The previous chapter has outlined the origins and development of policing in England and Wales from Anglo Saxon times to the early years of the eighteenth century. In particular it has identified the key personnel involved in delivering policing (the Constables and the Watch), the organisational structure around which policing was organised (the parish) and the governance arrangements that were associated with policing in which magistrates performed an increasingly important role as the eighteenth century progressed. However, although this system of policing was historically engrained, in addition to issues considered in the Introduction, its effectiveness was called into question by a number of developments that were especially associated with the eighteenth and early years of the nineteenth century. These developments occurred as a consequence of the economic and social transformation of England and Wales arising from the agricultural and industrial revolutions (in particular urban population growth) which placed the old policing system under considerable strain in some parts of the Country. This chapter will examine some of the key issues associated with law and public disorder that emerged as the eighteenth century progressed. These developments will be considered as the context for attempts that were made during the eighteenth century to shore up the old system of policing. It will consider reforms that were initiated that included local Improvement Acts, the introduction of the Bow Street Runners as a detective force and the 1792 Middlesex Justices Act. In particular, the implications for overall police governance arising from these reforms (which were grafted onto the parish constable policing system) will be assessed.