Metropolitan Police Act 1829 Metropolitan Police Act 1829 The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo.4, c.44) was an Act of Parliament introduced by Sir Robert Peel. The Act established the Metropolitan Police of London (with the exception of the City), replacing the previously disorganized system of parish constables and watchmen. The Act was the enabling legislation for what is often considered to be the first modern police force, the "bobbies" or "peelers" (after Peel), which served as the model for modern urban police departments throughout England. Until the 1829 Act, the Statute of Winchester of 1285 was cited as the primary legislation regulating the
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