Editing Police (section)

===Ancient===

==== China ====
Law enforcement in [[ancient China]] was carried out by "prefects" for thousands of years since it developed in both the [[Chu (state)|Chu]] and [[Jin (Chinese state)|Jin]] kingdoms of the [[Spring and Autumn period]]. In Jin, dozens of prefects were spread across the state, each having limited authority and employment period. They were appointed by local magistrates, who reported to higher authorities such as governors, who in turn were appointed by the emperor, and they oversaw the civil administration of their "prefecture", or jurisdiction. Under each prefect were "subprefects" who helped collectively with law enforcement in the area. Some prefects were responsible for handling investigations, much like modern police detectives. Prefects could also be women.<ref>Whittaker, Jake. "UC Davis East Asian Studies". University of California, Davis. [http://eastasian.ucdavis.edu/research.htm UCdavis.edu]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007143652/http://eastasian.ucdavis.edu/research.htm|date=October 7, 2008}}.</ref> Local citizens could report minor judicial offenses against them such as robberies at a local prefectural office. The concept of the "prefecture system" spread to other cultures such as Korea and Japan.

==== Babylonia ====
In [[Babylonia]], law enforcement tasks were initially entrusted to individuals with military backgrounds or imperial magnates during the Old Babylonian period, but eventually, law enforcement was delegated to officers known as {{lang|akk|paqūdus}}, who were present in both cities and rural settlements. A {{lang|akk|paqūdu}} was responsible for investigating petty crimes and carrying out arrests.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2015/08/policemen-in-1st-millennium-bc-babylonia/| title = ANE Today – Policemen in 1st millennium BC Babylonia| date = 19 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.academia.edu/4009149| title = (PDF) Police forces in first millennium BC Babylonia and beyond, in: KASKAL 10 (2013), 69–87 Academia.edu| last1 = Pirngruber| first1 = Reinhard}}</ref>

====Egypt ====
In [[ancient Egypt]] evidence of law enforcement exists as far back as the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom period]]. There are records of an office known as "Judge Commandant of the Police" dating to the [[Fourth Dynasty of Egypt|fourth dynasty]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Conser|first1=James A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8olkayVkVSIC&pg=PA32|title=Law Enforcement in the United States|last2=Russell|first2=Gregory D.|last3=Gingerich|first3=Terry E.|last4=Paynich|first4=Rebecca|date=2005|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Learning|isbn=978-0-7637-8352-5|language=en}}</ref> During the [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|fifth dynasty]] at the end of the Old Kingdom period, warriors armed with wooden sticks were tasked with guarding public places such as markets, temples, and parks, and apprehending criminals. They are known to have made use of trained monkeys, baboons, and dogs in guard duties and catching criminals. After the Old Kingdom collapsed, ushering in the [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]], it is thought that the same model applied. During this period, [[Bedouins]] were hired to guard the borders and protect trade caravans. During the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] period, a professional police force was created with a specific focus on enforcing the law, as opposed to the previous informal arrangement of using warriors as police. The police force was further reformed during the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]] period. Police officers served as interrogators, prosecutors, and court bailiffs, and were responsible for administering punishments handed down by judges. In addition, there were special units of police officers trained as priests who were responsible for guarding temples and tombs and preventing inappropriate behavior at festivals or improper observation of religious rites during services. Other police units were tasked with guarding caravans, guarding border crossings, protecting royal [[necropolis]]es, guarding slaves at work or during transport, patrolling the [[Nile|Nile River]], and guarding administrative buildings. By the Eighteenth Dynasty of the New Kingdom period, an elite desert-ranger police force called the [[Medjay]] was used to protect valuable areas, especially areas of pharaonic interest like capital cities, royal cemeteries, and the borders of Egypt. Though they are best known for their protection of the royal palaces and tombs in [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] and the surrounding areas, the Medjay were used throughout [[Upper Egypt|Upper]] and [[Lower Egypt]]. Each regional unit had its own captain. The police forces of ancient Egypt did not guard rural communities, which often took care of their own judicial problems by appealing to village elders, but many of them had a constable to enforce state laws.<ref>{{cite web|title=Police in Ancient Egypt|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1104/police-in-ancient-egypt/|website=World History Encyclopedia|access-date=2020-05-03}}</ref><ref>Gardiner, Alan H. (1947). ''Ancient Egyptian Onomastica.'' 1. Oxford University Press, pp. 82–85</ref>

==== Greece ====
In [[ancient Greece]], publicly owned slaves were used by magistrates as police. In [[Athens]], the [[Scythian Archers]] (the {{lang|grc|ῥαβδοῦχοι}} 'rod-bearers'), a group of about 300 Scythian slaves, was used to guard public meetings to keep order and for [[crowd control]], and also assisted with dealing with criminals, handling prisoners, and making arrests. Other duties associated with modern policing, such as investigating crimes, were left to the citizens themselves.<ref>{{cite book| last =Hunter| first =Virginia J.| title =Policing Athens: Social Control in the Attic Lawsuits, 420–320 B.C.| publisher =Princeton University Press| year =1994| location =Princeton, NJ| page =3| url =http://press.princeton.edu/titles/5349.html| isbn =978-1-4008-0392-7| url-status=dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070421233311/http://press.princeton.edu/titles/5349.html| archive-date =2007-04-21}}</ref> Athenian police forces were supervised by the [[Areopagus]]. In [[Sparta]], the [[Ephor]]s were in charge of maintaining public order as judges, and they used Sparta's [[Hippeis]], a 300-member Royal guard of honor, as their enforcers. There were separate authorities supervising women, children, and agricultural issues. Sparta also had a secret police force called the [[crypteia]] to watch the large population of [[helots]], or slaves.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qrtQGb0UwL4C&pg=PT10| title = The Spartan Hoplites | isbn = 9780761444497| last1 = Park| first1 = Louise| last2 = Love| first2 = Timothy| year = 2010| publisher = Marshall Cavendish}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url = https://greekreporter.com/2013/05/30/the-police-in-ancient-greece/| title = The Police in Ancient Greece| newspaper = Greekreporter.com| date = 30 May 2013| last1 = Tsolakidou| first1 = Stella}}</ref>

==== Rome ====
In the [[Roman Empire]], the army played a major role in providing security. Roman soldiers detached from their legions and posted among civilians carried out law enforcement tasks.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737840.001.0001/acprof-9780199737840| title = Policing the Roman Empire: Soldiers, Administration, and Public Order| year = 2011| doi = 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199737840.001.0001| last1 = Fuhrmann| first1 = Christopher| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-973784-0}}</ref> The [[Praetorian Guard]], an elite army unit which was primarily an Imperial bodyguard and intelligence-gathering unit, could also act as a riot police force if required. Local watchmen were hired by cities to provide some extra security. [[Lictor]]s, civil servants whose primary duty was to act as bodyguards to magistrates who held ''[[imperium]]'', could carry out arrests and inflict punishments at their magistrate's command.  Magistrates such as ''[[tresviri capitales]]'', {{lang|la|[[Procurator Fiscal|procurators fiscal]]}} and {{lang|la|[[quaestor]]s}} investigated crimes. There was no concept of public prosecution, so victims of crime or their families had to organize and manage the prosecution themselves. Under the reign of [[Augustus]], when the capital had grown to almost one million inhabitants, 14 [[Ward (country subdivision)|wards]] were created; the wards were protected by seven squads of 1,000 men called {{lang|la|[[vigiles]]}}, who acted as night watchmen and firemen. In addition to firefighting, their duties included apprehending petty criminals, capturing runaway slaves, guarding the baths at night, and stopping disturbances of the peace. As well as the city of Rome, ''vigiles'' were also stationed in the harbor cities of [[Ostia Antica|Ostia]] and [[Portus]]. Augustus also formed the [[Cohortes urbanae|Urban Cohorts]] to deal with gangs and civil disturbances in the city of Rome, and as a counterbalance to the Praetorian Guard's enormous power in the city. They were led by the [[Praefectus urbi|urban prefect]]. Urban Cohort units were later formed in [[Roman Carthage]] and [[Lugdunum]].

==== India ====
Law enforcement systems existed in the various kingdoms and empires of [[History of India|ancient India]]. The [[Apastamba Dharmasutra]] prescribes that kings should appoint officers and subordinates in the towns and villages to protect their subjects from crime. Various inscriptions and literature from ancient India suggest that a variety of roles existed for law enforcement officials such as those of a constable, thief catcher, watchman, and detective.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sharma|first=Anupam|title=Police in Ancient India|date=2004|journal=The Indian Journal of Political Science|volume=65|issue=1|pages=101–110|jstor=41855800|issn=0019-5510}}</ref> In ancient India up to medieval and early modern times, [[kotwal]]s were in charge of local law enforcement.<ref>Shah, Giriraj (1993). ''Image Makers: An Attitudinal Study of Indian Police.'' Abhinav Publications. p. 95. {{ISBN|978-81-7017-295-6}}.</ref>

==== Achaemenid (First Persian) Empire ====
The [[Achaemenid Empire]] had well-organized police forces. A police force existed in every place of importance. In the cities, each ward was under the command of a Superintendent of Police, known as a {{transliteration|fa|Kuipan}}. Police officers also acted as prosecutors and carried out punishments imposed by the courts. They were required to know the court procedure for prosecuting cases and advancing accusations.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Laws of the Ancient Persians|url=http://www.parstimes.com/law/ancient_persia_laws.html|website=www.parstimes.com|access-date=2020-05-06}}</ref>

==== Israel ====
In ancient [[History of ancient Israel and Judah|Israel and Judah]], officials with the responsibility of making declarations to the people, guarding the king's person, supervising public works, and executing the orders of the courts existed in the urban areas. They are repeatedly mentioned in the [[Hebrew Bible]], and this system lasted into the period of Roman rule. The first century Jewish historian [[Josephus]] related that every judge had two such officers under his command. [[Levite]]s were preferred for this role. Cities and towns also had night watchmen. Besides officers of the town, there were officers for every tribe. The temple in Jerusalem was protected by a special temple guard. The [[Talmud]] mentions various local officials in the Jewish communities of the Land of Israel and Babylon who supervised economic activity. Their Greek-sounding titles suggest that the roles were introduced under Hellenic influence. Most of these officials received their authority from local courts and their salaries were drawn from the town treasury. The Talmud also mentions city watchmen and mounted and armed watchmen in the suburbs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Police Laws |url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12239-police-laws|website=www.jewishencyclopedia.com|access-date=2020-05-06}}</ref>

==== Africa ====
In many regions of pre-colonial [[Africa]], particularly West and Central Africa, guild-like [[Secret society|secret societies]] emerged as law enforcement. In the absence of a court system or written legal code, they carried out police-like activities, employing varying degrees of coercion to enforce conformity and deter antisocial behavior.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Adler|first1=Philip J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PPi5DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA221|title=World Civilizations|last2=Pouwels|first2=Randall L.|date=2016|publisher=Cengage Learning|isbn=978-1-337-51764-5|language=en}}</ref> In ancient [[Ethiopia]], armed retainers of the nobility enforced law in the countryside according to the will of their leaders. The [[Songhai Empire]] had officials known as ''assara-munidios'', or "enforcers", acting as police.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dalgleish
 |first=David
 |date=April 2005
 |title=Pre-Colonial Criminal Justice In West Africa: Eurocentric Thought Versus Africentric Evidence.
 |url=http://www.umes.edu/cms300uploadedFiles/AJCJS/acjavol1no1dagleish.pdf
 |journal=African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies
 |volume=1 |issue=1 
 |access-date=2011-06-26}}</ref>

==== The Americas ====
Pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas also had organized law enforcement. The city-states of the [[Maya civilization]] had constables known as {{lang|myn|tupils}}.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uac_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA206| title = History of the World | isbn = 9789350419380| last1 = Malik| first1 = Dr Malti| publisher = New Saraswati House India Pvt}}</ref> In the [[Aztec Empire]], judges had officers serving under them who were empowered to perform arrests, even of dignitaries.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kwCqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT61| title = Life in the Aztec Empire | last1 = McKrause| first1 = Stanford}}</ref> In the [[Inca Empire]], officials called [[kuraka]] enforced the law among the households they were assigned to oversee, with inspectors known as {{lang|qu|tokoyrikoq}} ({{lit|he who sees all|lk=yes}}) also stationed throughout the provinces to keep order.<ref>{{cite book| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Yrc7BGHGJIAC&pg=PA137| title = The Rule of Empires: Those Who Built Them, Those Who Endured Them, and Why ... | isbn = 978-0-19-974619-4| last1 = Parsons| first1 = Timothy| date = 2010| publisher = Oxford University Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0pEVyN0PKhoC&pg=PA40|title = Daily Life in the Inca Empire|isbn = 9780313293900|last1 = Malpass|first1 = Michael Andrew|year = 1996| publisher=Greenwood Publishing }}</ref>