The intimate connection that had always existed between Justice of the Peace and constable was not severed at the birth of the metropolitan force, and the first officers of the new establishment, appointed under the provisions of the Act, were two Justices. Colonel Rowan, a soldier of distinction who had already gained some experience with the Royal Irish Constabulary, and Richard Mayne, an eminent lawyer, were the men selected. The task could not have fallen into better hands, and to the energy and tact displayed by the first Commissioners[183] must be attributed, in great measure, the success achieved by the new force from its inception. In the course of an appreciative report, dealing with the results obtained by the New Police, a Parliamentary Committee, which sat in 1833 and 1834, paid a high compliment to these gentlemen. "Much, in the opinion of your committee, is due to the judgment and discrimination which was exercised in the selection of the individuals, Colonel Rowan and Mr Mayne, who were originally appointed, and still continue to fill the arduous office of Commissioners of police. On many critical occasions and in very difficult circumstances, the sound discretion they have exercised, the straightforward, open and honourable course they have pursued—whenever their conduct has been questioned by the public—calls for the strongest expression of approbation on the part of your committee."
The task in front of the Commissioners was far from being an easy one: they had to raise a new force, but more important still was the business of restoring to the discredited office of Constable some of its native dignity and prestige. To this end it was necessary to get rid, as quickly as they dared, of all the unworthy ministers whose shortcomings had emboldened the lawbreakers and whose backslidings had disheartened the law-abiding; in so doing they had to incur the odium of causing the wholesale dismissal of public servants, who, worthless as they were, had no other trade to fall back upon. Nor was this the end of their difficulties. They had to organize and train a very considerable army of recruits, they had to drill this force and educate it to discharge duties requiring tact and forbearance, they were assisted by no expert opinion, and had little previous experience to guide them. The novelty of the problem increased the difficulty of its solution. They had to encounter a popular prejudice that was almost unanimously opposed to them, and although a false step might have produced the most disastrous consequences, no delay was allowed them for consideration or experiment.
Having undertaken the task, however, they were not the men to turn back, and in an incredibly short space of time they had the whole machine in working order; the metropolitan area was mapped out into police divisions, the divisions divided into sections, and sections subdivided into beats: the various grades of Superintendent, Inspector, Sergeant, and Constable were created, and to each grade was assigned its proper duties. By June 1830, the Metropolitan Police consisted of 17 Superintendents, 68 Inspectors, 323 Sergeants, and 2,906 Constables, or 3,314 of all ranks, distributed in the following manner:
Return of Metropolitan Police, 1st June 1830.
Key:
Col A: Superintendents.
Col B: Inspectors.
Col C: Sergeants.
Col D: Constables.
| Letter. | Name of Division. | A | B | C | D | Total. | Estimated Population. |
| A | Whitehall | 1 | 2 | 14 | 96 | 113 | 5,893 |
| B | Westminster | 1 | 4 | 18 | 145 | 168 | 51,618 |
| C | St James | 1 | 4 | 16 | 167 | 188 | 94,418 |
| D | Marylebone | 1 | 4 | 18 | 147 | 170 | 85,040 |
| E | Holborn | 1 | 4 | 16 | 147 | 168 | 73,208 |
| F | Covent Garden | 1 | 4 | 16 | 145 | 166 | 61,618 |
| G | Finsbury | 1 | 4 | 20 | 210 | 235 | 102,561 |
| H | Whitechapel | 1 | 4 | 18 | 168 | 191 | 111,382 |
| K | Stepney | 1 | 6 | 28 | 262 | 297 | 113,516 |
| L | Lambeth | 1 | 4 | 18 | 168 | 191 | 45,646 |
| M | Southwark | 1 | 4 | 16 | 168 | 189 | 78,169 |
| N | Islington | 1 | 4 | 24 | 222 | 251 | 74,455 |
| P | Camberwell | 1 | 4 | 19 | 195 | 219 | 64,967 |
| R | Greenwich | 1 | 4 | 20 | 182 | 207 | 72,540 |
| S | Hampstead | 1 | 4 | 22 | 190 | 217 | 70,260 |
| T | Kensington | 1 | 4 | 20 | 148 | 173 | 49,668 |
| V | Wandsworth | 1 | 4 | 20 | 146 | 171 | 57,532 |
| Totals | 17 | 68 | 323 | 2906 | 3314 | 1,212,491 |
This table shows at a glance how rapidly the parochial police was giving ground before the advancing battalions from Scotland Yard. In less than twelve months, in place of the five districts originally taken over, we find practically the whole of London and its suburbs policed by the new constabulary. The skeleton of this force's organization is also indicated in the above table, the details only require to be filled in. The Metropolitan Police District, it will be seen, was divided into seventeen Police Divisions, each designated by an appropriate local name, and by a letter of the alphabet. These Divisions were then divided into Sub-divisions, Sections, and Beats. There were eight Sections in a Division, and eight Beats in a Section. In every Division a Police-Station was provided, in as central and convenient position as possible, where the business of the Division was conducted on a plan approved by Scotland Yard, and common to all alike. The Constabulary force was organized in police companies, one company to a Division, under the command and direct supervision of its officer, the Superintendent. Furthermore, each company was split up into sixteen parties, each party consisting of one Sergeant and nine men, four Sergeants' parties being equal to one Inspectors' party. To put it in tabular form—
| Constables | in charge of | Beats, wages | 19s. a week. |
| Sergeants | " | Sections, " | 22s. 6d. a week. |
| Inspectors | " | Sub-divisions, | £100 per ann. |
| Superintendents | " | Divisions, | £200 per ann. |