They patrol nearly 10,000 miles of street, more than 200 miles of waterway, 600 square miles of airspace, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. But Scotland Yard also hides a century and more of dark and infamous secrets. "Secrets of Scotland Yard" sifts through the felony-packed archives of this great police institution to shed new light on the earliest days of modern policing.

This crime-packed show follows police historians as they retrace the steps of some of the world’s earliest detectives; discovers how the Yard used every crime-fighting technique in its repertoire to stop the biggest heist in history; and reopens classified files to reveal how the seeds of modern-day policing were sown by the world’s most infamous murder case.

"Secrets of Scotland Yard" starts by tracing the roots of the Met’s HQ back to the small London street which gave it its name. From here "Secrets of Scotland Yard" reveals how, throughout the 19th century, the police force grew to incorporate the Detective Branch which soon became known throughout the world, providing inspiration for fictional legends such as Sherlock Holmes. And the truth is no less compelling.

From the conviction of Britain’s first Railway Murderer, to the hunt for the notorious Jack the Ripper, "Secrets of Scotland Yard" charts the development of policing through the investigations of the Yard’s Victorian detectives. Later, as the Met’s policing techniques paralleled advances in science and technology at the turn of the 20th century, "Secrets of Scotland Yard" features cases such as the conviction of the murderer Doctor Crippen and the vicious London gangsters, the Stratton Brothers, to show how modern-day policing techniques came into being. And, with official access to secret police footage, "Secrets of Scotland Yard" shows how the Yard’s elite detective divisions, such as the Flying Squad, continue to foil sophisticated criminal activity to keep Scotland Yard at the forefront of global policing.