The Bow Street Runners: Mobile Police

n response to the growing fear of crime, Henry Fielding, the newly appointed magistrate of Westminster and Middlesex in England, proposes, in 1748 that the watch and ward system be centralized. Fielding­who is, incidentally, more famous for being a popular writer than a law enforcement expert — puts together a private agency to patrol the streets of London. This first mobile police force is known as the Bow Street Runners (Fielding works out of his home on Bow Street). He also organizes a mounted patrol to guard the highways. His law enforcement agents are more dedicated, disciplined, and organized than any other group in London. Their reputation for catching criminals and doing good police work will be remembered by criminologists for over 200 years. After Henry Fielding's death in 1754, his brother John serves as the magistrate for 25 years.

Henry Fielding