THE “TRANSLATION PROBLEMS” IN REPORTING A CRIME

One of the reasons why theft involving both need and personal conflict understood by contemporaries primarily in terms of honor was handled on the level of property has to do with a “translation problem.” The translation problem between the rural world of the day laborer and the legal sphere of the radically reforming state is evident in a variety of circumstances. One such circumstance is the situation associated with reporting a crime. At that point, another actor came into play: the gendarme. According to Article 142 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it was the constabulary (Gendarmerie) that received the crime report and thus put down the statements from the general public in written form. Beside the gendarmes – and police headquarters in large towns like Marburg – it was frequently the mayor who received the report. On rare occasions, an intermediary, for example, a school teacher, might be brought in.

Who were these police employees and how did they record the report? We know little about the social composition, mental disposition, or even the financial circumstances of the police in rural areas during the second half of the nineteenth century. Research has only been able to shed light on a few aspects so far. What is certain is that most of the operational staff were former soldiers until deep into the last third of the nineteenth century, and that, as already usual in the Early Modern Period, individuals who otherwise would have been entitled to poor relief were allowed to continue performing low-level police services. It is agreed that until the Kaiserreich was founded the actual police presence was limited. Furthermore, because of the enormous population growth beginning at the latest at mid-century, police density decreased relative to population size. With regard to the quantity and the quality of police training, equipment, and duty scope, modernization was a long time in coming. Professionalization of the police forces, that is, systematic training, compensation not in the form of doles, standard uniforms, and clear service guidelines, was slow to set in.