Metropolitan Police Force
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Metropolitan Police Service
Coverage
Metropolitan Police Service area
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 law enforcement within Greater London, excluding the City of London due to that area falling under the responsibility of the City of London Police. The Metropolitan Police was the first such service established in Britain, and is seen as the forerunner to modern British police services.

It is commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police and informally as "the Met" or sometimes "MP" or "MPS"; in statutes it is usually described in lower case as the "metropolitan police" without the appendage "Service". The Met has also commonly been known as Scotland Yard after the location of its headquarters^[1][2][3][4], now transferred to New Scotland Yard in Westminster, although administrative functions are increasingly based at the Empress State Building (ESB) and since the end of 2007 all command and control functions have been transferred to the three Metcall complexes.

With over 31,000 Police Officers, 2,000 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.^[5] 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.

Area covered and other forces

MPS officers on Fleet Street

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 center, 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. Within London, the MDP are usually seen to ve guarding the MOD headquarters, along with Whitehall.^[6]

The British Transport Police is responsible for the rail network, including the London Underground, Tramlink and the Docklands Light Railway.^[7]

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 small number of 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, and those requiring investigation 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.

Structure: MPS directorates

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 civilianized 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.

Territorial Policing

The Territorial Policing directorate is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin. It is responsible for the day to day 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.

Number of officers per borough

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".

(These figures are the authorised establishments, as of February 2005, and may not be the actual number of officers posted to each BOCU – Source: Metropolitan Police Authority.^[8])

Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD)

The SCD is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Steve House. It deals with serious, organised and specialist crime investigations that exceed the capabilities of divisional CID officers, it is divided into commands as follows:

• Homicide Command (SCD 1), made up of a number of major investigation teams (MITs) and is responsible for the investigation of homicide and other serious crimes. Other units, such as Child Abuse Command and Operation Trident (see below) conduct murder investigations if the homicide falls within their remit. MITs investigate murder, manslaughter, infanticide, attempted murder where the evidence of intent is unambiguous or there is a substantive risk to life, missing persons or abductions where there is a substantive reason to suspect life has been taken or is under threat, and other investigations identified for specialist needs. Another unit in this command is the Homicide Task Force, which conducts work to suppress murder and ‘man hunts’ for those suspects wanted for murder.

• Fingerprint Services, responsible for the collection and archiving of fingerprints made up of people currently living in the UK if they require Police Clearance and Good Conduct certificates from countries such as Australia.^[9]. They also provide fingerprints for various other reasons [1]

• Forensic Services (SCD 4)

• Child Abuse Investigation Team (SCD 5), made up of the Paedophile Unit, the Hi-Tech Crime Unit, the Child Abuse Prevention and Partnership Unit, the Ports Safeguarding Team and Major Investigation Teams.

• Economic and Specialist Crime Command (SCD 6) including the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit, the Money Laundering Investigation Team, Financial Investigation Development Units, the Specialist Crime Operations Team, the Stolen Vehicle Unit, the Arts and Antiques Unit, the Police Central e-crime Unit (PCeU), the Wildlife Crime Unit, the Extradition and International Assistance Unit, the Criminal Justice Protection Unit, and the Regional Asset Recovery Team.

• Trident Operational Command Unit (SCD 8) was set up in 1998 as a proactive unit combatting gun crime perpetrated on London’s black communities. A new command structure was set up on 24 July 2000, with three specialist senior detectives supported by 160 police officers tasked with black community gun crime cases. Trident is currently broken down into murder, proactive/shootings and intelligence wings, staffed by 270 officers and 70 staff. In January 2004 Trident also took on the investigation of shootings in all of London’s communities, through the Trafalgar team of 34 officers.

• The Serious and Organised Crime Group (SCD 7) tackles serious and organised crime, life-threatening crimes in action and those who inflict human misery on the people of London through fast time pro-active response’. The group is made up of the Central Task Force, the Projects Team, the Flying Squad, the Kidnap and Special Investigation Unit, the Hostage and Crisis Negotiations Unit and the Intelligence Support Unit.

• Covert Policing (SCD 10)

• Intelligence (SCD 11)

Central Operations

Central Operations (CO), is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, is responsible for pan-London units that support the BOCUs and specialist units.

Officers of CO19 in an Armed Response Vehicle (ARV)

Units in this department include:

• Central Communications Command - (CO10)
• Public Order Operational Command Unit - (CO11)
• Olympics Preparation Operational Command Unit - (CO12)
• Traffic Operational Command Unit - (CO15)
• Traffic & Transport Criminal Justice Unit - (CO16)
• Transport Operational Command Unit - (CO17)
• Operational Support OCU, - (CO18), comprising
  • Mounted Branch
  • Air Support Unit
  • Dog Support Unit
  • Marine Support Unit
• Specialist Firearms Command - (CO19)
• Territorial Support Group - (CO20)

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

Specialist Operations (SO) is currently commanded by Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, following the announcement of AC Andy Hayman's retirement on 4 Dec 2007, and DAC Peter Clarke's retirement.^[10] 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.

Red MPS Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG) car

The Protection Command, headed by Commander Peter Loughborough, is divided into four sections.

• Specialist Protection Responsible for the personal protection of the Prime Minister and other government ministers.
• Royalty Protection Responsible for the personal protection of members of the Royal Family and the protection of royal residences.
• Diplomatic Protection Group Responsible for the protection of embassies and the personal protection of visiting heads of state and heads of government.
• Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) Responsible for patrolling the building and conducting searches of visitors.

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, 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 ensure that London remains a hostile environment for terrorists. Their responsibilities include: bringing to justice anyone engaged in terrorism or related offences, providing a proactive and reactive response to terrorism 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 outside London.

Other Metropolitan Police Service Departments

History

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.

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 modern day version,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.^[11] 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.^[12]The 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.^[13]. Also, Peel modeled the uniform carefully, to appear neutral, it was manufactured in blue, deliberatly so as not to be red which was then see as the colour of the military. And, to enforce this conception even more so, the officers were not armed. Apart from a Truncheon, and a rattle to call for assistance.

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 and a number of Constables^[14].

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.^[15]

It took some time to establish the standards of discipline expected today from a police force. In 1863 215 officers were arrested for drunkenness.^[16]In 1872 there was a police strike. In 1877 three high ranking detectives were tried for corruption at the Old Bailey.^[17]Due 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.^[14]

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 (1839-48) 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.^[18][19]

Important criminal investigations of this period include the Whitechapel Murders (1888-91) and the Cleveland Street scandal (1889).^[20]

By 1900 the force had grown to nearly 16,000 men organised in 21 divisions, controlling a territory of nearly 700 square miles^[14].

Detection of crimes was much improved when Edward Henry (Metropolitan Police Commissioner 1903-18) set up a Fingerprint Bureau at Scotland Yard in 1901.^[21]Important investigations of this period include that into the murderer Crippen in 1910.^[21]

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 1973. 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 first police woman ever seen in England, was during World War One due to the need for more officers, as all avaliable men were away fighting in the Great War. Also, female officers were not allowed to carry handcuffs unless instructed to by a senior officer.

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.

Police ranks

See also: UK police ranks

See also: Special Constabulary

See also: Metropolitan Special Constabulary

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.^[22]

London Metropolitan Police ranks

Police Constable	Sergeant	Inspector	Chief Inspector	Super- intendent	Chief Super- intendent	Commander	Deputy Assistant Commissioner	Assistant Commissioner	Deputy Commissioner	Commissioner

• Police Constable (PC) (Divisional Call Sign and Shoulder Number)
• Acting Sergeant (APS) (two or three point down chevrons over Shoulder Number with Division Call Sign)
• Sergeant (Sgt or PS) (three point down chevrons over Shoulder Number with Division Call Sign)
• Inspector (Insp) (two stars of the Order of the Bath, informally known as pips)
• Chief Inspector (Ch Insp) (three pips)
• Superintendent (Supt) (crown)
• Chief Superintendent (Ch Supt) (crown over one pip)
• Commander (Cmdr) (crossed tipstaves in a bayleaf wreath); the first ACPO rank.
• Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) (one pip over Commander's badge)
• Assistant Commissioner (AC) (crown over Commander's badge); this rank is equal to a Chief Constable in other forces in England and Wales, although the functions of the role are different

MPS Constables' policing an event at Trafalgar Square

MPS Officers protecting World Cup revellers in London.

• Deputy Commissioner (crown above two side-by-side small pips, above Commander's badge)
• Commissioner (crown above one pip above Commander's badge)
• The Metropolitan Police also has several active Volunteer Police Cadet units, which maintain their own internal rank structure.^[23]
• The Metropolitan Special Constabulary is a contingent of part-time Volunteer Police Officers and is attached to most Borough Operational Command Units. The MSC has its own internal rank structure.

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.

Police numbers

The MPS staff consists of full-time uniformed police officers, civilian staff who often are responsible for the front desks of police stations - they wear a uniform consisting of a vertically blue-striped shirt - and Police Community Support Officers.^[24] 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.^[25]

Total numbers 2005/2006

• Full-time Police Officers: over 31,000 (source MPA)
• Police Community Support Officers: over 2100 (source MPA)
• Special Constables: 2000 (as of February 2008)^{citation needed}
• Traffic wardens: 500
• Other police staff: 13,561^[26]

Historic numbers

• 2007 — approximately 31,000
• 2003 — approximately 28,000^[27]
• 2001 — approximately 25,000^[28] (London population 7,172,000)
• 1984 — approximately 27,000^[29]
• 1965 — 18,016^[30]
• 1952 — 16,400^[31]

Police stations

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.^[32] 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.^[33]

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 usually with a 'yard' to accomodate vehicles, with a small reception room for members of the public, a custody suite and cells for holding and questioning suspects, and administrative offices. As well as interview rooms, canteens, etc.

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.^[34]

Notable incidents and investigations

Some notable major incidents and investigations in which the Metropolitan Police Service has been involved:

• 10 October 2006 - Operation Minstead - Detectives from the Specialist Crime Directorate issue an appeal for the subject of the UK's most extensive rape investigation to surrender himself to police.^[35]

• 13 September 2006 - Operation Mokpo - Officers from Operation Trident make the MPS's largest seizure of firearms after a series of raids in Dartford, Kent. A senior officer was quoted as saying: "This operation has resulted in hundreds of guns being taken out of circulation."^[36]

• 2006 - TransAtlantic Aircraft Bomb Plots - The Metropolitan Police continue to investigate alleged aircraft bombing plots and other related terrorist activities by militant Islamists.

• 21 July 2005 - Attempted London Bombings - Multiple attempted bombings across London, in which MPS officers worked to a similar plan to that used two weeks previously. In the aftermath of these events, Jean Charles de Menezes was mistakenly targeted as a potential terrorist and shot dead in a deployment of Operation Kratos.

A Fast Response Targa 31 boat of the Marine Support Unit of the MPS, on the River Thames in London

• 7 July 2005 - London Bombings - Multiple bombings across London, in which MPS officers worked to a Major Incident Plan to provide coordination, control and forensic and investigative resources.^[37]

• 5 October 1999 - Paddington Train Crash - Often referred to as Ladbroke Grove Crash, two trains collided a short distance outside Paddington Station, killing 31 people.^[38]

• 18 June 1999 - Anti-capitalist Riot - Previously peaceful anti-capitalist demonstrations ended with disorder in The City, which caused widespread damage, particularly to businesses in the financial district identified with global capitalism.^[39] Similar rioting broke out on 1 May 2000 around Trafalgar Square and The Strand, and again in 2001. Recently May Day has been more peaceful, but it remains a potential flashpoint date for such actions.

• April 1999 - London Nailbomber - Lone bomber David Copeland carried out a series of hate attacks on ethnic minority areas and on a pub frequented by the homosexual community.^[40]

• Stephen Lawrence and the MacPherson Inquiry - From 1993 onwards, a series of operations failed to convict the killers of schoolboy Stephen Lawrence, despite substantial evidence. The resulting MacPherson inquiry found that the Metropolitan Police was 'institutionally racist'. [2].

• 1993 - "Gay Slayer" - Former soldier Colin Ireland murdered five homosexual men in a deliberate bid to get notoriety - he had read an article that said to be a serial killer you must have killed five times or more.^[41]

• 8 January 1991 - Cannon Street Train Crash - Two people were killed and over 500 injured.^[42]

• 31 March 1990 - Trafalgar Square Riot - Also known as the Poll Tax Riot, this was triggered by growing unrest against the Community Charge, and grew from a legitimate demonstration which had taken place that morning. An estimated £400,000-worth of damage was caused.

• 20 August 1989 - Sinking of the Marchioness - Pleasure boat the Marchioness was struck by the dredger Bowbelle, killing 30 people.^[43]

• 12 December 1988 - Clapham Train Crash - A packed commuter train passed a defective signal and ran into the back of a second train, derailing it into the path of a third coming the other way. The crash killed 35 people and seriously injured 69 others.^[44]

• 18 November 1987 - King's Cross Fire - Fire broke out under a wooden escalator leading from one of the underground station platforms to the surface. The blaze and resulting smoke claimed 31 lives, including that of a senior firefighter.^[45]

• 1986 - Stockwell Strangler - Kenneth Erskine carried out a series of attacks in Stockwell on elderly men and women, breaking into their homes and strangling them to death. Most were sexually assaulted.^[46]

• 6 October 1985 - Broadwater Farm Riot - A week after the Brixton riot of 28 September 1985, while tensions among the black community were still high, riots broke out in Tottenham after the mother of a black man whose house was being searched died of a heart attack during the operation. In the course of the riot, PC Keith Blakelock was murdered.^[47]

• 1982-1986 Railway Rapists - John Duffy and David Mulcahy committed 18 rapes of women and young girls near railway stations in London and the South East, murdering three of their victims. Metropolitan Police officers worked with neighbouring forces to solve the crimes. Duffy was convicted in 1988, but Mulcahy was not brought to justice until almost 10 years later.^[48]

• 28 February 1975 - Moorgate Tube Train Crash - A London Underground train failed to stop and crashed into the buffers at the end of a tunnel. The driver and 42 passengers died.^[49]

• 1981, 1985, 1995 - Brixton Riots - Riots erupted in Brixton, fuelled by dissatisfaction over economic conditions and racial tension. Between the three incidents, nearly 1,000 people were injured and millions of pounds worth of damage were caused.^[50][51][52]

• 1978-1983 - Muswell Hill Murders - Mass murderer Dennis Nilsen murdered at least 15 men over a period of five years, disposing of the body parts by burning or in the drains, although he was also found to have many remains in his home at Muswell Hill when police apprehended him.^[53]

• 30 August 1975 - Notting Hill Carnival Riot - Youths attacked police at the Notting Hill Carnival when they attempted to arrest a pickpocket, leading to a riot.^[54] For some years afterwards the carnival was a source of disorder, but in recent years it has been largely free of trouble.

• 1970s-1990s - IRA bombing campaign - Throughout the last quarter of the 20th century, several major bombings were carried out by the Provisional IRA. A list of these and other bombings to which the Metropolitan Police responded is here.

Facts and figures

• In 1981 a report by Lord Scarman stated that London's Metropolitan Police were guilty of racial discrimination.^[55] The issue arose again in the 1999 Macpherson Report, which stated that there was institutional racism.^[56]
• In 2000, more than 25% of the population of London are from ethnic minorities, while 15% of Met police officers are as of 2004.^[57]
• In 2003/04, there were 6,202 accidents involving Metropolitan Police vehicles, the City of Westminster having the highest number in the three years to 2003/04, with 847.^[58]
• Between 1998 and 2005, 60 people died in Metropolitan Police custody.^[59]
• Between 1990 and 2005, 41 serving Metropolitan Police officers died in the execution of their duty, eight of these were murdered or fatally injured by an assailant.^[60] The last death of a serving police officer in a violent incident was in 1997.^[61]
• In 2005 pay scales for the MPS differed from other areas in the UK to take account of the cost of living and working in the capital.
• New constables in the MPS are paid a starting salary of £27,402 (including London weighting), rising to £29,847 on completion of initial training. This continues to rise after probation incrementally, up to a ceiling level of £39,373 after ten years' service (as of September 2006).^[62]
• The Metropolitan Police Federation is the staff association for all police officers below the rank of Superintendent.
• In July 2006, The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that it would not be pursuing charges against any MPS officers involved in the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. De Menezes was shot seven times in the head and once in the shoulder. The MPS claimed immediately after the incident that de Menezes was a suspected suicide bomber. It later emerged he was innocent and unarmed. CPS senior lawyer Stephen O'Doherty said, "There is insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against any individual police officer."^[63] However, the MPS as an organisation is due to face charges under health and safely laws.^[64]
• One police officer in London was found guilty of drunk driving every month during the past three years of 2004 to 2007. [3]

References

See also

Other police services and related articles

• John Yates Met Assistant Commissioner investigating the Cash for Peerages allegations
• City of London Police
• British Transport Police
• List of police forces in the United Kingdom
• Policing in the United Kingdom
• The Job (MPS newspaper)
• Metropolitan Police F.C.
• Metropolitan Special Constabulary
• Q-car

Other emergency services

• London Ambulance Service
• London Air Ambulance (HEMS)
• London Fire Brigade
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)

External links

• Metropolitan Police website
• Metropolitan Police Crime Academy
• Metropolitan Police Leadership Academy
• UK police seek agency to tackle overseas demand
• Metropolitan Police Specialist Training Centre - Gravesend
• The Crown Prosecution Service
• Metropolitan Police Federation
• Could you? National recruiting website

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