When and how did Law Enforcement start?

Question

I am writing a report and need some information on when and how law enforcement developed.

Answer 1

Policing, as we now know it, began in 1839 when the Home Secretary, Robert Peel in the UK, created the Police Service. He had tried such a scheme a few years earlier in Dublin which was then under British rule. There had been a Thames River Police before that due to piracy and stealing from ships in the docks and on the river. Before this, we had the 'Watch' system where a person would be selected in villages and towns to be the Constable. It worked for a while until it was allowed to buy someone to do your turn so generally speaking the same man did it year after year, becoming useless at his job. Before that again, the Romans brought a legal system to the UK which was the norm for hundreds of years....................

Answer 2

As far as the oldest law enforcement agency in the U.S., it's the Texas rangers about 180 yrs ago.