This book shows how the police functioned in the cities of the Napoleonic Empire. Shifting attention away from political repression, it focuses on the men who embodied this institution and made it work day-to-day. Based on extensive archival research, the book shows how the Napoleonic police were indeed an instrument of power, but also a profession and a service to the public. Traditionally associated with the image of Joseph Fouché and with political surveillance, the Napoleonic police, when studied from the local level, thus reveals itself to be much more complex and oriented simultaneously towards both the preservation of the regime and maintaining good urban order.
Author(s): Antoine Renglet
Series: War, Culture and Society, 1750–1850
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 288
City: Cham
Series Editors’ Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Figures
1 Introduction
Notes
2 The Police System in the Cities
The Birth of the System
The Heritage of the Ancien Régime and the Decade of Revolution
The Role of Local Elites in Enforcing the System
The Levels of the Hierarchy Above the Municipal Police System
The Role of the Prefects and Mayors
Urban Police, Between Judicial Authorities and Administrative Authorities
Police Officers in the Cities of the Empire
The Appointment of Police Commissioners
Police Commissioners as the Key Function of Urban Policing
Lower-Rank Police Officers
Auxiliaries of the Municipal Police
Conclusion
Notes
3 The Development of a Professional Culture
Disciplining Deviant Behaviour Among Police Officers
Disciplining Police Commissioners
Disciplining Subordinates Working for the Police
Bureaucracy and Its Consequences for Urban Policing
Headquarters, Bureaus and Offices
Record-Keeping and Police Work
A Police Officer’s Day and Night
Material Conditions and the Use of Technologies in Policing
Ink, Paper and Records
Staying Informed: Law, Handbooks and Newspapers
Dress Codes and Uniforms
Carrying Weapons
Tools for Outside Work
Conclusion
Notes
4 From Cities to Empire: The ‘Imperialization’ of Police Structures
General Police Officers in the Empire’s Cities
The Installation of the Functionaries of the General Police
The Awkward Collaboration Between the High Police Forces and the Municipal Police
Tasks of the General Police Officers
Policing the Regime’s Opponents
Measures Applied by the High Police
The Surveillance of Public Opinion
Hunting Suspects
Conclusion
Notes
5 Police Work and the People
Policing with the People
Snitches and Informers
Neighbourhood Vigilance, Social Control Practices and Bourgeois Organizations
Policing Violence and Thefts
Police Forces as a Regulatory Authority for Interpersonal Violence
Crimes Against Property and Police Forces
Policing the Infamous
Foreigners and Vagrants
Beggars
Prostitutes
Conclusion
Notes
6 Policing as a Tool for Governing and Improving the City
Daily Lives on Trial: Simple Police Courts
Policing Using Decrees
Cities as Disorderly Places
Accidents in the Street, Deaths in the City
Problems with Animals in Cities
Policing Markets
Nuisances and Street Cleaning
Police and Street Lighting
Policing Behaviour Concerning Theatres and Plays
Policing Separate Areas
Policing Ports and Harbours
Policing Suburban Areas
Conclusion
Notes
7 Conclusion
Bibliography
Index Nominarum
Index Locorum
