New Means to Old Ends 77this case the merchants who used the Port of London. It did not mandate a
drastic change in existing law enforcement structures and its passage was
supported by local groups who lobbied for it. The establishment of the River
Police also shows metropolitan police reform as an interactive process and
exemplifies the increasing professionalization and specialization of the law
enforcement. The fact that the word police was now used in reference to the
body of men patrolling the river points to a narrowing of its definition. Here
too is evidence of the changing role of the central government. Instead of
merely enabling a local authority to carry out its duties, the central govern-
ment took on the task of law enforcement directly.^129Like the economical reformers' emphasis on accountability and impartiality,
criminal justice reformers' emphasis on certainty and reformation affected
local policing. Reformers placed increased importance on the arrest, prose-
cution, and conviction of every criminal so that he or she would benefit from
reformed punishments.^130 Certainty and reformation implied an alteration in
the goals of the night watch - now the task was increasing the certainty of
detection and the difficulty of committing a crime. Preventive policing took
on a new, more exacting character. Bentham wrote: ' ... let the opportunity
[to commit a crime] become less favourable, ... the temptation will be so
much the weaker'.^131 It was no longer enough that some crimes were pre-
vented or the main thoroughfares were relatively safe at night. Reformers
wanted virtually all crime prevented or criminals detected and all streets safe
to walk at all hours. Decentralized law enforcement offered a great deal of
flexibility in responding to these demands. Local authorities were able to
draw upon a range of tactics. Many followed examples set in previous
decades by other local metropolitan authorities. Some, however, experimen-
ted along the lines suggested by reformers, and others were themselves
innovators.
One well-known response was to obtain a local Act of Parliament for
establishing a professional night watch. We see a continuation of the process
of 'filling in' seen before.^132 In 1786, the Oink Liberty of St Saviour, South-
wark, established its own paving commission. The parochial petition
reported that half the parish, the Borough Liberty 'was new paved, lighted,
watched, cleansed, and cleared from Annoyances .. .', by the West Division
paving commission. The Oink, however, was 'in general ill-paved, and not
sufficiently cleansed, lighted, or watched .. .'.^133 Already established watch
authorities sought Acts of Parliament allowing them to extend their jurisdic-
tion. In 1785, the small East End precinct of St Catherine's petitioned the
Commons for a lighting and watching act for 'the several Streets ... which are
not included in the Provisions of former Acts .. .'.^134