The Metropolitan Police of Greater London, England is organised into five main directorates, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner, and four civilian-staffed support departments previously under the umbrella of Met Headquarters, each headed by a Chief Officer, the equivalent civilian grade to Assistant Commissioner. Each business groups or directorate has differing responsibilities. The commands are Frontline Policing (formerly Territorial Policing), Met Operations (formerly Specialist Crime & Operations), Specialist Operations and Professionalism.[1]
The Management Board, responsible for the strategic direction of the MPS, is composed of the senior police leadership including the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, the five Assistant Commissioners (for Met Operations, Frontline Policing, Specialist Operations and Professionalism) and four Chief Officers.[1]
the senior leadership rank-holders of the MPS are:[2] [3]
The highest rank in the MPS is that of the Commissioner, the operational leader; however the MPS is accountable to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime on a pan-London basis and the Home Secretary on a national policing basis.
Appointments to the most senior ranks of assistant commissioner and above are made in consultation with the Mayor of London and the Home Secretary, with the appointment of the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner being formally made by the monarch.[4] Rebecca George and Brian Paddick were added as non-executive directors in October 2023.[5]
The Frontline Policing Directorate, formerly known as Territorial Policing, is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, who is responsible for providing the day-to-day local policing of Greater London (excluding the City of London), the police area defined in legislation as the Metropolitan Police District.
Historically the Metropolitan Police District's territory was divided into divisions grouped into districts and later divisions grouped into areas. In 2000 this was replaced by a system of one Borough Operational Command Unit (BOCU) for each of the 32 post-1965 London boroughs, each commanded by a chief superintendent.[6] In early 2018, largely due to police funding constraints, it was announced that there would be a radical shake up of local policing in London to replace the BOCUs established in 2000. Over the following 12 months each of the 32 BOCUs would be merged with others to form 12 Basic Command Units (BCUs). This followed a trial of two 'pathfinder' BCUs, Central North BCU consisting of the old Islington and Camden BOCUs, and the East Area BCU consisting of the old Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge BOCUs.[7]
Each BCU is provided with:
The 12 BCU structure consists of the following boroughs:
There has been significant concerns raised in various quarters over these changes.[8] [9] [10]
As of February 2019 the non-BCU units within Frontline Policing were:[11]