A Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis containing a detail of the various Crimes and Misdemeanors [...] and suggesting Remedies for their Prevention. by [Colquhoun, Patrick] - 1796

8vo (20,5 x 12,5 cm). XIII, [2], 6-369, [3] pp. With a folding table. Contemporary calf, expertly rebacked with the original spine laid down, some spotting.

First edition of Colquhoun's extremely influential essay on crime and policing in London.

Colquhoun was a Scottish merchant and statistician, who ran a successful business in Glasgow and served as Magistrate in London's East End. Appalled by the staggering amount of cargo that was annually stolen on the river Thames, Colquhoun founded the Thames River Police. This first preventive police force in England prompted the foundation of several other police forces.

His Treatise was reprinted many times, with the second and third editions appearing already in 1796. Chapter XI includes an interesting discussion of the system of prison hulks and the transportation of "atrocious offenders" to the "infant colony of New South Wales", Australia.

The final leaf of the present first edition adds a note to p. 363, relating to bigamy.

ESTC T99183.