Victoria Police was formed when the Police Regulation Act became law on 8 January, 1853. Its initial strength was 875 men, including 26 officers. Six police ranks were established, inspector, sub inspector, chief constable, sergeant, cadet and constable. William Henry Mitchell was appointed the first Chief Commissioner. The first Victoria Police depot was established in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Richmond and included a police hospital.
Victoria Police was Victoria's first single unified police organisation. Before it was established, there had been seven independent policing groups within Victoria - the Gold Escort, the Water Police, the Mounted Police, the City Police (Melbourne), the Geelong Police, the Gold Fields Police and the Rural Bench Constabulary.
Police in the nineteenth century were more than peacekeepers - they acted as stand-in soldiers, firemen and even debt collectors. They were not always popular roles, and as society and the policing environment changed, members faced turbulent times.
