7 - Social Control

Summary

At all times, but especially during the Republic, the Roman government lacked a police force and other bureaucracies that could check ordinary crime, much less control behavior that was less dangerous but still disfavored. Attempts have been made to find elements of the Roman government that might have taken on these functions, but the evidence has been lacking. No magistrate had a major responsibility in this area, nor did any have at his disposal the large number of dedicated employees that would have been required to police a city the size of Rome. In fact, it has recently been pointed out that police forces in general are actually a very recent invention. Rome was somewhat unusual for a premodern state in not allowing military forces into the city, which meant that they could not be used to enforce public order. (Presumably, they would not have been effective for less organized antisocial behavior anyway.) Still, the Romans found ways to try to use law to impose a certain degree of social control.

VIOLENCE

Early Roman law and tradition had, if not encouraged, at least accepted a fair amount of self-help in protecting one's own rights. We know of several forms of more or less ritualized protest and shaming that a wronged party might use to get justice from the supposed wrongdoer: harassing verses, appearing in public in mourning clothes, and simply calling out for aid.