Patrick Colquhoun, who lived from 1745 to 1820, was a Scottish merchant, statistician and magistrate who served as Lord Provost of Glasgow before moving to London, where he founded the Thames River Police, generally regarded as the first regular preventive police force in England. His writing on policing, most notably his Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis, argued for organized, preventive policing rather than after-the-fact punishment as the more effective response to crime, and influenced the reforms that later produced London's Metropolitan Police.
Facts
Defining ContributionFounder of the Thames River Police, the first regular preventive police force in England 2 Notable WorkA Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis (1795) 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Wikipedia: Patrick Colquhoun
Sources
1. Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900: Colquhoun, Patrick
Entry, opening sentence
born on 14 March 1745 at Dumbarton
Entry, closing biographical details
Colquhoun died in Westminster on 25 April 1820
Entry, works section
the work by which Colquhoun is chiefly known
View the Source2. Patrick Colquhoun - Wikipedia
Lead section, opening sentence
was a Scottish merchant, statistician, magistrate, and founder of the first regular preventive police force in England, the Thames River Police.
Lead, paragraph 1
founder of the first regular preventive police force in England, the Thames River Police.
View the SourceWikipedia: Patrick Colquhoun
Associated With: Metropolitan Police Service, Significance for modern policing sectionQuote, Associated With: Metropolitan Police Service, Significance for modern policing section
Historians of policing credit Colquhoun's innovation as a critical development leading up to Robert Peel's 'new' police three decades later.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.