The Bow Street Runners - Britain's First Police Force

During the 1700s London was a lawless capital plagued by theft, violence and corruption. This British history podcast tells the story of the creation of the Bow Street runners, Britain's first police force.

 In 18^th century London with crime out of control – and city run by the criminal cartel boss Jonathan Wild.

 Magistrate Henry Fielding introduced a radical solution:  a small, paid group of investigators tasked with detecting crime, pursuing offenders and bringing them to justice.

 Known as the Bow Street Runners, they became Britain’s first professional law enforcement unit and the foundation of modern policing.

John Fielding

This podcast reveals how the Bow Street Runners fought crime in London. When a gang of armed highwaymen robbed and murdered travellers, the Runners launched a city-wide manhunt, tracking the killers through taverns, informers and the streets of the capital.

Under John Fielding, the blind magistrate known as the “Blind Beak,” the Runners expanded their reach.  Hear about his extraordinary  ability to identify criminals by just by voice and his use of records and intelligence networks to transformed crime detection.

Cato Street Executions

Hear the story of the Elizabeth Canning case, one of the most controversial criminal trials of the 18th century, where claims of abduction and imprisonment shocked London and divided public opinion.

We tell the dramatic story of the Cato Street Conspiracy, a violent attempt to assassinate the British government that ended in execution and beading.

The Bow Street Runners confronted organised crime and political unrest, they helped reshape law enforcement in Britain and laid the foundations for modern policing.

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