Like many other towns in the early 19th-century, law and order in St Ives was administered by a parish constable appointed by a justice of the peace.
With the passage of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, St Ives was made a borough with an elected council, which consisted of a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councilors.
[1] Part of the commonality of the town's government was a watch committee responsible for establishing a police force, also referred to as a "commission of the peace."
St Ives Borough Police only had a single officer at any one time, and was severely criticised by the Inspector of Constabulary in his 1876 report for being "too small and inefficient to be worthy of keeping.
The lone officer of the borough was known as the head constable and wore a frock coat and top hat.