Merchants were losing an estimated £500,000 (equivalent to £ in ) of stolen cargo annually from the Pool of London on the River Thames by the late 1790s. A plan was devised to curb the problem in 1797 by an Essex justice of the peace and master mariner, John Harriot, who joined forces with Patrick Colquhoun and utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham. Armed with Harriot's proposal and Bentham's insights, Colquhoun was able to persuade the West India planters committees and the West India merchants to fund the new force. They agreed to a one-year trial and on 2 July 1798, after receiving government permission, the Thames River Police began operating with Colquhoun as superintending magistrate and Harriot the resident magistrate.