The Londonderry Borough Police was the

police force The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizen ...

in the city of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, from 1848 to 1870, nicknamed the Horney Dicks after the bones used in their helmets. They replaced the earlier

town watch A neighborhood watch or neighbourhood watch (see spelling differences), also called a crime watch or neighbourhood crime watch, is an organized group of civilians devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within a neighborhood. The aim of ne ...

and were in turn 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). The police force was established by the Londonderry Improvement Act 1848 and were governed by the

Londonderry Corporation Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. Its abolition was recommended by a

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 into

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 ...

riots in the city in 1869. The commission felt the force, having the form of a

, was inadequate to policing serious crime; it also noted, but did not endorse, allegations that the police discriminated against Roman Catholics.

History

Historically, policing in Ireland had been carried out by a town watch. By the 1830s in County Londonderry, the watch was posted so irregularly that citizens resorted to manning the watch themselves or hiring their own night watchmen. In 1832, the

created a Policing Committee of thirteen constables, but this was later deemed inadequate as the city expanded beyond the committee's capacity. In 1848, the

Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 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 ...

passed a

private bill Proposed bills are often categorized into public bills and private bills. A public bill is a proposed law which would apply to everyone within its jurisdiction. A private bill is a proposal for a law affecting only a single person, group, or are ...

, the Londonderry Improvement Act 1848, which granted the Londonderry Corporation the power to raise its own police force. This initially consisted of one

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

, one chief constable, one Corporal and thirteen constables. Gradually policing in Ireland was centralised under the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) except for the Londonderry Borough Police,

Belfast Borough Police The Belfast Borough Police was the police force for Belfast from 1800 to 1865, when it was abolished and replaced by the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). Its members, nicknamed the Bulkies, had authority within the Belfast Police District. Histor ...

and the

Dublin Metropolitan Police The Dublin Metropolitan Police (DMP) was the police force of Dublin in History of Ireland (1801–1923), British-controlled Ireland from 1836 to 1922 and then the Irish Free State until 1925, when it was absorbed into the new state's Garda Sío ...

(DMP), which each retained their independence due to their statutory status.

Disbanding

On 28 April 1869, The Prince Arthur (later created

Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was al ...

) visited

, where a Catholic reportedly waved a flag bearing a harp with no crown and shouted for an "

Irish Republic The Irish Republic ( or ) was a Revolutionary republic, revolutionary state that Irish Declaration of Independence, declared its independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1919. The Republic claimed jurisdict ...

". Members of the Protestant

Apprentice Boys of Derry The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Ireland (now part of Northern Ireland). In 2021 it had over 10,000 members worldwide, with membership open to Protestant men only. T ...

were angered by this, considering it a deliberate insult to the monarchy. In a

riot that evening, three of the Apprentice Boys were shot dead by Londonderry Borough Police constables. A subsequent Commission of Inquiry ordered by the

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

found that the Londonderry Borough Police were inadequate to their task: it had only 38 officers and, being majority-Protestant, was distrusted by Catholics. The inquiry made the recommendation to "substitute it for a more efficient force". In 1870, the Constabulary (Ireland) Amendment Act 1870 was passed which abolished the Londonderry Borough Police and passed the responsibility of policing in the borough to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC). The area previously policed by the Londonderry Borough Police would become a separate

police district Police district is a form of division of a geographical area patrolled by a police force. The 1885 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' stated: Police forces using this format include: * Chicago Police Department * Baltimore Police Department * York Regi ...

of the RIC and provided that there would be 45 police constables in addition to the 38 from the Londonderry Borough Police. Following the passage of the act, the Londonderry Corporation lost its power to appoint constables but was still responsible for paying for the former Londonderry Borough Police officers' pensions. The Corporation requested that the RIC honour the service of the former Londonderry Borough Police constables who were transferred, but this was refused, with the RIC stating they were going to hire 50% Protestant and 50% Catholic for the district. In response, the Londonderry Corporation refused to help fund a female searcher or hand over the former police force's records, citing the 1870 act stating they were not obliged "to make any payments for Constabulary purposes other than the moiety of the Constables pay to be charged as mentioned in the statute".

References

{{Police forces in Ireland 1848 establishments in Ireland 1870 disestablishments in Ireland Organisations based in Derry (city) History of Derry (city) Defunct law enforcement agencies of Ireland Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom