Metropolitan Police Act 1829

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Metropolitan Police Act 1829 [lower-alpha 1]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1816-1837).svg
Long title An Act for improving the Police in and near the Metropolis.
Citation 10 Geo. 4. c. 44
Introduced by Robert Peel
Dates
Royal assent 19 June 1829
Commencement 19 June 1829
Other legislation
Amended by
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Text of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo. 4. c. 44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by Sir Robert Peel, which established the Metropolitan Police. This was to be responsible for policing the newly created Metropolitan Police District, which consisted of the City of Westminster and parts of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, within seven miles of Charing Cross, apart from the City of London. It replaced a previously more diverse system of parish constables and watchmen. It is one of the Metropolitan Police Acts 1829 to 1895. [lower-alpha 2]

Contents

The Act

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 later served as the model for modern urban policing throughout Britain. Until the passage of the Act, the Statute of Winchester of 1285 was cited as the primary legislation regulating the policing of the country since the Norman Conquest. [1]

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References

Citations

  1. Critchley, Thomas Alan (1978). A History of Police in England and Wales. The Statute of Winchester was the only general public measure of any consequence enacted to regulate the policing of the country between the Norman Conquest and the Metropolitan Police Act, 1829…

Notes

  1. The citation of this Act by this short title was authorised by the Short Titles Act 1896, section 1 and the first schedule. Due to the repeal of those provisions it is now authorised by section 19(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978.
  2. The Short Titles Act 1896, section 2(1) and Schedule 2

Further reading