Which figure helped develop professional policing in London and emphasized crime prevention and economic protection?

• A. Patrick Colquhoun
• B. August Vollmer
• C. Wickersham Commission
• D. Erosion of public trust in police

Answer: (A)

Patrick Colquhoun embodies the move toward professional policing in London by focusing on organized, preventive police work and linking policing to the protection of commerce and revenue. He helped establish the Thames River Police and argued that a disciplined, proactive force could deter crime before it harmed trade, warehouses, docks, and the economy. This emphasis on crime prevention and safeguarding economic interests set a precedent for a professional police force in the capital.

August Vollmer and the Wickersham Commission are associated with reforms in the United States, not London, so they don’t fit the question’s London-focused context. The option about erosion of public trust in police isn’t a person or figure either.