City of London Police
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| City of London Police | |
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| Coverage | |
|---|---|
 City of London Police area |
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| Area | City of London |
| Size | 1.1 sq mi / 2.8 km² |
| Population | approx 8,000 (residential) approx 350,000 (daily commuter) |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1839 |
| HQ | Wood Street station, Bassishaw |
| Budget | £61.2m (2006/7) |
| Officers | 900 |
| Divisions | 2 |
| Stations | 3 |
| Commissioner | Mike Bowron QPM |
| Website | Force web site |
The City of London Police is the Home Office police force responsible for the City of London in England, including the Middle and Inner Temple. (The Metropolitan Police is responsible for the rest of London, excluding the railways and underground system, which are policed by the British Transport Police.)
With about 1,200 employees (including about 900 police officers) and three police stations, in Snow Hill, Wood Street and Bishopsgate, the City of London Police is the smallest Home Office (territorial) police force in England and Wales both in terms of geographic area (one square mile) and numbers of police officers. The present Commissioner is Mike Bowron.
The force area has a resident population of 8,043 with 4,421 households.[1] These numbers are however increased by the daily influx of approximately 300,000 commuters working in the City.[2] In addition, about 300,000 cars a day pass through the square mile, as well as a large number of visitors.[3]
The headquarters is at Wood Street Police Station with the force being divided into two territorial divisions for operational policing. The divisions are Snow Hill and Bishopsgate with one police station in each. Around half the force staff work from these stations, providing services such as uniformed patrol and criminal investigation. Since it polices one of the world's financial hubs, the force has a very well regarded Economic Crime Department, commonly referred to as the Fraud Squad, which deals with fraud and other financial crime.
The force in its present form dates from 1839, when the Corporation of London agreed to reform its police force along modern lines in order for it to not be amalgamated with the new Metropolitan Police. It is a direct successor to the Watch of the 13th century.
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[edit] Recent events
A March 2007 report commissioned by the Association of Chief Police Officers[4][5] suggested that the cost of fraud in the UK was some two billion pounds a year. To combat this the report proposed that the City of London Police be a centre of excellence in the combatting of fraud nationwide and to be the lead agency in cases of serious fraud.
On 20 May 2008, it was reported that the City of London police had served summons on a teenager who had used the word "cult" in a local protest against the Church of Scientology, an organisation which had previously given gifts to members of the force.[6] This action, which angered human rights groups, was subsequently dropped after consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service.[7]
On 23 May 2008 the BBC reported [8] that City of London police had acted illegally in carrying out a raid at the home of Harry Redknapp in Poole, Dorset.
[edit] Uniform
Whereas all other British police forces have silver-coloured badges, those of the City Police are gold. Also unique are their red and white chequered sleeve and cap bands (red and white being the colours of the City of London) which in most other British police forces are black and white.
[edit] Ranks in the City of London Police
- Police Constable (PC) (collar number)
- Police Sergeant (Sgt or PS) (three point-down chevrons under collar number)
- 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 laurel wreath)
- Assistant Commissioner (AC) (pip over Commander's badge)
- Commissioner (crown above one pip above Commander's badge)
- The prefix 'Woman' in front of female officers' ranks was officially declared obsolete in April, 1999.
[edit] Commissioners of Police for the City of London
- Daniel Whittle Harvey (1839–1863)
- Colonel Sir James Fraser, KCB (1863–1890)
- Sir Henry Smith, KCB (1890–1902)
- Sir William Nott-Bower, KCVO (1902–1925)
- Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Turnbull, KCVO, KBE, KPM (1925–1950)
- Colonel Sir Arthur Young, KBE, CMG, CVO, KPM (1950–1971)
- Charles James Page, CBE, QPM (1971–1977)
- Peter Marshall, QPM (1977–1985)
- Owen Kelly, QPM (1985–1994)
- William Taylor, CBE, QPM (1994–1998).
- Perry Nove, CBE, QPM (1998–2002)
- Dr James Hart, CBE, QPM (2002–2006)
- Michael Bowron QPM (16 February 2007– present)
[edit] See also
- The Honourable Artillery Company
- List of police forces in the United Kingdom
- Law enforcement in the United Kingdom
- Fraud Squad
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/About/
- ^ http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/About/
- ^ http://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/CityPolice/About/
- ^ Guardian article on Acpo report
- ^ BBC article on Acpo report
- ^ Guardian website, 20 May 2008.
- ^ BBC News website, 23 May 2008.
- ^ Redknapp police raid was unlawful
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