Polizeiwissenschaft ({{IPA, de, poliˈtsaɪˌvɪsn̩ʃaft, literally "Police science", though "Polizei" may in this case be better translated as "Public Policy" or "Politics" in a broad sense) was a discipline born in the first third of the 18th century which lasted until the middle of the 19th century. Considered as the science of the internal order of the community, it was a comprehensive term, which included today's

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

, administrative science, the early

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

concerns,

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban ...

and

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

(important in the light of the

miasma theory of disease The miasma theory (also called the miasmic theory) is an Superseded scientific theories#Medicine, abandoned medical theory that held that diseases—such as cholera, Chlamydia infection, chlamydia, or Plague (disease), plague—were caused by a ...

), etc. It overlapped with the simultaneously used term of ''Verwaltungswissenschaft'' (or "administrative science") and was a university course included in official trainings. The first instruction chairs for "Cameralia Oeconomica and Polizeiwissenschaft" were created in 1727 by

Frederick William I of Prussia Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel. Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...

Halle, Saxony-Anhalt Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

and

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. One of the ''Polizeiwissenschaft'' first practitioners was Johann Friedrich von Pfeiffer born in Berlin and was a leading exponent of the theory on economic sustainability. ''Polizeiwissenschaft'' was quite distinct from today's use of the term "

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

", which is strictly reserved for law enforcement activities. It included "''Marktpolizei''" ("market police"), concerned with the surveillance of

prices A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a phys ...

and economical activity, "''Gewerbeaufsicht''" ("surveillance of trade"), "''Bauaufsicht''" ("construction supervision") and "''Ausländerpolizei''" ("Foreigners' police"). The term has recently been used in a sense more closely related to contemporary police activities, used both as a comprehensive term as a synonym of " police sciences" (including

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

criminology Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

forensics Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

, etc.).

Bibliography

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

, ''Security, Territory, population'' (1977-78 course, published 2004) * Wolfgang Wüst, ''Die „gute“ Policey im Reichskreis. Zur frühmodernen Normensetzung in den Kernregionen des Alten Reiches'', ** Bd. 1: ''Der Schwäbische Reichskreis, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Bayerisch-Schwabens'', Berlin 2001, ** Bd. 2: ''Der Fränkische Reichskreis'', Berlin 2003, ** Bd. 3: ''Der Bayerische Reichskreis und die Oberpfalz'', Berlin 2004. Law enforcement theory Public health Public economics Frederick William I of Prussia