The County and Borough Police Act of 1856 made the establishment of a police force compulsory in every town. The first paid, fulltime police constables appeared in Sutton soon afterwards.
These men were members of the Warwickshire Constabulary. Before that an unpaid constable had been called to crime scenes and, if necessary, made arrests.
The investigation into what had happened was led by a magistrate. There Were also a watchman patrolling the streets of the town at night, usually an older, retired man.
Sergeant Abel Smith had responsibility for dealing with unlawful behaviour in Sutton Park. This might be removing branches from trees or being drunk and disorderly. There were also Pc Robert Norris and Pc Warren.
In 1869, Pc Norris arrested 'Fighter' Brown and William Lakin in Mill Street after a fight broke out; both men were bound over for three months on sureties of £5 each by the magistrates.
The police force in Sutton was small and not capable of supervising sizeable gatherings. When large crowds arrived for the horse races in Sutton Park, a detachment of Birmingham police constables were dispatched.
From September 1888 the police station was located in Station Street. Purpose-built, it included a court room where magistrates dealt with such matters as theft, vagrancy and the use of obscene language in public.
When this new station opened - the police had previously been based in Coleshill Street and then Mill Street - there was a sergeant and six constables stationed at Sutton. By 1899 there were 10 police constables patrolling the town. Sergeant George Syme was succeeded by Sergeant J. Iackson, When Jackson left in 1905 the inhabitants of Sutton expressed their gratitude by presenting him with £63 - a significant sum for that time.
While on patrol, the police constables did not encounter dangerous men or women but people they regarded as nuisances - inebriates and beggars. In 1889 107 people were fined for being drunk in the streets of Sutton. If a police constable was struck whilst arresting an inebriate the fine doubled from 5s to 10s. The punishment for vagrants - homeless beggars - was usually imprisonment for a month with hard labour.
On a few occasions this severe punishment was not applied. Selina White was 'so numbed with cold that she was for some time unable to stand' when she was found with another woman sheltering in an unfinished house in Coleshill Street in 1898. The magistrates took pity and issued a caution.
Glimpses into Sutton's Past by Stephen Roberts is published in three parts and can be ordered from Amazon priced at £4.99-£5.49.
Associate Professor
Stephen Roberts