1. Why did people stay in their homes as much as possible? 2. Why did they call the policemen ‘Bow Street Runners’?
3. How did “Bow Street Runners” get their name?
Police In 1700 London had no policemen at all. A few men protected the city streets at night. Many people were poor and there were so many thieves who stole money in the streets that people stayed in their homes as much as possible.
In 1750, Henry Fielding started to pay a group of people to stop thieves. They were like policemen and were called ‘Bow Street Runners’ because they worked near Bow Street. Fifty years later, there were 120 Bow Street Runners, but London had become very big and needed more policemen. In 1829, the first London Police Force was started with 3000 officers. Most of the men worked on foot, but a few rode horses.
Today, London police are quite well paid and for the few police officers who still ride horses, the pay is even better than for the others.
