the watch consisted of hired men rather than citizens doing their civic duty—the assumption upon which the 1663 act of Common Council, and all previous acts, had been based. The implications and consequences of changes in
1600-463: A way. The fact that the 1705 act called for watchmen to be strong and able-bodied men seems further confirmation that the watch was now expected to be made up of hired hands rather than every male house holder serving in turn. The act of 1705 laid out the new quotas of watchmen and the disposition of watch-stands agreed to each ward. To discourage the corruption that had been blamed for earlier under-manning, it forbade constables to collect and disturbs
1680-525: Is marshal . The titles of sparapet and spaspet , derived from the ancient Iranian spahbod , were used to designate the supreme commander of the armed forces in the medieval kingdoms of Armenia and Georgia, respectively. The position of constable originated from the Roman Empire ; by the 5th century AD the Count of the Stable ( Latin : comes stabuli ) was responsible for the keeping of horses at
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#17328023321461760-436: Is attained after ten years of service automatically. One is appointed to the rank of leading senior constable on a qualification basis, but must have a minimum of seven years' service amongst other criteria in order to be eligible. Leading senior constable is a specialist position of which there are limited allocated numbers within any section/unit or local area command. If an officer is transferred to another duty type or station,
1840-469: Is called nuorempi konstaapeli , translated into English as (junior) constable. The next rank is vanhempi konstaapeli or senior constable. The next highest rank (equivalent to a police sergeant in the English-speaking world) is ylikonstaapeli ( yli- "leading"), literally "over-constable". The Hong Kong Police Force have two ranks for constables: Senior constable is not a rank: it
1920-814: Is centralised under the Volunteer Special Constabulary in Singapore. In South Africa , this rank is the first rank that you come across when you join the South African Police Service In Sri Lanka , the Sri Lanka Police have the rank of "police constable", with four classes. There are two main definitions of a constable in the United Kingdom: The latter usage is mainly in formal contexts, including legislation such as
2000-640: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Watchman (law enforcement) An early reference to a watch can be found in the Bible where the Prophet Ezekiel states that it was the duty of the watch to blow the horn and sound the alarm. (Ezekiel 33:1-6) The Roman Empire made use of the Praetorian Guard and the Vigiles , literally
2080-496: Is merely a designation for officers who have served for 18 years. Police constable (abbreviated PC) is the lowest police rank in India, below head constable . General law and order being a state subject in India, each state government recruits police constables. A police constable has no shoulder insignia, while a head constable has one or more stripes or chevrons, depending on the state. Since each state has its own police force,
2160-553: Is often categorised into the following (from lowest to highest): probationary constable; constable; constable first class; senior constable; leading senior constable. These variations depend on the individual state or territory police force in question. Senior constable generally refers to a police officer of the rank above constable, and is denoted by way of two chevrons or stripes. The New South Wales Police Force has three grades of senior constable, namely senior constable (two chevrons), incremental senior constable (two chevrons and
2240-483: Is permissible to be promoted to sergeant direct from senior constable. The general form of address for both senior constable and leading senior constable is "senior", and this is acceptable even in courts. In Canada, as in the United Kingdom, constable is the lowest rank in most law enforcement services, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police . In Newfoundland the provincial police are
2320-530: The Danish Defence , constables are the lowest rank group. The ranks of Konstabel , Overkonstabel and Overkonstabel af 1. grad are used for professional enlisted soldiers, sailors and airmen. However, Overkonstabel af 1. grad is only used within the army, as both the navy and air force use a specialist rank instead. In the Finnish Police , the lowest rank of police officer
2400-618: The French monarchy , was the First Officer of the Crown of France and was originally responsible for commanding the army . His symbol of office was a longsword held by a hand issuing out of a cloud, a reference to the constable's duty of carrying the king's sword during a coronation ceremony. Some constables were prominent military commanders in the medieval period, such as Bertrand du Guesclin who served from 1370 to 1380. The office of
2480-480: The Great Officers of State , was established in the kingdoms of England and Scotland during the reigns of King Stephen (1135–1154) and King David (1124–1154) respectively, and was responsible for the command of the army. However, the term was also used at the local level within the feudal system , describing an officer appointed to keep order. One of the first descriptions of one of the legal duties of
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2560-673: The Municipal Police Act of 1844 in New York City , United States ), such formations became increasingly incorporated into state-run police forces (see metropolitan police and municipal police ). In the Philippines, Barangay watchmen called "Tanod" is common. Their role is to serve as frontline law enforcement officers in Barangays, especially those far from city or town centres. They are mainly supervised by
2640-493: The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 . By this definition all police officers are constables, even those that do not hold the actual rank of constable. The head of most police forces is a chief constable , volunteer officers of any rank are known as special constables , and some police forces have the word "Constabulary" in their name. In the United States, use of the term constable is inconsistent, and use may even vary within
2720-682: The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary , whereby all officers are addressed by the term "constable". In addition, the chief officers of some municipal police services in Canada, notably Vancouver Police Department , carry the title of chief constable . In Canadian French , constable is translated to agent , except in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police where it is translated as gendarme . Appointments can further be separated into: Within
2800-522: The United States was based on practices developed in England. The City of Boston was the first settlement in the thirteen colonies to establish a night watch in 1631 (replaced in 1838); Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1633 (replaced in 1861); New York (then New Amsterdam ) (replaced in 1845) and Jamestown followed in 1658. With the unification of laws and centralization of state power ( e.g.
2880-593: The nightwalker statutes ; such statutes empowered and required night watchmen (and their assistants) to arrest those persons found about the town or city during hours of darkness. Only people with good reason to be out could then travel through the city. Anyone outside at night without reason or permission was considered suspect and potentially criminal. Allowances were usually made for people who had some social status on their side. Lord Feilding clearly expected to pass through London's streets untroubled at 1am one night in 1641, and he quickly became piqued when his coach
2960-498: The Barangay Captain and may be armed with bolo knife. ^ This can be verified by England's Old Bailey court records. Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement . The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. Constable is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other people may be granted powers of
3040-477: The Indian railway network. RPF personnel are responsible for protecting railway property, preventing accidents, and ensuring passenger safety. Nearly all the police constables wear khaki -coloured uniforms, which indicate that they are police personnel. Generally there are three types of constables in India, depending upon the unit, wing, branch or section they are attached to. Civil police constables are attached to
3120-548: The King of England the Winchester Act Mandating The Watch. Part Four and the King commandth that from henceforth all Watches be made as it hath been used in past times that was to wit from the day of Ascension unto the day of St. Michael in every city by six men at every gate in every borough by twelve men in every town by six or four according to the number of inhabitants of the town. They shall keep
3200-525: The Watch all night from sun setting unto sun rising. And if any stranger do pass them by them he shall be arrested until morning and if no suspicion be found he shall go quit. Later in 1279 King Edward I formed a special guard of 20 sergeants at arms who carried decorated battle maces as a badge of office. By 1415 a watch was appointed to the Parliament of England and in 1485 King Henry VII established
3280-488: The appointment of watchmen. The Assize of Arms of 1252 , which required the appointment of constables to summon men to arms, quell breaches of the peace , and to deliver offenders to the sheriff , is cited as one of the earliest creations of an English police force, as was the Statute of Winchester of 1285. In 1252 a royal writ established a watch and ward with royal officers appointed as shire reeves : By order of
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3360-471: The civil war that the watch had already become a body of paid men, supported by what were in effect the fines collected from those with an obligation to serve, the Common Council did not acknowledge this in the confirming act of 1663. The act of 1663 confirmed that watch on its old foundations, and left its effective management to the ward authorities. The important matter to be arranged in the wards
3440-537: The constable ( Polish : posterunkowy ) is the lowest rank in the Police . The next rank in hierarchy is the senior constable ( Polish : starszy posterunkowy ), and then, the sergeant . To be promoted, the police officer has to serve as a constable for a year, and again for a year as a senior constable. In Singapore , a police constable (abbreviated to PC) is the lowest rank in the Singapore Police Force . The rank of special constable exists, but
3520-522: The constable was introduced in England following the Norman Conquest of 1066 and was responsible for the keeping and maintenance of the king's armaments and those of the villages as a measure of protecting individual settlements throughout the country. Some authorities place the origins of constables in England earlier, attributing the creation of the office to during the reign of King Alfred (871 A.D.). The office of Lord High Constable , one of
3600-784: The constable was the highest-ranking officer of the army, and was responsible for the overseeing of martial law . Village -level Chinese officials – known as tingzhang during the Qin and Han dynasties , lizheng , during the Sui and Tang , baozheng during the Song , and dibao and shoubao during the Qing – are sometimes translated constable for their functions of reporting crimes and administering local justice, although they also served as tax agents and notaries . The Constable of France ( Connétable de France ), under
3680-405: The court which he or she serves; in others the constable is an elected or appointed position at the state or local level of local government. Their jurisdiction can vary from statewide to county/parish and local township boundaries based on the state's laws. The office developed from its British counterpart during the colonial period. Prior to the modernization of law enforcement which took place in
3760-580: The duration of training may vary from nine months to one year depending on state. The training and duty of police is physically and mentally strenuous in India. In the Norwegian Police Service the rank politikonstabel was until 2003 the lowest rank in the police, the next ranks being "politioverkonstabel", "politibetjent", "politiførstebetjent", "politioverbetjent" and "politistasjonssjef", "lensmann" or "sysselmannsoverbetjent" (all officially translated as chief superintendent). In 2003,
3840-444: The duty of all householders in the City to take their turn at watching in order 'to keep the peace and apprehend night-walkers, malefactors and suspected persons'. For the most part the Common Council act of 1663 reiterated the rules and obligations that had long existed. The number of watchmen required for each ward, it declared, was to be the number 'established by custom' – in fact, by an act of 1621. Even though it had been true before
3920-434: The focus for trouble themselves, adding to the hullabaloo at night instead of ordering others to keep the noise down and go to bed. And as by day, there were more than a few crooked officers policing the streets at night, quite happy to turn a blind eye to trouble for a bribe. Watchman Edward Gardener was taken before the recorder with 'a common nightwalker' – Mary Taylor – in 1641 after he 'tooke 2s to lett' her 'escape' when he
4000-583: The imperial court. The West European term "constable" itself was adopted, via the Normans , as konostaulos in the Komnenian and Palaiologan periods, when it became a high military office of dignity. Late Roman administrative titles were used by Charlemagne in developing his empire; the position of Constable, along with the similar office of Marshal , spread throughout the emerging states of Western Europe during this period. In most medieval nations,
4080-442: The job attracted a fairly low standard of person, and they acquired a possibly exaggerated reputation for being old, ineffectual, feeble, drunk or asleep on the job. London had a system of night policing in place before 1660, although it was improved over the next century through better lighting, administrations, finances, and better and more regular salaries. But the essential elements of the night-watch were performing completely by
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#17328023321464160-404: The late seventeenth century. But it seems clear that few did, because the halberd was no longer suitable for the work they were being called upon to do. It was more often observed that watchmen failed to carry them, and it is surely the case that the halberd was no longer a useful weapon for a watch that was supposed to be mobile. By the second quarter of the 18th century, watchmen were equipped with
4240-519: The mid-19th century, local law enforcement was performed by constables and watchmen . Constables were appointed or elected at the local level for specific terms and, like their UK counterparts the parish constable , were not paid and did not wear a uniform. However, they were often paid a fee by the courts for each writ served and warrant executed. Following the example of the British Metropolitan Police established in 1829,
4320-424: The middle of the seventeenth century. During the 1820s, mounting crime levels and increasing political and industrial disorder prompted calls for reform, led by Sir Robert Peel , which culminated in the demise of the watchmen and their replacement by a uniformed metropolitan police force . John Gray , the owner of Greyfriars Bobby , was a nightwatchman in the 1850s. The first form of societal protection in
4400-450: The money paid in for hired watchmen: that was now supposed to be the responsibility of the deputy and common councilmen of the ward. The second stage was the recognition that watchmen could not be sustained without a major shift in the way local services were financed. This led to the City's acquisition of taxing power by means of an act of parliament in 1737 which changed the obligation to serve in person into an obligation to pay to support
4480-453: The morninge ' at exactly the time 'when most danger' was 'feared' in the long night, leaving the dark streets to thieves . Watchmen often counted off the hours until sunrise on chilly nights. Alehouses offered some warmth, even after curfew bells told people to drink up. A group of watchmen sneaked into a ' vitlers ' house one night in 1617 and stayed 'drinking and taking tobacco all night longe'. Like other officers, watchmen could become
4560-512: The navy. Other ranks (OR) 2 to 4+ all use the term "konstabel": In Pakistan , constable and head constable are, respectively, the lowest and second-lowest ranks in the police force. The police constables in Pakistan do a wide range of duties like patrol, crime detection, escort of prisoners and VIPs, vehicle traffic control on roads, riot control, assisting civil administration during disasters, epidemic, elections and other tasks. In Poland ,
4640-465: The night ahead, somewhere to shelter from ' extremitye of wind and weather', and holding-places for suspects until morning when justices examined the night's catch. There were watch houses next to Temple Bar (1648), 'neere the Granaryes' by Bridewell (1648), 'neere Moregate' (1648), and next to St. Paul's south door (1649). They were not big; the one on St. Paul's side was 'a small house or shed'. This
4720-436: The nightly watch. From the late seventeenth century, however, many householders avoided these obligations by hiring deputies to serve in their place. As this practice increased, some men were able to make a living out of acting as deputy constables or as paid night watchmen. In the case of the watch, this procedure was formalized in many parts of London by the passage of "Watch Acts", which replaced householders' duty of service by
4800-563: The officer is then relieved of the position of leading senior constable: it is primarily a position for field training officers who oversee the training and development of inexperienced probationary constables or constables. Within the Victoria Police , senior constable is the rank above constable, while above senior constable is leading senior constable. When first introduced into the Victoria Police, leading senior constable
4880-485: The police lawyers, who all hold higher ranks, require the law degree " candidatus/candidata juris " or "Master of Laws" ( master i rettsvitenskap ), awarded after five or six years of law studies. Following reforms of the police, a law degree is no longer required by law for all higher ranks, although only lawyers can act as prosecutors and supervise criminal investigations, for which reason it is still common for those holding higher ranks to be lawyers. The entry-level rank for
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#17328023321464960-531: The process some modest incursions into the local autonomy of the wards. One of the leading elements in the regime that emerged from the implementation of the new act was an agreement that every watchman would be paid the same amount and that the wages should be raised to thirteen pounds a year. From 1485 to the 1820s, in the absence of a police force, it was the parish-based watchmen who were responsible for keeping order in London's streets. Night watchmen patrolled
5040-469: The ranks "politikonstabel", "politioverkonstabel" and "politibetjent" were renamed "politibetjent 1", "politibetjent 2" and "politibetjent 3", where "politibetjent 1" is the entry-level rank for a policeman and most junior rank of the police service. All ranks higher than chief superintendent are commissioned ranks, known simply as "higher ranks", and traditionally required a law degree. The Norwegian Police Service has an integrated prosecution service in which
5120-586: The same ranks as state police even though their jurisdiction varies considerably, with the constables recruited to the CAPF having to do duty all over India. They perform duties such as maintaining internal security, border guarding , and counter-insurgency operations and riot control . Similarly, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) maintains the ranks of Constable and Head Constable. However, their duties and jurisdiction are specifically focused on
5200-415: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title The Watch . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Watch&oldid=1207668658 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
5280-499: The states gradually enacted laws to permit municipalities to establish police departments. This differed from the UK in that the old system was not uniformly abolished in every state. Often the enacting legislation of the state conferred a police officer with the powers of a constable, the most important of these powers being the common law power of arrest. Police and constables exist concurrently in many jurisdictions. Perhaps because of this,
5360-453: The streets and in their houses. In the 13th Century, the anxieties created by darkness gave rise to rules about who could use the streets after dark and the formation of a night watch to enforce them. These rules had for long been underpinned in London and other towns by the curfew , the time (announced by the ringing of a bell) at which the gates closed and the streets were cleared. These rules, where codified by law, would come to be known as
5440-472: The streets from 9 or 10 pm until sunrise, and were expected to examine all suspicious characters. These controls continued in the late 17th century. Guarding the streets to prevent crime, to watch out for fires, and – despite the absence of a formal curfew – to ensure that suspicious and unauthorised people did not prowl around under cover of darkness was still the duty of night watch and the constables who were supposed to command them. The principal task of
5520-571: The title "constable" is not used for police of any rank. The lowest rank in a police organization would be officer, deputy, patrolman, trooper and, historically, private , depending on the particular organization. In many states, constables do not conduct patrols or preventive policing activities. In such states the office is relatively obscure to its citizens. A constable may be assisted by deputy constables as sworn officers or constable's officers as civil staff, usually as process servers. In some states, villages or towns, an office with similar duties
5600-587: The uniforms and insignia of the police vary, though the rank structure is the same. In the Kerala State Police , the designations for personnel in the ranks of constable and head constable are Civil Police Officer (CPO) and Senior Civil Police Officer (SCPO), respectively. The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), under the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India , also maintain
5680-401: The watch in 1660 and for long after continued to be the control of the streets at night imposing a form of moral or social curfew that aimed to prevent those without legitimate reason to be abroad from wandering the streets at night. That task was becoming increasingly difficult in the 17th century because of the growth of the population and variety of ways in which the social and cultural life
5760-474: The watch were worked out in practice and in legislation in two stages between the Restoration and the middle decades of the 18th century. The first involved the gradual recognition that a paid (and full-time) watch needed to be differently constituted from one made up of unpaid citizens, a point accepted in practice in legislation passed by the Common Council in 1705, though it was not articulated in as direct
5840-402: The watch. The streets in London were dark and had a shortage of good quality artificial light. It had been recognized for centuries that the coming of darkness to the unlit streets of a town brought a heightened threat of danger, and that the night provided cover to the disorderly and immoral, and to those bent on robbery or burglary or who in other ways threatened physical harm to people in
5920-409: Was a classification not a rank, somewhat like "detective"; leading senior constables were appointed specifically to assist in the training and mentoring of more junior members. The last round of wage negotiations, however, saw leading senior constable become a rank in its own right, one that a lot of members pass through on their way from constable to sergeant, though this is not strictly necessary and it
6000-419: Was a time of experimentation, and people (including those in authority) were learning how to make best use of these new structures in their midst. The watchmen patrolled the streets at night, calling out the hour, keeping a lookout for fires, checking that doors were locked and ensuring that drunks and other vagrants were delivered to the watch constable . However, their low wages and the uncongenial nature of
6080-494: Was being transformed. The shape of the urban day was being altered after the Restoration by the development of shops , taverns and coffee-houses , theatres , the opera and other places of entertainment. All these places remained open in the evening and extended their hours of business and pleasure into the night. The watch was affected by this changing urban world since policing the night streets become more complicated when larger number of people were moving around. And what
6160-561: Was escorting her to Bridewell late at night. Another watchman from over the river in Southwark took advantage of the tricky situation people suddenly found themselves in if they stumbled into the watch, 'demanding money [from them] for passing the watch'. A common complaint in the 1690s was that watchmen were inadequately armed. This was another aspect of the watch in the process of being transformed. The Common Council acts required watchmen to carry halberds , with some still doing so through
6240-465: Was frequently thought to be poor quality of the watchman—and in time, the lack of effective lighting—came commonly to be blamed when street crimes and night-time disorders seemed to be growing out of control. Traditionally, householders served in the office of constable by appointment or rotation. During their year of office they performed their duties part-time alongside their normal employment. Similarly, householders were expected to serve by rotation on
6320-453: Was stopped by the watch, shouting huffily that it was a 'disgrace' to stop someone of such high standing as he, and telling the constable in charge of the watch that he would box him on the ears if he did not let his coach carry on back to his house. 'It is impossible' to 'distinguish a lord from another man by the outside of a coach', the constable said later in his defence, 'especially at unreasonable times'. The Ordinance of 1233 required
6400-420: Was who was going to serve and on what basis. How the money was to be collected to support a force of paid constables, and by whom, were crucial issues. The 1663 Common Council act left it to the ward beadle or a constable and it seems to have been increasingly the case that rather than individuals paying directly for a substitute, when their turn came to serve, the eligible householders were asked to contribute to
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