Publisher's Synopsis
The nucleus of the modern city of Plymouth was three separate towns during the nineteenth century. Each town had a separate police force and each force faced different challenges in establishing themselves as professional law enforcement agencies. This book demonstrates how the officers faced these challenges, how the head constables influenced each force's development, and how the rank-and-file forged their reputations in the streets. Also explained is how the Metropolitan Police arrived in the district and the impact that they had on Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport. The Contagious Diseases Acts brought the Metropolitan Police out into the streets in order to participate in one of the most controversial practices of the Victorian era: the apprehension and registration of suspected prostitutes. The battle for the morality of the three towns was of national importance in the debates surrounding the CD Acts. Reputations were at stake as senior police officers fought their case at the highest level of government. The local police were to play a vital role in determining the future for this unique piece of legislation. What started as a piece of academic work grew into the first in-depth study into the birth of policing in Plymouth. Discussions of accountability, duty and local politics show how different police forces acted within a conurbation. Using a mixture of biography, prosopography, statistics and anecdotes, a large amount of primary sources were used to create this historiography of the police forces of the greater Plymouth district.
