Page 35 - 1Proactive Policing

Pro-Active Policing

The Peelian principles summarize the ideas that Sir Robert Peel developed to define
an ethical police force. The approach expressed in these principles is commonly known

as policing by consent in the United Kingdom and other countries such as Canada, Australia and
New Zealand.

In this model of policing, police officers are regarded as citizens in uniform. They exercise their
powers to police their fellow citizens with the implicit consent of those fellow citizens. "Policing by

consent" indicates that the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of the public is based upon a general
consensus of support that follows from transparency about their powers, their integrity in
exercising those powers and their accountability for doing so.

The underpinning principles for policing in England and Wales, taken from HMIC‘s Annual

Assessment of Policing in England and Wales 2013/14

Sir Robert Peel became Home Secretary in 1822 and in 1829 established the first full-time,

professional and centrally-organized police force in England and Wales, for the Greater London
area.

The reforms introduced by Sir Robert Peel and the first Police Commissioners were based on a
philosophy that the power of the police comes from the common consent of the public, as
opposed to the power of the state.

The nine principles that underpin this philosophy were set out in the ‗General Instructions‘ issued

to every new police officer from 1829 onwards. The principles are still valid today and have
shaped the approach that HMIC takes when assessing how well police forces are working for the
public.

Police Commissioner William J. Bratton lists the following guidelines on his blog. There is some

doubt among scholars that Sir Robert Peel actually enunciated any of his nine principles himself
— some researchers say they were formulated in 1829 by the two first commissioners of
London‘s Metropolitan Police Department.

These nine basic principles are often referred to as ―The Peelian Principles.‖ Upon close
examination of each of the Peelian principles, not only are direct connections to policing in today's

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