The Belfast Borough Police was the police force for

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

from 1800 to 1865, when it was abolished and replaced by the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

(RIC). Its members, nicknamed the Bulkies, had authority within the Belfast Police District.

History

A town watch was authorised under several acts of the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

, the last, the Belfast Improvement Act 1800 (40 Geo. 3. c. 37 (Ir.)), which also established town commissioners for lighting and paving. The police and commissioners gained greater powers in 1816 under a local act of the

UK Parliament 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 of ...

, the Belfast Improvement Act 1816 ( 56 Geo. 3. c. lvii). The police area of jurisdiction, whose residents were liable for the police tax to fund the force, was not defined in the 1816 act; at first the police area was taken to be the same as the lighting and paving area, but later it was extended. The

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

and

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

had differing limits again.Comm Mun Corp 1835, p,697 §§1,5 By the time the force was abolished, its jurisdiction remained confined to

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, excluding

Ballymacarrett Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret () is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The townland is in the civil parish of Knockbreda (civil parish), Knockbreda in the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Castler ...

, the

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

portion of the borough of Belfast.Belfast Commission ''Report'' 1869, p.4 It then had 160 men. The RIC had 70 men stationed in Belfast at the beginning of the August 1864 riots, with 800 reinforcements arriving over the next two weeks.Belfast Commission ''Report'' 1869, p.362, Table C. By the 1800 act, the police commissioners were the thirteen members of the

municipal corporation Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally o ...

together with twelve town commissioners for lighting and paving. Although the borough sovereign was authorised to act as police

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

, in 1816 he appointed a substitute at a salary of £200 per annum, which the 1835 municipal corporation commission considered one of several abuses concerning the police. After the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 reformed the corporation, the Belfast Improvement Act 1845 replaced the 1800 and 1816 acts. Most of the Belfast Borough Police force were Protestants, and many local Roman Catholics regarded it as

sectarian Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups. Others conceive of sectarianism a ...

. An 1864

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

of inquiry examined the Belfast

and police district, after serious communal rioting that year. The commission noted that most of the senior members of the force were members of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

and recommended abolishing the force, which was effected by the Constabulary (Ireland) Amendment Act 1865.

Footnotes

References

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Citations

1800 establishments in Ireland 1865 disestablishments in Ireland Organisations based in Belfast 19th century in Belfast Defunct law enforcement agencies of Ireland Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom {{law-enforcement-agency-stub

History

See also

Footnotes

References

Sources

Citations