History of the Metropolitan Police
Time Line 1870 - 1889
| 1870 | The standard height for Metropolitan Police officers is raised to 5ft 8ins, except for Thames Division, where it is 5ft 7ins. | ||
| 1871 | As a result of frequent larcenies of linen, the Commissioner Edmund Henderson said, on the 21 April, "Constables are to call at the houses of all persons on their beats having wet linen in their gardens, and caution them of the risk they run in having them stolen..." | ||
| 1872 | Police strike for the first time. Various men are disciplined or dismissed, although these latter are later allowed back in to the Force. | ||
| 1873 | The Metropolitan Police acquire 9 new stations : North Woolwich, Rodney Road (Lock's Fields), Chislehurst, Finchley, Isleworth, Putney, South Norwood, Harrow and Enfield Town. | ||
| 1874 | A survey of recruiting over a 2 year period showed that of those who had joined the force; 31% came from land jobs, 12% from military services, and 5% from other police jobs. The remainder came mostly from manual jobs. The majority of recruits and serving officers came from outside of London. | ||
| 1875 | New police offices at Great Scotland Yard are taken possession of on 4 October 1875 by the Detective and Public Carriage Departments. | ||
| 1876 | 8 January the following order was released : "Relief from duty during severe weather - dufing the present severe weather as much indulgence as possible is to be given to the men on night duty, due regard being had to public safety.." | ||
| 1877 | Trial of the Detectives or Turf Fraud Scandal exposes corruption within the Force. corruption within the Force. |  |
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| 1878 | Charles Vincent was appointed Director of Criminal Investigations, the reformed Detective Branch which became known as C.I.D. |  |
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| 1879 | Initial rules for dealing with Murder cases, released on 7 June, stated "the body must not be moved, nor anything about it or in the room or place interfered with, and the public must be excluded.." | ||
| 1880 | Formation of the Convict Supervision Office for the assistance and control of convicts discharged upon license. | ||
| 1881 | Possibly London's most famous police station, Bow Street, was rebuilt in this year. |  |
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| 1882 | The growth of London and the area needing policing is illustrated in Tottenham, (Y Division) when 8 miles of new streets are formed in a year with nearly 4,000 houses on them. The Metropolitan Police at Devonport Dockyard illustrate the diversity of the role of the force as the Police Fire Brigade has its busiest year since formation with 6 major fires. |
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| 1883 | Special Irish Branch formed. | ||
| 1884 | A bomb explodes at Scotland Yard planted by the Fenians. The Special Irish Branch are hit. |  |
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| 1885 | The strength of
the force at this time was 13,319, but statistics show that
only 1,383 officers were available for beat duty in the day.
The population of London at this time was 5,255,069.
Public outrage at the explosions at the Tower of London and Houses of Parliament. Two men are sentenced to penal servitude for life as a result. |
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| 1886 | Trafalgar Square riot forces resignation of the Commissioner Sir Edmund Henderson. | ||
| 1887 | Major riot in Trafalgar Square, known as 'Bloody Sunday', the first test for the new Commissioner Sir Charles Warren, appointed the previous year. | ||
| 1888 | Sir Charles Warren
resigns after a dispute with the Home Office, and James
Monro is appointed Commissioner in his place. Jack the Ripper murders in the Whitechapel area. |
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| 1889 | The last of the so called "Whitechapel" murders is discovered with the death in Castle Alley on 17 July of Alice McKenzie. | ||