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Policing Peterborough

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Peterborough City Police

(This is part of the history published by the Peterborough Combined Police in 1957 celebrating 100 years of policing and for the opening of the new Headquarters at Bridge Street)

From the short foregoing history of the Liberty of Peterborough Constabulary, it will be seen that until 1874, the City of Peterborough was policed by that Force which was itself under the direction of a man who was also Chief Constable of Northamptonshire. He was, of course, mainly concerned with that county. He had no local associations and particularly bearing in mind the difficulties in travelling and communications in those days, he could not be extremely well acquainted with local happenings and requirements.

This was not at all satisfactory to the civic leaders of the City and they thought they should have some control and representation over the Police and their activities, other than having to act through the Justices in Quarter Sessions.

When the City applied for its Charter of Incorporation in 1873, this fact was used as one of the main arguments in support of the case and as Mr. W. D. Gaches said at the inquiry " . . . Where is there another Borough with a population of 20,000 where the Police are beyond the control of the Town ... " The population of the City at this time was about 21.000.

However, the Home Secretary of the day was not very enthusiastic, despite this plea and only acceded to the City having a Police Force of its own when it was stressed to him that to obtain control of the Police was one of the main reasons for applying for Incorporation.

The Charter was granted to the City in 1874 and the Council were then required to appoint a Watch Committee comprising one-third of the elected members of the Council plus the Mayor. This Committee met first on the 16th June, 1874, and formally decided to appoint a Police Force for the City and Municipal Borough of Peterborough.

At the same meeting, the strength of the Force was decided upon as 1 Chief Officer who was to be known as the Head Constable, 2 Sergeants and 12 Constables. On the following day the Town Clerk informed Captain Bayly, the Chief Constable of the Liberty Constabulary that the Watch Committee were prepared to accept applications from the men of his Force then serving in Peterborough to transfer their services to the Peterborough Corporation.

On the 22nd July, 1874, James Hurst was appointed as the Head Constable and Joseph Scotney and William Moyses as Sergeants with 6 other men as Constables.

All was not clear water, however, and on the 30th July, the Home Secretary informed the Committee that he did not consider the proposed strength of the new Force, amounting to 15 officers of all ranks, to be a sufficient establishment for a Borough maintaining a separate Force of its own. He further informed the Council that he would not be prepared to certify efficient maintenance of the Force in Peterborough unless the establishment be based on an average strength of at least one constable for each thousand of the population. He also considered there should be three sergeants and not two as suggested.

To those unacquainted with Police administration, it may seem strange that the Home Secretary should exercise such control, and the implications of the threat to withold his certificate that the Force was efficient, will not be fully realised. The fact is, that since the days of the formation of proper paid police forces, a proportion of the cost has always been provided by the Exchequer to assist the ratepayers in providing this service. Up to the year 1874, the grant from the Central Government was one-quarter of the cost of pay and clothing. The Police Expenses Act of 1874 raised the grant to one-half of the cost of pay and clothing and at the end of the First World War this was raised to one-half of the total cost of the Force per annum. All these payments from the Treasury, are, however, dependent upon the Home Office certifying the Force to be efficient and for this purpose the Forces are all inspected annually by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary.

It will thus be seen that if the Home Secretary did not agree that the Force was sufficient in numbers to be efficient then the ratepayers of Peterborough would have had a good deal more money to find in order to keep control of their Force.

The Watch Committee then had to think again. They had a meeting on the 28th August to consider the Home Secretary's letter and decided-by no means unanimously - that the proposed establishment should be increased by one sergeant and two constables. It will be noted that this still did not reach the requirements of one constable per thousand persons as such play had been made of the fact that the Borough was over 20,000 in population at the enquiry held to consider the grant of a Charter Incorporation. The total suggested strength of all ranks was now 18. The new proposals were forwarded to the Home Secretary, stressing to him that the arrangements for the occupation of the Police Station and the Police dwelling had been completed and that the Council were satisfied that the proposals, made after discussion with the Home Office, would prove thoroughly efficient and satisfactory. The Home Secretary appears to have conceded the point as there is no record of any further discussions over the initial establishment of the Force and at the same meeting the Watch Committee decided to advertise for constables at wages of 20s. 6d. per week with clothing provided. The standards to be required of candidates were that they should not be less than 5ft. 8ins. in height and not under 21 years of age nor more than 30.

The Headquarters of the Force were established in a building in Milton Street.

At the October 1874 meeting of the Watch Committee, the weekly pay bill of the Force was presented for confirmation and this amounted to £19 17s. 5d. In December, the Committee decided that, in order to keep well acquainted with the work of the Force, the Occurrence Book and the Charge Book should be produced by the Head Constable at each meeting of the Committee.

The first twelve months of the history of the Force was not a particularly happy one so far as the discipline of the personnel was concerned. One man was fined for not keeping his conference point and for losing his cape, lamp and handcuffs whilst on duty; another was dismissed for impertinence to the Head Constable and another constable was dismissed after appearing before the Magistrates on a charge of being drunk and disorderly. A colleague of this man refused to attend court to give evidence against him and he was required to resign, which he did forthwith.

The Committee also had other things to exercise their minds. At the February meeting in 1875, a bill for the winding up of the Police Station Clock for the previous year was presented. This amounted to the sum of five shillings, and after a good deal of discussion, an amendment that in future the constables should wind the clock themselves was defeated by a substantial majority.

In June of the same year the minimum height for recruits was raised to 5ft. 9ins. The Committee also decided that six men should be allowed to attend the Agricultural Show on duty and that a charge of 3s. 6d. per man be made which was to be divided among the Force.

In August the Committee agreed to ask the Chief Constable of Huntingdonshire for the loan of 12 men for 3 days for duties in connection with Bridge Fair.

The main excitement in those early days of the Force appeared to centre on election time. At the Election in 1880, Special Constables were sworn in for duty on Election Day and as the Peterborough Force then numbered only 18 all ranks, a contingent of men was borrowed from the Northamptonshire Constabulary. These men paraded the streets in sixes and little damage occurred. The 1885 Election was a bit more robust and what are described as scenes of great disorder and riot took place at at least one pre-election meeting, but there is no record of any serious clash between the police and the public. The Polling Day of the 1889 By-Election produced the much-talked of tar barrel episode when at one time there were no less than 16 lighted tar barrels rolling around the streets in the centre of the town. Three constables were guarding the end of Narrow Street, but after a very determined attempt the crowd managed to get one of these lighted barrels past them and it was heeled over on to the steps of the Angel Hotel where some of the occupants threw water on to the crowd and others turned a hose pipe upon them. This resulted in more disorder and the crowd tried hard to get a lighted barrel into the building, but the landlord and some of his guests gave a good account of themselves, although when the barrel was smashed up, lighted staves from it were thrown through the hotel windows.

For the Election of 1892, the police made special plans but these did not prevent serious trouble. A mob hurled stones, broken bottles and other missiles at the police and several constables were badly cut and bruised and windows of nearby buildings were smashed.

The mob grew until over 800 people, many of them drunk, were milling on the Market Place and a serious clash with the police resulted in another three constables being taken off to the Infirmary.

Some of the accounts of the occasion say that the calmness of the police infuriated the crowd, but if that be so the action they took on a later occasion to restore order infuriated a lot more people. However, eventually the police made a baton charge upon the crowd, forcing them back, and at one o'clock in the morning as they had still not dispersed, the gas lights were put out in the streets and eventually they went home.

At the 1895 Election there was more trouble. A large crowd of roughs assembled on the Market Place. They were armed with sticks and home-made truncheons and the inevitable tar barrels were again set rolling towards Narrow Street. The mood of the crowd caused the Chief Constable to call out 20 Reserve Police and eventually a force of 35 constables made a baton charge upon the crowd in an attempt to clear them. The crowd retaliated by throwing all sorts of missiles and the police again charged. It is reported that several people were severely trampled. Blood marks on the Market Place and broken windows in the vicinity the following morning revealed the severity of the disorders and some 900 people signed a Memorial and presented it to the Watch Committee complaining of the brutality of the police A public enquiry was held and it was then decided there had been a determined attack upon the police on the night in question, that the police had not charged before missiles were thrown at them or before the crowd had been warned by the Chief Constable to disperse. The Committee held that the Chief Constable had been justified in calling out the reserve men and in charging the rioters.

The Chief Constable at this time was Mr. John William Lawson. The first Head Constable, Mr. William Hurst, had resigned in January, 1889, and had died the following April. Mr. Lawson was appointed by the Watch Committee on the 22nd February, 1889, and resigned in March, 1909. He was succeeded by Mr. John Edward Ker Watson who had been a chief inspector in the police force at Barrow-in-Furness, and on the 12th August in the same year, Mr. Thomas Danby, who was then serving as a detective sergeant in the Barnsley Police Force was appointed as senior inspector in the Peterborough City Police.

By 1912, the authorised establishment of the Force had increased to a total of 39 men of all ranks, There was 1 Chief Constable, 2 Inspectors, 1 Acting Detective Sergeant, 4 Sergeants and 31 Constables. The population of the City had risen to 33,578, and 94 indictable crimes were reported to the police in that year against 97 the year before and 100 in 1910. Fifty-six persons were proceeded against for indictable offences so the percentage of detection appeared to be fairly satisfactory.

The main class of indictable offence was theft in one form or another, and 80 of the crimes reported in that year came into this category, including 12 offences of breaking into houses and other buildings. Fifty-seven cases of theft were detected and the amount of property stolen was estimated at £266 12s. 6ld. and the amount recovered was £195 0s. 1ld. There was 1 case of malicious wounding, 1 case of indecent assault on a female and 1 attempted suicide.

Three-hundred and forty-one people were prosecuted for non-indictable offences and 28 of them were convicted. This was of course before the days of the Road Traffic Acts and the copious legislation now affecting the use of vehicles. The main offences in 1912 were common assaults, for which 30 people were taken before the court and drunkenness, for which 46 persons including 11 females, were prosecuted. Twenty-two people were before the court for breaking bye-laws and a further 31 for offences to the annoyance, obstruction or danger of residents and passengers in the various offences under the Town Police Clauses Act. Twenty two people were before the court for begging, 5 for sleeping out and 8 for gaming.

In 1913 the number of crimes rose to 116 but the following year they fell to 88 and no doubt the outbreak of War would have some effect on these figures. It is recorded in this year that owing to riotous scenes exhibited against a German Pork Butcher's premises and others early in August after war was declared, 123 Special Constables were sworn in to assist the police maintaining order. Between then and the end of the year, the strength of the Special Constabulary was further increased to 211 to cope with the possibility of invasion. The Chief Constable paid a tribute to these men in his annual report of that year saying that whenever they had been employed they had been of the greatest assistance to the police and carried out the duties assigned to them in a praiseworthy manner.

By 1914, the actual strength of the Force was 36 men against an establishment of 39, the 3 vacancies being caused by constables having joined the Colours and their places were filled by Police Reserves. At this time a constable's pay was 25s. per week and in addition, those men employed on street duties received an "oil allowance" of 3d. per week for fuel for their duty lamps.

Mr. Thomas Danby the Senior Inspector resigned his position on the 31st August, 1912, on his appointment as Chief Constable of the Borough of Congleton in Cheshire, and when the Chief Constable of Peterborough, Mr. Ker Watson, resigned on the 30th April, 1915, to take a similar post at Preston, the Watch Committee appointed Mr. Danby to be Chief Constable of Peterborough, and he took up his duties on the 1st May, 1915.

During the First World War, the strength of the Force varied considerably with vacancies caused by absences on service being filled by Reserve Police and other duties performed by Special Constables. Altogether, about one half of the regular force saw service with the Colours. The actual number was 17 and of these one was killed in action and one was discharged from the Army with wounds which rendered him unfit to resume police duties. One member of the Force was awarded the Military Medal.

In the years immediately following the First World War, the Police Force did not appear to be a particularly attractive career, as although the establishment was kept at 39 for several years, it was not possible to reach this figure. The number of vacancies at the end of each year varied between about 5 and 6 men-a considerable proportion of the small total strength, although in those days the City only covered an area of 1,878 acres.

In 1926, the number of crimes known to the Police had risen to 195. In that year the Force was 1 Inspector, 1 Sergeant and 4 Constables short of its strength.

In 1928, the Home Office agreed to the reduction in the establishment by 1 Inspector, but with the extension of the city boundary on the Ist April, 1929, the establishment was increased to 40 all ranks, and by the following year the Force was only 1 man
short of requirements.

The City had now been extended to cover some 10,002 acres against the previous area of 1,874 acres and the population was then 39,551. In 1931, the Force was up to strength and at the census taken in that year the population of the police area was recorded as 43,558. In that year too, the number of crimes known to the Police reached the highest figure so far then recorded. Three-hundred and sixteen such reports were received and these resulted in 61 persons being dealt with for criminal offences. A further 309 persons were prosecuted for non-indictable offences. It was in 1931 also, that the Superintendent in charge of the Liberty Police retired, and Mr. Danby was appointed to be Chief Constable of that Force as a joint appointment with that of the City.

By 1937, the strength of the Force had risen to 47 and in the next 2 years was further increased to a total of 55. At the outbreak of the Second World War in September, 1939, the Force was only 1 man short. Crime had then increased to 485 per year of which just over half were detected.

During the early years of the 1939-1945 War, the Force was depleted by the loss of the younger members to the fighting forces and their places were taken by First Police Reserve and War Reserve Officers. These were necessary to undertake the additional commitments imposed on the police in enforcing the emergency legislation and lighting restrictions and in the guarding of vulnerable points and other war time duties. During these years, as always in time of stress, many members of the public volunteered for service in the Special Constabulary, and this auxiliary body again proved of inestimable value in assisting the police in their duties.

In October, 1943, Mr. Thomas Danby retired from his office of Chief Constable after having given the City 28 years of keen and devoted service and he was succeeded in the post by the present Chief Constable, Mr. F. G. Markin, B.E.M., who had previously served as a Superintendent in the Salford City Police.

At the end of the War, the establishment of the Force had been raised to 56 men plus 8 policewomen and there were actually serving 53 men, including 4 police war reserve constables, plus 4 policewomen.

The crimes known to the police had risen to about 700 per year and the number of people prosecuted for non-indictable offences to about 450.

During this War, two members of the Force were killed in action with the R.A.F. One man was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and another serving policeman was awarded the British Empire Medal for the manner in which he rescued 2 people from a demolished building at a local air raid incident.

The Peterborough City Police Force ceased to exist on the 31st March, 1947, when the Combined Police Force came into being. The Forces covering the Liberty and the City of Peterborough were amalgamated and all serving personnel transferred to the new Authority.

This page was last modified: 11 October 2025, 10:37

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