History of the Metropolitan Police Service History of the Metropolitan Police Service The history of the Metropolitan Police Service is long and complex, with many different events taking place between its inception in 1829 to the present day. Before the passing of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829, law enforcement among the general population in England was carried out by unpaid parish constables who were elected, and later appointed by the local justice of the peace. In certain circumstances, such as serious public disorder, the army would intervene to support the local authorities; yeomanry were extensively used for this purpose before police forces developed. Because this system
History of the Metropolitan Police Service first black female officer. On February 1, 1971, Karpal Kaur Sandhu, born in Zanzibar but of Indian heritage, joined the Metropolitan Police and thus became the Metropolitan Police's (and Britain's) first female Asian police officer. This was before India itself had female police officers (the first female police officer in India was Kiran Bedi in 1972). The first Woman Detective Constable was appointed in 1973. 1973 was also the year that the separate Women's Department was fully integrated into the Metropolitan Police. Female police officers did not get equal pay with male police officers until 1974. In 1976 the first