There are two main police forces that patrol London. The forces are separate, but wear similar dark navy blue uniforms. You can tell them a part from looking at the badge on their helmet.
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Metropolitan Police |
City of London Police |
They wear very dark blue uniforms and white shirts, and some wear tall helmets, developed from the top hats worn by early policemen. Their dark blue uniforms are almost indistinguishable from black and earnt the police the nickname of the "boys in blue".
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police headquarters is New Scotland Yard. Its officers' duties include protecting the Queen.
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The City of London Police is responsible for the Square Mile - from the River Thames in the south to the Barbican Centre in the north, Holborn and Fleet Street to the west and Aldgate and Liverpool Street to the east.
The City of London police force was set up ten years after the Metropolitan force, although there has been some form of policing in the City of London since Roman times.
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Police ladies' hat and mans' cap with the distinctive red and white check band |
The City of London Police officers have a distinctive red and white check on their caps (or ladies' hats) and a gold-coloured helmet plate and gold-coloured buttons.
City of London Police |
Metropolitan Police |
City of London Police |
Two nicknames for British police, 'bobbies' and 'Peelers', come from the founder of the 'Met' Police, Sir Robert Peel.
The Metropolitan Police Marine Support patrols the River Thames in speedboats. It is responsible for policing 84 miles of the River Thames from Teddington Lock (at Ham, west London) to Erith (in the London Borough of Bexley), and 12 miles of rivers and navigable creeks in the London area.
Its floating police station is by Waterloo Bridge.
Buckingham Palace, the London home of the Queen, has its own police station.
Policemen became to be known as " bobbies" after Robert Peel who set up the first organised police service in London, 1829. Bobby is short for Robert.
Before 1829, crime was policed by the Bow Street Runners (1748-1829), the first professional police force in Britain.
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Yes. You can especially see policeman on horses in London.
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Not all police cars look like this one
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