Metropolitan Police

Known popularly as ScotlandYard, after their main headquarters; moved to NewScotlandYard^? in 1891.

See:

• ThePolice for a sketch of jurisdiction and general information.
• PoliceForce for details of division locations and strengths.
• PoliceHistoryQuarterlyReviewArticle for a lengthy early history sketch.
• CriminalInvestigationDepartment (CID), also known as CriminalInvestigationDivision
• SpecialBranch
• FlyingSquad

See also:

• CityPolice
• BritishTransportPolice (or RailwayPolice)

Ranks

• Executive
  • Commissioner -- executive director
  • Receiver (really outside the police) -- financial manager
  • AssistantCommissioner -- senior director
  • ChiefConstable^? -- senior officer in charge of a specific sub-section
• Officers
  • Superintendent^? -- most senior non-executive officer
  • ChiefInspector^? (CID) -- most senior detective officer
  • Inspector^? -- if CID, a senior officer working to the ChiefInspector^?; if not CID, usually in charge of everything else at a divisional station
  • LocalInspector^? (CID); later DDI or Divisional Detective Inspector -- the senior detective on a divisional station
• Enlisted
  • Sergeant -- essentially NCO's
  • Constable -- "bobbies"

PoliceCommissioners

• Col. Sir EdmundHenderson^?, KCB (1869-86)
• Co. Sir CharlesWarren, GCMG KCB (1886-88)
• JamesMonro CB (1888-90)
• Col. Sir EdwardBradford^? Bt GCB GCVO KCSI (1890-1903)

PoliceReceivers

• MauriceDrummond^? CB (1860-83)
• Sir RichardPennefather^? CB (1883-1910)

Notable Figures

• Inspector FrederickAbberline, centrally involved in the JackTheRipper case
• Sir RobertAnderson, first head of SecretService, then AssistantCommissioner (Crime), among other things
• Col. Sir EdwardBradford^? Bt GCB GCVO KCSI, PoliceCommissioner from 1890
• InspectorGregson^?, fictional, occasional nemesis of SherlockHolmes
• Col. Sir EdmundHenderson^? KCB, PoliceCommissioner until 1886
• InspectorGLestrade^?, fictional, sometime nemesis of SherlockHolmes (first name unknown)
• Sir MelvilleMacnaghten^?, joined in 1889 as Asst. ChiefConstable^? for CriminalInvestigationDepartment (CID)
• JamesMonro CB, AssistantCommissioner (Crime) until 1888, heavily involved with SpecialBranch, briefly PoliceCommissioner
• Sir RichardPennefather^? CB, PoliceReceiver
• Detective Sgt. WilliamThicke^?, known as “Johnny Upright”
• Col. Sir CharlesWarren, GCMG KCB, PoliceCommissioner for duration of JackTheRipper scandal
• Adolphus "Dolly" Williamson, first ChiefConstable^? CID

List of Remembrance, 1880-1890 (killed in the line of duty)

• 1880 - Sgt HenryDent^?
• 1881 - PC FrederickAtkins^?
• 1881 - Sgt WilliamBacon^?
• 1882 - PC GeorgeCole^?
• 1882 - PC HenryFitnum^?
• 1882 - PC WilliamGoddard^?
• 1882 - Insp JosephHughes^?
• 1883 - PC WilliamSilvey^?
• 1884 - Insp WilliamRobson^?
• 1885 - DC RichardJamesBarber^?
• 1885 - PC AlbertThompson^?
• 1886 - PC HaroldRichardson^?
• 1887 - PS DavidGroombridge^?
• 1887 - PC RobertMcgaw^?
• 1888 - PC ThomasDean^?
• 1888 - PC AlfredEllis^?
• 1888 - PC MichaelLewis^?
• 1890 - PC WilliamPasker^?

Noteworthy Cases

• BloodySunday^? 1887 -- spectacular riots at TrafalgarSquare^?, for which Sir CharlesWarren was pilloried
• The ClevelandStreetAffair^? -- a raid on a house of male prostitution picked up a number of important people
• JackTheRipper -- surely you know about this?
• The MissCass^? case -- 1886 arrest of seamstress for soliciting which raised specters of police abuse
• The PinchinStreetMurder -- a dismembered female body, never identified
• The TrialOfTheDetectives -- 1877 corruption scandal which collapsed the DetectiveBranch^? and set up the CriminalInvestigationDepartment (CID)
• The WhitehallMystery -- one of a number of mysterious female torsos that turned up

Resources and Bibliography

• The "Police Duty Catechism," at The Victorian Dictionary. Very boring, but a total overview of what policemen were supposed to do, when, and how.
• The Metropolitan Police website, an official site, includes a good deal of historical material. There is also a link from the History page to a website by official historians Martin Fido and Keith Skinner, authors of The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard.

-- ChrisLehrich^? - 31 Dec 2004