london079 The Bow Street Runner 'Ello 'ello what we 'ave 'ere then? The second statue represents London's first dedicated police force which was established in Covent Garden by Henry Fielding in 1749. The statue pays tribute to 250 years of policing Covent Garden from the very first recruits to the present constables of the Metropolitan Police. Within months, many of the most persistent and dangerous offenders had been banged to rights, and the law-abiding citizens of Covent Garden could go about their daily business without such a hazardous threat of violence or robbery, however, despite the police's efficiency they remained drastically under-resourced for many years. When they appeared replacing elderly watchmen, the first policemen on Convent Garden's Piazza soon came to be regarded with courtesy and respect by an appreciative, lawful public. Upstanding sergeants like this 'Bow Street Runner' would patrol the area (which at the time was rife with pickpockets) apprehending undesirables and their legacy of law enforcement has been continued by subsequent generations of policemen. Like the enforcers, the criminal underclasses have evolved over the years and Dickensian caricatures like Fagin and the Artful Dodger have been a very real menace on the streets of Convent Garden, but never beyond the reach of the long arm of the law.