History of the Metropolitan Police Service by the end of the 19th century. During the 1860s, the flintlock pistols that had been purchased in 1829 were decommissioned from service, being superseded by 622 Beaumont–Adams revolvers firing the .450 cartridge which were loaned from the army stores at the Tower of London following the Clerkenwell bombing. In 1883, a ballot was carried out to gather information on officers' views on whether they wished to be armed, and 4,430 out of 6,325 officers serving on outer divisions requested to be issued with revolvers. The now obsolete Adams revolver was returned to stores for emergencies, and the Bulldog 'Metropolitan
History of the Metropolitan Police Service controversy and accusations of police brutality. The best known of the police brutality cases was the killing of Blair Peach. (In 1986, the SPG was succeeded by the Territorial Support Group which did much of the same role, but was a modernised form.) In the late 1970s Operation Countryman investigated allegations of endemic corruption in the 1960s and 1970s. It concluded that there had been corruption at many levels. Only 8 prosecutions were brought but several hundred officers retired or resigned as a result. In 1981, a report issued by Lord Scarman stated that the Metropolitan Police were having problems