The Metropolitan Police of Greater London, England is organised into four main directorates, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner, and four civilian-staffed support departments previously under the umbrella of Met Headquarters, each headed by a Chief Officer, the equivalent civilian grade to Assistant Commissioner. Each business groups or directorate has differing responsibilities. The commands are Frontline Policing (formerly Territorial Policing), Met Operations (formerly Specialist Crime & Operations), Specialist Operations and Professionalism.[1][2]
The Management Board, responsible for the strategic direction of the MPS, is composed of the senior police leadership including the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, the four Assistant Commissioners (for Met Operations, Frontline Policing, Specialist Operations and Professionalism) and four Chief Officers.[2]
Leadership
As of October 2023[update] the senior leadership rank-holders of the MPS are:[3][4]
Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray (responsible for Professionalism)
Assistant Commissioner Pippa Mills (responsible for Trust and Legitimacy)
Chief Digital, Data and Technology Officer: Darren Scates[5]
Chief Communication and Engagement Officer: Sharon Sawers[5]
Chief People and Resources Officer: Clare Davies
Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer: Adrian Scott[5]
The highest rank in the MPS is that of the Commissioner, the operational leader; however the MPS is accountable to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime on a pan-London basis and the Home Secretary on a national policing basis.
Appointments to the most senior ranks of assistant commissioner and above are made in consultation with the Mayor of London and the Home Secretary, with the appointment of the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner being formally made by the monarch.[6]Rebecca George and Brian Paddick were added as non-executive directors in October 2023.[5]
Frontline Policing
The Frontline Policing Directorate, formerly known as Territorial Policing, is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, who is responsible for providing the day-to-day local policing of Greater London (excluding the City of London), the police area defined in legislation as the Metropolitan Police District.
Basic Command Unit (BCU)
Historically the Metropolitan Police District's territory was divided into divisions grouped into districts and later divisions grouped into areas. In 2000 this was replaced by a system of one Borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU) for each of the 32 post-1965 London boroughs, each commanded by a chief superintendent.[7] In early 2018, largely due to police funding constraints, it was announced that there would be a radical shake up of local policing in London to replace the BOCUs established in 2000. Over the following 12 months each of the 32 BOCUs would be merged with others to form 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs). This followed a trial of two 'pathfinder' BCUs, Central North BCU consisting of the old Islington and Camden BOCUs, and the East Area BCU consisting of the old Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge BOCUs.[8]
Each BCU is provided with:
Telephone and Digital Investigation Unit (TDIU): Provides initial over-the-phone investigation of crime; it is either resolved or passed on to the other teams for further investigation
Local Resolution Team (LRT): Provides remote investigation and resolution work for non-crime incidents or incidents not requiring an immediate physical response
Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs): Made up of uniformed officers and PCSOs who are responsible for local long term community interaction and problem solving
Emergency Response & Patrol Team (ERPT): Provides the majority of the physical responses to 999 or 101 calls, primarily investigates volume crime
Criminal Investigation Department (CID): Detectives investigate more serious and complex crimes beyond the scope of ERPT's; for crimes outside even the CID's remit, it is transferred to the Specialist Crime Command (non-BCU Frontline Policing)
Violence Suppression Units (VSU): Plain-clothes officers dedicated to specific BCUs, aimed at reducing street crime
The 12 BCU structure consists of the following boroughs:
Met Operations or Met Ops is one of the eight business groups which forms the Metropolitan Police Service. It was created during the 2018–19 restructuring of the service, amalgamating much of its functions from the previous Specialist Crime & Operations Directorate. As of 2023[update] the group is led by Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist.
Specialist Operations (SO) is a directorate of the Metropolitan Police Service, responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities. Until Sir Kenneth Newman's restructuring of the Metropolitan Police, SO comprised twenty units, but after the restructuring most of them were absorbed by Central Operations (now Met Operations).
SO is headed by an Assistant Commissioner (Matt Jukes as of 2023[update]), with two deputy assistant commissioners and three commanders.[15]
SO is currently organised into three commands:[13]
Protection Command
Split into the following specialist operational areas:[13]
Protective Security Operations – ensures that there are adequate protective security arrangements in place for major events, crowded places, iconic sites and that key utilities and sites where hazardous substances are located are securely protected.
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, preventing and disrupting terrorist activity, gathering and exploiting intelligence on terrorism and extremism in London.
Professionalism
It was first formed as an anti-corruption department by Commissioner Robert Mark in 1971,[16] known as A10 or the Complaints Investigation Bureau (CIB).[17] This was reorganised into the Directorate of Professional Standards under an Assistant Commissioner after changes to the police regulations and the way complaints were handled after the Police Reform Act 2002. It was renamed Professionalism in 2014, still under an Assistant Commissioner (as of 2023 Barbara Gray).[1] It consists of officers and civilian staff and as of 2023 its commands or departments are:
Anti-corruption and Abuse (headed by a Commander; already added to the Directorate in October 2022[18][1])
Profession, Crime Prevention, Inclusion and Engagement (headed by a Commander)
Professional Standards (headed by a Deputy Assistant Commissioner)
Profession, DPS, Misconduct (headed by a Commander)
Legal Services (headed by the Chief Legal Officer; taken on from Met Headquarters on the latter's dissolution)
It focuses on standards of professional conduct for officers, and the enforcement of them, in leadership and supervision, security of information and intelligence, recognition of the diversity of communities and staff, identifying and reacting to organisational and individual learning, and maintaining the threat of detection, prevention and management of risk.
Its duty is wider than the issues of complaints and corruption. There are obligations to treat staff fairly and to be seen as an employer of choice, thus the highest standards must be applied to internal processes as well. In order to achieve this it has been expanded[when?] to encompass employment tribunals, civil actions against the Commissioner and the vetting of staff.
Communications and Engagement
From 2023 this department covered the duties formerly covered by a Department of Media and Communication within Met Headquarters.[1] It is headed by a Chief Communication and Engagement Officer (as of October Sharon Sawers).[1]
Film Unit
The MPS Film Unit was launched in 2006 within Shared Support Services (now merged into Operational Support Services)[19] and manages the commercial filming schedule across London on behalf of local councils and major production companies as well as producers for various film and TV commercials. The Film Unit is based in Southwark and is maintained by current serving police officers. The unit provides operational officers to ensure security for film companies and the general public. It is part of the Film London Partnership which is supported by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the Mayor of London and Film London.[20]
Data, Digital and Technology
Formerly known as Digital Policing and falling under Met Headquarters, this is led by the Chief Digital and Technology Officer (Darren Scates, as of 2023[update]), who heads directors for:[1]
Service Delivery
Technology and Business Engagement
Solution Delivery
People and Resources
From 2023 this department covered the duties formerly covered by a Departments of Finance, of Commercial, of Property Services and of Human Resources within Met Headquarters.[1] It is headed by a Chief People and Resources Officer (as of October 2023 Clare Davies).[1]
Police officer strength 2010-2018
The following table gives the police strength in the MPS by rank.
The following table gives the workforce numbers in the MPS.
Date
Staff members
PCSOs
Police officers
Total
Special constables
31 March 2010
14,179
4,645
33,367
52,191
3,177
31 March 2011
13,688
4,009
32,441
50,138
4,944
31 March 2012
12,751
2,760
32,140
47,651
5,752
31 March 2013
12,328
2,684
30,398
45,410
5,303
31 March 2014
11,303
2,087
30,932
44,322
4,587
31 March 2015
10,599
1,787
31,877
44,263
3,659
31 March 2016
9,521
1,626
32,125
43,272
3,271
Strategy and Transformation
Strategy and Transformation took over the duties formerly covered by Departments of Transformation and of Strategy and Governance within Met Headquarters and is headed by a Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer (as of October 2023 Adrian Scott).[1]
^'Complaints' and 'Complaints Investigation Bureau', from Martin Fido and Keith Skinner, The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard (1999), pages 52-53
