Download How Useful Were Britain’s First Policemen?
Click the button below to download this worksheet for use in the classroom or at home.
Download →
Learning Objectives:
- All of you will evaluate the role of the Metropolitan Police from 1829 onwards.
- Most of you will utilise sources to find out what people thought of the new police at the time.
- Some of you will illustrate the effectiveness of the new policemen in 1829.
Lesson Snapshot:
The arrival of the Bobbies in Great Britain?
With the arrival of the railway and the introduction of national newspapers in the early 1800s, petty theft, robbery and murder appeared to be on the increase in London and politicians were worried. In 1829, to help combat crime, the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, decided to create a Metropolitan Police Force in London. This was the first official police force in Great Britain.
How effective were the new policemen?
The role of police officers today is to prevent crime and solve cases when they are committed. Look carefully at the diagram below. The boxes provide simple statements about the Metropolitan Police Force. Read through them as a table and then discuss how useful the information is for learning about the effectiveness of the police in 1829 in preventing and solving crimes?
Worksheet Lesson Plan:
- Aimed at Students studying across UK Year 7,8 & 9 or equivalent
- Premium resource
- Use as you wish in the classroom or home environment
- Structured information sheet and questions of how effective Britain’s new police were.