The transformation of policing in London during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

England’s rapid urban growth during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, in addition to the widespread dislike of the French police system during that period, form the backdrop to this article, aiming at the reconsideration of how and why modern police forces were introduced into the country. S.H.Palmer has argued that one of the factors leading to the establishment of the Metropolitan Police was the heavy reliance of the authorities on the military in suppressing riots, while M.McCormack has recently pointed out that armed volunteers under the civil authorities acting in a paramilitary capacity were regarded as more acceptable than the army, embodying an image of vigilantism. This article examines the roles played by volunteers in the area of riot control and explores how their activities influenced institutional reforms in policing during the early nineteenth century.<br> The article begins by considering the changes which occurred in policing organizations from the 1780s onwards which had existed before the French Revolutionary Wars. The first chapter argues that the Home Office exerted its influence on the selection of stipendiary magistrates and the financial affairs of the new offices established under the Middlesex Justices Act of 1792, which led to the development of a new system of policing to deal with disturbances after the French Revolution.<br> The next chapter examines in detail the organizational and financial management of the Light Horse Volunteers of London and Westminster, as well as two other armed associations in the City wards, in an attempt to show that sustained activities of volunteers were supported by both public and private networks having been maintained on a daily basis in their communities. Nevertheless, government subsidies undoubtedly played an important role in maintaining those volunteer activities, which were, in principle, self-funded.<br> Finally, the third chapter highlights the extent to which a variety of policing and military organizations in London cooperated with one another, under the loose guidance of the Home Office, in policing, when they had to deal with the new social conditions brought about by the outbreak of the wars with France. This allowed magistrates and constables to become more effective in riot control. This article concludes that the need for permanent, effective, but civilian policing organizations after the wars led to the emergence of the Metropolitan Police, out of the experience of volunteer forces.