Patrick Colquhoun, the Scottish Enlightenment and Police Reform in Glasgow in the Late Eighteenth Century1

Abstract

Patrick Colquhoun’s role in pioneering police reform in London has been widely documented. This paper seeks to examine from where his ideas and inspiration on law enforcement were derived. While it is recognised that Colquhoun drew and built upon the works of other police reformers and police models, it is argued that underlying many of his ideas were developments in policing which were taking place in his native Glasgow in the late eighteenth century – ideas, which in turn, were influenced by the intellectual and philosophical revolution known as the Scottish Enlightenment. In exploring this issue, the article will also examine the significant role played by the wider intellectual, commercial and political climate in shaping police reform in Scotland’s largest city.