POLICE, poles (Greek, politeia, govern ment, from polls, a city), a judicial and executive system, and an organized civil force for main taining order and enforcing the laws. There are traces to be found in every organized soci ety of some system of rules for the maintenance of peace and order. At the same time, a sys tem of police in the special modern sense of the term did not exist in ancient times. In Greece it was mixed up with the totality of their insti tutions. In Rome, not until the time of Augus tus do we find the police becoming a special institution, with a numerous staff of various grades of officers. When the barbarians swept across the Roman Empire and obtained the mas tery every trace of a regular system of police disappeared, and only when Charlemagne as cended the throne was there a successful at tempt made to re-establish anything of the kind. But after the death of Charlemagne everything fell into confusion again. The Normans, estab lished in the north of France, were the first who made stringent police regulations for the assurance of public tranquillity. In France, pre vious to the middle of the 15th century, the provost of Paris and his lieutenants were charged with maintaining the peace of the city and suppressing vagrancy. Under Louis XIV the police attained its highest measure of per fection as a repressive force. A universal sys tem of espionage was established, and the slightest indication of impatience under the yoke of oppression, or the smallest departure from the monarch's views of what was right, was visited with summary arrest and punishment. In 1794 the National Convention reorganized the police and defined its duties, which com prised almost every department of administra tive government. During the administration of Napoleon I the city police of Paris at tained a high degree of efficiency. As existing at present the French police generally is pre sided over by the Minister of the Interior ; the departments and communes are under the pre fects of police and other municipal agents; Paris is under sub-prefects, and maires, assisted by commissaries, the prefect of police and his numerous assistants. The police organization on the Continent generally partakes largely of a military character.
In England, from the time of the Saxon kings there had existed an organization of a partially voluntary character for the repression of crime, the arrest of criminals and the main tenance of good order. The population was
divided into hundreds and these into tithings, or companies of 10 freeholders with their fami lies. As this system, however, was not always found to work well, the high sheriff of the county, his deputies and the constables ap pointed by the parishes were eventually substi tuted for the voluntary officers of the earlier period. But in process of time this system was also found ineffectual for the maintenance of public peace and security; yet no great improve ment was made until 1829, when the remodeling of the police system of London led the way to the adoption of a uniform system for the whole country. In 1839 and 1840 acts were passed providing for the appointment of a county con stabulary, organized and maintained in accord ance with rules prescribed by the home secretary.
The Local Government Act of 1888 entrusted the control of the organization of the county po lice in England and Wales to the standing joint committee of the quarter sessions and the county council. County boroughs and other large bor oughs were left with the control of their police, but in the case of small boroughs the control of the borough police was transferred to the county council. The Police Act of 1890 makes provision for the payment of pensions to super annuated constables. Gratuities may be paid to constables or to their widows and children in certain cases. The strength of the county and borough police of England and Wales in 1900 was 27,123, of whom 1,460 belonged to Liver pool, 1,000 to Manchester, 700 to Birmingham, 500 to Leeds, 499 to Bristol and 465 to Sheffield. The Metropolitan Police has charge of an area of over 688 square miles, comprising 21 land divisions besides the river Thames. Each divi sion is under the charge of a superintendent. The Criminal Investigation Department, organ ized in 1878, comprises a central body at New Scotland Yard and branches in each of the divisions. The Convict Supervision Office, founded in 1880, is a branch of the last-men tioned department. The strength of the Metro politan Police in 1916 was 22,323, comprising 36 superintendents, 650 inspectors, 2,995 ser geants and 18,642 constables. The City of Lon don Police are better paid than the other police forces of the kingdom. Their number in 1916 was 1,161, of whom 1,015 were constables.