22-632: The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service . It is also known as the Robbery Squad , Specialist Crime Directorate 7 , SC&O7 and SO7 . It is nicknamed The Sweeney , an abbreviation of the Cockney rhyming slang "Sweeney Todd" (rhyming "squad" with "todd"). The squad's purpose is to investigate robberies . The squad
44-590: A community, language, culture, religion, trade or hobby. Operation Grafton - investigates criminal networks linked to crime with a value over £10,000 in and around Heathrow Airport , including networks operating across force boundaries. Specialist Intelligence Service - provides intelligence for the Project Teams. References [ edit ] ^ "Metropolitan Police Service - Specialist Crime Directorate" . Met.police.uk . Retrieved 8 June 2009 . ^ [1] Archived 28 May 2008 at
66-553: A joint partnership between the Serious and Organised Crime Group and National Crime Agency . Investigates class A drug supply in London within minimum levels of 1/2 kg of heroin or 1 kg of cocaine , or where an operation will exceed 8 weeks. Cultural and Communities Research Unit - provides 24-hour support with immediate access to staff of the Met Police that have a broad range of life skills, such as knowledge of
88-666: A massive internal investigation by the Dorset Constabulary into the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police , codenamed Operation Countryman . The Flying Squad's work was dramatised in the 1970s British television series The Sweeney , and two theatrically released feature film spin-offs, Sweeney! and Sweeney 2 , starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman . A further film adaptation, The Sweeney (starring Ray Winstone ),
110-410: A necessary part of its strategy, were being exposed to public criticism. A number of scandals involving bribery and corruption were revealed, and on 7 July 1977, the squad's commander, Detective Chief Superintendent Kenneth Drury , was convicted on five counts of corruption and imprisoned for eight years. Twelve other officers were also convicted and many more resigned. These and other scandals led to
132-605: A story about life in Trinidad is similar to Lance Corporal Jones 's penchant for reminiscing about Sudan during Captain Mainwaring's speeches. Other references include in the episode "Rag Week", when Fowler is briefly seen walking out of a shop called "Mainwaring's". Elton has appeared in the programme himself, in the Christmas special episode "Yuletide Spirit". In the first series, the wanted poster behind Fowler's desk in
154-436: Is a British sitcom which aired on BBC1 from 1995 to 1996. It was created and written by Ben Elton , and starred Rowan Atkinson . The series was popular with viewers, though it suffered in critical reviews due to "inconsistent character development" and an "overly broad plot line". It was ranked number 34 in a poll for Britain's Best Sitcom . In September 2021, the series became available on BBC iPlayer . The show, set in
176-400: Is a fan of Dad's Army , and many of the characters were influenced by the show. Fowler's relationship with Grim is very similar to that of Captain Mainwaring to Warden Hodges , in that they are both on the same side yet enemies. Also, Constable Goody is rather like Private Pike in being a "stupid boy" who often irritates Fowler. Constable Gladstone's habit of interrupting a briefing with
198-588: The Royal Flying Corps , which were supplied to the Metropolitan Police in 1920. Throughout the 1920s, the squad was standardised and expanded, and the establishment was expanded to 40 officers, under the command of Detective Chief Inspector Fred "Nutty" Sharpe until his retirement in July 1937. In 1948, the squad was given the designation of C.O.(C.8) for Commissioner's Office Crime 8 and
220-2133: The Wayback Machine ^ [2] Archived 28 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine v t e Metropolitan Police History Bow Street Runners Thames River Police Governance Commissioner ( Sir Mark Rowley ) Deputy Commissioner ( Dame Lynne Owens ) Assistant Commissioners Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime Mayor of London ( Sadiq Khan ) Deputy Mayor of London for Policing and Crime ( Sophie Linden ) Organisation and structure Met Operations Dog Support Unit Marine Policing Unit Mounted Branch Specialist Firearms Command Roads & Transport Policing Command Territorial Support Group Specialist, Organised & Economic Crime Command Contact Centre Human Exploitation and Organised Crime Command Operation Trident Specialist Operations Counter Terrorism Command Protection & Security Command Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Royalty and Specialist Protection Aviation Policing Frontline Policing Homicide and Major Crime Command Royal Parks Operational Command Unit Violence Suppression Unit Training Hendon Police College Metropolitan Police Specialist Training Centre Other Metropolitan Police District Metropolitan Police F.C. Metropolitan Special Constabulary New Scotland Yard The Job Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serious_and_Organised_Crime_Command&oldid=1119202300 " Categories : Metropolitan Police units Organised crime in London Hidden categories: Webarchive template wayback links Use dmy dates from April 2022 The Thin Blue Line (British TV series) The Thin Blue Line
242-732: The Serious and Organised Crime Group Flying Squad - investigates robberies (whether armed or not) of cash in transit companies, building societies , betting offices, post offices , jewellers , casinos and banks . They also investigate all robberies at commercial premises where a firearm is produced or intimated. Hostage and Crisis Negotiation Unit - provides negotiators for all hostage situations, and delivers Hostage and Crisis Negotiation training nationally and internationally. Central Task Force - investigates class A drug dealers, firearms traffickers and any other criminal group affecting two or more London Boroughs , particularly criminal networks. Middle Market Drugs Partnership -
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#1732781105981264-641: The briefing room is an E-FIT of Elton. Both series have been released on DVD in the United Kingdom ( Region 2 ) by Vision Video Ltd. The Thin Blue Line is available in Region 1 (North America), having been released by BBC Warner. Episodes in the first series were not in broadcast order on both Region 1 and 2 DVDs. The Series 2 episodes in the Region 1 DVD are cut to fit about 30-minute runtime. The Region 1 release has English closed captions . The UK Region 2 does not have any subtitles . It
286-439: The canvas. In 1920, it was officially reorganised under the authority of then Commissioner Nevil Macready . Headed by Detective Inspector Walter Hambrook, the squad was composed of 12 detective officers, including Irish-born Jeremiah Lynch (1888–1953), who had earned a fearsome reputation for tracking wartime German spies and for building up the case against confidence trickster Horatio Bottomley . The Mobile Patrol Experiment
308-527: The fictional English town of Gasforth, is a parody of police procedurals, featuring conflicts between the uniformed squad, led by Inspector Fowler, and the CID, led by Detective Inspector Grim. The cast included Serena Evans, David Haig, James Dreyfus, Mina Anwar, Rudolph Walker, Kevin Allen, and Mark Addy, among others. The series is set in a police station in the fictional English town of Gasforth. A general parody of
330-561: The grounds that their members urinate inaccurately. Serious and Organised Crime Command The Serious and Organised Crime Command (SCD7 – Specialist Crime Directorate 7) was a unit of the Metropolitan Police in Greater London , United Kingdom . It was part of the Specialist Crime Directorate (now Specialist Crime & Operations (SC&O) - created by
352-517: The main characters are visible in the background, they generally have no speaking parts. Many notable actors made guest appearances, and these include the writer Ben Elton , Stephen Fry , Stephen Moore , Melvyn Hayes , Trevor Peacock , Owen Teale , Colin McFarlane , Alan Cox , Alexander Armstrong , Nicola Stapleton , Perry Fenwick , Walter Sparrow , Geoffrey Chater , Gabrielle Blunt and Rupert Vansittart . Creator and writer Ben Elton
374-720: The merger of Specialist Crime Directorate and Central Operations) and is today part of Met Operations 7 (MO7). It was divided into 10 units: Kidnap Unit - provides fast responses to life-threatening crimes in action, for example extortion , blackmail or kidnap for ransom where the hostage has not been recovered. Project Team - conducts operations against organised crime , (cross-London, national or international) at National Intelligence Model levels 2–3. This includes proactive contracts to arrest major drugs suppliers, multi-dimensional crime groups, including ethnically composed gangs, and large-scale firearms trafficking. Branch Intelligence Unit - provides intelligence for
396-487: The serious police procedural , one of the main themes on the show sees the uniformed squad, led by Inspector Raymond Fowler, and the CID , led by Detective Inspector Derek Grim, locking horns over similar, or even the same, issues while having conflicting views or methods of operations. Generally, the uniformed section triumphs over the detectives , although not without their own foibles. Although other PCs and staff other than
418-611: Was augmented. By 1956 it made one thousand arrests per year for the first time. From 1978 to 1981 the name was changed to the Central Robbery Squad, but still known as the Flying Squad. It is often referred to by the nicknames the "Heavy Mob" or "the Sweeney" ( rhyming slang for Flying Squad, from Sweeney Todd ). This was the era in which the squad's close ties with the criminal fraternity, which had always been
440-534: Was given authorisation to carry out duties anywhere in the Metropolitan Police District , meaning that its officers did not have to observe Divisions , giving rise to the name of the Flying Squad because the unit operated across London without adhering to divisional policing boundaries. An alternative explanation for the "Flying Squad" name is that the first vehicles used were refurbished Crossley Motors 20/25 type tenders previously used by
462-491: Was originally formed on an experimental basis by Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Wensley . In October 1919, Wensley summoned 12 detectives to Scotland Yard to form the squad. The group was initially named the Mobile Patrol Experiment and its original orders were to perform surveillance and gather intelligence on known robbers and pickpockets , using a horse-drawn carriage with covert holes cut into
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#1732781105981484-644: Was released in 2012. A Monty Python sketch featured "Inspector Fox of the Light Entertainment Police, Comedy Division, Special Flying Squad", and "Inspector Thompson's Gazelle of the Programme Planning Police, Light Entertainment Division, Special Flying Squad." In an episode of the Thin Blue Line , Inspector Fowler expresses displeasure at the idea of the Flying Squad using his station for an investigation on
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