Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police were established by act of Parliament in 1829 by the then Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel. Originally two Commissioners of Police for the Metropolis were appointed, together with 895 constables, 88 sergeants, 20 inspectors and 8 superintendents. Within a year a force of 3,000 men had been organised into seven divisions policing the metropolitan area, excluding the City of London (a separate city police force was established in 1832). The civilian nature of the force was emphasised in the uniforms, black stovepipe hats and blue swallowtail coats.

Men had to be under thirty-five, at least five feet seven inches tall, physically fit, literate, and of good character. Many recruits were former soldiers or sailors, and came from outside London, whose physical specimens often failed to meet the health standards required. In the early years there was a high turnover of men, with many dismissals and resignations. Dishonesty, indiscipline, drunkenness were all weeded out to create a professional force that the citizens of the metropolis could trust and respect. It took time, however, for the new force to become accepted by Londoners.

The Metropolitan Police were directly answerable to the Home Secretary, rather than a police or watch committee as later borough and county police forces were. This distinction lasted until 2000, when the Metropolitan Police Authority was created. As a result of this anomaly, the records of the Metropolitan Police are held in The National Archives. The records of city, borough and county police forces, where they survive, will be held in local record offices.

As well as the metropolitan area, the Metropolitan Police also had responsibility for the policing of the Royal Dockyards and other military stations, Portsmouth, Chatham, Devonport, Pembroke and Woolwich, from 1860 until 1934 and Rosyth in Scotland from 1914 until 1926.