On 12th July 1851, a meeting of the Dawlish parish vestry was held at the York Hotel in respect of the establishment of a police force for the town, the costs being defrayed for the time being by voluntary contributions rather than from local taxationⁱ. The principal attendees of the meeting unanimously agreed that a system of police in Dawlish should be appointed without delay, and there were absolutely no complaints or objections from any of those present. A Mr Schank suggested that William Pearse, lately a policeman in nearby Teignmouth, would be suited to the role, and all in attendance agreed that his appointment should be pursued.ⁱⁱ It seems that the decision to appoint a paid police officer in the town was not borne out of any particular recent outrage nor series of criminal acts, rather it was because of a desire to keep the streets and footpaths "free from obstructions."ⁱⁱⁱ

On 7th August, a further vestry meeting was held, and William Pearse was nominated by an overwhelming majority. His appointment was intended to last until November 1851, pending the agreement of a suitable police rate for the maintenance of his appointment thereafter.^iv His salary was set at £40 per year, plus the provision of a suit of uniform, and he was duly sworn in by the local justices.

In the meantime, PC Pearse set about his work with enthusiasm. Amongst the first of his investigations was of the theft of turnips from the field of Mr Pennel. PC Pearse waited in ambush for the miscreant and caught William Radford red-handed. Radford was charged to court and fined £1 5s. plus costs.^v In March 1852, Pearse impounded two donkeys belonging to a Mr Voysey. Not being content with the Constable's actions, Voysey broke into the stables and retrieved them. He was subsequently arrested and fined 7s. plus costs.^vi

On 12th February 1852, Pearse suffered the sudden loss, following a short illness, of his wife Ann at the age of 45.^vii The following month, a proper police rate was set for the continuance of Pearse's services, and his salary was increased to £50 per year. Under the original terms of his appointment, Pearse's jurisdiction was limited to Dawlish town, however he now held jurisdiction over the parish as well.^viii

On 17th January 1853, Elizabeth Thorne was pickpocketed whilst boarding a train at Teignmouth Railway Station. As the train reached Dawlish, Thorne realised her purse was missing and demanded that three male passengers who had brushed against her when she boarded were searched. The train could not be delayed, however a telegraphic message was transmitted to Exeter St David's Railway Station and a police officer from Exeter detained the men when they alighted. The men, John Robinson, John Raymont, and William Williams, were found in possession of three sovereigns and five half-sovereigns which Thorne claimed comprised the contents of her purse. The actual purse could not be found. In the meantime, PC Pearse had been made aware of the theft and commenced a search of the railway line between Dawlish and Teignmouth and found the purse in a railway tunnel. The three men denied knowing each other, however the keeper of the St Thomas coffee house testified to the Constable at Exeter that they had taken breakfast together in his establishment that morning. The men were arrested and at the subsequent court hearing, it was heard that the trio had committed offences across Devon and Somerset. Robinson attempted to frustrate the investigation by using pseudonyms, however his identity was corroborated by Governor Radford, from Tiverton Gaol, who was called as a witness and recognised Robinson as a former inmate. Robinson was sentenced to ten years' transportation. Raymont and Williams were sentenced to twelve months' hard labour, "with a whipping".^ix

Pearse was often active at night around the time of pub closing, which sometimes put him in harm's way. On 6th October 1855, Pearse was generally observing the pubs turning out in the vicinity of the Red Lion Inn when a man passed close by him holding an object. It being dark, Pearse wished the man, "goodnight", which the man ignored. Pearse issued these tidings twice more, and was still ignored, instilling in him that something about this gentleman was unusual. Pearse followed the man and when they reached a part of town where no-one else was around, the man turned and struck Pearse in the head and arm with an umbrella. The man, who Pearse now recognised as yeoman George Spencer, admitted to Pearse that he had deliberately lured him away from public view in order to attack him, having apparently bore some sort of grudge against him. Pearse struck the man back and exclaimed,

Spencer then hit Pearse in the mouth. A man called Hart, who was present when Pearse went off in pursuit of Spencer, interfered in the matter, but ultimately helped Pearse escort Spencer to the lockup. In court, Spencer gave a somewhat different account which amounted to the notion that Pearse was the aggressor. Spencer was found guilty of assaulting the officer and was fined £3 plus costs.^x

The formation of the Devon Constabulary over the course of 1856 to 1857 generally put policemen like Pearse out of work, as there was no legal mechanism for the protection of town police forces formed from, or out of a combination of, the Lighting & Watching Act 1833, and the Parish Constables Acts of 1842 and 1849. PC Pearse, being of good health and of suitable age, applied for a position in the Devon Constabulary and was successful. He was appointed as Sergeant no.8 on 31st January 1857.^xi The Devon Constabulary register records his previous occupation as, "P.O. (police officer) Dawlish."

No faults are known to have been recorded against Pearse during his time in Dawlish, and he was heartily congratulated on his new appointment at a meeting of the Dawlish parish vestry in April 1857. Of note, the Devon Constabulary had not yet established itself in Dawlish by the time this meeting took place, which permitted certain elements of the criminal underclass to re-establish themselves to the annoyance of residents in the night-time hours. His service with the County Police was comparatively short and unremarkable. He resigned on 12th December 1857 and spent the remainder of his working life as a cabman.

A meeting of the ratepayers took place 5 February 1857 and it was agreed to call out the four Constables (parish officers), to act when required, due to Police Constable Pearse being appointed in the new Devon County Constabulary and as he was away undergoing training at Exeter. The authorities at Dawlish expected two or three of the new Devon County Constabulary to succeed PC Pearse in the parish.

The new County Police Constables arrived 6 May 1857, with two being located at Dawlish and one at Ashcombe. For those in Dawlish this was not satisfactory. With a population of nearly four thousand, Dawlish was entitled to, and paid nearly £200 towards the Police Fund and was paying a sufficient police rate to support, three of the Force according to the new County Police regulations. Despite these details, of the two of its Constables that were located in Dawlish initially, the Devon County Constabulary further withdrew one in August 1857, leaving only PC 184. The County also was not disposed to pay any rent for use of the Dawlish Town Hall and Cells.

By November of that same year, Dawlish was still with only one Police Constable instead of the three to which it felt it was entitled. Complaints were made to Captain Hamilton, the Chief Constable of Devon County Constabulary, that they were paying for three Constables and were down to one to do the entire duty. The Chief Constable only responded he could not comply with their request at that time.

A year passed, and by October 1858, the policing numbers remained as they were with only one Devon County Constabulary policeman in Dawlish. In defiance, in September, the parish officers decided to lock the Town Hall and the Cells until some allowance was made by the County for their use.