ABSTRACT
It is natural to assume that the problems we face are both unique and pressing. We tend not to take the long view. This is amplified by the tendency to nostalgia, a belief that, for example, our present problems are out of step with some earlier golden age of policing. The drama of the 1980s riots, the trauma of the Stephen Lawrence case, the inept police handling of the May Day protests, and the steady encroachment on civil liberties under the banner of protecting society from terrorism, obscure the fact that ‘the development of the police force in Britain has always been . . . inextricably linked with the story of civil disturbance, protest and demonstration’ (Manwaring-White, 1983: 1). The modern police institution emerged at a time of rapid social change. The population, which doubled in the 18th century, doubled again by 1871. There was a great migration from rural to urban areas. Severe overcrowding and public health problems resulted, and an over-supply of unskilled labour fuelled discontent at low wages and bad conditions. Marches, protests and riots long pre-dated the emergence of organised labour. The maintenance of public order has always been contested. There was never a ‘golden age’ of police/public relations, and disorder invariably raised doubts over police even-handedness.
