Inside the Mind of a Victorian Policeman Essays -- Victorian Era

Devoid of the Domestic: Inside the Mind of a Victorian Policeman â€Å"For many early Victorians, policing was a new and low-status occupation. Few men became policeman for positive reasons" (Taylor 49). Construction of the Typical Police Officer Several criteria apply to the Victorian police officer: * Policemen were typically involved in trade and were part of the lower middle class o â€Å"In Staffordshire, miners, shoemakers, brickmakers, moulders, puddlers, potters, engine drivers and even a printer joined the force† (Taylor 48). o The occupational background of the police officer, while quite diverse, composed of a large portion of agricultural laborers (48). This is due to industrialization and mechanization of agriculture during the Victorian Era; fewer rural laborers were needed. * Policemen were typically young: â€Å"In the Metropolitan Police the mean age of recruits fell to twenty-four in 1850† (Taylor 49). * Policemen were typically single: â€Å"Many forces quite explicitly stated in their recuiting campaigns that married men need n...