A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis

Patrick Colquhoun (1745-1820) was one of the founders, in 1798, of the Thames River Police. Initially a merchant based in Glasgow, he later moved to London and was appointed as a magistrate in the East End. In 1796, he published (anonymously) a report on the types of crime in the capital, and the need for regulation of the behaviour of the inhabitants to suppress it. The work examines the different categories of crime in London, such as illegal trading in the docks, fraud, burglary, and robbery. Later chapters discuss the issue of punishment as well as the changes Colquhoun believed were required in the existing police force. In this 1797 fourth edition - one of six later editions that were published by 1799 - Colquhoun added a lengthy exposition on gambling. Although many of his measures were considered unworkable, Colquhoun's ideas played an important part in the development of modern policing.