detective [M19th] The development of an organized police force demanded a word such as detective, and it was duly formed in the 1840s from Late Middle English detect. The first occurrences are in detective police and detective policeman; simple detective is a shortening of the latter. Charles Dickens was one of the earliest to draw attention to this innovation, reporting in his magazine Household Words in 1850 that ‘To each division of the Force is attached two officers, who are denominated “detectives”.’ See also sleuth.