Organisation of the Metropolitan police District

The Metropolitan Police District covers Greater London with its 6,756,0 people, and beyond. It is an area covering 787 square miles and reaches from Potters Bar in the North to Kenley in the South; Upminster in the East to Staines in the West.

To make the policing of this vast area manageable it has been divided into five Areas. Each Area is again divided into Sub-Divisions and Police Stations. Area sizes are defined according to factors such as population, police workload and patterns of demand.

Divisional boundaries mostly conform to those of local authorities. However inner London boroughs may contain more than one Division, while in outer London more than one local authority may fall within a single Police Division.

Each Area has its own Headquarters and is under the command of a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, assisted by a Commander (Operations) and Commander (Support). They have overall responsibility for the Uniform Branch and CID on Divisions within their area, and report to the Assistant Commissioner (Territorial Operations) at New Scotland Yard.

Commander (Operations) is assisted by a Detective Superintendent, specifically responsible for serious crime, and a Uniform Chief Superintendent in charge of operations, public order and traffic.

Commander (Support) is assisted by his deputy, a Uniform Chief Superintendent, responsible for personnel matters, community relations and the investigation of complaints against the police.

Each Area Headquarters also has a Metropolitan Special Constabulary Commandant in charge of the Special Constables in that area.

Each Divisional Station is under the control of a Senior Superin­tendent and his deputy, another Superintendent. The CID is run by a Detective Chief Inspector.

Divisional stations are manned round the clock, but some less busy stations close at night. In this case calls are referred to their nearest Divisional, or sub-Divisional station.

The mobile ‘hardware’ of Area policing consists of a complement of fast response Area Patrol cars, operating from Divisional stations; Panda cars are attached to stations in outer districts, traffic cars and motorcycles operate from area garages. Also available are CID cars and general purpose cars and vans. A familiar sight on London’s streets are the Traffic Patrols and Traffic Wardens. Based at ga­rages and Traffic Warden units throughout London, these officers deal with traffic problems on the highways and roads.

Ultimately, all of London’s police officers, from the Constable on the beat to the Area Deputy Assistant Commissioner, are responsi­ble to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, whose office is at New Scotland Yard, the Headquarters of the Metropolitan Police.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-17