The
Metropolitan Police Act 1829 (10 Geo.4, C.44) was an
Act of Parliament introduced by
Sir Robert Peel. The Act established the
Metropolitan Police of London (with the exception of
the City), replacing the previously disorganized system of parish constables and
watchmen. The Act was the enabling legislation for what is often considered to be the first modern police force, the "bobbies" or "peelers" (after Peel), which served as the model for modern urban police departments throughout England. Until the 1829 Act, the
Statute of Winchester of 1285 was cited as the primary legislation regulating the policing of the country since the
Norman Conquest.