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 Service the Home Office and the Mayor of London, through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. The post of Commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne. Cressida Dick is the current Commissioner having been appointed in April 2017. A number of informal names and abbreviations are applied to the Metropolitan Police Service, the most common being "the Met". In colloquial London (or Cockney slang), it is sometimes referred to as the "Old Bill". The Met is also referred to as Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great