Police the onset of the Industrial Revolution. It became clear that the locally maintained system of volunteer constables and "watchmen" was ineffective, both in detecting and preventing crime. A parliamentary committee was appointed to investigate the system of policing in London. Upon Sir Robert Peel being appointed as Home Secretary in 1822, he established a second and more effective committee, and acted upon its findings. Royal assent to the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 was given and the Metropolitan Police Service was established on September 29, 1829 in London as the first modern and professional police force in the world. Peel, widely
History of the Metropolitan Police Service after 20 (formerly 22) years of duty. When a male police officer was asked in 1916 whether women would ever be police constables, he burst out laughing, replying: "No, not even if the war lasts 50 years." However, the Women’s Police Service, made up of volunteers, had been founded in 1914. Female police officers first joined the Metropolitan Police in 1919, although the then Commissioner, Sir Nevil Macready, insisted he did not want any “vinegary spinsters” or “blighted middle-aged fanatics” in its ranks. The female police officers were distinguished from their male counterparts, who had wider authority, by the prefix