Birmingham City Police was the police service responsible for general policing in the city of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

from 1839 to 1974. The force was established by a special Act of Parliament in 1839, and was amalgamated as of 1 April 1974 with the West Midlands Constabulary and parts of other forces to form the

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, ...

by the Local Government Act 1972.

History

Early history

As early as 1786,

watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...

were paid to patrol the streets at night, although this seems to have lapsed on occasion. Special constables were sworn in when required. In 1800, James Bisset wrote: In 1812, Joseph Chirm was the "Head Borough Constable".

Birmingham Town Police

Following Chartist rioting in 1839, when one hundred police had to be brought from London, an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

was passed on 26 August 1839 "for improving the Police in Birmingham". Birmingham was required to have at least 250 constables and 50 officers, funded by a rate imposed on the town of Birmingham, but serving all of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire. A commissioner was to be appointed by the Home Secretary and report to him. The Birmingham force came into being on 20 November 1839 with 260 men. Francis Burgess, a local barrister, was appointed as the first police commissioner for Birmingham. On 12 August 1842 a new Police Act transferred responsibility to the Birmingham Town Council and another removed doubts as to the authority of the council. Burgess was succeeded by Richard Stephens, as the first Superintendent of the Birmingham Borough Police.

Birmingham City Police

When Birmingham became a city in 1889 the town police became the Birmingham City Police.

World War I

Five hundred and seventy one officers from Birmingham City Police served in the military during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, of whom 50 were killed. All 571 are named on a memorial which is located in

Lloyd House Lloyd House may refer to: People * Lloyd House (politician), Arizona state representative from 1967 to 1968 Buildings ;in the Netherlands * Lloyd Hotel, Dutch national monument in Amsterdam in the United Kingdom *Lloyd House, Birmingham in the U ...

, the headquarters of the BCP's successor, the West Midlands Police, and on an accompanying website.

Band

The Birmingham City Police Band was, at one period, conducted by Appleby Matthews, organist of the city's St. Philip's Cathedral and the first conductor of the City of Birmingham Orchestra (later the

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) is a British orchestra based in Birmingham, England. It is the resident orchestra at Symphony Hall: a B:Music Venue in Birmingham, which has been its principal performance venue since 1991. Its a ...

). Members of the band would sometimes supplement the orchestra's numbers. Subsequently The band was conducted by Richard Wassell, with whom they performed a number of

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

broadcasts. The City of Birmingham Orchestra held its first-ever rehearsal at 9.30am on 4 September 1920, in the band room at the Birmingham City Police's Steelhouse Lane station.

Chief Constables

Chief Constables of Birmingham City Police (some under other titles) included: * * * * * * * * * *

References

External links

Birmingham Police Bill 1839
on

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official prin ...

Birmingham Police parade, circa 1914-1918
(

Pathé newsreel Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

) *
The Man on the Beat
' 1945

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

film about UK policing, made in central Birmingham Defunct police forces of England {{UK-org-stub