1890 - The new headquarters of Scotland Yard opens at the Norman Shaw Building on the Embankment in London. 1895 - To join the Metropolitan Police, applicants had to be between 21-27 years old, at least 5'9" tall without shoes, able to read, write and spell well, generally intelligent, and free from physical complaints such as flat feet or joint stiffness. 1899 - By the end of the century, the Metropolitan Police force had grown to 16,000 officers from 3,000 at its founding in 1829, as London's population increased from 1.5 million to 7 million.