Bow Street runners were the first paid detectives in Britain. In the 1750’s, two London magistrates, Henry Fielding, the novelist, and Sir John Fielding, his brother, organized and paid a group of men to act as detectives. These men were called the Bow Street runners because they operated from the Fieldings’ house in Bow Street. The Fieldings also organized the Bow Street patrols to police the streets. The runners and patrols were succeeded by the London Metropolitan Police in 1829.
