Question

What did most cities rely on to fight crime in the mid-1800s?

Answer 1

Volunteer night watchers

Having citizens volunteer for night watch duty was not a new idea.  It had been used in the US since back in the colonial era.  As urbanization increased with the expansion of industrialization, however, night watch duty was not going to be enough to protect and safeguard big cities.  In 1838, Boston established the first fully organized police force with full-time on-duty officers, paid as public servants.  By the 1880s, all major US cities had established regular police forces.