6.2. Sir Robert Peel 
TIFFANY MOREY 
The 19th century in  England heavily influenced the history of policing in the United States. Not only 
did policing radically change for the first time in over six centuries, but the father of modern policing, Sir 
Robert Peel, set up the stage for what is known today as modern policing. Sir Robert Peel, the British 
Home Secretary, coined the term ‘bobbies’ as a nickname for cops and he believed policing needed to be 
restructured. In 1829 he passed the Metropolitan Police Act, which created the first British police force and 
what the 21st century knows for today’s modern-day police. 
1 
 
1. Cordner, G., Novak, K., Roberg, R., & Smith, B., (2017). Police & Society. New York: Oxford University Press. 
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