officers in 1883|248x248px Law enforcement organizations existed in ancient times, such as prefects in
ancient China,
paqūdus in
Babylonia,
curaca in the
Inca Empire,
vigiles in the
Roman Empire, and
Medjay in
ancient Egypt. Who law enforcers were and reported to depended on the civilization and often changed over time, but they were typically
slaves,
soldiers, officers of a
judge, or hired by settlements and households. Aside from their duties to enforce laws, many ancient law enforcers also served as
slave catchers,
firefighters,
watchmen,
city guards, and
bodyguards. By the
post-classical period and the
Middle Ages, forces such as the
Santa Hermandades, the
shurta, and the
Maréchaussée provided services ranging from law enforcement and personal protection to customs enforcement and waste collection. In
England, a complex law enforcement system emerged, where
tithings, groups of ten families, were responsible for ensuring good behavior and apprehending criminals; groups of ten tithings ("hundreds") were overseen by a
reeve; hundreds were governed by administrative divisions known as
shires; and shires were overseen by
shire-reeves. In
feudal Japan,
samurai were responsible for enforcing laws. The concept of police as the primary law enforcement organization originated in Europe in the
early modern period; the first statutory police force was the
High Constables of Edinburgh in 1611, while the first organized police force was the
Paris lieutenant général de police in 1667. Until the 18th century, law enforcement in England was mostly the responsibility of private citizens and
thief-takers, albeit also including constables and watchmen. This system gradually shifted to government control following the 1749 establishment of the
London Bow Street Runners, the first formal police force in Britain. In 1800,
Napoleon reorganized French law enforcement to form the
Paris Police Prefecture; the British government passed the
Glasgow Police Act, establishing the
City of Glasgow Police; and the
Thames River Police was formed in England to combat theft on the
River Thames. In September 1829,
Robert Peel merged the Bow Street Runners and the Thames River Police to form the
Metropolitan Police. The title of the "first modern police force" has still been claimed by the modern successors to these organizations. Following
European colonization of the Americas, the first law enforcement agencies in the
Thirteen Colonies were the
New York Sheriff's Office and the
edit County Sheriff's Department, both formed in the 1660s in the
Province of New York. The
Province of Carolina established slave-catcher patrols in the 1700s, and by 1785, the
Charleston Guard and Watch was reported to have the duties and organization of a modern police force. The first
municipal police department in the
United States was the
Philadelphia Police Department, while the first American
state police,
federal law enforcement agency was the
United States Marshals Service, both formed in 1789. In the
American frontier, law enforcement was the responsibility of
county sheriffs,
rangers,
constables, and
marshals. The first law enforcement agency in
Canada was the
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, established in 1729, while the first Canadian national law enforcement agency was the
Dominion Police, established in 1868. officers conducting a foot patrol By the 19th century, improvements in technology, greater global connections, and changes in the sociopolitical order led to the establishment of police forces worldwide. National, regional, and municipal civilian law enforcement agencies exist in practically all countries; to promote their international cooperation, the
International Criminal Police Organization, also known as Interpol, was formed in September 1923. Technology has made an immense impact on law enforcement, leading to the development and regular use of
police cars,
police radio systems,
police aviation,
police tactical units, and
police body cameras. == Law enforcement agencies ==