The history of the london police! today there are policemen ! the history of the london police! today there are policemen everywhere but in 1700 london had no policemen at all. a few old men used to protect the city streets at night and they were not paid very much. about three hundred years ago london was starting to get bigger. the city was very dirty and many people were poor. there were so many thieves who stole money in the streets that people stayed in their homes as much as possible. in 1750 henry fielding started to pay a group of people to stop thieves. they were like policemen and were called ‘bow street run‑ ners’ because they were working near bow street. fifty years later there were 120 bow runners but london had be‑ come very big and needed more policemen. so, in 1829 the first metro‑ politan (or london) police force was started with 3000 officers. most of them were working on foot but a few rode horses. until 1920 all the police in london were men. today london police are quite well paid and for the few police of‑ ficers who still ride horses the pay is even better than for the others. 1) in 1700 the men who protected the streets were paid? a) a lot. b) a little c) nothing 2) 300 years ago, many people a) came to live in london b)wanted to leave london c) had big houses in london 3)people did not leave their houses because a) the city was not clean b)they had no maney c)they were afraid 4)the bow steet runners a)stole maney b)stopped people stealing c)paid people to steal 5)in 1800, there were a)enough policemen b)not enough c) too many policemen 6)of the first 3 000 metropolitan policemen a)all of them rode horses b)some of them rode horses c)most of them rode horses 7)today, police officers who work with horses are paid a) more than their colleagues b)the same as their colleagues c)half as much as their colleages