Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London. In addition, it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom, including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people, such as the monarch and other members of the royal family, members of the government, and other officials.
| Metropolitan Police Service | |
|---|---|
Logo | |
Badge | |
Flag used during the reign of Elizabeth II | |
| Common name | The Met |
| Abbreviation | MPS |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 29 September 1829 |
| Preceding agencies | |
| Employees | 43,571 in total 32,493 police officers 9,816 police staff 1,262 PCSOs |
| Volunteers | 1,858 special constables 1,500 police support volunteers 3,658 volunteer police cadets |
| Annual budget | £4.43 billion |
| Legal personality | Police force |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Greater London |
| Map of police area | |
| Size | 1,578 km2 (609 sq mi) |
| Population | 8.95 million (2019/20) |
| Legal jurisdiction | England and Wales (throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, under certain limited circumstances) |
| Primary governing body | Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime |
| Secondary governing body | Home Office |
| Constituting instruments | |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overviewed by | |
| Headquarters | New Scotland Yard, Westminster, London, England |
| Police officers | 32,493 full time 1,858 special constables |
| PCSOs | 1,262 |
| Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime responsible | |
| Agency executives | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The main geographical area of responsibilities, the Metropolitan Police District, consists of the 32 London boroughs, but does not include the City of London proper—the central financial district—which is policed by a separate force, the City of London Police. As the force responsible for the capital of the United Kingdom, the Met has significant unique responsibilities and challenges, such as protecting 164 foreign embassies and High Commissions, policing London City and Heathrow airports, protecting the Palace of Westminster, and dealing with significantly more protests and events than any other British force, with 3,500 such events in 2016.
The force, by officer numbers, is the largest in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, and one of the biggest in the world. Leaving its national responsibilities aside, the Met has the eighth-smallest police area (primary geographic area of responsibility) of the territorial police forces in the United Kingdom.
The force is led by the commissioner, whose formal title is the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis. The commissioner is answerable to the Home Office and the Mayor of London, through the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime. The post of commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne. Sir Mark Rowley is the current commissioner; he succeeded Acting Commissioner Sir Stephen House in July 2022.
A number of informal names are used for the service, most commonly the Met. It is also referred to as Scotland Yard or the Yard, after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall. The Met's current headquarters is New Scotland Yard, on the Victoria Embankment.