Metropolitan Police

History

Main article: History of the Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police Service 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 the Metropolitan Police such as the Thames River Police and the Bow Street Runners.

Governance

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. , the office-holder is the deputy mayor for policing and crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz. The work of MOPAC 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, 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 the force's chief financial officer, it was headed by a civilian secretary, who was equivalent in rank to the assistant commissioners.

Police area and other forces

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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

Organisation and structure

Main article: Organisation and structure of the Metropolitan Police Service

The Metropolitan Police Service is organised into the following directorates:

• Frontline Policing
• Met Operations
• Specialist Operations
• Professionalism
• Shared Support Services (part of Met headquarters)

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.

Ranks

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 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 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.

Insignia

The Met uniformed officer rank structure, with epaulette design, 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 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 the holder any extra pay or supervisory authority compared to their uniformed colleagues.

Workforce

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.

Arms

Police officers

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 the Office of Constable.

Historical numbers

• 1852: 5,625
• 1866: 6,839
• 1877: 10,336^
• 1887: 14,191
• 1912: 20,529
• 1929: 19,290
• 1938: 18,511
• 1944: 17,976*
• 1952: 16,400
• 1965: 18,016
• 1984: 27,000 (approximate)
• 2001: 25,000 (approximate)
• 2003: 28,000 (approximate)
• 2004: 31,000 (approximate)
• 2009: 32,543 (excluding 2,622 special constables)
• 2010: 33,260 (excluding 3,125 special constables)
• 2011: 32,380 (excluding 4,459 special constables)
• 2013: 30,398 (excluding 5,303 special constables)
• 2014: 30,932 (excluding 4,587 special constables)
• 2015: 31,877
• 2016: 32,125
• 2017: 30,817
• 2019: 30,980 (excluding 1,749 special constables)
• 2020: 32,766 (excluding 1,874 special constables)
• 2024: 33,972 (excluding 1,296 special constables)
• 2025: 33,201 (excluding 1,127 special constables) *include temporary constables from war period

^includes 753 officers policing Woolwich Arsenal and Her Majesty's Dockyards in Chatham, Portsmouth, Pembroke, Devonport and Rosyth.

Present numbers

• Police officers (regular – of all ranks): 33,201
• Specially Trained Officers (STO): 7,615
• Police officers (special – of all ranks): 1,127

Staff and PCSOs

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 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:

• Police staff (designated detention officers): 614
• Police staff (other): 9,814

Resources

Fleet

, the Met operates and maintains a fleet of around 5,200 vehicles. In 2018, the fleet covered 46777720 mi. The fleet comprises numerous vehicles, including:

• Incident response vehicles (IRV): attached to the various Basic Command Units (BCU) of the Metropolitan Police area, used for frontline policing duties such as patrol and emergency response.
• Q-cars: covert unmarked vehicles, belonging to a variety of departments.
• Armed response vehicle (ARV): Transports authorised firearms officers trained to use firearms to deal with incidents involving deadly weapons.
• Traffic units: respond to traffic accidents on major roads, enforce traffic laws and encourage road safety.
• Motorcycles: utilised by the Roads and Transport Policing Command and Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection for more agile patrol and response.
• Scrambler bikes: used by Operation Venice officers to combat moped gangs.
• Collision investigation units (CIU): respond to and appropriately investigate all major road traffic collisions.
• Protected carriers: used for public order duties.
• Personnel carriers: used to transport numerous officers on patrol and to incidents, as well as non-violent public order situations.
• Station vans: used to transport both officers and suspects in a cage in the rear of the van.
• Commercial vehicle units: used to respond to incidents involving commercial vehicles.
• CBRN units: used to mitigate chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear incidents. These are identified by a large amount of equipment lockers on newer vans and a large array of detecting equipment on the top of older vans.
• Control units: used for incident command and control purposes.
• Armoured multi-role vehicles: used for public order duties, airport and counter-terrorism duties, or as required.
• General purpose vehicles: used for general support and transportation duties of officers or equipment.
• Training vehicles: used to train police drivers.
• Miscellaneous vehicles: such as horseboxes and trailers.
• The Metropolitan Police Historic Vehicle Collection

The majority of vehicles have 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 the Metropolitan Police to buy back its maintenance operations, saving 165 jobs.[[File:MPHVC vehicles at LTM Depot (24063551797).jpg|thumb|A restored [[Rover SD1]] traffic car in the Metropolitan Police's '[[Jam sandwich (police car)|jam sandwich]]' livery first introduced in 1978]]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 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.

Budget

Funding for 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:

Specialist units

• [[File:Met-police-armoured-truck.jpg|thumb|A Jankel Guardian Counter-Terrorist Assault Vehicle, based on the [[Ford F450]] – utilised for airport patrols, counter-terrorism and public order situations]] [[File:POLICE BOAT RIVER THAMES.jpg|thumb|A [[Metropolitan Police Marine Policing Unit|marine policing unit]] on the [[River Thames]]]] Protection Command – This command is split into two branches: Royalty and Specialist Protection (RaSP) and Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP). RaSP provides personal armed protection for the Royal family, Prime Minister and other ministers, ambassadors and visiting heads of state. PaDP is responsible for providing armed officers to protect the Palace of Westminster, important residences such as Downing Street and the many embassies found located in London. Royal Palaces are the responsibility of RaSP. The Special Escort Group (SEG) are responsible for escorting the Royal Family, Prime Minister and other ministers, ambassadors and visiting heads of state, and occasionally prisoner transport.

• Aviation Policing Command – Responsible for providing policing (with the majority being armed officers) at Heathrow Airport and London City Airport.

• Flying Squad – A unit which investigates and intercepts armed robberies. The name comes from the fact its members travelled across divisional and borough boundaries.

• Trident Gang Crime Command – Investigates and works to prevent gang crime.

• Roads and Transport Policing Command – Provides policing for the transport network in London, comprising numerous divisions: the Traffic Division, patrols the road, pursuing fleeing suspects and enforcing speed, safety, and drink driving; the Road Crime Team focuses on dangerous drivers, priority roads, uninsured vehicles and 'fatal four' offences; the Safer Transport Team (STT) provide a policing presence on Transport for London's buses and investigates most crimes committed on them.

• Specialist Firearms Command – (MO19) Responsible for providing armed response and support across the whole of London with Authorised Firearms Officers (AFO) travelling in ARVs (Armed Response Vehicles) responding to calls involving firearms and weapons. MO19 employs a number of CTSFOs (Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officers), who have additional training, specifically at lengths in order to combat terrorism.

• Dog Support Unit – (DSU) Provides highly trained dogs and police handlers, under MO7 Taskforce. They are trained to detect drugs and firearms, respond to searches, missing people, and fleeing suspects. Bomb-detection dogs are also used for specific duties. As of 2015 the unit had around 250 police dogs.

• Marine Policing Unit – (MPU) Provides policing on the waterways of London, responding to situations in the River Thames and tracking and stopping illegal vessels entering and exiting London.

• Mounted Branch – Provides policing on horseback in London, under MO7 Taskforce. One of their duties is escorting the Royal Guard down The Mall, into and out of Buckingham Palace every morning from April to July, then occasionally through the remainder of the year. They also provide public order support and are commonly called to police football matches in the event of any unrest. All officers are trained in public order tactics on horseback. As of 2010 the Branch had 120 police horses.

• Police Support Unit (PSU) – Trained to deal with a variety of public order situations outside the remit or capability of regular divisional officers. These are often regular Emergency Response and Patrol Team Carriers, as such of both Borough Support Units (BSU) and Public Order Borough Support Units (POBSU), the latter of which carrying officers often trained in Public Order Level 2 (POL2)

• Territorial Support Group (TSG) – Highly trained officers, specialised in public order and large-scale riots responding around London in marked Public Order Carriers (POC) with 6 constables and a sergeant in each POC. The TSG are specifically trained in Public Order Level 1 (POL1), handling the most violent of riots or protests. They also hold Method of Entry (MOE) qualifications as an aid to local response officers. They aim to secure the capital against terrorism, respond to any disorder in London, and reduce priority crime through borough support. They respond in highly protective uniform during riots or large disorder, protecting themselves from any thrown objects or hazards.

• Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF) – Formed in April 2018, the VCTF is a pan-London proactive response team to knife and serious violent crime, made up of 300 ring-fenced and dedicated police officers who solely focus on violent crime, weapon-enabled crime and serious criminality. This however has since been disbanded and created into both Borough Based Violence Suppression Units (VSU) and MO7 Taskforce Surge Team. (TST)

• Operation Venice – Formed in 2017 to deal with record-breaking moped crime in London, but also tackles different types of robbery trends; the Scorpion Team consists of highly skilled drivers and riders who were given a green light to instigate tactical contact against moped and motorbikes involved in criminality. This however, has since been disbanded and replaced with the likes of Interceptor and Surge teams under MO7 Taskforce

Stations

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 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 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 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.

Statistics

Outcome and detection rates

From 2015 the MPS has published monthly 'postive outcome' rates, a somewhat wider definition from the previous 'sanction detection' rates for offenders receiving some formal sanction such as being charged or summonsed. These include charges, but also outcomes such as Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs), warnings for cannabis possession, offences that are asked to be taken into consideration by a court (TICs), cautions, warnings, and reprimands.

Nationally, detection rates have been falling as police-reported crime has been rising. The following table shows the percentage 'sanction detection' rates for the Metropolitan Police by offence group for 2022/2023:

The corresponding figures for 2010/2011 were far higher, with an average total detection rate of 24%. However, largely due to the history of changes in the way the UK police count offenses, crime numbers have seen significant increases since 1998, and particularly from 2014 onward. The same volume of detections is therefore divided by a much larger number of total recorded offences. While this does not fully explain the drop in detection rates, it is thought to have contributed to it. Other reasons include lack of police resources and that the crimes the police record disproportionately affect those offences which (in law, if not by the public) are treated as the least serious.

In 2017, the MPS 'screened out' 34,164 crimes the day they were reported, 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 would 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 the force's ability to carry out its responsibilities.

In 2024, it was reported that there was a zero-detection rate for crimes within 166 neighborhood areas under the responsibility of the Metropolitan Police Service. 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.

Controversies

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 1993, the investigation into the racially motivated murder of Stephen Lawrence was heavily criticised. The subsequent Macpherson Inquiry (1999) found the Metropolitan Police to be "institutionally racist," a landmark finding that mandated significant police reform efforts across the UK.

The Met faced widespread criticism over the actions of officers during the 2009 G20 London summit protests, including the death of demonstrator Ian Tomlinson after being struck by an officer. This led to public criticism over excessive force and officers concealing their identification numbers.

In 2011, it was disclosed that a number of undercover officers had entered into intimate relationships with members of targeted groups, and even proposed marriage or fathered childred with protesters who were unaware their partner was a police officer in a role as part of their official duties. The groups affected were predominantly left-wing and progressive.

In 2020, two officers assigned to guard the scene of the murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were jailed for taking and sharing photographs of the deceased women on WhatsApp, referring to them as "dead birds."

In 2021 a review into the handling of the investigation of the murder of Daniel Morgan found that the Met Police was "institutionally corrupt".

In 2023, a report found racism, misogyny, homophobia and corruption within the organisation after the abduction of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, a police constable. 12% of female Met employees had been harassed or attacked, with 33% experiencing sexism. Other incidents included a Muslim officer who had bacon stuffed into his boots and 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 a trial. All six were given suspended jail sentences.

The Metropolitan Police were criticised in 2024 by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for political bias in their efforts to support an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes following Israel's response to terror attacks committed in 2023 by Hamas on 7 October. The Met responded by saying under the terms of the 1998 Rome Statute, they were obliged to support any investigations opened by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that could involve British subjects. In 2024, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services issued a report regarding the Met's handling of pro-Palestinian protests, saying 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 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 November 2024, it was alleged 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 claimed that it first received such allegations in 2005, but the BBC were told that they had been informed by victims in 1995, but had not acted on the information. 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.

In December 2025, the Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police announced tougher enforcement measures following reports that antisemitic incidents in Britain had increased more than fourfold since October 2023. The announcement followed heightened security concerns after fatal attacks on Jewish communities in Britain and abroad, including a Synagogue attack in Manchester and a mass shooting at a Hanukkah event in Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia. In a joint statement, police warned that pro-Palestinian chants such as “Intifada” and “globalise the intifada” carried “real-world consequences”, and confirmed they would “act decisively and make arrests” where offences were identified.

Freemasonry

There have long been rumours of undue influence of Freemasonry within the Metropolitan Police. In 2025, Freemasons' organizations took legal action to secure an injunction against a policy that would force Freemasons within the Metropolitan Police to reveal their affliation. , although the injunction has yet to be ruled on, over 300 officers had already declared themselves to be Freemasons.

References

Notes

Citations

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