City of Glasgow Police
Encyclopedia
The City of Glasgow Police was the police
of the City of Glasgow, Scotland
. In the 17th century, Scottish
cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constable
s. On June 30, 1800, the authorities of Glasgow
, successfully petitioned the British Government to pass the Glasgow Police Act establishing the City of Glasgow Police. It served Glasgow from 1800 to 1975, when it was amalgamated into Strathclyde Police
. It is sometimes described as the first modern-style municipal police force, although due to the original Glasgow force's small size and varied duties (as well as policing they also fought fires, called the hours and swept the streets, thus in many ways more closely resembling the older city watchmen) this title is more commonly claimed by the London
Metropolitan Police
. The Metropolitan force's claim, however, is based upon the fact that it amalgamated with the River Thames Marine Police Force
, founded in 1798 and indeed the oldest police force in continuous service.
The Bailies displayed vision and innovation in setting out their proposals insisting that the force would be run by a Watch Committee of elected citizens, known as Commissioners. The force would wear uniforms with numbered badges with 'Police' inscribed on them and each member would lodge £50 to guarantee their good conduct. The force of eight would provide twenty-four hour patrols (supplementing the Police Watchmen who were on static points throughout the night) to prevent crime and detect offenders.
The policemen they envisaged would not be mere watchmen and what they had written down was the concept of "Preventive Policing", 40 years before Sir Robert Peel
established preventive policing in the Metropolitan area of London
in 1829. In February 1789 this force of truly professional police took to the streets.
During the following eleven years, Glasgow City fathers tried to get their Police Bill before Parliament
, but without success. In the meantime, the small, pioneering, Glasgow police force, led by the Master of Police, Richard Marshall, was struggling to maintain its existence due to lack of the finance that the Bill would have provided. In 1790 the force failed and the City had again to rely on a City Guard of citizens. During the summer of 1800, the Glasgow Police Bill was debated in Parliament and on 30 June 1800, the Glasgow Police Act received Royal Assent.
It was from these modest beginnings that the Glasgow Police embarked on more than 200 years of service to the City.
Peter McKinlay was appointed as Criminal Officer, Glasgow's first Detective
. In 1846 the Glasgow Police merged with the Gorbals
, Calton
and Anderston
Burgh Police. As a result of this, Glasgow Police divided into four Divisions and now numbered 360 officers.
New uniforms were issued in 1849, which consisted of a better quality top hat, three-quarter length dress coats with standing collar and nine buttons.
Electric telegraph adopted for communication between offices and other police forces in 1861 and in 1878, a horse drawn van was introduced for conveying prisoners.
Due to the City of Glasgow Act 1891, the City boundaries were extended to the south, north and west sides of the City. Due to the extension, a system of 14 cast iron Police Signal boxes was installed in the outlying areas. By 1900, the City of Glasgow Police numbered 1355 officers and men.
In 1904 the force appointed its first Chief Inspector
of Detectives, and the first Detective Constables were appointed. The Old Central Police Office in South Albion Street closed and a new Central Police Office in Turnbull Street opened as Headquarters of the Glasgow Police on 23 March 1906.
On 5 November 1912, by Act of Parliament
, the boundaries of the City were again extended and the force merged with the Govan
and Partick Burgh Police.
In the First World War 300 Glasgow police officers enlisted in the Armed Forces. As a result, the force employed 400 temporary Constables and increased the Special Constabulary
to 3000 to guard strategic buildings and factories within the City. In 1915, the Chief Constable
ordered policemen to desist from enlisting in the Armed Forces due to the depletion of the force.
The force discussed the appointment of Policewomen and on 6 September, Miss Emily Miller was appointed Glasgow's first policewoman. At the end of the war, of the 748 Glasgow policemen who had enlisted, 112 had been killed and a further 33 were reported missing presumed killed.
In January 1919, thousands of striking shipyard and engineering workers marched on the Corporation Power Station in Eddington Street, Port Dundas
. In furtherance of their strike, they gathered in George Square on 31 January and a riot ensued, known as the 1919 Battle of George Square
. The Riot Act
was read but it had little effect. A night of further rioting followed which resulted in the Army being called to assist the Police. By the following morning, tanks were deployed in George Square and machine gun crews occupied the roofs of the buildings overlooking it.
In 1931, cuts in Government benefits lead to marches by the unemployed and riots in Glasgow Green, Saltmarket, and Jail Square. Fifty-one men were arrested.
Glasgow's first radio patrol car system was put into operation in May, 1936.
In 1939, on the outbreak of Second World War, the Glasgow Police prepared and established the Air Raid Precautions Service. Many serving police officers joined the Armed Forces. In 1942 Chief Constable Sillitoe was knighted and resigned in 1943 to take command of the Kent Constabulary.
In 1975, the City of Glasgow Police, Lanarkshire Constabulary, Renfrew and Bute Constabulary, Dunbartonshire Constabulary, Argyll County Police, Ayrshire Constabulary and a small portion of Stirling and Clackmannan Police, were amalgamated to create Strathclyde Police
.
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
of the City of Glasgow, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. In the 17th century, Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
cities used to hire watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting a force of unpaid citizen constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
s. On June 30, 1800, the authorities of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, successfully petitioned the British Government to pass the Glasgow Police Act establishing the City of Glasgow Police. It served Glasgow from 1800 to 1975, when it was amalgamated into Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
. It is sometimes described as the first modern-style municipal police force, although due to the original Glasgow force's small size and varied duties (as well as policing they also fought fires, called the hours and swept the streets, thus in many ways more closely resembling the older city watchmen) this title is more commonly claimed by the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
. The Metropolitan force's claim, however, is based upon the fact that it amalgamated with the River Thames Marine Police Force
Marine Police Force
The Marine Police Force, sometimes known as the Thames River Police and said to be England's first Police force, was formed by magistrate Patrick Colquhoun and a Master Mariner, John Harriott, in 1798 to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and the lower reaches of the...
, founded in 1798 and indeed the oldest police force in continuous service.
Beginnings
In 1779, Bailies (magistrates) of the City of Glasgow appointed James Buchanan as Inspector and established a Police force of eight police officers. This force failed through lack of finance in 1781. In 1788 six Bailies proposed to establish a Police force and obtain an Act of Parliament to empower them to levy a rate from householders to finance the force.The Bailies displayed vision and innovation in setting out their proposals insisting that the force would be run by a Watch Committee of elected citizens, known as Commissioners. The force would wear uniforms with numbered badges with 'Police' inscribed on them and each member would lodge £50 to guarantee their good conduct. The force of eight would provide twenty-four hour patrols (supplementing the Police Watchmen who were on static points throughout the night) to prevent crime and detect offenders.
The policemen they envisaged would not be mere watchmen and what they had written down was the concept of "Preventive Policing", 40 years before Sir Robert Peel
Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
established preventive policing in the Metropolitan area of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1829. In February 1789 this force of truly professional police took to the streets.
During the following eleven years, Glasgow City fathers tried to get their Police Bill before Parliament
Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
, but without success. In the meantime, the small, pioneering, Glasgow police force, led by the Master of Police, Richard Marshall, was struggling to maintain its existence due to lack of the finance that the Bill would have provided. In 1790 the force failed and the City had again to rely on a City Guard of citizens. During the summer of 1800, the Glasgow Police Bill was debated in Parliament and on 30 June 1800, the Glasgow Police Act received Royal Assent.
City of Glasgow Police established
On 29 September 1800, John Stenhouse, a city merchant, was appointed Master of Police and he set about organising and recruiting the force. He appointed three sergeants and six police constables, dividing them into sections of one sergeant and two police constables to each section. On 15 November, the Glasgow Police mustered in the Session House of the Laigh Kirk, Trongate, for the first time. There were three reliefs. One sergeant and two police officers were on duty in the Police Office for twenty-four hours. The other section on patrol duty and the third section was entitled to rest for twenty-four hours. The sixty-eight watchmen were also there in their long brown coats with their personal numbers painted on their backs. Each carried a lantern and long stave. They would man fixed points within the City while the police officers patrolled to prevent crime.It was from these modest beginnings that the Glasgow Police embarked on more than 200 years of service to the City.
19th century
In 1819 LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Peter McKinlay was appointed as Criminal Officer, Glasgow's first Detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
. In 1846 the Glasgow Police merged with the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
, Calton
Calton
Calton may refer to:Places:*Calton, Argyll and Bute, Scotland*Calton, Glasgow, Scotland*Calton, North Yorkshire, England*Calton, Ontario, Canada*Calton, Staffordshire, England*Calton Hill, ScotlandPeople:*Patsy Calton, British politician...
and Anderston
Anderston
Anderston is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is on the north bank of the River Clyde and extends to the western edge of the city centre...
Burgh Police. As a result of this, Glasgow Police divided into four Divisions and now numbered 360 officers.
New uniforms were issued in 1849, which consisted of a better quality top hat, three-quarter length dress coats with standing collar and nine buttons.
Electric telegraph adopted for communication between offices and other police forces in 1861 and in 1878, a horse drawn van was introduced for conveying prisoners.
Due to the City of Glasgow Act 1891, the City boundaries were extended to the south, north and west sides of the City. Due to the extension, a system of 14 cast iron Police Signal boxes was installed in the outlying areas. By 1900, the City of Glasgow Police numbered 1355 officers and men.
20th century
Chief inspector
Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:...
of Detectives, and the first Detective Constables were appointed. The Old Central Police Office in South Albion Street closed and a new Central Police Office in Turnbull Street opened as Headquarters of the Glasgow Police on 23 March 1906.
On 5 November 1912, by Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
, the boundaries of the City were again extended and the force merged with the Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
and Partick Burgh Police.
In the First World War 300 Glasgow police officers enlisted in the Armed Forces. As a result, the force employed 400 temporary Constables and increased the Special Constabulary
Special Constabulary
The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of a statutory police force in the United Kingdom or some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as Special Constables or informally as Specials.Every United Kingdom territorial police force has a special constabulary except the...
to 3000 to guard strategic buildings and factories within the City. In 1915, the Chief Constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
ordered policemen to desist from enlisting in the Armed Forces due to the depletion of the force.
The force discussed the appointment of Policewomen and on 6 September, Miss Emily Miller was appointed Glasgow's first policewoman. At the end of the war, of the 748 Glasgow policemen who had enlisted, 112 had been killed and a further 33 were reported missing presumed killed.
In January 1919, thousands of striking shipyard and engineering workers marched on the Corporation Power Station in Eddington Street, Port Dundas
Port Dundas
Port Dundas is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre. It lies to the north of Cowcaddens, and to the west of Sighthill, with Hamiltonhill and Possilpark to the north-west.-History:...
. In furtherance of their strike, they gathered in George Square on 31 January and a riot ensued, known as the 1919 Battle of George Square
1919 Battle of George Square
The 1919 Battle of George Square, also known as Bloody Friday and Black Friday, was one of the most intense riots in the history of Glasgow, Scotland, which took place on Friday, 31 January 1919. The dispute revolved around a campaign for shorter working hours, backed by widespread strike action...
. The Riot Act
Riot Act
The Riot Act was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that authorised local authorities to declare any group of twelve or more people to be unlawfully assembled, and thus have to disperse or face punitive action...
was read but it had little effect. A night of further rioting followed which resulted in the Army being called to assist the Police. By the following morning, tanks were deployed in George Square and machine gun crews occupied the roofs of the buildings overlooking it.
In 1931, cuts in Government benefits lead to marches by the unemployed and riots in Glasgow Green, Saltmarket, and Jail Square. Fifty-one men were arrested.
Glasgow's first radio patrol car system was put into operation in May, 1936.
In 1939, on the outbreak of Second World War, the Glasgow Police prepared and established the Air Raid Precautions Service. Many serving police officers joined the Armed Forces. In 1942 Chief Constable Sillitoe was knighted and resigned in 1943 to take command of the Kent Constabulary.
In 1975, the City of Glasgow Police, Lanarkshire Constabulary, Renfrew and Bute Constabulary, Dunbartonshire Constabulary, Argyll County Police, Ayrshire Constabulary and a small portion of Stirling and Clackmannan Police, were amalgamated to create Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
.