What was police force like in London in 1880's?
London has once of the oldest police forces in the world, by the
1880's it had a large uniformed section divided into 20 divisions
each for a London bourgh. These officers wore classic "Bobbie" blue
uniforms and helmets and conducted foot and mounted patrols based
in Police Stations built for the purpose. These officers could be
armed and, especially in the outer bourghs, often carried
revolvers, issued to the stations and handed out as needed. They
also carried a billy club and a whistle from summoning help. These
men mostly served to "keep the peace" and act as what we would now
call "first responders"
There was the recently reformed "Criminal Investigation
Department" which was a plain clothed detective unit for solving
crimes which weren't as simple as catching a thief in the act.
These men were controlled centrally but posted out to the stations.
CID is still the "detective branch" of British police forces
today.
There was also the "Special Irish Branch" which dropped the
Irish in 1888, this is a political police force set up to deal with
the growing threat of Irish terroism. They served as the legal
enforcement arm of the British intelligence services and worked
undercover and through informers to break up plots and terrorist
cells and other "threats to the state".
All in the Met or "Scotland Yard" as it was mostly called in
this period had around 12-14,000 Officers of all ranks and types
split over the 20 divisions.
In addition the seperate "City of London" police which had
responsibility for the very central "square mile" of London had
around 1000 officers across six stations.
The officers were getting more professional, the CID had just
been reformed after a scandle involving corrupt detectives and the
beat officers were trained in how to act in various situations and
given "Company Drill". Around 10% of the force were former Army,
about 1% Irish or Scots the rest mainly from London or
surrounds.
Each constable would walk a "beat" at day or night to stop
trouble. The Sergeants would check up on them or provide backup.
The beats were close enough that whistles could summon aid from
nearby constables. CID Detectives solved on going cases and the
Special Branch stalked subversives through the foggy
streets....