Box 150 contains material relating to Bentham's work on the Thames Police Bill, which he drew up in conjunction with the magistrate, Patrick Colquhoun.

Bentham's work on the panopticon during the late 1790s put him in contact with several influential individuals with whom he became friends. These included Colquhoun, whose works on the police and other statistical studies Bentham greatly admired. The Pool of London - a stretch of the River Thames running from London Bridge to just below Tower Bridge - was in Bentham's time vital to London's trading powers, and was filled with wharves and ships. However, theft of cargo was an increasing problem, and in 1797 John Harriot, a Justice of the Peace and a master mariner, worked with Colquhoun and Bentham to persuade the West India Merchants to fund a new police force. The Thames River Police was the first regular, professional police force in the world, was initially under Colquhoun's direction, and had a permanent salaried staff of 80, and an on-call reserve of 1,000 more. Its visible patrols were a success in reducing crime, even though a mob attempted to set fire to the police station.

Bentham worked on drafting the 1798 Thames Police Bill, and the manuscripts contained here demonstrate just how much effort he put into the endeavour. The Bill was enacted in 1800, permanently establishing the Thames River Police. Colquhoun published his Treatise on the Commerce and Policing of the River Thames in 1800.

This material also contains some remarks by Bentham on the prevention of forgery of coins.

The material is arranged as follows:

• Folios 1 to 76: Police Bill, Reeves's and Macdonald's. Found among Sergeant Adair's papers [1785]
• Folios 77 to 93: Thames Police Bill, first draft [1798]
• Folios 94 to 102: Thames Police Bill, elucidations [1798]
• Folios 103 to 117: Marine Police Bill, notes, additions [1798]
• Folios 118 to 124: Summary view of a bill for the more effectual prevention of depredations on the Thames [c.1799]
• Folios 125 to 170: Heads of the Police Revenue Bill [c.1799]
• Folios 171 to 177: Counterfeiting - Coin Police [1799]
• Folios 178 to 289: A bill for the establishment of a Board of Police [c.1799]
• Folios 290 to 320: Police Bill. Collectanea, including

* Folios 290 to 302: Patrick Colqhoun to George Rose [1798]

* Folios 303 to 311: Examination of Patrick Colqhoun by House of Commons Select Committee on Finance [1798]

• Folios 321 to 428: Police Report. Expense of punishment, Hulks, Transportation, New South Wales, and Mr Bentham's Penitentiary plan [1798]
• Folios 429 to 640: Notes to the Police Bill [1799]
• Folios 641 to 717: Introductory Observations relative to the Board of Police bill [1799]
• Folios 718 to 776: Preliminary observations relative to the Board of Police Bill [1799]

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