Police Work in Roman Times

Throughout the greatest days of the Roman Empire, the famous Pax Romana was preserved with the help of an efficient police force. In the cities, small forces of gendarmes, often recruited from slaves, acted under the direction of civilian magistrates. But elsewhere it was the army itself that kept the peace; and military units were stationed at such strategic points as river-crossings and road-centres. This is well illustrated by Strabo’s account of how the Egyptian army was distributed:

‘There are also three legions of soldiers, one of which is stationed in the city and the other two in the countryside. Apart from these, there are nine Roman infantry battalions, three of which are in the city, three on the borders of Ethiopia in Syene as a guard for those regions, and three throughout the rest of the countryside. In the same way three cavalry regiments are stationed at key points.’