On this date in 1904 Mounted police were used for the first time in New York. 10 things you might not know about mounted police:
The first country to organise a mounted police force was France. In the early 18th century, the French military used fully mounted units to patrol the countryside and hunt down criminals in rural areas. They were called the Maréchaussée and the modern French police force, the gendarmerie, evolved from these units.
The UK got its first mounted police force in 1793 when Sir John Fielding, the magistrate at Bow Street Magistrates' Court, set one up with a government grant of £600 for a civilian "night Horse patrol" to protect travellers from highwaymen. To begin with, this consisted of eight men who had served in the cavalry regiments, armed with a cutlass, pistol and truncheon. They had to be at least 5 feet 5 inches tall. They patrolled the turnpike roads around London and into Kent. They were called The Bow Street Horse Patrols.
Boston was the first US city to have mounted police. Later, the United States Park Police Horse Mounted Patrol was founded in 1934 with a single horse rented from a local stable.
Which brings us to one of the reasons police on horses might be deployed rather than police in cars. A horse can reach places a motor vehicle can’t, so if you’re patrolling vast rural areas, forests, Mountains and the like, whether chasing criminals or involved in search and rescue, a horse beats a car hands down.
The best known mounted police force in the world has to be The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or “Mounties”. This is the national police service of Canada. It was founded in 1873 as the ‘North West Mounted Rifles’ and later re-named ‘North West Mounted Police’. It began with 300 men whose job was to seek out smugglers and illegal traders across 300,000 square miles. They also played a role in keeping the peace during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway and helping new settlers who lacked experience in how to survive in the wilderness.
Police horses are a common sight at events like Football matches and protests, where it may become necessary to control a crowd or even a riot. The horses allow officers to see and be seen. From the higher vantage point on a horse’s back, the officers can observe more, and they are also more visible and this can help deter crime. One officer and his horse can provide more force than 10 officers on foot. Also, for some, a police officer on a horse is more approachable.
Horses aren’t specifically bred to become police horses. The kinds of horse usually used are draft horses or quarter horses, because they are large and typically have a calm demeanour.
Both horses and riders undergo years of training. It takes around two years to train a police horse. They have to be introduced gradually to noisy or stressful situations. They may start, for example, at a school fair where the children will be asked to shout or cheer, then a football match at a small local club, and so on. They’ll be trained to walk on unfamiliar surfaces and to cope with flares, smoke, loud noises and so on. The riders will need to have spent a couple of years as a regular police officer before applying to the mounted force. They, too, will undergo specialist training in crowd control, managing and caring for horses. The officers are responsible for feeding and mucking out their horses, and cleaning and polishing their tack.
Most police horses have the hair clipped from their entire body, including legs and heads, so they won’t sweat too much, as this is bad for them. They will wear thick rugs when it’s cold. They are equipped with wear facial armour, made of perspex so they can still see.
There are thirteen mounted police sections in the UK. London’s Metropolitan Police has between 100 and 116 horses, which, in 2016, cost £5,558 per horse, not including stabling. There were 142 police officers qualified to ride. The City of London Police, which is separate from the Met Police, also maintains a mounted unit. New York, at the same time, had 55 horses.
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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