Bow Street Foot Patrols

The Bow Street Foot Patrols were an armed and salaried foot patrol set up in London, England, in the winter of 1782–83 by Sampson Wright and supported by the new Home Department of the British government. The government provided funds to support 46 men who worked in eight groups of six; each of the groups was assigned to one of the major routes around the metropolis and went out every night of the week.

Like its mounted equivalent, it was intended to deter highway robbery. It became an established element of London policing in the 1780s. Like the Horse Patrols, they ran in tandem with the new Metropolitan Police from 1829 to 1839 before being absorbed into it.