In feudal England during the 13th century, Henry II, aware of the need to bridge the gap between state and community, centralized the system of justice. However, customs differed across communities, and different tribunals existed for different classes. Sheriffs and constables oversaw community performance in preserving the peace within a community definition of custom in deciding whether to hold individuals for the royal courts for most offenses. In the 17th century, social revolution and the changes that accompanied it marked the dawning of the modern British state. The new centralization of the state and new approaches to governing lent greater status to the law than to the Crown. Changes were rooted in society and reflected the strength of capitalism and Protestant sects. Private property, individualism, and legal equality were ascribed the status of fundamental values. By the late 18th century, the state was ruled primarily by law; and the individual, as an autonomous being, was accepted as the focus for public policy and political rhetoric. By the 19th century, reforms in the criminal law and the penal system has laid the foundation for modern policing and formalized the police mandate of maintaining order as agents of the State and as representatives of the community. In this dual role, they constrain society, yet also constrain the state. 30 references.