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→Ancient Roots
The city of ancient Rome probably had one of the most extensive ancient policing forces, as the city's ancient size may have reached over a million inhabitants. Similar to Greece, magistrates used slaves to patrol and maintain order in Rome. Authority may have been problematic, as slaves were not seen as being able to give binding decisions such as who to arrest. Slaves, therefore, had to utilize the authority of their magistrates, and assume that their authority had credibility, in order to enforce their actions. By the period of Augusts in the late first century BCE and first century CE, the city of Rome developed the so-called <i>vigiles</i>, who acted as a group that were responsible for safety, security, and fire suppression (i.e, acted as a fire department). Similar to earlier Greek system, the <i>vigiles</i> were privately owned slaves tasked with enforcing civil order.<ref>For more on ancient Rome's policing, see: Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (2016). An introduction to policing (Eighth edition). Boston, MA, USA: Cengage Learning, pg. 3.</ref>
In ancient China, the development of the prefecture system by the mid-first millennium BCE, during the so-called Spring and Autumn period, included prefects given the responsibility with internal security in their regions. They became responsible in raising a force and enforcing an arrests for criminals. During the Tang dynasty, law enforcement became organized into a force called the Gold Bird Guards. This force was responsible in making arrests and was also assisted by citizens, who were expected to assist in arrests. The guards were composed of citizens, but the force was more akin to a military unit.<ref>For more on ancient Chinese policing, see: York, W. H. (2012). Health and wellness in antiquity through the Middle Ages. Santa Barbara, Calif: Greenwood, pg. 132.</ref>
==Medieval Developments==
