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The City of London Police is by far the smallest force in the United Kingdom. Despite the fact it is only responsible for the law enforcement within a part of the capital that occupies a mere 1.1 square miles, there is a lot more to this force than would first meet the eye.
The force polices the city area of London and this is where some 300,000 additional employees head to work on a daily basis. As far as the actual usual residential population of the City of London is concerned; this is very small. There are only just over 4,000 households in the area, with a population of some 8,000 people.
History of the City of London Police Force
This force is quite an intriguing force within the United Kingdom. It has always very stubbornly refused to become a part of the main Metropolitan Police Force, which is responsible for policing the rest of the capital. In fact, the City of London Police Act 1839 represents legislation that was past at this time, to ensure the City was able to keep hold of its separate force.
Interestingly, the City of London area is thought to have had some semblance of a police force as far back as in Roman times. Indeed, the force headquarters, in Wood Street, are known to have been built on an old Roman fortress and this is suspected to have been connected with the very first law enforcement officers in the area.
Up until 1839, the City of London Police was split into two separate parts, each of which was overseen by a sheriff. One part was connected with the policing during the day, and the other was at night. After 1839, however, this method of policing was abolished, in favour of a single force for the City.
In 1910, the Home Secretary at the time - who was none other than Winston Churchill himself, witnessed three City police officers being killed in an attempted robbery on a jewellers in Houndsgate. Karma was to play its part here though, as two of the three criminals involved were later killed in the infamous siege of Sidney Street.
This part of the capital saw the introduction of the first automatic traffic lights in Europe in 1937, as a consequence of the increasing volumes of traffic that were passing through the City on a daily basis. From 1930 to 1932, the force had already had two sets of lights that were operated manually through the force itself.
Both World Wars were to have a profound effect on the City of Police Force, through the first half of the twentieth century. In World War I, some 26 City officers were killed on active service and this number was even higher during the Second World War; with the tragic loss of 33 lives.
The City of London came under some of the most intense bombing raids to strike the capital during World War II; with all police stations receiving some direct hits from the German’s bombs. In fact, the Moor Lane premises were completely destroyed during the terrible blitz on London.
Being such an important financial centre, on the worldwide stage, this has meant that the force area has been particularly vulnerable to terrorist activities throughout its more recent history. This has been echoed through the very fact that there have been targeted bombing campaigns on the Old Bailey, Bishopsgate and St. Mary Axe; from the mid-seventies, up until the early nineties. The dawn of a new millennium was not to prove to be without more terrible threats in this regard either; as the force was one of the main players in the terrorist bombings that struck the capital on the 7th July 2005.
The City of London Police Force As It Is Today
When your mind turns to considering the vast importance of this financial centre, it is very easy to comprehend exactly why the City of London Police force remains in operation today. Such a distinct part of one of the World’s most important financial districts is always going to benefit from a specialist force that is 100% in tune with how the area works. This is not necessarily going to be the case if this force were to amalgamate with the Metropolitan Police force.
Today, the City of London Police force does an excellent job policing the square mile. Hundreds of year’s worth of history have made the force what is has become today and this is not going to be given up without a fight. This force is even more different from other police forces in the United Kingdom, in that they actually have different uniforms. Whereas other forces have a recognisable black and white stripe on their hats and ties, the City of London force has a distinctive red and black-check arrangement. Also, the helmets worn by the ‘bobbies on the beat’ are actually a bit larger than those worn by the officers of other forces.
Despite the low population, there is quite a large number of employees working for the City of London Police. These include 813 police officers, around 85 special constables and 48 PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers). Altogether, there are over 1,200 employees working for this force and most people would actually feel that this number is considerably higher than first thought.
There are currently three premises occupied by the City Force. These are stations at Snow Hill and Bishopsgate and the force headquarters which are based at Wood Street.
Evaluation of the Force’s current website soon reveals a contemporary police force that is strongly linking themselves to providing safer wards for the people of the City and for those who work here or who just wish to visit some of the many attractions on offer. Although, as we have already seen, terrorism has been a significant threat to this force for many decades, modern attitudes are most certainly concerned with trying to work with the community in attempting to eliminate the dangers posed here as far as possible.
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