A review of the 'natural' history of the British police, notably the London Metropolitan Police, focuses on how a formal organization evolves as a response to forces unrelated, or even opposed, to the formal rules and priorities of an administrative structure. A separate chapter on the natural history of the criminal investigation division (CID) of the Metropolitan Police considers the organizational and ideological context in which the contemporary CID officer operates. The author argues that the idiosyncratic nature of CID work, although isolated from the dominant uniform branch, is influenced by its occupational environment to the extent of adopting crucial characteristics of the culture generated by that environment. The analysis of London's East End culture focuses on the resident characteristics of independence, tough masculinity, a traditional deviant identity, and, most importantly, entrepreneurial ability. The latter moves easily between legal and illegal activities that turn a profit. These characteristics of the East End resident are compared with the characteristics of CID detectives working the East End. 420-item bibliography, subject index.