Treatise on the police of the metropolis

This book provides a summary of the criminal offences common in London in the late eighteenth century, with suggestions for how the situation could be improved. Without an organised police force, crime flourished in the city and vast sums of money were lost every year.

Colquhoun and his associates, with support from the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, established a private ‘river police’ to combat these problems. The success of the force persuaded the government to pass an act that made it a public organisation in 1800. It was one of the first police forces to be established. This book is a copy of the sixth edition of Colquhoun’s report, presented to George III in 1800.