''The Police Gazette'', established in 1772 as ''The Quarterly Pursuit'', and later named the ''Public Hue and Cry'' and other variants, was originally a weekly newspaper produced by the Home Office and the

Metropolitan Police Service 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 ...

. Its primary purpose was to publish notices of wanted criminals with requests for information, and where appropriate to offer rewards.The National Archives, Series Reference HO 75, 'Hue and Cry and Police Gazette', 1828–1845 http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue/displaycataloguedetails.asp?CATID=7630&CATLN=3&accessmethod=5&j=1The Open University Archive, The Police Gazette Collection, ref GB/2315/POLGAZ http://libraryarchive.open.ac.uk/ead/html/gb-2315-polgaz-p1.shtml In later years it became a bi-monthly publication produced by the

College of Policing The College of Policing is a professional body for the police in England and Wales. It was established in 2012 to take over a number of training and development roles that were the responsibility of the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) ...

in London until it ceased publication in 2017.

Title

Initially titled ''The Quarterly Pursuit'', the publication was repeatedly renamed, first to ''Public Hue and Cry''. It became ''The Hue and Cry, and Police Gazette'' on 30 September 1797. It was renamed to ''Police Gazette; or, Hue and Cry'' on 18 January 1828. It became simply ''The Police Gazette'' on 1 April 1839. The title ''Hue and Cry'' alludes to the historical common law process, dating back to the 13th century, whereby bystanders were summoned to assist in the apprehension of criminals.

History

''The Quarterly Pursuit'' was first issued by

John Fielding Sir John Fielding (16 September 1721 – 4 September 1780) was a notable English magistrate and social reformer of the 18th century. He was also the younger half-brother of novelist, playwright and chief magistrate Henry Fielding. Despite bein ...

, chief magistrate of the Bow Street Police Court, in 1772. It was distributed free until 1793, when the following announcement was made: Responsibility for its original production rested with the Home Office. Editing was delegated to the Chief Clerk to

Bow Street Magistrates Court Bow Street Magistrates' Court became one of the most famous magistrates' court in England. Over its 266-year existence it occupied various buildings on Bow Street in Central London, immediately north-east of Covent Garden. It closed in 2006 an ...

, notably John Alexander, who edited the ''Gazette'' from 1877 until 1895. Responsibility for the ''Police Gazette'' was transferred to the Metropolitan Police ("Scotland Yard") in 1883. In more recent years, responsibility for publication transferred to the

National Police Improvement Agency The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment. It was ...

(NPIA), and then eventually to the College of Policing.

Stated purpose

The purpose of the publication was stated on the front page in 1831 as follows:"Police Gazette; or, Hue and Cry." No. 371. Saturday, August 6, 1831.

Structure

Historically, ''The Police Gazette'' was published as follows:

Circulation

''The Police Gazette'' was circulated throughout the British Isles. Since an archive survives in New South Wales, Australia,Adam Matthew Publications, The Police Gazette, Parts 1 to 4 http://www.ampltd.co.uk/news/documents/PoliceGazette.pdf the ''Police Gazette'' may also have been circulated in countries governed by Britain around the world. However, local gazettes were printed by states in Australia (e.g., the ''

Victoria Police Gazette The ''Victoria Police Gazette'' commenced in December 1853 and was initially published weekly by the Victoria Police. Originally the '' Gazettes'' for each state were not available to the public, but were produced for informing members of the ...

'', which began in 1853).

Historical value

''The Police Gazette'' recorded the history of crime; the role of the police; and major social events such as the

penal transportation Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...

of criminals to Australia. The many references to personal names – of missing persons, criminals, army deserters and those deported and imprisoned – make it an important source for

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

when census and marriage records prove insufficient.

Surviving archives

The

National Police Library The National Police Library in the United Kingdom is classed as a special library and research library. It is part of the College of Policing, funded by the Home Office. It is only accessible to current serving police and police staff in the U ...

holds all issues of ''The Police Gazette'' from the late 18th century to 2017. As more recent issues of this publication contain restricted information, only serving UK police can access recent issues via the library. At least 61% of the total run of issues from 1772 to 1900 survives, archived by the initiative of local police forces, as well as by the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Many of the ''Supplements'' between 1914 and 1965 also survive.

Cultural references

*In

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' ''

Oliver Twist ''Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress'', Charles Dickens's second novel, was published as a serial from 1837 to 1839, and as a three-volume book in 1838. Born in a workhouse, the orphan Oliver Twist is bound into apprenticeship with ...

'' (1837–9), chapter 15, the criminal

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

is depicted "absorbed in the interesting pages of the ''Hue-and-Cry''".

Notes

References

External links

* National Police Library
http://www.college.police.uk/library
* ''Supplement A'', ''The Police Gazette''. No. 16, Friday, August 5, 1921. Vol VIII. Expert and Travelling Criminals. http://www.londonancestor.com/misc/misc-policegaz.htm * Issues of the ''Police Gazette'' between 1750 and 1799 are also available online at the British Newspaper Archive. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk * Issues of the ''Police Gazette & Irish Hue and Cry'' (12,500+ pages) between 1816 and 1929 are also available online at the Lastchancetoread. http://www.lastchancetoread.com {{Authority control Magazines published in the United Kingdom Law enforcement in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1772 1772 establishments in Great Britain Home Office (United Kingdom) Police gazettes Magazines published in London Bi-monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom category:History of the Metropolitan Police