In the 1920s, the issue of good order was taken very seriously in Estonia. When new clean-up laws were passed, they were published in the Riigi Teataja (State Gazette) and it was common that two or three days later, every police station in the city had lists of houses that needed to be cleaned up according to the new laws. The police gave very short deadlines for eliminating deficiencies, checked compliance with the requirements and, if necessary, imposed fines.
In the second half of the 1920s, people were required to wash the sidewalks with water, to keep the sidewalks and driveways clear of snow, and even the snow that fell at night had to be shoveled into piles before the start of the working day and hauled away within three days at the latest. Debris floating on the street for weeks was unthinkable. The police also enforced the law regarding the removal of grass growing between the cobblestones.
According to the memories of local Tallinn residents, the police were respected and the orders of the police were carried out without objection. Compared to the present time, there were fewer officers in the police force and the number of foot patrols was considerably higher. During the Soviet era, despite massive repressions, the Estonian mentality of cleanliness and upkeep persisted for several decades. The former attitude is clearly reflected in the washing of sidewalks in, for example, Pelgulinna and Kalamaja in the 1960s.
