History of the Metropolitan Police Service been headed by a Commissioner, rather than a Chief Constable which is the highest rank in police forces outside London. The first Commissioners to hold the post were Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne. When Sir Charles Rowan died, leaving Sir Richard Mayne as the surviving Commissioner, Captain William Hay was drafted in to jointly run the force with Mayne. However, because the two Commissioners did not agree on methods of running the force, since 1855 it was decided that only one Commissioner would run the force. Metropolitan Police patrols took to the streets on 29 September 1829,
History of the Metropolitan Police Service Wyles was appointed the first female Inspector to the Criminal Intelligence Department. A policy in place from 1927 until 1946 forced women to leave the Metropolitan Police if they got married. Female police officers were not authorised to take fingerprints until 1937. The Police Federation, the rank-and-file staff association, let women join in 1948. The first women police officers to receive George Medals for courage were Sergeant Ethel Bush and Kathleen Parrott, who had been separately attacked by a sex offender they were on a stakeout in pursuit of in 1955. In 1968 Sislin Fay Allen became the Metropolitan Police’s