Policing the Victorian Streets
A Brief History of the Metropolitan Police
It’s an interesting political climate nowadays, particularly when it comes to the topic of cops. Some say abolish them. Others are for militarizing them. Whatever side of the line you’re on, you’re not the first to have opinion on the police force. Way back in jolly olde England the same issues were on the line.
The first force in London was the Bow Street Runners, beginning in the mid-eighteenth century. This fledgling group eventually grew into the Metropolitan Police, which wasfounded in 1829 by Robert Peel. “Peelers,” as they were sometimes called, were mostly young men, many of whom were recruited from rural areas. Few were from London, the philosophy being that they would thus be free from local patronage and influence.
It is a bit of an anomaly that the hero in my latest release, The Thief of Blackfriars Lane, carries a sidearm, because most officers didn’t. They relied on truncheons as a weapon of choice. Revolvers were usually only supplied after the death of a police officer by an armed criminal, at the discretion of the Divisional Officer, or if a constable requested to use one during night duty. In 1884, after the deaths of several police officers, the Home Office ordered nearly a thousand revolvers from Webley & Scott to be issued to branches of the London police. . .which is where I got the idea of a shipment of guns for my villain to attempt to steal.
Police detectives were recruited from within the ranks of existing uniformed officers. There were actually women on the force at the time, employed as police matrons. But these were behind-the-scenes workers, tasked with guarding women and children. The first female police officer wasn’t seen on the streets until 1919.
If you’d like to see this police force in action, pick up a copy of my latest release at your favorite bookseller. Or if you like, you can try to win a signed copy…
