Charlies to Bobbies 153beats and men. The Metropolitan Police Commissioners decided in favour of
a degree of familiarity. Constables were rarely shifted from one division to
another and were often assigned to their home divisions.^21 The danger was,
of course, that the police would become too familiar with the public and thus
show favouritism or be susceptible to corruption. The Commissioners
guarded against the former by insisting that their officers maintain strict
impartiality. Rowan and Mayne 'endeavoured to prevent the slightest prac-
tical feeling or bias, being shewn or felt by the police',^22 insisting in their
standing orders: ~ constable will be civil to all people of every rank and
class.'^23 Th reduce corruption, the Commissioners required that all gifts
given to policemen from the public had to be reported and could be accepted
only with the Commissioner's permission.^24 These rules did not mean that
the Metropolitan Police were incorruptible. There is evidence that men
accepted payoffs from illegal gambling dens and brothels. Wilbur Miller
concludes, though, that 'London's police force was not riddled with corrup-
tion to the degree of the New York police - largc;r. it seems, because
Scotland Yard sought to minimize the opportunities.' The Commissioners
continued the effort, begun earlier, to balance the need for men familiar with
the neighbourhoods with the need for impartial and honest policing.
The Metropolitan Police also shared personnel with the night watch. To
wear the blue uniform, a man had to be at least 5ft 7in tall, under 35 years
old, physically and mentally fit, and able to read and write. Evidence from a
few parishes shows a considerable number of parish watchmen must have
met these minimum requirements. In February 1830, when the Metropolitan
Police Commissioners solicited names of the men from the St Luke's, Old
Street, watch who met the requirements, the trustees found that 47 of their
133 men measured up. Thus, one-third of the St Luke's watch were potential
recruits for Scotland Yard. This did not include 12 men who had resigned
from the watch previously to become Metropolitan policemen nor was St
Luke's rated as one of the superior watch forces.^26 Thomas Hack, a Oink
Liberty watch committeeman, was hired as an Inspector. Joseph Thomas was
the first superintendent of F division, which included Covent Garden. He
had been a constable for St Paul, Covent Garden, and a witness before the
1828 Select Committee?^7 Given the tremendous turnover in personnel in the
Metropolitan Police in its first years, it is impossible to say how many of
these early recruits from the parish forces managed to make enduring
careers in the force, but a wholesale replacement of personnel should
certainly not be assumed.^28
The reactions of Londoners and parish leaders was mixed, more complex
than some historians have acknowledged.^29 We learn from parish resolutions
and letters to the Commissioners and the Home Secretary that what gener-
ated the most complaint, anger, and organized opposition was not the
constitutionality but the cost of the new police. The second most common