England’s first ever police force hosted the Bow Geezers at its birthplace in Wapping High Street.
At the very end of the eighteenth century, theft of cargo from merchant ships on the Thames was so rife, so lucrative for the thieves and so ruinous for the owners, that the West India merchants were persuaded to fund a police force. Seeing its success, in 1800 the government brought the marine police under public control.
The Thames Police Museum is within the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police’s Marine Police Unit. It tells the story of the river police and of notable incidents on the river. We heard the sad tale of the loss of the Princess Alice with over 600 lives. In September 1878, returning from a roundtrip to Sheerness, the paddle steamer collided with the Bywell Castle, a collier coming downstream on the tide. The Princess Alice sank within minutes, and most of the passengers drowned in the river, which at that point was heavily polluted with raw sewage. One result of the inquest was that the Marine Police Force’s rowing boats were replaced by steam launches.
On the pontoon, our guide showed us the Marine Policing Unit’s duty patrol boats, and explained the unit’s responsibilities. Its special skills see the unit involved in operations and training other forces way beyond its 47-mile beat on the Thames.
Our visit ended with an impressive display by a highly-skilled police detection dog, who took no time to find a demonstration ‘firearm’ hidden in the station’s carpark. We heard how each dog has a specialism, and how they can find mobile phones and firearms as well as drugs.
Our thanks to the curator of the Thames Police museum, Neal Nightingale and the officers who gave us a tour and explained the unit’s work.
The museum is open to visitors by appointment, http://www.thamespolicemuseum.org.uk/
As part of London Open House 2014, you can visit on a turn up basis on Saturday and Sunday 21 and 22 September between 11:00 and 17:00.
On Saturday 28 September between 10:00 and 14:00 the Metropolitan Police Task Force Open Day will include police dogs and horses taking part in the display in Wapping Rose Garden opposite the police station.
