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[a] 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.[2]
Like its mounted equivalent, it was intended to deter highway robbery. It became an established element of London policing in the 1780s.[3] Like the Horse Patrols, they ran in tandem with the new Metropolitan Police from 1829 to 1839 before being absorbed into it.
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