In 1797, Patrick Colquhoun was able to persuade the West Indies merchants who operated at the Pool of London on the River Thames, to establish a police force at the docks to prevent rampant theft that was causing annual estimated losses of £500,000 worth of cargo. The idea of a police, as it then existed in France, was considered as a potentially undesirable foreign import. In building the case for the police in the face of England's firm anti-police sentiment, Colquhoun framed the political rationale on economic indicators to show that a police dedicated to crime prevention was "perfectly congenial to the principle of the British constitution." Moreover, he went so far as to praise the French system, which had reached "the greatest degree of perfection" in his estimation. COUNT 5
QSN1 Who convinced the West Indies merchants in London to establish police? ANS1 Patrick Colquhoun QSN2 Where did the West Indies merchants in London create a police force? ANS2 docks QSN3 When did the West Indies merchants in London create a police force? ANS3 1797 QSN4 How much cargo had been being stolen from West Indies merchants in London each year? ANS4 £500,000 QSN5 How did Colquhoun praise the French police? ANS5 "the greatest degree of perfection"