Exam Number: Y3847307 "How and why was the colonial policing model different to the British one?" The argument that the colonial policing model is different to the British policing model is an orthodox one and attempts to explain developments in the British Empire and how it was policed.1 This orthodox argument, centring on the two supposedly opposite policing models, has been widely discussed over several decades by many different historians. However, those in support all generally advocate certain central aspects of both models which must briefly be identified. The colonial policing model, also referred to the as Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) model, has three central aspects: the police forces are organised along military lines being armed policing by coercion, the men are barracked and they are centrally controlled as national forces.2 This represents the paramilitary approach and, according to this orthodox argument, the British policing model is its opposite representing a civilian approach. This model is more complicated to define however and by 'British', for the purposes of this essay, it will just mean policing in England and Wales, not Scotland, as policing in Scotland should be considered separately which much of the historiography has failed to do.3 Furthermore, even within England and Wales, there are differences in policing ranging from the London Metropolitan Police to provincial policing but, according to the orthodox argument, the British policing model also has several central aspects: the police forces are civilian being unarmed, they police through and with the public's consent and, apart from the Met, are locally controlled. 'How' they are apparently different is therefore easily identifiable but the aspects will be further analysed with a focus on the armament and control. 'Why' they are supposedly different is more complicated with a range of concerns such as racism, xenophobia and patriotism needing consideration and these will be considered alongside the 'how' and all of this will be done by looking at Britain, Ireland as well as various colonies such as Canada. Therefore, the 'how' and 'why' will be 1 Mike Brogden, "An Act to Colonise the Internal Lands of the Island: Empire and the Origins of the Professional Police," International Journal of the Sociology of Law 15 (1987): 180. 2 David M. Anderson and David Killingray, "Consent, Coercion and Colonial Control: Policing the Empire, 1830- 1940," in Policing the Empire: Government, Authority, and Control, 1830-1940, ed. David M. Anderson and David Killingray (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991), 4. 3 Barrie, David. "A TYPOLOGY OF BRITISH POLICE: Locating the Scottish Municipal Police Model in Its British Context, 1800-35." The British Journal of Criminology 50, no. 2 (2010): 259.
Exam Number: Y3847307 considered throughout this essay but it will also be shown that the orthodox arguments separating and comparing these models is too rudimentary. Through analysis of the various examples explaining ‘how' and 'why' the two models are different, it will be continuously shown that a more complex and developed understanding of policing in Britain and the Empire is required and that it should