54 Before the Bobbieswritten records of infractions by watchmen and using a scale of punishments,
from reprimands through fines of varying amounts, ultimately to dismissal. 52
The use of patrols was another change that originated in one parish and was
to be extended by Whitworth's bill to all. It appears that this practice
was developed in either St Andrew, Holborn, or Saffron Hill. St Marylebone
was using patrolling watchmen to supplement the stationary ones by 1772.^53
St George's, Hanover Square, considered 'an Augmentation of the Watch by
a Patrol' in 1772 but r.:stponed any final decision to see what would become
of Whitworth's bill.^5 The bill also allowed, but did not require, vestries to
create a watch committee that would meet monthly to handle complaints and
discipline of the night watch. It also stipulated that these committees 'shall
be subject to the Controul [sic], Alteration or Revocation, of the said
Vestries, 'Ihlstees, directors or Governors of the Watch, and Governors
and directors of the Poor ... '.^55 This followed the example of St George's,
Hanover Square, which had established such a committee in 1736. Finally,
again imitating the West End parishes, the bill required professional rate
collectors.^56
Section 18 of the proposed bill began: 'And for the more effectually
preventing the Appointment of improper Persons to be Deputy Con-
stables .. .'. The 1756 act, mentioned above, increased the number of con-
stables for Westminster and imposed a fine of £8 on anyone who hired a
substitute and set down which occupations were or were not acceptable
trades for constables. Whitworth's bill was another effort to regulate the
use of deputy constables. The problem was how to insure that the men hired
as deputy constables were honest, sober and conscientious men. Whitworth's
bill stipulated that a deputy constable had to be a resident householder of
the parish for which he was appointed and required to produce a certificate
signed by a churchwarden (or chapelwarden for nonconformists), 'signifying
that he hath been approved at some Vestry, or other Public Meeting of the
Inhabitants .. .'.^57 The idea that a resident in a particular locality was best
suited to know and provide policing for his community was part of the
tradition that saw the constable as community representative and also as
keeper of the King's peace.^58 It also made good tactical sense because
someone familiar with the neighbourhood would be more likely to recognize
strangers or those known to be criminals. This clause, then, attempted to
maintain the connection between community and law enforcement but also
gave vestries some control over the quality of men allowed to be deputy
constables.
Whitworth's bill mandated that any constable guilty of neglect of duty had
still to be brought before a magistrate and convicted. However, fines would
range from five shillings, to a maximum of twenty shillings, if the constable of
the night defaulted for more than five hours. Any fines collected went into
the watch fund for the constable's parish or the offender could be sentenced