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53-660: The Metropolitan Police Service ( MPS ), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police , is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and crime prevention within Greater London . In addition, it is responsible for specialised tasks throughout the United Kingdom, such as dealing with counter-terrorism throughout the UK , and the protection of certain individuals, including

106-456: A Sikh officer whose beard was cut. The report also found that officers of minority ethnic backgrounds were more likely to be disciplined and leave the force. The report was criticised by the charity Galop for not investigating transphobia. Five former officers admitted in court in 2023 to sending racist messages, the targets of which included the Duchess of Sussex , and a sixth was convicted after

159-448: A report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services said that the Met was rated inadequate or failing regarding crime investigations and managing offenders. It was rated as requiring improvement in five other areas, and as adequate in one. In September 2024, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services issued a report regarding

212-409: A service life of three to five years; the Met replaces or upgrades between 800 and 1,000 vehicles each year. Vehicles were initially maintained and repaired on contract by Babcock International ; from November 2023, the contract for 3,700 of the Met's 5,200 vehicles was undertaken by Rivus Fleet Solutions for a ten-year period. Rivus fell into administration on 21 June 2024, with a deal being agreed by

265-485: A statement in response stating, "As the UK's investigative authority for war crimes, counter-terrorism policing – through the Met's war crimes team – has a responsibility to support ICC investigations. The ICC opened an investigation in 2019 into alleged war crimes in Israel and Palestine." The spokesman added that "under the terms of the 1998 Rome Statute, our war crimes team is obliged to support any investigations opened by

318-512: A trial. All six were given suspended jail sentences . On 1 January 2024 the Metropolitan Police were criticised by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allegedly demonstrating political bias and double standards in their handling of pro-Hamas demonstrations, and their efforts to support an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes following Israel's response to terror attacks committed by Hamas on 7 October. The Met released

371-517: A unique identification number which includes a two-letter BCU (Basic Command Unit) code. Following controversy over assaults by uniformed officers with concealed shoulder identification numbers during the G20 summit , Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said, "the public has a right to be able to identify any uniformed officer whilst performing their duty" by their shoulder identification numbers. The Met uniformed officer rank structure, with epaulette design,

424-493: Is as follows (from highest to lowest): The Met also has several active Volunteer Police Cadet units, which maintain their own internal rank structure. The Metropolitan Special Constabulary is a contingent of part-time volunteer police officers and is attached to most Borough Operational Command Units. The Metropolitan Special Constabulary Ranks are as follows (from lowest to highest): The prefix "woman" in front of female officers' ranks has been obsolete since 1999. Members of

477-514: Is organised into the following directorates: Each is overseen by an assistant commissioner or, in the case of administrative departments, a director of police staff , which is the equivalent civilian staff grade. The management board is made up of the commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioners and directors. The Metropolitan Police Service uses the standard British police ranks, indicated by epaulettes, up to chief superintendent , but uniquely has five ranks above that level instead of

530-739: Is scrutinised by the Police and Crime Committee (also known as a police and crime panel ) of the London Assembly . These structures were created by the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and replaced the Metropolitan Police Authority -appointed board created in 2000 by Greater London Authority Act 1999 . Before 2000, the Metropolitan Police was under the authority of the Home Secretary ,

583-630: Is the federal-level police service. It also acts as the provincial police service in every province except for Ontario , and Quebec , which operate provincial police services, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador , which is served by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary . The RCMP is also contracted to act as the territorial police force in Nunavut , Yukon and the Northwest Territories in addition to being

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636-565: Is the use of such a force in East Timor in substitution for Indonesian National Police . Greater London Authority Act 1999 Sadiq Khan ( L ) Statutory Deputy Mayor Joanne McCartney ( L/Co ) London Assembly Lord Mayor Peter Estlin London boroughs ( list ) Vacant The Greater London Authority Act 1999 (c. 29) is the Act of Parliament that established

689-693: The City , which has its own police force ). The Act comprises 425 Sections in 12 Parts including 22 named Chapters and 34 Schedules. It was the longest Act to be passed by Parliament since the Government of India Act 1935 . Its 12 Parts were: The Act was amended by the Greater London Authority Act 2007 (2007 c. 24) entitled 'An Act to make further provision with respect to the Greater London Authority; to amend

742-493: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) up to and including the rank of chief superintendent prefix their ranks with "detective". Detective ranks are equivalent in rank to their uniform counterparts. Other departments, such as Special Branch and Child Protection, award non-detectives "branch detective" status, allowing them to use the "Detective" prefix. None of these detective ranks confer on

795-615: The G8 Conference in Scotland in 2005 or COP26 officers of the Metropolitan Police who are on protection duties anywhere in the United Kingdom and when taking a person to or from a prison . The United Nations (UN) has operated territorial police forces in those parts of countries which have been under control of the UN from time to time. These were usually formed from police personnel on loan from member countries. A recent example

848-610: The Greater London Authority , the London Assembly and the Mayor of London . Before the creation of the Greater London Authority, there was no single entity managing the entirety of London. Governance of the city was fragmented, and responsibilities for planning, transport, and other city-wide matters were divided between local boroughs and national authorities. In 1965, the Greater London Council

901-548: The Hampstead Heath Constabulary . All of these enjoy powers of arrest without warrant as constables; however, the officers of the last mentioned have full police powers, much like officers of the Metropolitan Police, on the heath, whereas the other parks' police primarily focus on by-law enforcement. Metropolitan Police officers have legal jurisdiction throughout all of England and Wales , including areas that have their own special police forces, such as

954-484: The Palace of Westminster , and managing a higher volume of protests and events than any other British police force , with 3,500 such events in 2016. The force, by officer numbers, ranks as the largest police force within the United Kingdom and among the largest globally. Excluding its national roles, the Met oversees the eighth-smallest primary geographic area ( police area ) compared to other territorial police forces in

1007-882: The Royal Parks Constabulary , which patrolled a number of Greater London's major parks, was merged with the Metropolitan Police in 2004, and those parks are now policed by the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit . There is also a small park police force, the Kew Constabulary , responsible for the Royal Botanic Gardens , whose officers have full police powers within the park. A few local authorities maintain their own borough park constabularies, including Wandsworth Parks and Events Police , Kensington and Chelsea Parks Police , Havering Parks Constabulary and

1060-692: The federal police force in those Canadian territories. A separate Sahrawi indigenous unit serving the Spanish colonial government was the Policia Territorial . This gendarmerie corresponded to the Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain . It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. In the United Kingdom (UK) the phrase is gaining increased official (but not yet statutory ) use to describe

1113-606: The monarch , royal family , governmental officials , and other designated figures. Commonly referred to as the Met , it is also referred to as Scotland Yard or the Yard , after the location of its original headquarters in Great Scotland Yard , Whitehall in the 19th century. The Met is presently headquartered at New Scotland Yard , on the Victoria Embankment . The main geographical area covered by

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1166-517: The ' jam sandwich ', which was first introduced in 1978 with the delivery of high-performance Rover SD1 traffic cars. Originally, marked vehicles were finished in base white paint; this was changed to silver from 2002 to help improve a vehicle's resale value when it was retired from police use. The National Police Air Service provides helicopter support to the Met. A marine policing unit operates 22 vessels from its base in Wapping . Funding for

1219-520: The Commissioners were also non-warranted right up until 2011), but they now include police community support officers (PCSOs), designated detention officers (DDOs), and many other non-officer roles. Their numbers are currently: As of 2023, the Met operates and maintains a fleet of around 5,200 vehicles. In 2018, the fleet covered 46,777,720 miles (75,281,440 km). The fleet comprises numerous vehicles, including: The majority of vehicles have

1272-796: The Government's proposals for a Greater London Authority, made up of an elected mayor and a separately elected assembly?' The Yes vote was 72.01%, the No vote was 27.99%. Apart from the main provisions creating the authority and transferring powers to it, the Act also created a Metropolitan Police Authority for the Metropolitan Police Service , and consequently altered the borders of the Metropolitan Police District to be coterminous with Greater London (excluding

1325-506: The ICC that could involve British subjects" and said the posters were put up to meet that obligation. In April 2024, the Met settled a claim for misfeasance in a public office and false imprisonment by agreeing to pay a five-figure sum as damages to a French publisher who had been arrested and detained under anti-terrorism laws while he was on his way to a book fair in London. In August 2024,

1378-465: The Met had received such allegations from Samantha Ramsay, who is now deceased. The BBC reported that "Samantha’s family say the Met dismissed her claims. They believe that multiple women could have been saved from sexual abuse if the force had acted." The Met claimed that there was no history of Samantha's allegations on their computer system, "but that in 1995 some reports were paper-based and might not have been transferred." Ramsay's sister, Emma, recalled

1431-448: The Met has attempted to save money due to cuts in funding. The MPD is now divided into 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs) made up of two, three or four boroughs. There is criticism of these changes. The City of London (which is not a London borough) is a separate police area and is the responsibility of the separate City of London Police . The Ministry of Defence Police is responsible for policing of Ministry of Defence property throughout

1484-475: The Met, the Metropolitan Police District , consists of the 32 London boroughs , and excludes the square mile of the City of London – a largely non-residential and financial district, overseen by the City of London Police . As the force responsible for the majority of UK's capital, the Met has significant responsibilities and unique challenges, such as protecting 164 foreign embassies and High Commissions , policing London City and Heathrow airports, protecting

1537-563: The Met, with the assistance of any relevant specialist force, even if they are committed on Ministry of Defence or railway property. A minor incursion into the normal jurisdiction of territorial police officers in England and Wales is that Met officers involved in the protection duties of the Royal Family and other VIPs have full police powers in Scotland and Northern Ireland in connection with those duties. The Metropolitan Police Service

1590-435: The Metropolitan Police has been cut due to austerity . Changes in the way the government pays for police pensions will lead to further cuts. Its expenditure for single years, not adjusted for inflation, has been: In addition to the headquarters at New Scotland Yard, there are many police stations in London. These range from large borough headquarters staffed around the clock every day to smaller stations, which may be open to

1643-570: The Metropolitan Police such as the Thames River Police and the Bow Street Runners . Since January 2012, the Mayor of London is responsible for the governance of the Metropolitan Police through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC). The mayor is able to appoint someone to act on his behalf. As of April 2019, the office-holder is the deputy mayor for policing and crime, Sophie Linden . The work of MOPAC

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1696-412: The Metropolitan Police to buy back its maintenance operations, saving 165 jobs. By 2012, the Met was marking all new marked vehicles with Battenburg markings , a highly reflective material on the side of the vehicles, chequered blue and yellow green for the police, and in other colours for other services. The old livery was an orange stripe through the vehicle, with the force's logo, known colloquially as

1749-590: The Met’s handling of the pro-Palestinian protests, saying that the Met had been largely impartial. The report criticised the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the then Home Secretary Suella Braverman for suggesting otherwise. In November 2024, it was found that the Metropolitan Police were told about allegations of sexual assault against Mohamed Al-Fayed , the late businessman and owner of Harrods, ten years earlier than it had acknowledged. The Met had claimed that it first received such allegations in 2005. However, in 1995,

1802-570: The Ministry of Defence, as do all police officers of territorial police forces . Officers also have limited powers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Within the MPD, the Met will take over the investigation of any serious crime from the Ministry of Defence Police and to a lesser degree BTP, if it is deemed appropriate. Terrorist incidents and complex murder enquiries will almost always be investigated by

1855-574: The Office of Constable. *include temporary constables from war period ^includes 753 officers policing Woolwich Arsenal and Her Majesty's Dockyards in Chatham , Portsmouth , Pembroke , Devonport and Rosyth . The Met's Police Staff are non-warranted civilians. When the Met was formed in 1829 there were only six of them (the Receiver , his two clerks and the three Commissioners' clerks, although

1908-600: The UK. The force operates under the leadership of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis , directly accountable to the Mayor of London , through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime and the Home Office. The post of commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne , with Sir Mark Rowley currently holding the position since July 2022. The Metropolitan Police Service

1961-744: The United Kingdom, including its headquarters in Whitehall and other MoD establishments across the MPD. The British Transport Police (BTP) are responsible for policing of the rail network in Great Britain , including London. Within London, they are also responsible for the policing of the London Underground , London Trams , the London Cable Car and the Docklands Light Railway . The English part of

2014-590: The collection of forces responsible for general policing in areas defined with respect to local government areas. The phrase " Home Office Police" is commonly used but this is often inaccurate or inadequate as the words naturally exclude forces outside England and Wales , but include some special police forces over which the Home Secretary has some power. The police forces referred to as "territorial" are those whose police areas are defined by: Members of territorial police forces have jurisdiction in one of

2067-404: The day they were reported in 2017 and did not investigate them further. This compares to 13,019 the previous year. 18,093 crimes were closed in 24 hours during the first 5 months of 2018 making it likely that the 2017 total will be exceeded. Crimes not being investigated include sexual assaults and arson, burglaries, thefts and assaults. Some critics believe this shows the effect of austerity on

2120-421: The force's ability to carry out its responsibilities. The Met was controversial even before its formation in 1829. Since the 1970s, such controversies have often centred on institutional racism and institutional sexism within the organisation, along with the right to protest, failures in investigations, and officers belonging to proscribed organisations. In 2023, a report on the Metropolitan Police found that

2173-490: The force's chief financial officer, it was headed by a civilian secretary, who was equivalent in rank to the assistant commissioners. The area policed by the Metropolitan Police Service is known as the Metropolitan Police District (MPD). The Met was divided into 32 Borough Operational Command Units that directly aligned with the 32 London boroughs covered. This situation has changed since 2017, as

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2226-577: The holder any extra pay or supervisory authority compared to their uniformed colleagues. The following is the current released workforce data for the ranks. The chief officers rank covers all senior ranks as well as special constables covering all special constable ranks. A roundel azure, thereon the Royal Cypher of His Majesty King Charles the Third argent within a circlet azure fimbriated and inscribed with words 'Metropolitan Police' in letters argent,

2279-619: The oldest operational police stations in London is in Wapping , which opened in 1908. It is the headquarters of the marine policing unit (formerly known as Thames Division), which is responsible for policing the River Thames . It also houses a mortuary and the River Police Museum. Paddington Green Police Station , which is no longer operational, received much publicity for its housing of terrorism suspects in an underground complex prior to its closure in 2017. In 2004, there

2332-461: The only British territorial police force to be administered by central government . The Metropolitan Police Office (MPO), although based at Scotland Yard, was a department of the Home Office created in 1829 and was responsible for the force's day-to-day administration. Under the authority of the receiver , a civilian official who was equivalent in rank to the deputy commissioner and served as

2385-441: The organisation was rife with racism, misogyny, and homophobia, and was corrupt. A 363-page report written by Louise Casey, Baroness Casey of Blackstock was commissioned after the abduction of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, a police constable. The report stated that 12% of female Met employees had been harassed or attacked, with 33% experiencing sexism. Other incidents include a Muslim officer who had bacon stuffed into his boots and

2438-595: The police as having said at the time: Emma recalls that the police told Samantha: “We’ve added it to a pile of other female names that we’ve got that have made the same complaint against Mohamed Al Fayed.” On 8 November, the Independent Office for Police Conduct announced that they would be investigating the Met over their handling of allegations of sexual misconduct related to the case. Other London emergency services: Territorial police force#United Kingdom The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP/GRC)

2491-535: The public only during normal business hours, or on certain days of the week. In 2017, there were 73 working front counters open to the public in London. Most police stations can easily be identified from one or more blue lamps located outside the entrance, which were introduced in 1861. The oldest Metropolitan police station, which opened in Bow Street in 1881, closed in 1992 and the adjoining Bow Street Magistrates' Court heard its last case on 14 July 2006. One of

2544-568: The standard three: commander, deputy assistant commissioner, assistant commissioner, deputy commissioner and commissioner. All senior officers of the rank of Commander and above are chief police officers of NPCC (previously ACPO ) rank. The Met approved the use of name badges in October 2003, with new recruits wearing the Velcro badges from September 2004. The badge consists of the wearer's rank, followed by their surname. All officers are assigned

2597-440: The three distinct legal systems of the United Kingdom – either England and Wales , Scotland or Northern Ireland . A police officer of one of the three legal systems has all the powers of a constable throughout their own legal system but limited powers in the other two legal systems. Certain exceptions where full police powers cross the border with the officer are when officers are providing planned support to another force such as

2650-622: The whole upon a star of eight major and fifty-six lesser points argent, ensigned by the Royal Crown proper. The Metropolitan Police Service includes full-time, paid officers known as 'regulars', and part-time, voluntary officers from the Metropolitan Special Constabulary . Both regulars and specials enjoy full police powers, wear the same uniform, and carry the same kit. As elsewhere in the UK, 'regulars' are not employees, but rather Crown servants , and holders of

2703-512: Was a call from the Institute for Public Policy Research for more imaginative planning of police stations to aid in improving relations between police forces and the wider community. Crimes reported within the Metropolitan Police District , selected by quarter centuries. The following table shows the percentage detection rates for the Metropolitan Police by offence group for 2010/11. The Metropolitan Police Service "screened out" 34,164 crimes

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2756-529: Was established, covering a broader area. It managed transport, strategic planning, and services across Greater London. The Greater London Council, however, was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs and other entities. The Act was brought in after a referendum was held under the Greater London Authority (Referendum) Act 1998 (c. 3). The referendum question was: 'Are you in favour of

2809-589: Was founded in 1829 by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel under the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 and on 29 September of that year, the first constables of the service appeared on the streets of London. Ten years later, Metropolitan Police Act 1839 consolidated policing within London by expanding the Metropolitan Police District and either abolishing or amalgamating the various other law enforcement entities within London into

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