Police regulations for the greater part of West Cumberland were sadly defective by the 1850's. The system of Parish Constables was in place and these men were honest and respectable in their station but lacking when it came to protecting the public or apprehending felons. Not a week went by when there were not brutal assaults, cock fighting, cruelty to animals, dog fights, poaching and drunkenness besides the higher crimes of felony. There was a growing desire by the inhabitants to have a few efficient policemen, stationed at suitable distances, and in daily communication with one another to apprehend offenders and prevent disturbances and offences.

The desire of Cumbrians to expel brutality and vagabondism from their district was finally answered with the establishment of the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police on 24 May 1855 when a dozen men were sworn in to establish the new rural police force. Eight of the new Force were absorbed from the old borough police of Whitehaven and four were fresh men. All of these men were under the charge of Superintendent Joseph Clarke. Superintendent Clarke had joined the Whitehaven Police in 1840 and, as a Sergeant, was made Superintendent of the Whitehaven Borough Police in 1848 upon the death of Superintendent Goodman. His experience with the Whitehaven Borough Police made Superintendent Clarke a logical choice to lead the new Allerdale-above-Derwent Police.

With the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police established, Egremont received attention first with the stationing of Sergeant Kilvington and Constable Waddell there with the others to be placed once their uniforms were received. Superintendent Clarke gave notice to the Trustees of the Town and Harbour that he had taken the police under his charge, so the powers of those gentlemen were then extinct - as well as their obligation to pay the men as of the date of the swearing-in of the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police.

The Allerdale-above-Derwent Police Force, also known as the Allerdale Ward Above Derwent Police, were established under the "Act for the Establishment of County and District Constables by the Authority of Justices of the Peace". Under the Act, the Justices of the Peace could organise a Constabulary to be operated subject to rules set forth by the Secretary of State. One of the rules was a sticking point when it came to the 1856 appointment of Constable William Jenkinson to the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police. The rule stated:

It was this rule that was the seed of the controversy that erupted over the swearing-in of Constable Jenkinson. Legal deliberations dragged on over several months alleging that Jenkinson, who had previously been in the employ of the Penrith Police (Leath Ward Police) as a Sergeant, had been dismissed from his duty there, making him ineligible to join the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police Force - or any force, for that matter - by the rules set forth by the Secretary of State. Previous to his service with Penrith, Jenkinson had maintained an unblemished record in the Durham County Constabulary from 23 February 1851 to July 1854. His service with the Penrith Police was not without issue as it seems there was friction between himself and the Superintendent of the Force. It was eventually agreed Sergeant Jenkinson had indeed resigned his office in the Penrith Police Force on the 10th of July, 1855. Therefore the alleged dismissal of the Sergeant for insubordination and neglect of duty by Superintendent Robinson of the Penrith Police on the 31st of July was, in fact, no dismissal, and could not render Jenkinson ineligible on that ground for admission into the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police Force.

For his part in the controversy, Superintendent Clarke was guilty of having engaged Jenkinson without a testimonial from his late Superintendent as was necessitated by one of the rules the Secretary of State as had been issued on the first day of December 1840. However, it was determined this could not be held against Superintendent Clarke as it became public knowledge that, not only had he not received a copy of these regulations but he was unaware of them. Superintendent Clarke had already known Sergeant Jenkinson as well, since Jenkinson had served under him at the Whitehaven Borough Police some years before. These details, and the fact that he had received a letter attesting to Jenkinson's conduct from a member of the Watch Committee at Penrith, proved it had not been a careless decision on his part in adding William Jenkinson to the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police.

By the time Superintendent Clarke and Constable Jenkinson were cleared of any wrongdoing in October 1856, the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police were already proving their worth to the Division. In the twelve months prior to their establishment, there were no fewer than six or seven manslaughters and one murder. Since their embodiment, there had not been a single case of manslaughter or murder in the Division. It was not to say that crime had taken a holiday though as one out of every 110 of the population were charged with an offence in the quarter leading up to October 1856. However, there was a relatively small number of those offences that were of a really serious character. During these three months, 379 persons were brought before the Magistrates in respect of twenty-one counts of felony and sixteen counts of assaults on police officers, with the remaining offences being of common assault, poaching, trespass, drunkenness and vagrancy as well as others of a minor character.

Although the days of the Allerdale-above-Derwent Police Force had not numbered many at this time, having only been established a little more than a year previous, they were to quickly come to an end with the passage by Parliament of the County and Borough Police Act in July of 1856. The Act made policing compulsory throughout England and Wales and made provision for Treasury assistance to local authorities to help fund their Constabularies. When it came time to determine how the new Act might be be adapted to Cumberland County, consideration was given to treating Allerdale-above-Derwent as a separate district as the cost of the police necessary for the district would surpass that of the other districts. Costs were put forth on that basis which amounted to £1216 2s per year, with one-fourth, £304, to be paid by the Treasury if the force of the whole county reported efficiency in numbers and discipline. A rate of a penny three farthings in the pound would produce the necessary income.

At the end of deliberations it was determined it was preferable to establish an undivided Force, with a uniform scale of pay, throughout the County and to maintain it by a general rate. With this decision having been made, Allerdale-above-Derwent Police became part of Cumberland Constabulary with its formation on 6 January 1857. The Chief Constable of the new Cumberland Constabulary, Mr Dunne, having received recommendations from the Justices of Whitehaven as to Superintendent Clarke being a fit person to fill the office of Superintendent in Cumberland Constabulary, re-appointed Mr Clarke as Superintendent of the Division at Whitehaven with the highest salary at his disposal.

In the coming months, Chief Constable Dunne came to form his own less than positive opinion of Superintendent Clarke, finding him not up to his estimation of the job. This was likely due in large part to the unenviable position in which Superintendent Clarke had been placed, serving both the local authorities as well as the Chief Constable, with no hope to bring complete satisfaction to either through his actions. His history with the local authorities forced him to make choices in certain matters that were not always popular with the Chief Constable. The Chief Constable complained of his neglect of duty and pointed out a more energetic and efficient discharge of duty was necessary on the part of the Superintendent.

Against the wishes of the residents at Whitehaven, these events culminated in the Chief Constable deciding to remove Superintendent Clarke from there. He initially intended to shift him to what would amount to an inferior situation at Wigton but he instead opted for moving him to Carlisle, offering him the position of Superintendent of the Division, which would put him under closer supervision at the Headquarters. Frankly, neither option was intended to provide satisfaction to Superintendent Clarke, instead they were considered to be a kind gesture, as it gave the Superintendent the option to resign if he did not wish to carry on with the Cumberland Constabulary, so that he could serve in another force in the future should he choose to do so. Had Chief Constable Dunne instead dismissed him from the Constabulary, he would no longer have the option to join another force. When presented with the move to Carlisle, Superintendent Clarke did choose to resign his position in December of 1857. His was not a graceful departure from the Force. He accompanied his resignation with one last act of insubordination by refusing to do duty and by throwing up his uniform and appointments in an irregular manner to his successor in Whitehaven. In doing so, he rendered himself liable to committal to prison under the powers of the Police Acts but Chief Constable Dunne continued to treat him with the greatest forbearance and permitted him to resign.

Throughout his few months with Cumberland Constabulary, Superintendent Clarke never fell out of favour with the Whitehaven authorities. They started a subscription for a testimonial to him, raising nearly £150 in only a few days. This was held onto for some months, as the tension between Mr Clarke and Chief Constable Dunne did not fade away quickly, but the sum was finally presented to Mr Clarke on 07 July 1858 along with a parchment stating: