The great philosopher Aristotle said it best when he said, "Man perfected by society is the best of all animals and he is the most terrible only when he lives without law and without justice.
" The need for some form of law-enforcement has been around since man has been walking the earth, and your local police officers are the modern-day version of that which Aristotle spoke.
However, the concept of our modern day constabulary being separated from the judicial aspect of law is relatively new.
Sir Robert Peel proposed in 1829 to set the Judiciary and Enforcement branches of law enforcement apart to provide fair, non-corruptible checks and balances in place.
At the time crime was an actual form of business in London and Peel's ideas on how to curtail criminal activity remains virtually unchanged even now.
The patrolmen in his day were called "Peelers" or "Bobby's Boys" in reference to their creator, and this is what gave way to the name "Bobbies" which is still used in London today.
The detectives branch of police was not established until 1842, and found few fans in London.
Being new, and unable to solve the horrific "Jack The Ripper" murders did not help public opinion.
As early as 1908 constables had to carry out several duties and were not allowed lunch breaks.
They often carried copper pots to cook their meals while on duty, and thus gave birth to the commonplace term used for them today "copper.
" Their rounds often carried them 20 miles a day on foot, and they had to punch a ticket or write a diary notation at the house of a respected citizen on each far end of their patrol to prove they had worked.
This gave birth to the punch clocks that security guards still use today.
While many of the tools of the trade have changed since Sir Robert Peel's day, the actual make-up and operating of the Modern Police Force is very much the same.
Policemen then worked long thankless shifts, as they still do today.
If you value your safety and peace, stop a "Bobby" today and thank him.