POLICE GAZETTE, THE

daily publication of the London Metropolitan Police that carries details of stolen property and of persons wanted for crime. It is distributed without charge to British and certain European police forces. The original Gazette, the Quarterly Pursuit, was founded in 1772 by John Fielding, chief magistrate of the Bow Street Police Court, then seat of London's police forces. The name was changed to The Police Gazette in 1828, and responsibility for the publication was transferred to Scotland Yard in 1883. Wood engravings of stolen valuables, photographs of criminals, and a classified system of descriptions all became features of the publication under Sir Howard Vincent, first director of the Criminal Investigation Division. The Gazette became a daily publication in 1927.