The Metropolitan Police

The Metropolitan Police Service, often referred to as the Met., is the largest force in the United Kingdom, currently employing over 31,000 officers, along with over 2,500 special constables and over 2,200 Police Community Support Officers. There are a further 14,000 support police staff. These officers police the entire Greater London area, excluding the City of London, which has its own force. This is, in contrast, the smallest force in the country; the City of London Police. The service is also referred to as Scotland Yard, due to the location of its former headquarters, which was relocated to New Scotland yard in Westminster in the 1960s.

Each London borough is served by its own Borough Operational Command Unit, along with a separate unit for Heathrow Airport and for the Royal Parks, comprising of 34 overall. The head of the force is known as the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, or abbreviated as The Commissioner. This position is currently held by Sir Paul Stephenson.

History of the Metropolitan Police Service

It was Sir Robert Peel who originally founded the Metropolitan Force, further to his police Bill in 1828, concluding in the formation of the Metropolitan Police Force on the 29^th September 1829. Sir Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne were appointed as its first leaders, then known as the Justices of the Peace.

At this time, the main qualifications needed to be a Police Officer was for applicants to be aged between 21 and 27, to be over 5 foot 9 inches tall (although the minimum in the Thames Division at this time was 5 foot 7 inches). They must also have to be able to read, write legibly and spell and be generally intelligent. The applicants would have to have also been free from any bodily complaint, such as flat footedness, stiff joints, narrow chest and no facial deformities!

Before the current Greater London boundaries were set in the 1960s, the force served a far larger geographical area, to include parts of neighbouring Surrey, Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire. This was only recently revised in 2000. The force was also responsible for the policing of the further dispersed Royal Dockyards from 1860 until 1934, to include Chatham, Portsmouth, Devonport in Plymouth and the Pembroke Royal Air Station in South Wales. Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland was also the force’s responsibility between 1914 and 1926.

There have been many high profile investigations conducted by the Metropolitan Police force in its long history. Perhaps some of its most infamous have been The Whitechapel Murders in the late 19^th Century, which involved the murder of at least five prostitutes , believed to have been perpetrated by ‘Jack the Ripper’. Unfortunately this investigation proved not to be a success for the force, as no suspect was ever charged and to this day the identity of the killer remains a mystery. The force, however, was successful a few years later in the ultimate conviction of the equally infamous Dr Crippen, who murdered his wife in Holloway. More recently there was an investigation into the Muswell Hill Murders, resulting in the conviction of Dennis Neilson for the murder of at least 15 men in 1983.

The Siege of Sidney Street in 1911 resulted in armed Metropolitan Police officers taking to the street en force, assisted by the military, to successfully deal with an armed Latvian anarchistic gang.

There have been a number of past accidents and disasters involving major operations and investigations by the force, including the Moorgate Tube Train Crash in 1975; Kings Cross fire in 1987; the Clapham train crash the following year and the Sinking of the Marchioness pleasure boat in the River Thames in 1989.

The Metropolitan Police had constantly been involved in the investigation of terrorist activity throughout its history, such as the IRA campaign between the 1970s and 1990s, as well as the more recent London bombings in 2005. There was also the Iranian Embassy Siege in 1980 and the London Nailbomber attacks in 1999.

There has also been a history of riots and disturbances for the force to control, most notably during the Notting Hill Carnival in 1975 and the early 1980s; Brixton Riots, which led to ‘Operation Swamp’. This gave officers the ability to stop people in the streets who appeared suspicious. There were also the Broadwater Farm Riots in 1985, which resulted in an officer, P.C. Blakelock being murdered and the Poll Tax Riot in Trafalgar Square in 1990.

The Metropolitan Police Service Today

Being the largest force in the country, the Metropolitan Force employs more police ranks than the standard in the United Kingdom. As previously noted, the head of the force is known as the Commissioner. The next rank is the Deputy Commissioner; followed by the Assistant Commissioner, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner and the Commander. The next rank is referred to as the Chief Superintendent; followed by the Superintendent, Chief Inspector, Inspector and Sergeant. The lowest ranks are Acting Sergeant and Constable.

All London Metropolitan Police Ranks can be identified by their shoulder identification numbers, which must be visibly worn. There is a pay structure in place for all police ranks, with a current starting salary of over £28,000 (including London weighting) for a constable. This will rise to just over £31,000 after training and probation. The ceiling level for an officer is currently just over £39,000 after 10 years.

The Metropolitan Police Service now have the jurisdiction to take over any investigation conducted within England and Wales, and to a certain extent in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their officers are also able to take charge within investigations by the British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police, if necessary.

Throughout the country, terrorist incidents and major murder investigations always involve the Metropolitan Police Service. In contrast to this, the English section of the Royal Parks Constabulary, responsible for the largest parks in Greater London, were a separate force prior to 2004, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Force. There are still officers solely responsible for parks such as Kew Gardens and Newham Park, who have been sworn as constables to protect these parks, but do not have equal powers to all other constables enlisted under the Police Act.

The Metropolitan Police Force have recently instilled a Policing Pledge, which is particularly aimed at local neighboured policing. The Force pledges that its officers will listen to the public’s concerns, act on those concerns and keep those involved informed of their progress at regular intervals. They will also endeavour to deal with all emergencies and non emergencies within an agreed timescale.

As would be expected due to the density and diversity of the population within its boundaries, the levels for most crimes within the Metropolitan Police Force are higher than national average, although this does vary considerably from borough to borough. As a general guide the more southerly and easterly boroughs experience higher crime levels than the west and north, although there are of course exceptions within each borough. We are all highly aware of the fact that knife crime is a particularly acute problem in some of the boroughs and the Metropolitan Police are doing their level best to address this issue.

To return to the list of police forces please click here: Police History