Covert policing is a term in the United Kingdom to describe the practice of policing that is hidden to the public,[1] usually employed in order that an officer can gather intelligence and approach an offender without prompting escape.
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Most British police forces have formed a unit solely for covert policing operations. One of the forces that makes extensive use of surveillance-led policing is Greater London's Metropolitan Police. The Metropolitan Police unit was formerly a Specialist Operations designation devoted to covert policing, which was SO10. Since then, most of the Specialist Operations units have been disbanded or merged, giving way to SO10 being merged into the Specialist Crime Directorate to be designated SCD10.
The concept of covert policing evolved from that of community policing, but as criminality advanced, covert policing was seen to be needed to combat this.
CID detectives usually do not wear a uniform, which stemmed from the foundation of the CID. Because detectives are often concerned with the evidence gathering stage of an investigation, they are usually the officers required to survey suspects as they go around their daily routines, which could not be carried out by an officer in uniform.
Much of Britain's police service throughout the early to mid 20th century consisted of police officers walking a beat,[2] one in each neighbourhood. This gave rise to the term "bobbies on the beat" and "golden age policing", as the officers walked constantly instead of patrolling the streets from police cars.[2] Possibly the most accurate television portrayal of the archetypal British policing was the BBC programme Dixon of Dock Green.[2]
The Criminal Intelligence Branch (which Covert Policing was a branch of before SO designations were devised) was formed in March 1960, and provided surveillance on known criminals, keeping pace with criminal methodology and technology.[2]