The Establishment and Development of the New Police in Halifax, 1848-1914

This thesis analyses the establishment and development of a new police force in Halifax,
considering the question through the tenures of the chief constables from its inception in 1848 to the start of the Great War. It considers what existed before the police, how effective that was and how much actually changed after the incorporation of the borough. The early chapters explore the extent of the hostility to the new regime and at what point and how far it came to be accepted. The structure of the force is examined and through it the recruitment and turnover of men and the development of a career pattern for promising candidates. The later chapters assess how the force changed and consolidated towards the end of the nineteenth century, developing a shared sense of pride and camaraderie as policing became a recognised career for a working-class man. The question of how far the role of chief constable was influential in the formation and determination of policing in Halifax is considered, along with the careers of individuals, illustrating that the situation was both complex and fluid. The overall argument of this thesis is supportive of Swift’s contention that local, not national considerations underlay the reform of the new police and continued to dominate the aims and focus of policing in the boroughs throughout the nineteenth century. Borough chief constables were accountable to locally elected councillors and their actions reflected the concerns of the ratepayers. The history of borough police forces is embedded in the social, economic and geographical priorities of local government