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Police forces were government organisations charged with maintaining law and order. They employed police officers. It was a dangerous job, especially in the United States of America. (TV: Nightvisiting [+]Loading...["Nightvisiting (TV story)"]) Female police officers on Earth did not exist until after the 1920s. (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp [+]Loading...["The Unicorn and the Wasp (TV story)"])
The Fourth Doctor compared the Krynoid pods to policemen because both travelled in pairs. (TV: The Seeds of Doom [+]Loading...["The Seeds of Doom (TV story)"])
The Judoon and Atraxi were police forces working throughout Mutter's Spiral, though Earth's planetary development level in the 21st century placed it out of their jurisdiction. (TV: Smith and Jones [+]Loading...["Smith and Jones (TV story)"], The Eleventh Hour [+]Loading...["The Eleventh Hour (TV story)"], Prisoner of the Judoon [+]Loading...["Prisoner of the Judoon (TV story)"]) In the 26th century, the term "police" was considered old-fashioned. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Prisoner of the Daleks (novel)"])
Instances of police appearance[[edit] | [edit source]]
18th century[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the 18th century, Henry and John Fielding founded London's first police force - the Bow Street Runners. (AUDIO: The Avenues of Possibility [+]Loading...["The Avenues of Possibility (audio story)"])
19th century[[edit] | [edit source]]
In the 19th century, a number of police and detectives were involved in the cases surrounding the suicide of Gordon Seavers and the murders at Banquo Manor. (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy [+]Loading...["The Banquo Legacy (novel)"])
A number of policemen, led by Inspector George Duncan Stringer, were assigned to the Crystal Palace in London. They were turned into wasp/human hybrids by Ajeeth, Lady Cornelia Basildon-Stone's servant, but later returned when Basildon-Stone fell to her death. (COMIC: The Crystal Throne [+]Loading...["The Crystal Throne (comic story)"])
20th century[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 1927, New York police shot Jack Harkness and arrested Angelo Colasanto. (TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"])
To make sure that Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 went smoothly, the police hid away people whose faces were consumed by the Wire. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern [+]Loading...["The Idiot's Lantern (TV story)"])
A lone policeman patrolled the Coal Hill area of London in November 1963. When passing a junkyard owned by I.M. Foreman, he did not notice the presence of a strange, humming police box. (TV: "An Unearthly Child" [+]Part of An Unearthly Child, Loading...{"namedep":"An Unearthly Child (1)","1":"An Unearthly Child (TV story)"})
Thanks to the intervention of the temporarily miniaturised First Doctor and his companions, police, including PC Bert Rowse, were able to arrest corrupt industrialist Forester for the murder of Arnold Farrow in June 1969. (TV: Planet of Giants [+]Loading...["Planet of Giants (TV story)"])
Pursued by the Daleks through time and space, the Doctor's TARDIS materialised in the yard of a police station in Liverpool in 1965, its scanner malfunctioning. After some trouble with the local police, the First Doctor managed to repair the malfunctioning scanner and depart. (TV: The Daleks' Master Plan [+]Loading...["The Daleks' Master Plan (TV story)"])
In July 1966, the First Doctor hung a sign reading OUT OF ORDER on the front of the TARDIS (even though, as Dodo Chaplet would later point out, not even the police could open the door). When a policeman approached the police box, he saw the sign and moved on. (TV: The War Machines [+]Loading...["The War Machines (TV story)"])
Also in July 1966, a policeman spotted the Second Doctor and his companions on a runway at Gatwick Airport and chased after them. When they scattered, the policeman went after Ben. (TV: The Faceless Ones [+]Loading...["The Faceless Ones (TV story)"])
Two policemen in a police car were attacked by the spacesuited alien ambassadors outside the isotope factory while trying to prevent them and Reegan from stealing radioactive isotopes. (It is unclear as to whether one or both officers survived.) (TV: The Ambassadors of Death [+]Loading...["The Ambassadors of Death (TV story)"])
Two Autons impersonated policemen, complete with a stolen police car, in a failed attempt to kill the Third Doctor and Jo Grant. (TV: Terror of the Autons [+]Loading...["Terror of the Autons (TV story)"])
A policeman witnessed Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and the Third Doctor's high-speed chase of Lupton. (TV: Planet of the Spiders [+]Loading...["Planet of the Spiders (TV story)"])
In 1977, (COMIC: Daleks, invasión a la Tierra año 2150 [+]Loading...["Daleks, invasión a la Tierra año 2150 (comic story)"]) Tom Campbell, a Special Constable from London, witnessed and was attacked during a robbery at a jeweller's shop, and burst into Dr. Who's TARDIS after mistaking it for a genuine police box. (TV: Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. [+]Loading...["Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (theatrical film)"], COMIC: Daleks, invasión a la Tierra año 2150 [+]Loading...["Daleks, invasión a la Tierra año 2150 (comic story)"])
In 1979, the police were present at the Louvre in Paris investigating the theft of the Mona Lisa. The Fourth Doctor managed to somehow slip past the cordon and into the building, where he asked the Louvre guide if she had seen two people (Romana II and Duggan) last night trying to stop the painting from being stolen. However, the guide was unable to help. (TV: City of Death [+]Loading...["City of Death (TV story)"])
A policeman was using the police box in a lay-by on the Barnet Bypass when he was suddenly dragged inside and killed by the Tremas Master, whose TARDIS had materialised around the police box. (TV: Logopolis [+]Loading...["Logopolis (TV story)"])
In Amsterdam in January 1983, Robin Stuart was alarmed to see a policeman, but his friend Colin Frazer assured him that he wouldn't be sent to prison for losing his passport. (TV: Arc of Infinity [+]Loading...["Arc of Infinity (TV story)"])
Gustave Lytton disguised himself as a policeman on Earth in 1984, and his two henchmen did likewise. (TV: Resurrection of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Resurrection of the Daleks (TV story)"], Attack of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)"])
On 31 December 1999, the Eighth Doctor stole a motorbike from a policeman in order to reach the beryllium atomic clock at the Institute for Technological Advancement and Research in San Francisco. (TV: Doctor Who [+]Loading...["Doctor Who (TV story)"])
21st century[[edit] | [edit source]]
The Law Machines were commissioned by Torchwood London to act as policemen on every corner of every street. However, due to their connection to the War Machines they were taken over by WOTAN and later destroyed. (AUDIO: The Law Machines [+]Loading...["The Law Machines (audio story)"])
After Rose Tyler's disappearance, Mickey Smith had been taken in for questioning five times; (TV: Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"]) on Who is Doctor Who?, he recounted the most recent time he had been brought in, despite their lack of evidence as well as the evidence that would clear his name being disregarded by the police, so he gave up trying to convince them. (PROSE: Rose sighting confirmed [+]Loading...["Rose sighting confirmed (short story)"]) According to one account, these five instances of questioning had all happened before 3 June 2005. (PROSE: Mickey's Blog [+]Loading...["Mickey's Blog (short story)"])
In March 2006, the police interviewed Rose Tyler and the Ninth Doctor after their return to London, unaware of the missing persons case that had been launched in Rose's absence. Mickey later told them about the times the police brought him in for questioning. During the London UFO crash, police reinforcements were drafted in from across the country to control widespread panic, looting and civil disturbance. (TV: Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"]) Sip Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen disguised himself as police officer Strickland, in order to get close enough to kill anyone associated with the Doctor. (TV: Aliens of London [+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"]/World War Three [+]Loading...["World War Three (TV story)"])
On Christmas 2006, a policeman was reporting on the people with A+ blood ready to jump from roofs of London thanks to the Sycorax's blood control. (TV: The Christmas Invasion [+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"])
In 2007, (TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"]) 2008, (AUDIO: Angels [+]Loading...["Angels (audio story)"]) or "nearly 20 years" before 2022, (AUDIO: Recruits [+]Loading...["Recruits (audio story)"]) Sally Sparrow approached DI Billy Shipton, who had been investigating disappearances at Wester Drumlins. (TV: Blink [+]Loading...["Blink (TV story)"])
In the 2000s,[nb 1] Gwen Cooper, before she worked for Torchwood Three, had been a police officer, along with most of her friends. Shortly before Gwen joined Torchwood, she and Andy Davidson looked into John Tucker's murder and were involved with stopping a fight at a pub. (TV: Everything Changes [+]Loading...["Everything Changes (TV story)"])
Police were called to investigate Matt Stevens' unusual death. (TV: Day One [+]Loading...["Day One (TV story)"])
Mark Goodson had himself arrested by police for protection from the fairies. (TV: Small Worlds [+]Loading...["Small Worlds (TV story)"])
After Torchwood Three's encounter with the Brynblaidd cannibals, the cannibals were arrested by police. (TV: Countrycide [+]Loading...["Countrycide (TV story)"])
Police cordoned off a 200-year-old corpse of a soldier near an Arcateenian transporter. (TV: Greeks Bearing Gifts [+]Loading...["Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story)"])
DI Henderson looked into the prevented murder of Carol and Danny. (TV: Greeks Bearing Gifts [+]Loading...["Greeks Bearing Gifts (TV story)"])
Kathy Swanson's team investigated Max Tresilian's murder of Mark and Sarah Brisco and Alex Arwyn. Her team later helped Torchwood find the right code to break the Torchwood Hub's lockdown. (TV: They Keep Killing Suzie [+]Loading...["They Keep Killing Suzie (TV story)"])
Police had a violent encounter with English Civil War soldiers when they came through the Cardiff Space-Time Rift. (TV: End of Days [+]Loading...["End of Days (TV story)"])
Sarah Jane Smith was arrested for the kidnapping of "Ashley Stafford" (who Mr Smith had faked evidence to make him appear as the son of Jay and Heidi Stafford). Sarah Jane's connections with UNIT had her quickly released. (TV: The Lost Boy [+]Loading...["The Lost Boy (TV story)"])
Police were at the site of a mugger covered in Rift energy. (TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang [+]Loading...["Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)"])
Police were called to the crime scene when two burglars robbed Beth Halloran and Mike Lyndon. When they arrived, Beth had unknowingly stabbed one of them and pushed another out of her flat. (TV: Sleeper [+]Loading...["Sleeper (TV story)"])
Police cordoned off the traffic accident that killed Leighton Reynolds. Later, the Torchwood Three team pretended to be police while questioning Rhys Williams, Leighton's manager. (TV: Meat [+]Loading...["Meat (TV story)"])
Marie Thomas called the police when the Pharm tried and failed to murder her. Later, police were at the crime scene of the Pharm's murder of Barry Leonard. (TV: Reset [+]Loading...["Reset (TV story)"])
Following a fight, Jack Harkness and the newly-undead Owen Harper were arrested. (TV: Dead Man Walking [+]Loading...["Dead Man Walking (TV story)"])
Rift activity caused several senior police officers at Andy Davidson's police station to be mauled by Weevils. (TV: Exit Wounds [+]Loading...["Exit Wounds (TV story)"])
Police appeared in London where the March of the Adipose had taken place, using police lines to ward off bystanders. (TV: Partners in Crime [+]Loading...["Partners in Crime (TV story)"])
At Easter, DI McMillan was on the case for arresting Lady Christina de Souza for robbery. The Tenth Doctor pretended to arrest himself inside a police box for allowing her escape. (TV: Planet of the Dead [+]Loading...["Planet of the Dead (TV story)"])
Following Miracle Day in 2011, the Welsh police helped Rex Matheson to extradite Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper to the United States. (TV: The New World [+]Loading...["The New World (TV story)"])
A team of armed police, led by Andy Davidson, rescued Gwen Cooper's family from being held hostage. (TV: Immortal Sins [+]Loading...["Immortal Sins (TV story)"])
Ralph Finch discovered the category 1 Geraint Cooper hiding in Swansea, and subsequently took him away to Cowbridge Overflow Camp. (TV: The Gathering [+]Loading...["The Gathering (TV story)"])
During the Hyperion invasion of Britain in summer 2015, the police attempted to oppose them but were killed as the invaders "[burnt] through" them, transforming them into the Scorched. (COMIC: The Hyperion Empire [+]Loading...["The Hyperion Empire (comic story)"])
Rory Williams was mistaken for a plain-clothes policeman by Ambrose Northover in 2020 Cwmtaff. (TV: The Hungry Earth [+]Loading...["The Hungry Earth (TV story)"])
Harry Pike, father of Darius Pike, was one of the last policemen to serve in England, before The Department replaced them with CCPCs. (TV: The Last Precinct [+]Loading...["The Last Precinct (TV story)"])
In 2020, Lin, under the control of the Reconnaissance Dalek, murdered two police officers and claimed their car and outfits. (TV: Resolution [+]Loading...["Resolution (TV story)"]) Following the Dalek's defeat, its casing was reverse engineered into the Defence Drones who were intended to serve as, among other things, assistants to the police force. (TV: Revolution of the Daleks [+]Loading...["Revolution of the Daleks (TV story)"])
5,000,000,000 AD[[edit] | [edit source]]
In 5,000,000,023, The New New York Police Department arrested the Sisters of Plenitude after the NNYPD were alerted of experimenting on "the flesh". (TV: New Earth [+]Loading...["New Earth (TV story)"]) In 5,000,000,029, the department, and all police authority on New Earth, were consumed by the Bliss virus. (TV: Gridlock [+]Loading...["Gridlock (TV story)"])
Criticism[[edit] | [edit source]]
The police force of the United Kingdom was often accused of police brutality and racial profiling, with Colin Colchester-Price being frequently pulled over in his car whilst St John Colchester never was. Detective Inspector Pete Bunton killed Farooq Sadiki in what was believed to be a racially-motivated crime rather than the raid-gone-wrong that the police claimed it was. Lives Not Bullets was a group that existed to speak out against police wrongdoing. (AUDIO: The Empty Hand [+]Loading...["The Empty Hand (audio story)"])
In the year 2020, George Floyd was killed in an act of police brutality. When footage of this spread across social media, it sparked widespread protests against the police in the United Kingdom and United States of America. (PROSE: 8.46 [+]Loading...["8.46 (short story)"])
Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The policeman seen at the beginning of An Unearthly Child has the distinction of being the very first character to appear on Doctor Who.
- A policeman, played by Bill McGuirk, was to have appeared in Terror of the Autons, but these scenes were cut prior to broadcast, though McGuirk was still credited on-screen.