Curator's Corner: The Police Cutlass

April 2025 Edition

In this month’s edition of Curator’s Corner, we unsheathe the intriguing history of the police cutlass, exploring its journey to becoming a tool in early law enforcement.

A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, typically featuring a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened along one edge. Its hilt often includes a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard designed to protect the wielder’s hand.^[1]

The cutlass is a 17^th century descendant of the edged short sword. Though sometimes used on land, it is famously associated with the sea. Often seen as a pirate’s weapon of choice as early as the mid-1600s, it served not only as a weapon but also as a tool of intimidation. The cutlass was also a sailor’s preferred weapon. The cutlass’s robust build made it ideal for hacking through heavy ropes, thick canvas, and dense vegetation, while its short length made it effective below deck and in close quarters combat.^[2] Its versatility also made it a practical agricultural implement, especially in rain forest and sugarcane areas.^[3]

Originally a common naval weapon, the cutlass was repurposed in the 1830s for use by Robert Peel’s newly formed police force, established in 1829.^[4] Robert Peel’s standardised police drew inspiration from earlier iterations of law enforcement groups in London, such as the Bow Street Runners and the Bow Street Horse Patrols - both of which would eventually merge with the Metropolitan police in the mid-1800s. The Bow Street Horse Patrol, a mounted unit of anti-highwaymen, equipped themselves with cutlasses, pistols and truncheons. Peel adopted similar practices for his new police force, arming his officers with comparable weaponry, including the cutlass.^[5]

In 1830, following the fatal shooting and stabbing of a Metropolitan Police constable on duty, the Home Secretary mandated that every officer be issued a cutlass. The cutlass required less training that the rapier or small sword and was considered more effective as a combat weapon than a full-sized sword.^[6] Its relative ease of use likely made it an appealing choice for police use. Since all officers were required to undergo training at Wellington Barracks,^[7] the practicality of the cutlass may have been a key factor in its selection.

Initially carried while on night duty, they were soon relegated to storage in the local inspector’s office, reserved for emergency use only. Provincial police forces sometimes deployed cutlasses to help quell public disorder, using the hilts and flat edges to strike rioters. Notably, there is no recorded instance of any police-inflicted death caused by a cutlass. The last documented deployment of police cutlasses occurred in 1909 during the Tottenham Outrage, a violent armed robbery in North London.^[8] By 1936, even the Royal Navy had begun phasing out the cutlass from active use. From the 1930s onward, it was retained solely for ceremonial duties.^[9]

While the cutlass was never used extensively by the British police, it remained a distinctive part of their arsenal throughout the Victorian era, symbolic of a time when law enforcement was still evolving into its modern form. At the Bradford Police Museum, we are fortunate to have several historical police cutlasses in our collection. Though currently held in our storerooms, we hope to bring them into the gallery for public display in the near future. Be sure to stop by and chat with our knowledgeable volunteer guides to learn more about these fascinating relics of policing history!

^[1] Ossian, Rob. ‘The Cutlass,’ The Pirate King. www.thepirateking.com/historical/cutlass.htm.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Ibid.

^[4] ‘Cutlass,’ Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutlass#:~:text=late%2019th%20century, Modern%20history,was%20provided%20at%20Wellington%20Barracks.

^[5] ‘Bow Street Horse Patrols,’ Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Aug. 2024. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_Street_Horse_Patrols.

^[6] Ossian, ‘The Cutlass,’ The Pirate King.

^[7] ‘Cutlass,’ Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation.

^[8] Ibid.

^[9] Ibid.