The Great British Bobby by Clive Emsley
The name 'Bobby' comes from Sir Robert Peel who, as home secretary, oversaw the creation of the Metropolitan Police in 1829. In spite of his position as a national institution and his appeal as a solution to present-day concerns about law and order, the social history of the Bobby has rarely been explored. Yet his story (and since the beginning of the twentieth century it is also her story) is as exciting as that of his military cousin, Tommy Atkins. Bobby served on the front line of what is often characterized as 'the war against crime.' He may rarely have fought in pitched battles and almost never with lethal weapons, but his life could be hard and dangerous. Up until the last third of the twentieth century he usually patrolled on foot, in all weathers by day and, more often, by night. The drudgery of the foot patrol fostered that other nickname, 'Mr Plod'; something that may, or may not, have passed Enid Blyton by when she chose the name for the policeman of Noddy's Toytown. The period covered by The Great British Bobby saw massive economic, social and political change in Britain. The policing institution has shifted significantly in tandem, from having its primary relationship directly with the decentralized, local community, to becoming an instrument of the central state with, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, targets set and regulated centrally for the good of what politicians and policing professionals consider as the national community. Criminological expert Clive Emsley is ideally placed to tell the story of this remarkable and iconic institution; his book is nothing less than a social history of Britain over the last 180 years.
'Exhaustively researched account fascinating' Brian Paddick, Guardian'Informative jaunt through the history of the modern bobby worth reading' Daily Telegraph. 'The doyen of police history has produced a well-informed, thoughtful account of British policing over 200 years that is a pleasure to read deserves to be read by historians, criminologists and the general public alike' BBC History magazine. 'In his main ambition Emsley succeeds brilliantly. He sets out to put the individual police officer, particularly, the constable, centre stage. The Great British Bobby is a signally well-peopled history from below, almost a collective biography lively, enjoyable and hugely knowledgeable it deserves, and will surely get, a very wide audience indeed.' Times Literary Supplement. 'This is a book that has needed to be written for some time . His research and sources are meticulous' Police History Society Newsletter.
Clive Emsley is co-director of the International Centre for Comparative Criminological Research at the Open University and president of the International Association for the History of Crime and Criminal Justice.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781847249470 |
| ISBN 10 | 1847249477 |
| Title | The Great British Bobby |
| Author | Clive Emsley |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Quercus Publishing |
| Year published | 2009-08-06 |
| Number of pages | 288 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |