Description
City of London Police
1829. The British government creates a modern police force. The bobbies appear on London’s streets — and nothing will ever be the same.
In the Square Mile, the City of London Police has a history all of its own. Older, more independent, more discreet. Its officers have never been mere peacekeepers — they have been paramedics, elite athletes, detectives and, at times, human shields against the city’s darkest hours.
From Jack the Ripper’s crimes to IRA bombings, from Victorian pickpockets to 21st-century white-collar fraudsters — this tour retraces two centuries of struggle between order and disorder at the heart of the world’s most closely watched and most coveted square kilometre. How do you hunt a criminal in a city of millions? How does a police force adapt across two centuries of upheaval? And above all — who were the people hiding in the shadows?
Highlights
The City of London Police
The oldest and most independent police force in Britain — distinct from Scotland Yard, with its own traditions, territory, coat of arms and history. An elite force watching over the financial heart of the world.
Jack the Ripper
The Whitechapel murders of 1888 remain one of the most celebrated and most fruitless investigations in British history. The City Police were front row witnesses to what would become a myth.
The IRA and the bombings
In the 1990s, the City was targeted by car bomb attacks that reshaped the urban architecture and prompted some of the most significant security innovations in British history.
White-collar crime
Fraud, embezzlement, financial scandals — the City’s police force has had to reinvent itself entirely to fight crime that leaves no fingerprints. A fascinating story of institutional adaptation.
Practical information
Meeting point
Monument station
Circle or District lines
King William Street exit
King William Street exit
Duration
2h30 to 3h
Depending on group pace
Language
French
Certified guide, Green Badge
Group size
1 to 20 people
Prices
£30/person or £230 flat rate
Accessibility
Wheelchair accessible
Please note
- Minors must be accompanied by an adult.
- Tours go ahead in all weathers.
- Each participant is responsible for their own safety.
Private tour — 1 to 20 people
The tour exclusively for your group, at your own pace
Not included
Photos
