Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Police (law enforcement)
(976 words)

1. Personnel and duties

The origins of the police force lie in the towns and cities of the Holy Roman Empire in the late Middle Ages. As official structures of authority formed in politics and jurisdiction (Council [administrative]), bodies were established to take responsibility for safety and order (Order [system]) in the streets. Unlike the modern police, these early urban units were not unified, public organizations whose members underwent regulated trainin…

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Eibach, Joachim, “Police (law enforcement)”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 04 December 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_028111>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20200721



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