HOME WEB NEWS IMAGES CLASSIFIEDS YELLOW PAGESPOLLS - SURVEYS WIKI COUNTRIES PHOTOS US UK INDIA
Cities Stocks Weather Movies Coupons Travel Blogs Health Horoscope Maps ASIA EUROPE Classifieds Yellow Pages
 1
|
| Metropolitan Police Service | |
 Metropolitan Police Service area | |
| Coverage | |
|---|---|
| Area | Greater London (except City of London) |
| Size | 1,578 km² (609 sq mi) |
| Population | 7.4 million |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1829 |
| HQ | New Scotland Yard |
| Budget | £3bn |
| Officers | 31,073 |
| OCU\'s | 33 |
| Stations | 180 |
| Commissioner | Sir Ian Blair QPM |
| |
| Website | Metropolitan Police |
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London excluding the City of London (which is the responsibility of the City of London Police). It is commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police and informally as "the Met" or sometimes MP; in statutes it is usually described in lower case as the "metropolitan police" without the appendage "Service".
With over 31,000 Police Officers, 1,070 Special Constables, 13,661 police staff, 414 traffic wardens and 2,106 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) the MPS is the largest force in the United Kingdom.Metropolitan Police Authority. MPA. Retrieved on 2006-07-20. The headquarters is at New Scotland Yard in Westminster, commonly known as Scotland Yard, although administrative functions are increasingly based at the Empress State Building (ESB) and by the end of 2007 all command and control functions will be transferred to the three Metcall complexes. Its head is the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis or simply the Commissioner, responsible to the Metropolitan Police Authority. The post was first held jointly by Colonel Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne. The current Commissioner is Sir Ian Blair QPM.
Contents |
The MPS area is known as the Metropolitan Police District (MPD) and coincides with the 32 London boroughs that make up Greater London, but excludes the City of London.
Before April 1, 2000, the MPD covered a larger area, established well before the current borders of Greater London were set. It included parts of Surrey, Hertfordshire and Essex, all of Epsom and Ewell, Hertsmere and Spelthorne districts, and Banstead, Cheshunt, Chigwell, Loughton, Esher, Northaw and Cuffley and Waltham Abbey.
The square mile of the City of London is the responsibility of the City of London Police, a separate Home Office territorial force.
The Ministry of Defence Police is responsible for Ministry of Defence property in the capital, and other bases and premises in the UK.Ministry of Defence Police. MOD (2006-07-19). Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
The British Transport Police is responsible for the rail network, including the London Underground, Tramlink and the Docklands Light Railway.British Transport Police. BTP (2006-07-19). Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
The English part of the Royal Parks Constabulary, which patrolled a number of Greater London\'s major parks, was absorbed by the Metropolitan Police in 2004. There are also a few parks police forces, such as the Kew Constabulary (policing the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew) and Hampstead Heath. Those officers have full police powers within their limited jurisdiction, but all substantial crime and incidents are the responsibility of the MPS.
Some London borough councils maintain their own borough park constabularies, such as the Newham Parks Constabulary in East London; their remit only extends to park by-laws, and although sworn as constables they are not police officers.
Mounted MPS officer outside Buckingham Palace, London
The MPS is divided into ten departments or directorates, each commanded by an Assistant Commissioner or, in the case of civilianised departments (such as Human Resources), a director of police staff, the equivalent civilian grade. The Management Board is made up of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson and these departmental heads.
The Territorial Policing directorate is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin. It is responsible for everyday policing across London and is divided into 32 Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs), contiguous with the London boroughs (with the exception of the Royal Parks OCU). Each BOCU is commanded by a Chief Superintendent, apart from Westminster, which due to its high concentration of government facilities is led by a Commander.
Each BOCU provides patrol and response police officers, safer neighbourhood teams, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officers and other local squads and units. The Aviation Security Operational Command Unit (OCU), responsible for policing Heathrow Airport and also London City Airport, is also under Territorial Policing.
Each BOCU has the following \'officer establishment\'. The two letter code given in brackets for each borough is the ID code for that borough. Every Constable and Sergeant in the borough will have those letters on their epaulettes as part of their "shoulder number".
|
Barking & Dagenham (KG) - 427
Bexley (RY) - 359 Brent (QK) - 123 Bromley (PY) - 488 Camden (EK) - 795 Croydon (ZD) - 712 Ealing (XB) - 683 Enfield (YE) - 553 Greenwich (RG) - 636 Hackney (GD) - 751 Hammersmith & Fulham (FH) - 563 Haringey (YR) - 691 Harrow (QA) - 362 Havering (KD) - 379 Heathrow (ID) not a London Borough, but a BOCU - Hillingdon (XH) - 506 Hounslow (TX) - 509 |
Islington (NI) - 676 Kingston upon Thames (VK) - 294 Lambeth (LX) - 915 Lewisham (PL) - 618 Merton (VW) - 374 Newham (KF) - 746 Redbridge (JI) - 464 Richmond upon Thames (TW) - 319 Kensington & Chelsea (BS) - 558 Southwark (MD) - 852 Sutton (ZT) - 328 Waltham Forest (JC) - 540 Tower Hamlets (HT) - 758 Wandsworth (WW) - 583 Westminster (CW) - 1,550 |
(These figures are the authorised establishments and may not be the actual number of officers posted to each BOCU – Source: Metropolitan Police Authority.Police officer allocation. MPA (2005-02-11). Retrieved on 2006-09-21.)
The SCD is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Steve House. It deals with serious, organised and specialist crime investigations and is divided into commands as follows:
Central Operations (CO), is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, is responsible for pan-London units that support the BOCUs and specialist units.
Units in this department include:
A new unit, the Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) Tasking Unit (also referred to as MSC Operational Support Unit - OSU), is the latest addition. It consists mostly of Special Constables who provide high-visibility policing and conduct public order patrols, normally on Friday & Saturday nights, mainly as part of Operation Optic, an initiative aimed at reducing alcohol-related violence.
Specialist Operations (SO) is currently being commanded by Temporary Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, following the announcement of AC Andy Hayman\'s retirement on 4 Dec 2007.AC Andy Hayman announces his retirement. Retrieved on 2007-12-07. It is responsible for units that undertake tasks of national importance. This department has recently undergone restructuring and now consists of three commands, known as: Protection Command, Security Command and Counter Terrorism Command.
The Protection Command, headed by Commander Peter Loughborough, is divided into four sections.
The Security Command, headed by Commander Ian Carter, is responsible for security at Heathrow Airport and London City Airport. Their duties include patrolling the interior and exterior of airport buildings and the local area.
The Counter Terrorism Command, also known as SO15 and headed by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke (who is also the National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations), was formed by the merger of Special Branch and the Anti-Terrorist Branch. The priority of this command is to keep the public safe and to do everything they can to ensure that London remains a hostile environment for terrorists. Their responsibilities include: bringing to justice anyone engaged in terrorist or related offences, providing a proactive and reactive response to terrorist and related offences, preventing and disrupting terrorist activity, gathering and exploiting intelligence on terrorism and extremism in London, to assist the British Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and to assist the National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations (DAC Peter Clarke) outside London.
| Department | Led by | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Public Affairs Department | Director of Public Affairs, Dick Fedorcio | Deals with the media and looks after publicity and internal communications |
| Resources Department | Act Director of Resources, Sharon Burd | Responsible for finance, buildings, procurement etc. |
| Strategy, Modernisation & Performance Department | Director Stephen Rimmer | |
| Human Resources Department | Director of Human Resources, Martin Tiplady | Personnel management |
| Standards & Intelligence Department | Assistant Commissioner John Yates | Includes the Professional Standards Unit and Legal Services. |
| Information Department | Director of Information Ailsa Beaton | Responsible for information systems and operational communications, including the Metcall project. |
The Metropolitan Police was established on September 29, 1829, by the then Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel, giving rise to the nicknames of "Peelers" or "Bobbies" for members of the force. The headquarters was located at the seat of government at Whitehall at 4 Whitehall Place with a back entrance on Scotland Yard. This latter name soon became established as the public name for the police office and for the force itself. It was the third official non-paramilitary city police force in the world, after the City of Glasgow Police and the Paris Police.
Red MPS Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG) car
Until the middle of the 18th century, no police force operated in London. General law and order was maintained by magistrates, volunteer constables, watchmen and, where necessary, the armed forces. If a victim of crime wished to pursue an offender they could employ a "thief taker", who earned a living from such payments and, in the case of notorious offenders, the rewards offered by the courts. The novelist Henry Fielding was appointed a magistrate in Westminster in 1748. His house at No. 4 Bow Street was established as a courtroom in 1739 by the previous owner Sir Thomas de Veil. Fielding brought together eight trustworthy constables, who came to be known as the Bow Street Runners, and gave them the authority to enforce the decisions of magistrates.
Fielding\'s blind half-brother Sir John Fielding (known as the "Blind Beak of Bow Street") succeeded his brother as magistrate in 1754 and refined the patrol into the first truly effective police force for the capital, although the Runners were still magistrate\'s officers and not patrolling police officers.
By 1792 salaried constables were being paid by local magistrates, and 1798 saw the establishment of the Marine Police Force, initially a private body based in Wapping primarily to police the docks and prevent the theft of cargo. Its success in deterring theft on the docks led to the passing of the Marine Police Bill, which made it the first permanent and publicly funded preventive police force in the English policing system. This force later amalgamated with the Metropolitan Police to form its Thames Division, which still patrols the river.
Two MPS officers and a community support officer near Buckingham Palace
During the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution saw London become much larger. It became clear that the system of locally maintained constabularies was ineffective in the prevention and detection of crime amongst such a large population. Royal Assent was given to the Metropolitan Police Act on 19 June, 1829. This act placed the policing of the capital directly under the control of the Home Secretary. The force was headed by two joint Commissioners: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne.
Police patrols took to the streets on 29 September, 1829, despite strong resistance from the populace.Newburn Tim (2005). Policing:Key Readings. Willan Publishing, p. 25. The initial force consisted of around 1,000 men with instructions to patrol the streets within a seven-mile (11 km) radius of Charing Cross in order to prevent crime and pursue offenders. Between 1829 and 1830 17 local Divisions, each with their own Divisional police station, were set up, lettered A to V.Martin Fido and Keith Skinner (2000) "Division" in The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard: 121-22The following year, on June 28, 1830, Joseph Grantham became the first member of the force to be killed in the line of duty, an incident described by the Coroner\'s Inquest as \'justifiable homicide\'. Other indications of the constabulary\'s unpopularity with certain sections of the community at this time were such nicknames as \'Raw Lobsters\', \'Blue Devils\' and \'Peel\'s Bloody Gang\' and incidents where they were beaten up, spiked on railings, blinded and, on one occasion, held down on the road while a coach was driven over them.Stewart Evans and Donald Rumbelow (2006) Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates: 10-12
In 1839 the Bow Street Runners and the Thames Police were amalgamated with the Met. However the City of London police created in the same year, was a totally independent force. In 1842, taking over a function formerly the responsibility of the Bow Street Runners, a plain-clothed Detective Branch was formed consisting of two inspectors and six sergeants"Police" in Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) The London Encyclopedia: 605-9.
After Rowan\'s death in 1852, Mayne presided as sole Commissioner. In 1857 he was paid a salary of £1,883, and his two Assistant Commissioners were paid salaries £800 each.Metropolitan Police History. Met Police. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
It took some time to establish the standards of discipline expected today from a police force. In 1863 215 officers were arrested for drunkenness.Metropolitan Police History. Met Police. Retrieved on 2006-10-28.In 1872 there was a police strike. In 1877 three high ranking detectives were tried for corruption at the Old Bailey.Stewart Evans and Donald Rumbelow (2006) Jack the Ripper: Scotland Yard Investigates: 19-20Due to this latter scandal the Detective Department was re-organised in 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent and renamed the Criminal Investigation Department or CID. This was separated from the uniformed branch and its head had direct access to the Home Secretary, by-passing the Commissioner."Police" in Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) The London Encyclopedia: 605-9
One of the priorities of the police force from the beginning was "maintaining public order", and they were very active, for example, against the major Chartist demonstrations and the Bloody Sunday demonstration of the unemployed in Trafalgar Square in 1887.
Flag of the Metropolitan Police
The threat of Irish terrorism was combated by the formation of the Special Irish Branch, in March 1883. The "Irish" soubriquet was dropped in 1888 as the department remit was extended to cover other threats, and it became known simply as Special Branch.Stewart Evans and Donald Rumbelow (2006) Jack the Ripper: scotland Yard Investigates: 20-7Rupert Allason (1983) The Branch: History of the Metropolitan Police Special Branch. London: Secker & Warburg. ISBN 0 436 01165 4
By 1900 the force had grown to nearly 16,000 men organised in 21 divisions, controlling a territory of nearly 700 square miles"Police" in Ben Weinreb and Christopher Hibbert (1983) The London Encyclopedia: 605-9.
The force continued to be controlled directly by the Home Secretary until 2000, when the newly created Greater London Authority was given responsibility for the force, through the Metropolitan Police Authority. The MPA is made up of members appointed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly, and several independent members. However, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner is still appointed by the Home Secretary.
Female police constables first joined the force in September, 1949. They used the prefix \'Woman\' in front of their rank — as in Woman Police Constable (WPC) and Woman Police Sergeant (WPS) — to distinguish themselves from male officers, who had wider authority. Their original duties were restricted to patrolling and the care and observation of female and juvenile male detainees. They were usually seconded to the CID but the first Woman Detective Constable was not appointed until 1970. They were given six-day, 48-hour work weeks but were not allowed to work night shifts, except for special on-call duty, until June 1973.
The Metropolitan Police uses the standard UK police ranks, indicated by shoulder boards, up to Chief Superintendent, but it has five ranks above that level instead of the standard three.Metropolitan Police: Ranks. Met Police. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
The prefix \'Woman\' in front of female officers\' ranks has been obsolete since 1999. Members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent prefix their ranks with \'Detective\'. Other departments, such as Special Branch and Child Protection, award non-detectives \'Branch Detective\' status, allowing them to use the \'Detective\' prefix. Detective ranks are abbreviated as DC, DS, DI, etc, and are equivalent in rank to their uniform counterparts.
The MPS staff consists of full-time uniformed officers, civilian officers who often staff the front desks of police stations - they wear a uniform consisting of a vertically blue-striped shirt - and Police Community Support Officers.Metropolitan Police PCSO The MPS was the first force to introduce these. There are also volunteer Special Constables who are members of the Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC).
There are uniformed Traffic Wardens, who wear a uniform with yellow and black markings - they are a distinct body from local authority parking attendants. The former have greater powers that include being able to stop vehicles and re-direct traffic at an incident.Metropolitan Police Authority website, home-page
A traditional blue lamp as seen outside most police stations. This one is outside Bow Street Police Station
In addition to the Headquarters at New Scotland Yard, there are 140 police stations in London.Met Police stations: A-Z Directory These range from large borough headquarters staffed around the clock every day to smaller stations which may be open to the public only during normal business hours, or on certain days of the week.
The oldest police station, at Bow Street, which opened in 1881, closed in 1992 and the adjoining Bow Street Magistrates Court saw its last case on 14 July 2006.BBC: Bow Street court closes its doors
The oldest operational police station is at Wapping, opened in 1908. It is the headquarters of the Marine Support Unit (formerly known as Thames Division), which is responsible for policing the River Thames. It also houses a mortuary and the River Police Museum.
Most police stations can easily be identified from one or more blue lamps located outside the entrance. These were introduced in 1861.
A typical police station features separate entrances for the public and police officers, with a small reception room for members of the public, a custody suite and cells for holding and questioning suspects, and administrative offices.
In recent years there has been a call from some quarters for more imaginative planning of police stations to aid in improving relations between the police service and the wider community.Institute for Public Policy Research: Re-inventing the police station (PDF)
Some notable major incidents and investigations in which the Metropolitan Police Service has been involved:
A Fast Response Targa 31 boat of the Marine Support Unit of the MPS, on the River Thames in London
| History of London | |
|---|---|
| Evolution | Londinium · Lundenwic · City of London · City of Westminster · County of London · Greater London |
| Local government | Metropolitan Board of Works · London County Council · Greater London Council · Greater London Authority · London Assembly · Mayor of London |
| Events | Peasants\' Revolt · Black Death · Great Plague · Great Fire · Great Stink · Great Exhibition · The Blitz · Swinging London · London Plan · 7/7 bombings · Olympic Games (1908 · 1948 · 2012) |
| Structures | St Paul\'s Cathedral · Tower of London · Palace of Whitehall · Westminster Hall · London Bridge · Westminster Abbey · Big Ben · The Monument |
| City of London | City of London Corporation · Lord Mayor of the City of London · Guildhall · Livery Companies · Lord Mayor\'s Show · Bank of England |
| Services | Bow Street Runners · Metropolitan Police Service · London Ambulance Service · London Fire Brigade · London sewerage system · London Underground |
| History of London category | |
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
