1 PROFESSIONAL POLICE INSTITUTIONS EXISTED BEFORE THE VICTORIANS
The date for the beginning of the police in Britain is often given as 1829, when the Metropolitan Police first took to London’s streets. But the Scots and Northern Irish can dispute this, pointing to their earlier institutions: the City of Glasgow Police was formally recognised in 1800, while the Irish Constabulary (later superseded in Northern Ireland by the Royal Ulster Constabulary) was founded in 1822.
And, indeed, many other issues about police institutions are also open to debate. Firstly, at least as far as England is concerned, the Metropolitan Police did not replace men like Dogberry and Verges, the comic characters from Shakespeare’s responsible for a group of bumbling watchmen. Nor did they replace doddery old constables who could barely lift their lanterns. Police institutions around the country were already becoming increasingly professional before 1829, and especially during the 18th century. Evidence from the Old Bailey, for example, reveals the presence
