![]() A "billy club" is what burglars called their prying tool of choice. The term likely came from the slang for crowbar. Old police batons on display at London's Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre. Some officers decorated their billy clubs with symbols, coats of arms, or their initials. The use of the billy club soon spread to American cities like New York and Boston. Used offensively, it spared the hands any damage in a striking exchange. In a physical confrontation, the billy club could help ward off attacks or assist an officer in restraining a suspect. ![]() If a patrolman needed help, the stick could be rapped on the ground or against a pipe to summon colleagues to the scene. The sight of officers twirling the sticks could act as a preventative measure for would-be criminals or help someone who needed assistance to spot an officer. ![]() Patrolling the city's streets, the officers (who were also known as " bobbies"-as in Robert's men) were armed only with a billy club, a solid stick that could be deployed in a variety of ways, not all of them harmful. In 1829, Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel formed London's first police department. A actor dressed as an English policeman, circa 1880. ![]()
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