The informal, volunteer based system was not working. People who partook in this activity, such as a figure called Charles Huitchen and his accomplice Jonathan Wild, were voluntarily policing the streets of London for big profits when in fact, these men and others like them were often behind much of the crime in the area.
This resulted in unofficial policemen who were known as ‘Thief Takers’ who would capture criminals for money and negotiate deals in order to return stolen goods whilst claiming rewards. The group would end up successfully solving and preventing crimes until 1839 when the force was disbanded in favour of the Metropolitan Police, leaving behind a legacy for modern-day policing.īefore the introduction of the Bow Street Runners and anything of the like, policing took the form of privately paid individuals used to maintain law and order without a formal system connected to the state. The Bow Street Runners were the first professional police force, organised in London by magistrate and author Henry Fielding in 1749.
