Policing in the United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom is a unitary (as opposed to federal) state, and police forces, generally speaking, are organised at the level of administrative districts. Certain departments of the Metropolitan Police operate throughout the country, including the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department, and certain units of Special Branch. The new Serious Organised Crime Agency is also a national agency that works in all police areas. There are over 50 police forces in the United Kingdom.
The United Kingdom has a number of similar but independent police services. Most of these operate in defined territorial areas (defined as Home Office police forces in England and Wales), which are typically counties, groups of counties or larger metropolitan areas. The smallest geographical police force in the UK is the City of London force, which covers London's Square Mile. A number of non-Home Office police forces also exist, such as British Transport Police (BTP), the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), and the Ministry of Defence Police, and have a specialised, non-geographical remit. See List of police forces in the United Kingdom for the current police forces.
History
The office of Constable has existed since Saxon times, but a modern-type police force did not start until the early 19th century, with the introduction of a nationwide system of broadly similar local forces.
- Late 18th century: The Marine Police was established, based in Wapping: this was a localised force with a limited remit.
- 18th century: Attempts to set up a police force in Glasgow, Scotland.
- 1800: Glasgow Police Act passed, because Glasgow city authorities persuaded Parliament to pass it. This allowed the formation of the City of Glasgow Police, funded by taxation of local citizens, to prevent crime.
- This was quickly followed by the setting up of similar police forces in other towns [link].
- 1812: A committee examined the policing of London in England.
- 1818: A committee examined the policing of London.
- 1822: A committee examined the policing of London.
- 1829: Based on their findings the Home Secretary, Robert Peel, introduced the Metropolitan Police Act 1829, heralding a more rigorous and less discretionary approach to law enforcement.
- 29 September 1829: The Metropolitan Police was founded. It was depersonalised, bureaucratic and hierarchical, with the new police constables instructed to prevent crime and pursue offenders. However in contrast to the military gendarmerie forces of continental Europe, the British police, partly to counter public fears and objections concerning armed enforcers, were clearly civilian and their armament was initially limited to the truncheon. Uniform was blue, resembling the navy rather than the red of the army, who had policed with firearms and a heavy-handedness which had long caused public consternation. A fear of spy systems and political control also kept 'plain clothes' and even detective work to a minimum. The force was independent of the local government; through its Commissioner, it was responsible direct to the Home Office. The new constables were nicknamed 'peelers' or 'bobbies' after the Home Secretary.
- 1831: Special Constables Act 1831 passed.
- 1835: Municipal Corporations Act 1835 passed. This required each borough to establish a watch committee, who had the duty of appointing constables "for the preserving of the peace". The jurisdiction of the borough constables extended to any place within seven miles of the borough.
- 1839: County Police Act 1839 passed.
- 1839: First county police force created, in Wiltshire.
- 1840: County Police Act 1840 passed.
- 1856: County and Borough Police Act 1856 made county and borough police forces mandatory in England and Wales and subject to central inspection. By then around thirty counties had voluntarily created police forces.
- 1857: The General Police Act (Scotland) 1857 required each Scottish county and burgh to establish a police force, either its own or by uniting with a neighbouring county.
- 1860: By this year there were over 200 separate forces in England and Wales.
- In Ireland a more centralised paramilitary force, the Royal Irish Constabulary, was created.
- 1842: Within the Metropolitan Police a detective force was founded.
- 1877: The Turf Fraud scandal.
- 1878: As a result, the Metropolitan Police's Detective Department was reorganised and renamed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1878.
- 1914: Special Constables Act 1914. Allowed for the appointment of Special Constables during wartime.
- 1914-1918: World War I: the police became unionised.
- 1918 and 1919: The police went on strike over pay and conditions.
- 1919: Police Act 1919 passed. It guaranteed a pension for police: previously it had been discretionary. It prohibited trade unions among the police. It created the Police Federation.
- The fragmented nature of the police was resistant to change, and there were still over 200 separate police forces before World War II. During the War, resignations were not permitted except on grounds of ill-health.
- 1923: Special Constables Act 1923 passed.
- 1946: Police Act 1946 passed. This abolished nearly all non-county borough police forces. This left 117 police forces.
- 1964: Police Act 1964. This created 49 larger forces, some covering two or more counties or large urban areas.
- 1984: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Regulated the actions of the police, particularly in relations to arrest and searches/powers of entry. Also instituted the PACE Codes of Practice.
- 2002: Police Reform Act 2002. Introduced Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
- 2006: Major provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 come into effect including the overhaul of powers of arrest, institution of the Serious Organised Crime Agency and extension of powers available to PCSOs.
Accountability
In England and Wales a Police Authority, normally consisting of three magistrates, nine local councillors and five independent members, is responsible for overseeing each local force. They also have a duty under law to ensure that their community gets best value from their police force.
In Northern Ireland the Police Service of Northern Ireland is supervised by the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
In Scotland each police force is overseen either by the local authority (for Fife Constabulary and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary) or by a joint board of the relevant authorities (all other forces).
Two of the three major non-territorial forces in the UK (British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary) had their own police authorities set up in 2004. These forces do not have a specific area, and their authorities consist of specific sectors they police, i.e. the railways and the nuclear industry.
HMIC
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) is the organisation responsible for the examination and assessment of police forces to ensure their fitness to function. In the UK, there are two distinct organisations:- HMIC for England and Wales - this organisation is responsible to the Home Office for police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This organisation also inspects, by invitation, various non-Home Office forces. Since 2004, HMIC for England and Wales has also had responsibility for examining HM Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
- HMIC for Scotland - this organisation is responsible to the Scottish Executive, and examines all of Scotland's police forces.
Ranks
See UK police ranks.Uniform and Equipment
See Uniform and Equipment of British PoliceControversial shootings
- On the 22 September 1999 Harry Stanley, a painter and decorator, born in Bellshill near Glasgow, was shot dead by two Metropolitan Police officers. It later transpired that Mr Stanley was not carrying a firearm but a covered table leg. Following numerous enquiries both officers were exonerated after 6 years of court cases and inquiries. It was found that neither officer were liable for criminal charges nor would face any disciplinary sanctions. However the report did make notable recommendations to the police in the post-incident procedure to be followed after a shooting.On 22 July 2005, Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician living in London, was shot dead by Metropolitan Police officers as he boarded an Underground train at Stockwell tube station, in the belief he was a suicide bomber. While his shooting occurred as a result of the police investigation into the 21 July 2005 London bombings, it was later revealed that he was unconnected with the attempted attacks. His family has called on the government to open a public inquiry into the shooting.
The national media have often criticised the "Shoot to Kill" policy apparently adopted by police forces; however, no such policy exists. The police operate on a "Shoot to Stop" basis. This means that an officer taking the decision to shoot will aim for the area most likely to stop the target immediately; a tactical requirement to prevent a subject from continuing to pose a threat to the officer or to others. This area is, however, normally the centre of the body mass (chest), and shots to this area can nevertheless often prove fatal. The police forces in the UK, like those in several other countries, operate on this basis since specific targeting is difficult even by the extremely high standards of police-trained marksmen. According to a 2006 article in The Independent, in the past 12 years 30 People have been shot dead by police, and no officers have been convicted. [link]
Deaths in Police Custody
In 1997/98, 69 people died in police custody or otherwise in the hands of the police, 12% (8) were from ethnic minorities, 26 resulted from deliberate self harm. [link]There are two defined categories of death in custody issued by the Home Office: [link]
Category A: This category also encompasses deaths of those under arrest who are held in temporary police accommodation or have been taken to hospital following arrest. It also includes those who die, following arrest, whilst in a police vehicle.
- s/he has been taken to a police station after being arrested for an offence, or
- s/he is arrested at a police station after attending voluntarily at the station or accompanying a Constable to it, and is detained there or is detained elsewhere in the charge of a constable, except that a person who is at a court after being charged is not in police detention for those purposes.
- when suspects are being interviewed by the police but have not been detained;
- when persons are actively attempting to evade arrest;
- when persons are stopped and searched or questioned by the police; and
- when persons are in police vehicles (other than whilst in police detention).
Recent and current issues
Evidence of corruption in the 1970s, serious urban riots and the police role in controlling industrial disorder in the 1980s, and the changing nature of police procedure made police accountability and control a major political football from the 1990s onwards.The miners' strike (1984–1985) saw thousands of police from various forces deployed against miners, frequently resulting in violent confontation.
The presence of Freemasons in the police caused disquiet in the early 1990s.
The Fettesgate scandal in the early 1990s concerned the theft (and allegedly the subsequent recovery) of sensitive documents from the Edinburgh headquarters of Lothian and Borders Police. Nobody has ever been charged, and, at least publicly, no officer was disciplined.
Despite attempts to end racism and what the Macpherson Report described as "institutionalised racism" in the Police since the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence, there have been ongoing problems. At the same time, some commentators and academics have claimed that political correctness and excessive sensitivity to issues of race and class have reduced the effectiveness of the police force, not least for people living in deprived areas or members of minority groups themselves.
In 2003, ten police officers from Greater Manchester Police, North Wales Police and Cheshire Constabulary were forced to resign after a BBC documentary, "The Secret Policeman", shown on 21 October, revealed racism among recruits at Bruche Police National Training Centre at Warrington. On 4 March 2005 the [link] noted that minor disciplinary action would be taken against twelve other officers (eleven from Greater Manchester Police and one from Lancashire Constabulary) in connection with the programme, but that they would not lose their jobs. In November 2003, allegations were made that some police officers were members of the far-right British National Party.
The perceived absence of a visible police presence on the streets also frequently causes concern. This is partially being addressed by the introduction of uniformed civilian Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs), following the passing of the Police Reform Act 2002, although some have criticised these as for being a cheap alternative to fully-trained police officers. [link].
At the beginning of 2005 it was announced that the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) had signed an eight-year £122 m contract to introduce biometric identification technology [link]. PITO are also planning to use CCTV facial recognition systems to identify known suspects; a future link to the proposed National Identity Register has been suggested by some. [link]
A number of recent cases in which the police have intervened in matters of free speech have also given rise to allegations that the police are in danger of becoming thought police. In December 2005, author Lynette Burrows was interviewed by police after expressing her opinion on BBC Five Live that homosexuals should not be allowed to adopt children [link]. The following month, Sir Iqbal Sacranie was investigated by police for stating the Islamic view that homosexuality is a sin[link].
Recent undercover TV programmes BBC's The Secret Policeman and Channel 4 Dispatches programme Undercover Copper raised questions of standards within the UK Police force.
Future
In September 2005, in a [report] delivered to the then Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary suggested the forty-three force structure in England and Wales was "no longer fit for purpose" and smaller forces should be forcibly merged. As of 2005, nineteen forces have fewer than 2,000 regular officers, and the report suggests that forces with 4,000 or more officers performed better and could deliver cost savings. [Police forces 'no longer working']. BBC News. 16 September 2005. Forces have been asked to produce proposals of mergers, within Wales and the English Government Office Regions. Nearly all the existing forces are under the 4,000 limit, with only the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police, Merseyside Police, Northumbria Police, Thames Valley Police, West Midlands Police and West Yorkshire Police over the limit - see List of police forces in England and Wales by officers for a full list.Draft options were announced in November. [Plan to cut police forces to 12]. BBC News. 10 November 2005. The Home Office has offered money to police authorities that decide to voluntarily merge ahead of schedule, and has consequently been accused of attempting to "bribe" unwilling Chief Constables into compliance. [Clarke attacked on police reform]. BBC News. 19 December 2005. The proposals were debated in the House of Commons on December 19.[Hansard, 19 December 2005, Column 1581] Most Chief Constables and police authorities have not backed the measure,[Police 'reject' force merger plan]. BBC News. 22 December 2005. and some have suggested that cross-regional mergers would make more sense (for example, Hampshire Constabulary in the South East has suggested it could merge with Dorset Police in the South West, whilst there has also been a suggestion of North Wales Police increasing co-operation with Cheshire Police)[Merger 'to make policing worse']. BBC News. 28 October 2005.
On February 6, 2006, preferred options for several regions were announced by the Home Secretary in a Written Ministerial Statement,[Hansard, 6 February 2006, Column 39WS][Police mergers outlined by Clarke]. BBC News. 6 February 2006. and set a deadline of February 24 for forces to agree to the mergers. By this dead-line the only merger to have the agreement of all forces involved was the Cumbria/Lancashire merger. Cheshire is opposed to a merger with Merseyside, and West Mercia and Cleveland are holdouts in their region, whilst all Welsh forces oppose a single Welsh force.[Setback for police merger plans]. BBC News. 24 February 2006. The Home Secretary has the power to order the Cumbria/Lancashire merger to proceed by statutory instrument under the Police Act 1996, and also to force through the contested mergers, given a four-month consultation period. In a Written Statement made on March 3, 2006, [Hansard, 3 March 2006, Column 44WS] he announced that the Lancashire/Cumbria merger could be ordered in May, and that the consultation period on the others was starting, and would end on July 2, 2006. The new forces would come into being on April 1, 2007. [Police merger plans to go ahead]. BBC News. 3 March 2006. [Wales police merger to go ahead]. BBC News. 4 March 2006.
A second batch of merger proposals were made on March 20, 2006, with the Eastern, East Midlands and South East regions covered. A deadline of April 7 was been set for responses, after which it is thought that the process above would be followed. [Hansard, 20 March 2006, Column 6WS] [Police forces set to be slashed to 24]. The Independent. 20 March 2006. [Police forces 'to be cut to 24']. BBC News. 20 March 2006. The following day, the Home Secretary proposed a merger of all four forces in the Yorkshire and the Humber region. [Hansard, 21 March 2006, Column 15WS] The consultation period on this second batch of mergers started on April 11, and would have finished on August 11, with a target of April 1, 2008 for the mergers coming into effect. [Police merger plan given go-ahead]. BBC News. 11 April 2006
Policing in Scotland does not come under the purview of the Home Office, and so will remain unaffected by these proposals. Likewise, the major non-territorial forces (British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Ministry of Defence Police) are responsible to other government departments, and so will not be affected. However, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, has stated that he would like to see a single police force in London, with the Metropolitan Police absorbing the functions of the British Transport Police in London, although the House of Commons Transport Select Committee severely criticised this idea in a report published on 16 May 2006[Future of the British Transport Police] HoC Transport Committee. 16 May 2006 .
Proposed Mergers
Note: these mergers have all been suspended in the long term while a further review and consultation into policing in England and Wales takes placeA 2004 proposal by the Police Superintendents Association for the creation of a single national police force, similar to the Garda Síochána na hÉireann was rejected by the Association of Chief Police Officers, and the government has thus far agreed. [Senior police back national force]. BBC News. 15 August 2004.
Postponement
On 20 June 2006 the new Home Secretary, John Reid, announced that the contested mergers would be delayed for further discussion[Home Secretary delays police force mergers], Home Office, 20 June 2006, and no mergers would be ordered before Parliament's summer recess on 25 July other than the agreed Lancashire/Cumbria one.On 11 July 2006, it then emerged that the entire proposal of police mergers may be ended, following the decision by the only two forces to have agreed to amalgamation, Cumbria and Lancashire, not to proceed[Forces back out of merger plans] BBC News 10 July 2006. The announcement of this was followed by the head of the ACPO stating that "The necessary financial support has not materialised and mergers, including voluntary ones, will not take place"[Merger of police forces is scrapped]. The Times. 11 July 2006.. On 12 July, the Home Office confirmed that the mergers were to be abandoned, with the entire proposal taken back for consultation[Police mergers still on agenda]. BBC News 12 July 2006.
Overseas Police Forces in the UK
There are certain instances where police forces of other nations operate in a limited degree in the United Kingdom:- The Police aux Frontières (French Border Police), a division of the Police Nationale, is permitted to operate both on Eurostar trains to London and within the international terminal at London Waterloo alongside French Customs officials, in regard to services through the Channel Tunnel. This arrangement is reciprocated to the British Transport Police on Paris bound trains and within the terminal at Paris Gare du Nord.[Cross-channel Policing] New York Times, 4 May 2001.
- The Garda Síochána na hÉireann (Irish Police), under a recent agreement between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, have the right, alongside the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, to carry out inspections of the Sellafield nuclear facility in Cumbria.[Irish Sellafield appeal ruled illegal] The Guardian, 30 May 2006
See also
- Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland
- Black and Asian Police Association
- Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
- International Criminal Police Organization - Interpol
- List of police forces in the United Kingdom
- Police - for general and international policing topics
- Panda car
- Jam sandwich
- Police Complaints Authority
- Police Intelligence
- Police Staff College, Bramshill
- Scotland Yard
- Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency
- Serious Organised Crime Agency
- Special Branch
- Special Constables
- Police Cadets
- UK police ranks
- UK topics
Databases
- National identity card database
- HOLMES
- Police National Computer
- Violent and Sex Offender Register
- UK National DNA Database
References
External links
- [UK Police Service portal]
- [Association of Chief Police Officers]
- [Police Guidelines]
- [Association of Police Authorities]
- [National Black Police Association]
- [HM Inspectorate of Constabulary]
- [Government Site on Police Reform]
- [British Police Slang and Acronyms]
- [Chronology of British Policing]
- [UK Police News & Information Portal]
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