The stimulus for canal policing came with the passing of the The Canal Offences Act of 1840, described as "An Act to provide for keeping the Peace on Canals and Navigable Rivers." It recognised that problems existed on the canals and inland waterways and set about empowering canal and navigation companies to appoint Constables to act on their property.

The first mention of an enforcement body is in 1802 with the appointment of Canal Rangers. In early 1808 the Company appointed a body of Watchmen to protect their property. As the following year came to a close the Company took steps to have a number of it's employees appointed Constables to regulate behaviour on their property. An early task of this body was to control fishing in the canal.

In late 1811 Canal Rangers were kitted out with greatcoats and gold laced hats. In September 1813 the Company made its Police redundant but retained the Canal Ranger. At this time the Watchmen still existed and their duties now included that of Hatchkeeper. By 1821 the Company Police had returned and a regular task was to deal with large groups who would assemble on the towpath at weekends. In late 1828 the five Hatchkeepers were appointed Constables and early the following year five more Constables were appointed. In 1839 consideration was given to asking the Metropolitan Police to look after the canal entirely, but this came to nothing probably for financial reasons. In 1860 six more men were sworn in and the summer of 1861 saw twenty five more Constables posts created.

The merger in January 1865 with the Commercial Dock Company saw the demise of the force. The new company, the Surrey Commercial Dock Company, created a police force with two divisions, the Commercial Division policing the dock and the Surrey Division policing the canal. After a short period of time the Company created one unified force for all it's undertakings.