The new "English Poor Laws" are not dangerous because of their original intent, but because their implementation turned social reform into a matter of morality and order. Legislators hoped to correct dependence through the new laws, yet underestimated the anger and humiliation that poverty itself carries. When relief is designed as punishment and survival has conditions attached, inevitably, the system needs the police to maintain its operation. Since 1832, the police department has once again been systematically pushed to the forefront of social conflicts, facing severe tests reminiscent of the era before 1829.
——Arthur Hastings "Hastings' Memoirs: Fifty Years of Life"
No fireplace existed in the meeting room of the Police Commissioner Committee at 4 Whitehall, only a long table polished to a shine.
The curtains were drawn tightly, keeping the noise from the street outside at bay behind heavy fabric.
