The Bath City Police was a police force responsible for policing the

County Borough of Bath Bath ( RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, west of London and southeast of Bristol. The city becam ...

in Somerset, England. It existed between 1836 and 1967. The Bath City Police, as an organization, was formed as a result of

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...

, though it did not begin commencing duties until 15 February 1836. In 1852 the force had a strength of 86 police officers. It was then merged with the

Somerset Constabulary Somerset Constabulary was the police force responsible for policing the county of Somerset, England, between 1856 and 1967. It was formed as a result of the County and Borough Police Act 1856. This act made it compulsory for the county authoritie ...

in 1967 and formed the short-lived constabulary of Somerset and Bath. This constabulary, in turn, was amalgamated into the

Avon and Somerset Constabulary Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West Englan ...

in 1974, which polices the area to this day and employs over 2000 officers.

Background

The British City of Bath, has existed in one form or another since the first century, though human occupation in the area has a much longer history. At the start of the nineteenth century, 40,020 people were recorded to be living in Bath making it one of the largest cities in Britain. The

( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. This reformation was especially significant for Bath, since four of its districts were under control of four separate police forces (while another portion of the city had no police force) until the Municipal Corporations Act centralized policing authority with the city government, rather than

Improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irel ...

, in each district.{{cite journal , title=Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales, First Report , journal=Parliamentary Papers , date=1835 , number=XXIII

References

1967 disestablishments in England Defunct police forces of England History of Bath, Somerset Organisations based in Bath, Somerset