It is at this point that Peel,…

It is at this point that Peel, who has spent much of the 1820s as a reforming home secretary an earned a reputation as a capable administrator, secures passage of the 1829 Metropolitan Police Act establishing the Metropolitan Police Force for London.

The first headquarters building, whose rear entrance is situated on the site of a twelfth century palace used to house visiting Scottish royalty, is given the name Scotland Yard.

The authorities in Stalybridge, Cheshire had set up their own police force some two years earlier and so Peel was aware of this success of "police forces" before he "introduced" them in London.

Known to later generations as the father of modern policing, his Peelian Principles define the ethical requirements police officers must follow in order to be effective.

His most memorable principle is, "the police are the public, and the public are the police."

The first thousand constables, known by the nickname "bobbies", affectionately nicknamed 'Peelers' or 'Bobbies' (both terms are still used today), will go on patrol on September 29.