where was the first formal police department created in the united states in 1838
Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD), dating back to 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the American city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the first in the nation.[2] The BPD is also the 20th largest law enforcement agency in the country and the 3rd largest in New England behind the Massachusetts State Police (2,300 officers) and the Massachusetts Department of Correction (4,000 officers).[3]
History of the Metropolitan Police Service Metropolitan Police patrols took to the streets on 29 September 1829, despite resistance from certain elements of the community who saw them to be a threat to civil liberties.[11] The initial force consisted of two Commissioners, eight Superintendents, 20 Inspectors, 88 Sergeants and 895 Constables.[12] Patrolling the streets within a seven-mile (11Â km) radius of Charing Cross, in order to prevent crime and pursue offenders.[13] Between 1829 and 1830, 17 local divisions each with its own police station were established, each lettered A to V, allocating each London borough with a designated letter.[14] These divisions were: A (Westminster); B (Chelsea); C (Mayfair and Soho); D (Marylebone); E (Holborn); F (Kensington); G (Kings Cross); H (Stepney); K (West Ham); L (Lambeth); M (Southwark); N (Islington); P (Peckham); R (Greenwich); S (Hampstead); T (Hammersmith) and V (Wandsworth). In 1865 three more divisions were created, W (Clapham); X (Willesden) and Y (Tottenham); J Division (Bethnal Green) was added in 1886.