The Metropolitan Police Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict c 47) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. The Act enlarged the district of, and gave greatly increased powers to the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

established by the

Metropolitan Police Act 1829 The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo.4, c.44) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, introduced by Sir Robert Peel, which established the London Metropolitan Police (with the exception of the City of London), replacing the previ ...

. It is one of the

Metropolitan Police Acts 1829 to 1895 Metropolitan Police Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation relating to the Metropolitan Police. List *The Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo 4 c 44) *The Metropolitan Police Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict c 47) *The Metrop ...

.The

Short Titles Act 1896 The Short Titles Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict c 14) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892. This Act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, the ...

, section 2(1) and Schedule 2 Section 2 of the Act allowed for the enlargement of the Metropolitan Police District to include places in a radius of 24 km from

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand leading to the City; ...

. Section 5 gave constables of the Metropolitan Police all "powers and privileges of constabulary" in the counties of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

and on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

within or adjoining

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

(the MPA 1829 had already given them constabulary powers within Middlesex, Surrey, Essex and Kent). The Act gave the police force powers over shipping arriving in the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Sea ...

and using the Thames. Among these powers were: * Power to inspect vessels to prevent smuggling * Power to seize unlawful quantities of gunpowder * Powers to seize guns loaded with ball A number of activities were to regulated within the Metropolitan Police District: * Fairs were only to be open during agreed hours. * Public Houses were to closed on Sundays,

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

and on

Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...

until 1 pm. No alcoholic drink was to be sold to persons under 16 years of age. * Police were empowered to enter unlicensed theatres. * Police could enter premises where bear baiting or cockfighting were being carried on, and fine the participants five pounds. * Police were allowed to enter gaming houses. * Regulations could be made to prevent the obstruction of parades and processions. Section 54 of the Act enumerated a long list of "Nuisances by Persons in Thoroughfares" that were now prohibited. Among the outlawed activities, for which the miscreant could be taken into custody and fined, were: * "Furious Driving". * Driving carts on the footway. * Selling or distributing "profane, indecent or obscene books, papers, prints, drawings, paintings or representations", or singing any songs or ballads with similar content or using language "to the annoyance of pedestrians or passengers". * Threatening or abusive behaviour or words. * The blowing of horns (except by guards and postmen of the General Post Office). * Discharging firearms, setting fireworks or lighting bonfires. * "Wantonly disturbing" persons by ringing doorbells, knocking on doors or unlawfully extinguishing lamps. * Flying kites or playing games to the annoyance of others. * Making slides upon ice or snow to the danger of pedestrians. The Act also outlawed the use of dog carts, obliged street musicians to move on when asked and allowed the imprisonment of "drunkards guilty of riotous or indecent behaviour".

References

External links

{{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1839 History of the Metropolitan Police 1839 in London Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning London Police legislation in the United Kingdom

References

Further reading

External links