Birmingham City Police was a police force responsible for policing the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England until 1974, when it was amalgamated under the Local Government Act 1972 with West Midlands Constabulary and parts of other forces to form the West Midlands Police. The police force came into being on November 20, 1839 with 260 men. Francis Burgess, a local barrister, was appointed as the first police commissioner for Birmingham.[1]