Toronto Police Service in 1834 when the city of Toronto was first created from the town of York. (Prior to that, local able-bodied male citizens were required to report for night duty as special constables for a fixed number of nights a year on the pain of fine or imprisonment in a system known as "watch and ward". The Toronto Police is one of the English-speaking world's oldest modern municipal police departments; older than, for example, the New York City Police Department which was formed in 1845 or the Boston Police Department which was established in 1839. The London Metropolitan Police of 1829
National Identification Service National Identification Service The National Identification Service (NIS; also called SO4 from its Specialist Operations designation) is a department of the London Metropolitan Police which provides a range of support services on behalf of the Metropolitan Police and other police forces. All SO4's services are connected with criminal records and include a remit to act as the National Identification Service (NIS). The Metropolitan Police has had a national role in keeping criminal records since the 18th century but it was not until 1913 that the Criminal Record Office was established at New Scotland Yard. The NIS had sole responsibility for