In England and Wales, watch committees were the local government bodies which oversaw policing from 1835 until, in some areas, 1968.
In England and Wales, watch committees were the local government bodies which oversaw policing from 1835 until, in some areas, 1968.
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 required each borough to establish a "watch committee" and to appoint constables to 'preserve the peace'.
From 1889 counties switched to using "standing joint committees" which also had magistrates among their members. For police forces working within a single borough, watch committees were retained.
The Police Act 1964 replaced both sets of bodies with police authorities, comprising two-thirds elected members of county or borough councils, and one-third magistrates.
A police authority in the United Kingdom is a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police authorities" in the United Kingdom, although the term can refer to various similar successor bodies.
A municipal borough was a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1836 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002. Broadly similar structures existed in Scotland from 1833 to 1975 with the reform of royal burghs and creation of police burghs.
A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for the administration of justice in certain towns and cities in England, Wales, and Ireland. They arose when the monarch gave a borough corporation the right to appoint its own sheriffs, separating that borough from the jurisdiction of the sheriff of the county in which it lay.
The Municipal Corporations Act 1835, sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legislation was part of the reform programme of the Whigs and followed the Reform Act 1832, which had abolished most of the rotten boroughs for parliamentary purposes.
The Local Government Act 1888 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect on 1 April 1889, except for the County of London, which came into existence on 21 March at the request of the London County Council.
The Municipal Corporations Act (Ireland) 1840, An Act for the Regulation of Municipal Corporations in Ireland, was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 10 August 1840. It was one of the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Acts 1840 to 1888.
A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975.
Reading Borough Council is the local authority for Reading in the county of Berkshire, England. Reading has had a council since at least 1542, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.
The County Police Act 1839 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Police Acts 1839 to 1893. The Act enabled Justices of the Peace in England and Wales to establish police forces in their counties. The Act was not compulsory, and constabularies were only established in 25 out of 55 counties by 1856, when the County and Borough Police Act 1856 made their provision mandatory.
Salford was, from 1844 to 1974, a local government district in the county of Lancashire in the northwest of England, covering the city of Salford. It was granted city status in 1926.
The County Borough of Leeds, and its predecessor, the Municipal Borough of Leeds, was a local government district in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, from 1835 to 1974. Its origin was the ancient borough of Leeds, which was reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. In 1889, when West Riding County Council was formed, Leeds became a county borough outside the administrative county of the West Riding; and in 1893 the borough gained city status. The borough was extended a number of times, expanding from 21,593 acres (8,738 ha) in 1911 to 40,612 acres (16,435 ha) in 1961; adding in stages the former area of Roundhay, Seacroft, Shadwell and Middleton parishes and gaining other parts of adjacent districts. In 1971 Leeds was the fifth largest county borough by population in England. The county borough was abolished in 1974 and replaced with the larger City of Leeds, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire.
Peterborough City Council is the local authority for Peterborough, a local government district with city status in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. Peterborough has had a council since 1874, which has been reformed several times. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2017 the council has been a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
The Birmingham Street Commissioners were a local government body, created in Birmingham, England in 1769, with powers to manage matters such as streets, markets, and policing. Subsequent Improvement Acts of 1773, 1801, and 1812 gave increased powers to the Street Commissioners. They lasted until they were wound up in 1852, and replaced by Birmingham Town Council.
The Police Act 1964 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that updated the legislation governing police forces in England and Wales, constituted new police authorities, gave the Home Secretary new powers to supervise local constabularies, and allowed for the amalgamation of existing forces into more efficient units.
An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales. The ancient boroughs covered only important towns and were established by charters granted at different times by the monarchy. Their history is largely concerned with the origin of such towns and how they gained the right of self-government. Ancient boroughs were reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which introduced directly elected corporations and allowed the incorporation of new industrial towns. Municipal boroughs ceased to be used for the purposes of local government in 1974, with borough status retained as an honorific title granted to some post-1974 local government districts by the Crown.
The Belfast Borough Police was the police force for Belfast from 1800 to 1865, when it was abolished and replaced by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Its members, nicknamed the Bulkies, had authority within the Belfast Police District.
The Royal Commission on the Corporation of the City of London was a royal commission, established in 1853, which considered the local government arrangements of the City of London and the surrounding metropolitan area.
Ipswich Corporation was the local authority which ran the town of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. It was founded in 1200 and abolished in 1974, being replaced by Ipswich Borough Council. The corporation's formal name until 1835 was the "bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the town or borough of Ipswich", and after 1836 was the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Ipswich", but it was generally known as the corporation or town council.
Walsall Borough Police was a police force in the Borough of Walsall, then in Staffordshire, in England, from 1832–1966.
St Ives Borough Police was the borough police force for the town of St Ives, Cornwall, from 1836 to 1889. It was established following the passage of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The force was unique in that it only boasted a single constable at any one time throughout its entire existence.