Why were they called `Beaks`?

Question

Why were British magistrates and other high-level law enforcement officers referred to as `Beaks` in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries?

Answer 1

The term was used well into the 20th century in respect of magistrates. It was also used of schoolmasters - when I was at school in the 1950s the headmaster was invariably referred to as 'The Beak' Cassell's Dictionary of Slang suggests two derivations. One from the Old English 'beag', a necklace worn as a chain of office. However it prefers a derivation from 'Harman-Beck', a mid 16th cent - early 19th century slang expression for a constable. The derivation of this is unknown, some suggesting it is an elision of 'hard-man', others from the cry of 'ha' i.e. stop.

Interesting question