This chapter will discuss the system of policing in England that dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period. Initially, the system of policing rested on the principle of collective security that was emphasised by the system of frankpledge established by the Normans following the Conquest of 1066. Subsequently constables aided by watchmen (both of whom served in a voluntary capacity) carried out this policing role. The governance of policing arrangements was the responsibility of a wide range of local bodies (such as manorial courts, Hundred Courts and parishes) but ultimately Justices of the Peace assumed an important role, giving Crown-appointed officials exercised a degree of control over local policing arrangements. This chapter charts the development of this system of policing to the early decades of the eighteenth century, by which time a policing system that consisted of constables and night watch organised within parishes and supervised by magistrates was the norm across England.