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
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia the U.S. state of Maryland to patrol Washington County. After the formation of the Metropolitan Police Board, which was to govern the new police department, Lincoln sent a member of the board to study the New York City Police Department and its structure, itself modeled on the London Metropolitan Police Service. The Metropolitan Police Board unanimously chose one of its members, William Benning Webb who was commissioned as a Major in the army, to serve as the first Chief of Police, the formal title being "Major and Superintendent". The Police Board initially divided the District into 10 precincts. The First