<P> Metropolitan Police patrols took to the streets on 29 September 1829 , despite resistance from certain elements of the community who saw them to be a threat to civil liberties . The initial force consisted of two Commissioners , eight Superintendents , 20 Inspectors , 88 Sergeants and 895 Constables . Patrolling the streets within a seven - mile ( 11 km ) radius of Charing Cross , in order to prevent crime and pursue offenders . Between 1829 and 1830 , 17 local divisions each with its own police station were established , each lettered A to V , allocating each London borough with a designated letter . These divisions were : A ( Westminster ) ; B ( Chelsea ) ; C ( Mayfair and Soho ) ; D ( Marylebone ) ; E ( Holborn ) ; F ( Kensington ) ; G ( Kings Cross ) ; H ( Stepney ) ; K ( West Ham ) ; L ( Lambeth ) ; M ( Southwark ) ; N ( Islington ) ; P ( Peckham ) ; R ( Greenwich ) ; S ( Hampstead ) ; T ( Hammersmith ) and V ( Wandsworth ) . In 1865 three more divisions were created , W ( Clapham ) ; X ( Willesden ) and Y ( Tottenham ) ; J Division ( Bethnal Green ) was added in 1886 . </P>
<P> Metropolitan Police patrols took to the streets on 29 September 1829 , despite resistance from certain elements of the community who saw them to be a threat to civil liberties . The initial force consisted of two Commissioners , eight Superintendents , 20 Inspectors , 88 Sergeants and 895 Constables . Patrolling the streets within a seven - mile ( 11 km ) radius of Charing Cross , in order to prevent crime and pursue offenders . Between 1829 and 1830 , 17 local divisions each with its own police station were established , each lettered A to V , allocating each London borough with a designated letter . These divisions were : A ( Westminster ) ; B ( Chelsea ) ; C ( Mayfair and Soho ) ; D ( Marylebone ) ; E ( Holborn ) ; F ( Kensington ) ; G ( Kings Cross ) ; H ( Stepney ) ; K ( West Ham ) ; L ( Lambeth ) ; M ( Southwark ) ; N ( Islington ) ; P ( Peckham ) ; R ( Greenwich ) ; S ( Hampstead ) ; T ( Hammersmith ) and V ( Wandsworth ) . In 1865 three more divisions were created , W ( Clapham ) ; X ( Willesden ) and Y ( Tottenham ) ; J Division ( Bethnal Green ) was added in 1886 . </P>
when did the metropolitan police force become a service
when did the metropolitan police force become a service
29 September 1829
29 September 1829