Po l i c e i n L o n d o n

There are two main police forces that patrol London. The forces are separate, but
wear similar dark navy blue uniforms. You can tell them apart from looking at the
badge on their helmet.
T h e M e t r o p o l i t a n Pol i c e f o r c e p a t r o l L o n d o n .
They wear very dark blue uniforms and white shirts, and some wear tall helmets,
developed from the top hats worn by early policemen. Their dark blue uniforms
are almost indistinguishable from black and earnt the police the nickname of the
"boys in blue".The Metropolitan Police headquarters is New Scotland Yard. Its
officers' duties include protecting the Queen.
T h e C i t y o f L o n d o n h a s i t s o wn p o l i c e f o r c e .
The City of London Police is responsible for the Square Mile - from the River
Thames in the south to the Barbican Centre in the north, Holborn and Fleet Street
to the west and Aldgate and Liverpool Street to the east.
The City of London police force was set up ten years after the Metropolitan force,
although there has been some form of policing in the City of London since Roman
times.
The City of London Police officers have a distinctive red and white check on their
caps (or ladies' hats) and a gold-coloured helmet plate and gold-coloured buttons.
N i c k n a m e s f o r B r i t i s h Pol i c e
Two nicknames for British police, 'bobbies' and 'Peelers', come from the founder of
the 'Met' Police, Sir Robert Peel.
R i ve r Pol i c e
The Metropolitan Police Marine Support patrols the River Thames in speedboats. It
is responsible for policing 84 miles of the River Thames from Teddington Lock (at
Ham, west London) to Erith (in the London Borough of Bexley), and 12 miles of
rivers and navigable creeks in the London area.
Its floating police station is by Waterloo Bridge.
Royal Po l i c e
Buckingham Palace, the London home of the Queen, has its own police station.
W h y a r e B r i t i s h p o l i c e me n c a l l e d B o b b i e s ?
Policemen became to be known as " bobbies" after Robert Peel who set up the first
organised police service in London, 1829. Bobby is short for Robert.
T h e f i r s t p r o f e s s i o n a l Po l i c e
Before 1829, crime was policed by the Bow Street Runners (1748-1829), the first
professional police force in Britain.

For much
of
the
twentieth
century
up to the
mid1990s,
male
police
officers
wore
a
formal
work
jacket
with
polished
silver
buttons,
and black
trousers
with
a
sewn
in
truncheon
pocket.
No
stab
vest was
worn and
much less

equipment was carried than is today. Following concerns about the police
uniforms' safety it was suggested that the uniform should be changed.
From the 1990s it was generally accepted that the police could patrol in
"shirt-sleeve order" which meant that they need not wear the jacket, as its
widespread use was hampering in some situations. In 1994 the Home Office,
in agreement with the government and on the cooperation of many Chief
Constables, changed the uniform from the business attire with no protection
of the torso, to a uniform with black trousers, Blue NATO Jumper, stab
vest,duty belt and reflective jacket.