Page 17 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

in Glasgow, where he lived before moving to London, calling into question the significance of his
river police as a unique policing innovation.

The significance of preventive policing in eighteenth century metropolitan London is that
Colquhoun and the other utilitarian‘s were looking not just at the problem of crime, but to the

larger problem posed by the poverty of the working class and in securing private property. What
Colquhoun was looking to prevent was poor workers falling into the criminal sub-class.

His river police were targeting not just the handful of river pirates and "mudlarks," but workers on
the docks who treated payment "in kind" as part of their over-all wage that sustained them and

their families. Colquhoun estimated that one-third of dock workers were stealing, which is what he
sought to prevent.

By preventing these workers from stealing, they would become fully dependent on money wages,
and be disciplined by the wage system; one of the jobs performed by Colquhoun's police was to

set wage-rates of dock workers. Preventive policing, from this perspective, is therefore significant
for its role in developing the class system in industrializing England, as part of the broader
movement that included the enclosures and poor law to England.

Imagine that a rash of home burglaries is taking place in your neighborhood. The majority of
residents, including you, are very uneasy about the increase in crime and fear for the safety of

their families. There is tremendous pressure on the local police department to take action. At the
neighborhood watch meeting, the chief of police mentions instituting preventive policing.

Preventive policing is a term used in law enforcement for police patrols that are intended to deter
crime by being proactive in nature. It is an attempt by law enforcement to eliminate opportunities

for the commission of crimes.

Objectives of Preventive Policing:

There are five primary objectives for preventive policing are:

1. Deter the commission of crimes
2. Apprehend criminal offenders
3. Satisfy the public's demands for police presence

17