Due to various Parliamentary Acts the numbers of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom has varied drastically since the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 set up the first modern police force in London. There are currently over 60 law enforcement agencies operating in the United Kingdom. See List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories for these. For former (non-police) law enforcement agencies, see :Category:Defunct law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom. For defunct police forces, see :Category:Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom England and Wales police forces Abolished before 1889 The County Police Act 1840 allowed for borough police forces to voluntarily amalgamate with county constabularies. Abingdon Borough Police, to Berkshire Andover Borough Police (1846, to Hampshire) Banbury Borough Police, to Oxfordshire Bodmin Borough Police (1865, to Cornwall) Bradninch Borough Police (1865, to Devon) Chipping Norton Borough Police, to Oxfordshire Henley Borough Police, to Oxfordshire Honiton Borough Police; (to Devon County) Launceston Borough Police (1883, to Cornwall) Liskeard Borough Police (1877, to Cornwall) Lymington Borough Police (1852, to Hampshire) Monmouth Borough Police (1881, to Monmouthshire) Newbury Borough Police (1875, to Berkshire) Okehampton Borough Police (1860, to Devon) Romsey Borough Police (1865, to Hampshire) South Molton Borough Police (1877, to Devon) Tavistock Borough Police (1856, to Devon) Thames River Police, absorbed into the London Metropolitan Police in 1839 Torrington Borough Police (1870, then again from 1878–1886, to Devon) Torquay Borough Police (1870, to Devon) Totnes Borough Police (1884, to Devon) Wallingford Borough Police, to Berkshire Wantage Borough Police, to Berkshire Warwick Borough Police (1875, to Warwickshire) Wolborough Borough Police (1859, to Devon) Abolished under the Local Government Act 1888 The Act, which came into force in 1889 passed control of county constabularies to standing joint committees of county councillors and magistrates, and merged smaller borough police forces (where the town had a population of less than 10,000) with the county police. Basingstoke Borough Police (1889, to Hampshire) Bideford Borough Police (1889, to Devon) Buckingham Borough Police (1889 to Buckinghamshire) Deal Borough Police (1889, to Kent) Falmouth Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall) Faversham Borough Police (1889, to Kent) Helston Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall) Hertford Borough Police (1889, to Hertfordshire) Hythe Borough Police (1889, to Kent) Maidenhead Borough Police (1889, to Berkshire) Newport Borough Police (1890, to Isle of Wight) Penryn Borough Police (1889, to Cornwall) Sandwich Borough Police (1889, to Kent)