ABSTRACT
The preamble states, that whereas offences against property have of late increased in and near the metropolis. And the local establishments of nightly watch and nightly police have been found inadequate to the prevention and detection of crime, by reason of the unfitness of the individuals employed, and their want of connection and co-operation with each other. The Metropolitan Police were introduced to London in 1829. Widely debated both before and after the event, the details of the New Police Act were of course reported in the press and via publications. Alongside the descriptions of the areas to which the Act would apply, another striking aspect is the relatively limited and rudimentary discussion of police powers, duties and activities. Arguably, the decision to finance the police via an additional levy on the Poor Rate implies a conceptual acceptance that poor relief and policing were essentially dealing with the same body of people.
