On 5 December 1790 Robespierre held a speech on the urgent topic of the National Guard, a police force, independent from the army and repeated his ideas in the following year. On 27 April 1791, Robespierre again opposed the plans for reorganizing the National Guard and restricting its membership to active citizens. At the end of September a law passed to reorganize the National Guard formations in cantons and districts; each year officers and non-commssioned officers could be elected on 14 July.