The Probert Encyclopaedia of General Information

POLICE

Police forces in Britain did not appear until the mid-19th century. Prior to then Parish constables, recruited from the local citizens on a rotating basis, were responsible for law and order, but were so ineffective that in order to protect their property, land owners banded together to offer rewards for the capture of felons and return of stolen property, the greatest reward being for highway robbery or the crime of breaking and entering into a house, which was almost double the reward offered for the capture of a felon who had killed or maimed a horse. Around the middle of the 19th century organised police forces were formed in Great Britain which quickly evolved into the integrated force we have today.
Research Police