Murder led to the founding of Surrey Police
Office of Surrey PCCSurrey Police staff should be "proud" to work for a force with such a "fantastic legacy" the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for the county, Lisa Townsend, says.
This month is the 175th anniversary of the founding of the county's police force.
Records from the time suggest the force was formed as a direct consequence of a local murder in 1850.
Clergyman Rev George Hollest was killed by a gang of robbers in his home in Frimley, a case that was covered extensively by newspapers at the time.
Local historian David Rose said: "It must have caused a great deal of shock that a clergyman had been shot in his parsonage by a gang of four men who had come to rob him and his family."
While Surrey has a relatively low crime rate now, Rose said that "from records that survive and newspaper reports it seems that lawlessness was rife at the time, particularly in rural areas."
Four men were tried for Hollest's murder. Two were found guilty and put to death, and the others were cleared due to lack of evidence.
They were thought to be part of a larger criminal group known as Issacs' Gang, which Rose says "terrorised Surrey and Sussex" until many of them were captured between 1850 and 1851.
THE ILLUSTRATED NEWSSurrey Police, known at first as Surrey Constabulary, was formed when several smaller local forces merged together.
Townsend said: "It was all quite piecemeal until eventually it was all brought together.
"But Surrey police force definitely came out from a place of need... in order to make Surrey safer."
She added: "The principles and the reasons behind why Surrey Police was set up 175 years ago are still true today."
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