County Police Act 1839
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| Long title | An Act for the Establishment of County and District Constables by the Authority of the Justices of the Peace |
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| Citation | 2 & 3 Vict c 93 |
| Introduced by | Lord John Russell |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 27 August 1839 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Police Act 1964 |
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Status: Repealed
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| Long title | An Act to Amend the Act for the Establishment of County and District Constables |
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| Citation | 1840 c.88 |
| Introduced by | Hon. Fox Maule |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 7 August 1840 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Police Act 1964 |
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Status: Repealed
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The County Police Act 1839 (2 & 3 Vict c 93) (also known as the Rural Police Act or the Rural Constabularies Act) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Police Acts 1839 to 1893. The Act enabled Justices of the Peace in England and Wales to establish police forces in their counties. The Act was not compulsory, and constabularies were only established in 25 out of 55 counties by 1856, when the County and Borough Police Act 1856 made their provision mandatory.
The legislation was based on the recommendations of a royal commission appointed in 1836 to "inquire into the best means of establishing an efficient constabulary force in the counties of England and Wales". The three members of the commission, or "Constabulary Commissioners" as they were informally called were Colonel Charles Rowan, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Edwin Chadwick and Charles Shaw Lefevre. The commission was appointed against a background of unrest and violence in some areas of the country, with protests against the New Poor Law and agitation by Chartists for social and political reform. Chadwick was strongly in favour of the creation of a single centralised force, but this was opposed by not only the two other commissioners but also by the Home Secretary, Lord John Russell. Russell wrote to the magistrates of the various counties asking them to support the resolution passed in Shropshire to establish a body of constables paid for out of the county rate and under the control of the magistrates. The commission's report, issued in 1839, followed the lines favoured by Russell. It recommended that "a properly trained and equipped preventative police force" based on the pattern of the existing Metropolitan Police, should be established in all counties where the magistrates were in favour. Each force should be funded mostly by local rates, with 25% of the cost met by central government. The force would be under the supervision of the county magistrates, who would have the power to employ or remove officers, subject to statutory regulations.
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