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Metropolitan Police Service

"Metropolitan Police" redirects here. See also metropolitan police.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within Greater London, excluding the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police.

A number of informal names and abbreviations exist for the MPS, such as "the Met" and "MP"; in statutes it is usually described in lower case as the "metropolitan police" without the appendage "Service". The Met is also known as Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters, although the headquarters were transferred to New Scotland Yard in Westminster during the late 1960s. 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. The head of the service 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 Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, QPM, resigned on 2 October 2008, and will hold the post until 1 December 2008 when he officially steps down. While a replacement is sought, Paul Stephenson will be Acting Commissioner.

History

The New Police

The Metropolitan Police was established on September 29, 1829, by the then Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel with the implementation of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829. Members of the force derived their nicknames "Peelers" or "Bobbies" from his name. Peel intentionally created a service which was not affiliated with the military, but was rather a civilian, approachable force, for the protection of the public. To this end he modelled the uniform carefully. To appear neutral, it was deliberately manufactured in blue, rather than red which was the colour of the military (the "redcoats"). And, to further enforce this conception, the officers were not armed, apart from a Truncheon, and a rattle to call for assistance. Along with this, military ranks were not used, with the exception of Sergeant.

The establishments officers were unarmed to make them look less like military enforcers, which was the system of policing seen before the 1820s. However, despite the service being unarmed, the then Home Secretary Robert Peel gave authorisation to the Commissioner to purchase fifty flintlock pistols, for exceptional incidents that required the use of firearms. As time progressed, the obsolete flintlocks were decommissioned from service, being superseded by early revolvers. At the time, burglary (or "house breaking" as it was then called) was a common problem for police, and "house breakers" were usually armed, as it was legal to own a pistol for self-defence, at that time. Because of many deaths of officers in the hands of firearms in the outer districts of the Metropolis, and after much press coverage debating whether Peel's service should be fully armed, the Commissioner applied to the Home Secretary to supply all officers on the outer districts with revolvers. These could only be issued if, in the opinion of the senior officer, the officer could be trusted to use it safely, and with discretion. From that point, all officers who felt the need to be armed, could be so. The practice lasted until 1936, although the vast majority of the system was phased out by the end of the 19th century.

The headquarters was located at the seat of government 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.

Policing in London before 1829

Until the middle of the 18th century, a police service did not operate 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, "thief taker"s were often employed, 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 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 service for the capital. However, the "Runners" were still magistrate's officers and in effect a private force, not police officers as are known today.

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.

The Metropolitan Police 1829-2008

During the early 19th century, the Industrial Revolution saw London become much larger, both geographically and economically. It became clear that the system of locally maintained Constabularies was ineffective in the prevention and detection of crime among 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. 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, allocating each London area with a letter.The following year, on June 28, 1830, Constable 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'. Incidents were seen such as assault, being impaled on railings, blinded and, on one occasion, held down on the road while a coach was driven over them..

In 1839, the Bow Street Runners and the Thames River Police were amalgamated with the Metropolitan Police. However the City of London police, created in the same year, was an 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, six Sergeants and a number of Constables.

One of the first cases investigated by the new Detective Branch was "The Bermondsey Horror" of 1849, in which a married couple, Frederick and Marie Manning, murdered an acquaintance called Patrick O'Connor and buried his body under the kitchen floor. After going on the run they were tracked down by Detective Sergeants Thornton and Langley and publicly hanged outside Horsemonger Gaol in Southwark. 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.

It took some time to establish the standards of discipline expected today from a police force. In 1863, 215 officers were arrested for being intoxicated while on duty.In 1872 there was a police strike. In 1877 three high ranking detectives were tried for corruption at the Old Bailey.Due to this latter scandal the Detective Department was re-organised in 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent and renamed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). This was separated from the uniformed branch and its head had direct access to the Home Secretary, by-passing the Commissioner.

One of the priorities of the police force from the beginning was "maintaining public order", and they were very active in the role, for example, against the major Chartist demonstrations (1839-48) and the Bloody Sunday demonstration of the unemployed in Trafalgar Square in 1887.

The threat of Irish terrorism was combated by the formation of the Special Irish Branch, in March 1883. The "Irish" sobriquet was dropped in 1888 as the department remit was extended to cover other threats, and became known simply as Special Branch.

Important criminal investigations of the period included the Whitechapel Murders (1888-91) and the Cleveland Street Scandal (1899).

By 1900 the force had grown to nearly 16,000 officers, organised into 21 divisions. Responsible for law enforcement within an area of nearly 700 square miles.

Detection of crimes was much improved when Edward Henry, the Commissioner from 1903-18, set up a Fingerprint Bureau at Scotland Yard in 1901.Important investigations of this period include that into the murderer Hawley Harvey Crippen in 1910.

Female Police Constables first joined the force in September, 1919. They were distinguished from their male counterparts, who had wider authority, by the prefix 'Woman' before their rank, as in "Woman Police Constable" (WPC) and "Woman Police Sergeant" (WPS). Their original duties were restricted to patrolling, 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 available 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 to oversee 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.

Area covered and other forces

The geographical area covered by the MPS is known as the Metropolitan Police District (MPD), which is made up of the 32 London boroughs, that fall under the area 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 centre, 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 is responsible for law enforcement on property owned by the MOD in the UK. Within London, the MDP are responsible for guarding the MOD headquarters, along with Whitehall. While guarding premises in London, MDP Officers are armed as a matter of routine, and often operate from Metropolitan Police Stations.

The British Transport Police is responsible for the rail network, including policing of the London Underground, Tramlink 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. There are also a small number of parks police forces, such as the Kew Constabulary, which are responsible for 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 by law, they are not police officers.

Structure

The MPS is divided into ten departments or directorates, each is commanded by an Assistant Commissioner, in the case of civilianised 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 of geographical areas 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 headed by a Commander.

Each BOCU provides patrol and response 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 classed as 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". Barking & Dagenham (KG) - 427

Barnet (SX) - 545

Bexley (RY) - 359

Brent (QK) - 123

Bromley (PY) - 488

Camden (EK) - 795

Croydon (ZD) - 712

Ealing (XB) - 683

Enfield (YE) - 553

Greenwich (RG) - 636

Hackney (GD) - 751

Hammersmith & Fulham (FH) - 563

Haringey (YR) - 691

Harrow (QA) - 362

Havering (KD) - 379

Heathrow (ID) not a London Borough, but a BOCU -

Hillingdon (XH) - 506

Hounslow (TX) - 509 Islington (NI) - 676

Kingston upon Thames (VK) - 294

Lambeth (LX) - 915

Lewisham (PL) - 618

Merton (VW) - 374

Newham (KF) - 746

Redbridge (JI) - 464

Richmond upon Thames (TW) - 319

Kensington & Chelsea (BS) - 558

Southwark (MD) - 852

Sutton (ZT) - 328

Waltham Forest (JC) - 540

Tower Hamlets (HT) - 758

Wandsworth (WW) - 583

Westminster (CW) - 1,550

(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.)

Specialist Crime Directorate (SCD)

The SCD is commanded by Assistant Commissioner John Yates. 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 and Serious Crime Command (SCD 1) - Is 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 substantial risk to life, missing persons or abductions where there is a reason to suspect life has been taken or 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 suspects wanted for murder.
Fingerprint Services - Responsible for the collection and archiving of fingerprints made up of people currently living in the UK. Providing Police Clearance and Good Conduct certificates from countries which need to receive both, in order for foreigners to emigrate or work.. They also provide fingerprints for various other reasons.
Forensic Services (SCD 4) - Responsible for providing an on-call forensic science capability, to the rest of the service.
Child Abuse Investigation Command (SCD 5) - Responsible for the investigation of crimes against juveniles, it is 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) - Responsible for investigations involving serious economic or specialist crime. 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) - Implemented 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 civilian 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.
Serious and Organised Crime Group (SCD 7) - Is responsible for investigating serious and organised crime, life-threatening crimes, and those who inflict human misery on the people of London, combatting this through fast 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) - Responsible for covert policing, providing specialist undercover surviallence teams to follow suspects, or infililtrate organisations.
Met Intelligence Bureau (SCD 11) - Responsible for providing the rest of the service with intelligence on required companies and people.

Central Operations

Central Operations (CO), commanded by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, is responsible for specialist, central units that support the BOCUs, and the rest of the service.

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

Specialist Firearms Command - (CO19)
Territorial Support Group - (CO20)

The recently created, Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) Tasking Unit or Operational Support Unit, 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 disorder and violence.

Specialist Operations

Specialist Operations (SO), currently commanded by Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, following the announcement of AC Andy Hayman's and DAC Peter Clarke's retirement. It is responsible for units that undertake tasks of national importance that require police specialists, SO also aids the rest of the service in specialist policing. This department has recently undergone restructuring and now consists of three commands, known as: Protection Command, Security Command and Counter Terrorism Command.

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, along with protection of royal residences.
Diplomatic Protection Group - Responsible for the protection of embassies and certain government buildings, along with personal protection of visiting heads of state and governments.
Palace of Westminster Division - Responsible for patrolling the palace, conducting searches of visitors and vehicles.

The Security Command, headed by Commander Ian Carter, is responsible for security at Heathrow and London City Airports. Their duties include patrolling the interior and exterior of airport buildings, and the immediate surrounding area. The vast majority of officers patrolling airports are trained Firearms Officers, however, PCSOs and unarmed officers also police the airport

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), working alongside the National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations outside London.

CO19 formerly was called SO19, meaning that it was within the Specialist Operations units, but in 2005, the units designation was changed when "CO" designation replaced, "SO". Making the unit; CO19, within Central Operations.

Other Metropolitan Police Service Departments

Overview of Metropolitan Police Service Departments
Department	Led by	Role
Public Affairs Department	Director of Public Affairs, Dick Fedorcio	Deals with the media and looks after publicity and internal communications
Resources Department	Act Director of Resources, Sharon Burd	Responsible for finance, buildings, procurement etc.
Strategy, Modernisation & Performance Department	Director Stephen Rimmer
Human Resources Department	Director of Human Resources, Martin Tiplady	Personnel management
Standards & Intelligence Department	Assistant Commissioner John Yates	Includes the Professional Standards Unit and Legal Services.
Information Department	Director of Information Ailsa Beaton	Responsible for information systems and operational communications, including the Metcall project.

Police ranks

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.

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

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.
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. 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.

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)
Traffic wardens: 500
Other police staff: 13,561

Historic numbers

2007 approximately 31,000
2003 approximately 28,000
2001 approximately 25,000 (London population 7,172,000)
1984 approximately 27,000
1965 18,016
1952 16,400

Past Commissioners

Past Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis, from the MPS's inception in 1829, to 2008.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Rowan (1829–1850)
Sir Richard Mayne (1829–1868)
Captain William Hay (1850–1855)
Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Labalmondière (acting) (1868–1869)
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edmund Henderson (1869–1886)
Major-General Sir Charles Warren (1886–1888)
James Monro (1888–1890)
Colonel Sir Edward Bradford (1890–1903)
Sir Edward Henry (1903–1918)
General Sir Nevil Macready (1918–1920)
Brigadier-General Sir William Horwood (1920–1928)
General The Viscount Byng of Vimy (1928–1931)
Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Trenchard (1931–1935)
Air Vice-Marshal Sir Philip Game (1935–1945)
Sir Harold Scott (1945–1953)
Sir John Nott-Bower (1953–1958)
Sir Joseph Simpson (1958–1968)
Sir John Waldron (1968–1972)
Sir Robert Mark (1972–1977)
Sir David McNee (1977–1982)
Sir Kenneth Newman (1982–1987)
Sir Peter Imbert (1987–1993)
Sir Paul Condon (1993–2000)
Sir John Stevens (2000–2005)
Sir Ian Blair (2005—2008)

Police stations

In addition to the Headquarters at New Scotland Yard, there are 140 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.

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.

The oldest operational police station in 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.

In the United Kingdom, police stations may have:

Uniformed police officers who respond to 999 calls and provide community policing.
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who are tasked with general day to day patrol in the community, (Excluding Ireland, and Scotland).
Traffic Wardens who enforce parking regulations.
Crime Reduction Officers who are tasked with attending public functions, visiting households with advice and handing out items such as rape alarms.
A Firearms Enquiries Officer, responsible for firearms certificates and related duties.
Station Reception Officers (SROs) who are in charge of the front desk and do administration.
Fingerprinting and Identification Officers who deal with Criminal Identities for Archives.
In Metropolitan Police stations, police cadets may be present helping regular officers, PCSOs or any police staff.
Special Constables, Sergeants and Inspectors will be present. A Special is a part-time fully trained Police Officer with powers of arrest.
Smaller stations usually have a number of Detective Constables (DCs) headed by a Detective Sergeant (DS), or in larger stations DCs, DSs and Detective Inspectors (DIs) are present, with the Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) in charge of the department.
Most stations have temporary holding cells where an arrested offender can be held overnight until escort to the court for sentencing.
An Authorised Firearms Officer (AFO) may be present at the station if it is central to that operational area.
Police stations also have kitchens to aid the officers during shifts.

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.

Notable incidents and investigations

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

1911 - Siege of Sidney Street - Involved members of a Latvian gang taking householders hostage while fleeing from the police, due to the violence of the situation and many officers killed and injured, the then Home Seceratary Winston Churchill took command of the siege.

1970-1990s - 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.

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.

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. For some years afterwards the carnival was a source of disorder, but in recent years it has been largely free of trouble.

6 - 12 December 1975 - Balcombe Street Siege - The Balcombe Street Siege occurred with PIRA members were attempting to flee from the police, and were forced into taking a couple hostage in their home.

18 September 1975 - Spaghetti House Siege - The Spaghetti House Siege occurred when members of the "Black Liberation Front" attempted to commit an armed robbery at Spaghetti House Restaurant to gain publicity for their cause. However, the robbery was discovered by police, and the would be robbers initiated a siege.

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.

1980 Iranian Embassy Siege - The Iranian Embassy Siege involved members from a terrorist group calling themselves the "Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRMLA)" took the embassy staff hostage, the Metropolitan Police were heavily involved in the hostage negotiation, but after six days, negotiations were terminated, preceded by an assault by the British Army's Special Air Service.

1982-86 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.

September 28 1985 - 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

8 January 1991 - Cannon Street Train Crash - Two people were killed and over 500 injured.

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.

Stephen Lawrence and the MacPherson Inquiry - From 1993 onward, 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'.

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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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."

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.

Facts and figures

In 1981, a report by Lord Scarman stated that London's Metropolitan Police were found to have some problems regarding racial discrimination. The issue arose again in the 1999 Macpherson Report, which stated that there was institutional racism.
In 2000, more than 25% of the population of London are from ethnic minorities, while 15% of Met police officers are as of 2004.
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.
Between 1998 and 2005, 60 people died in Metropolitan Police custody.
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. The last death of a serving police officer in a violent incident was in 1997.
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).
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. However, the MPS as an organisation is due to face charges under health and safely laws.
One police officer in London was found guilty of drunk driving every month during the past three years of 2004 to 2007.