Page 20 - All About History - Issue 08-14

Crime

CUSTODIAN HELMET FLARED COLLAR

A HARD HAT FOR A HARD JOB DESIGNED TO PROTECT AGAINST GARROTING
The helmet was based on the German When Robert Peel founded the first police force in England,
pickelhelm – a spiked helmet worn by nicknamed the ‘Peelers’, they wore blue swallow tail coats
German infantrymen – and was introduced with high collars, which helped prevent the officers from
in 1863, replacing the earlier ‘Peeler’ hat. This being garrotted by criminals. The tailcoat was replaced by
helmet had the officer’s personal number a more modern tunic with just one set of brass buttons, but
and divisional letter in the centre and was the collar still survived, saving many officers’ lives.
backed with a leather insert. The custodian
was topped with the royal crown, later CLOAK
changed to the Brunswick star, and was
made from cork and faced with fabric.
A BARRIER TO THE ELEMENTS
While not standardised, many Victorian police officers
WHISTLE – especially those undertaking their walking beats at
night – wore a cloak over their tunic. These tended to be
two-tiered; with a wider top half covering the shoulders
USED TO CALL FOR BACKUP AND and upper arms, and a longer lower half extending
TO ATTRACT ATTENTION down to the knees. They were fastened below the neck
with a metal chain and were black or dark blue.
With no radio or telephone,
policing the dark, dank streets
of London could be a dangerous FIREARM
profession and the whistle was
designed to minimise the risk;
with non-lethal forms of incapacitation of criminals
a way of asking for backup. The FIRE ONLY AS A LAST RESORT
earliest Victorian police officers Victorian officers were armed with a flintlock pistol
actually used a wooden rattle but and later a revolver. Victorian police officers were
it was large and cumbersome and ordered to only use their firearm as a last resort,
was replaced by the whistle by
the mid-19th century. strongly encouraged.

LANTERN HANDCUFFS
ESSENTIAL TOOL FOR RESTRAINING
Victorian beat officers were issued with a set of
FOR WHEN YOU REALLY NEEDED handcuffs similar in design to the ones used by
TO SEE IN THE DARK modern-day police forces. The handcuffs were
Bobbies carried a bull’s-eye-type initially made from chunky iron (although later steel
lantern, which hung from their varieties entered use) and were of the hinged variety.
tunic’s belt. The lantern sported a
convex lens and ran on kerosene.
It was capable of being detached
and held by a swing handle THE
if desired up to head height
if something required more
in-depth investigation at night. Anatomy
of

A VICTORIAN

TRUNCHEON
‘GRAB YOUR BILLY CLUBS, BOYS’
Victorian policemen were armed POLICEMAN
with truncheons, one-foot long
shafts of wood with a rope-bound
handle. They were nicknamed
billy clubs and acted as the
policeman’s warrant card when
gaining entry to a property or WALKING THE BEAT WITH
dealing with the public. The
attached royal crest indicated A VICTORIAN BOBBY,
their authority in the eyes of the
government and crown. This GREAT BRITAIN, 1880S
crest was always removed if the
truncheon was decommissioned. © Ian Jackson/The Art Agency

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