The Metropolitan Police Force (later called the Metropolitan Police Service; commonly known as the Metropolitan Police or Scotland Yard) was headed by two newly appointed judges or commissioners (the first two were Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne) who were directly accountable to the Home Secretary. (By 1855 there was only one commissioner.) Commissioners were expected to recruit and train more than 1,000 police officers to receive salaries and uniforms, but armed only with batons, handcuffs and a rattle (later a pipe) to signal help. The responsibility of the police was to detect and prevent crimes, although they also took on night watch activities such as lighting lamps and observing fires. The original uniform consisted of a blue tail coat and a cylinder and was intended to emphasize that the police were not a military force, as was the fact that officers did not carry weapons. The uniforms of modern Bobbys have changed, but they remain disarmed. Instead of the angry red coats, Peel patrol officers wore black jackets and high wool hats with shiny insignia. They came out armed only with a small club and a whistle to call for support, make regular beats and work to gain the trust of local citizens. Robert Peel`s system was a success, and by the mid-19th century, major American cities had created similar police forces. In London, police officers identified so much with the politician who created them that they were called “Peelers” or, more memorably, “Bobbies,” after Robert`s popular nickname. In police terminology, a beat is the area where a police officer patrols. [1] Beat Policing is based on traditional policing (late 19th century) and uses the close relationship with community members within the assigned beat to strengthen police effectiveness and promote cooperative efforts to create a safer community. Beat police usually patrol on foot or by bike, which offers more interaction between police and community members.

[2] The beats in the city centers would be relatively small areas, but much larger in the suburbs. A labour shortage would mean that one or more strikes would remain unsupervised at the sergeant`s discretion. At some point during an officer`s shift, he could expect a supervisor to meet him at one of the points. This ensured that the beating patrol was conducted properly and was an opportunity to discuss issues. The inspector would sign the official`s or gendarme`s paperback and ensure that it is up to date. The number of bobbies on the rhythm has decreased, according to the public, as statistics have shown that the number of people who believe the police are “very visible” in their community has dropped by almost half. Louise Haigh, Labour`s shadow police minister, said: “Tactful bobbies not only reassure the public, but gather important information from the community and help protect us. Brutal cuts mean that this proven foundation of british policing will be dismantled as police withdraw completely from neighbourhood policing. The same principles also extended to patrolled on bicycles or in motor vehicles. Even with radio communications, one would expect the patrol car to visit and remain in certain locations at certain times, allowing superiors to meet with the patrol officer or give a visible police presence at times when deemed particularly necessary. Before the advent of personal radio traffic, beats were organized in cities to cover specific areas that were usually displayed on a map at the police station and provided with some sort of name or number.

Officers who enlisted in the service received a blow from their sergeant, and sometimes a card stating that the officer should be at some point at fixed times, usually half an hour or forty-five minutes apart. The points would typically be telephone kiosks, columns or police boxes, or perhaps public houses where it would be possible to call the officer if it was necessary to respond to an incident. The officer stayed at the point for five minutes, then patrolled the area and gradually moved towards the next point. The switch to motorized patrols such as panda patrols in the 1960s significantly reduced the priority given to foot patrols. [4] Another factor was the consolidation of small local police forces into the Police Act 1964. Portable police radios first appeared in the British police in 1969. Metropolitan Police officers received instructions known as exfolitic principles – although they may have been developed by Rowan and Mayne. These principles state that the purpose of the force was crime prevention and that the police must behave in such a way as to earn the respect and cooperation of the public. To this end, public servants should provide service, courtesy and kindness to all members of the public, regardless of their social position, and should use physical violence only when absolutely necessary. The police should not be judged on the number of arrests, but on the absence of criminality and disorder. The principles defined a theory known as “policing by consent.” In addition, police officers had to constantly pass through assigned areas. The success of the new Bobbies in reducing crime led to the expansion of the service to the outskirts of London and the imitation of force elsewhere.

This follows a survey last year which found that one in three people in England and Wales have not seen Bobby on the pace in their area over the past year. It was expected that a gendarme would learn everything about every beat he covered, even if they would not necessarily be the same in all layers. A new gendarme was usually guided around the beats by an experienced gendarme who highlighted important considerations. These include vulnerable premises such as banks and post offices, which can tell the official where a peephole would glance at a safe. It was expected that a constable would know where known criminals lived or avoided and which public homes could cause problems or be held late. “The visibility of the police has rarely been less and the fault lies directly with the door of government. After becoming Home Secretary in the British government, Peel undertook a comprehensive consolidation and reform of criminal laws between 1825 and 1830. At the time, policing in London and elsewhere in Britain was largely carried out by gendarmes under the authority of local judges. Soldiers were only used in civil or political unrest. Peel suggested that a professional police force be set up by the government. The proposal was not popular at first, and many critics believed such a force would target political opponents of the government and threaten civil liberties.

Nevertheless, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed in 1829, which established a force to patrol the entire metropolis of London with the exception of the Central City of London (the financial district).