London's 'Met,' a renowned police force with a checkered past - CNN.com London's 'Met,' a renowned police force with a checkered past By Tim Lister (CNN) Met chief Paul Stephenson (left) and Assistant Commissioner John Yates quit over alleged police links with journalists. STORY HIGHLIGHTS The Met was founded in 1829 on the initiative of then Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel London force deals with terrorism, complex fraud cases, cyber-crime and international drug syndicates Recent controversies include 2005 shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes Current crisis about excessively close relationships between senior officers and media Editor's Note: Watch UK lawmakers question Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks live from 1:30 p.m. GMT / 9:30 a.m. ET Tuesday on CNN.com and also via CNN Apps including iPhone, iPad, Android and selected Nokia devices. Also watch lawmakers question leading members of the Metropolitan Police including former chief Paul Stephenson from 11 a.m. GMT / 7 a.m. ET Tuesday.

(CNN) -- When he became the Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police in 1972, Robert Mark told his new subordinates: "The basic test of a decent police force is that it catches more criminals than it employs." Mark later said he was astonished by the arrogance and institutionalized wrongdoing he found when he arrived at the Met, as it's commonly known. And he launched an anti-corruption drive that led to the "early retirement" or reassignment of dozens of officers. The British public began to reassess a police force often lauded as among the world's finest: incorruptible, the "people's friend." The London "bobby" was celebrated in British films, walking his beat in size 12 boots with no more than a truncheon, engaging with locals and escorting villains to the "station." Scotland Yard, the Met's fabled headquarters, had been an inspiration to Arthur Conan Doyle and Monty Python's Flying Circus alike. The elite Flying Squad was nicknamed "The Sweeney" (Cockney rhyming slang: Flying Squad/Sweeney Todd) which became the title of a long-running TV series about the unit.

Founded in 1829 on the initiative of then Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel (hence the colloquial term "bobby" for a policeman), the Metropolitan Police originally comprised 895 constables for a population of more than two million. Alleged UK police corruption uncovered Second police officer quits amid scandal News Corp's Rebekah Brooks arrested Both the Met and the size of London have expanded exponentially since. And so has the complexity of policing -- extending to terrorism, complex fraud cases, cyber-crime and international drug syndicates where Chechens, Jamaicans and others feud over London turf. In the 1960s, specialist units like the Flying Squad, that tackled armed robbery, and the Vice Squad became influential -- units with great autonomy and to some critics too little scrutiny. For some officers, the temptation to cut corners, tampering with evidence, taking bribes from underworld figures, became irresistible. In 1977, the then head of the Flying Squad, Chief Superintendent Ken Drury, was jailed along with 12 other Scotland Yard detectives, for accepting bribes.

One fellow officer said of Drury that he was also expert at "falsifying or manipulating alibi statements" and "the repeated harassment of witnesses until we had got what we wanted from them." It also transpired that the head of the obscene publications squad had been extracting protection money from Soho pornographers. Then came "Operation Countryman" -- a six-year inquiry carried out by an external police force into police corruption in London. The man who led it complained of resistance at the highest levels within the Met. Of the few criminal prosecutions launched, even fewer were successful. Despite the creation of a sizeable anti-corruption unit within the Met, further scandals emerged in the 1990s, with serving and retired detectives accused of links with organized crime and drug dealers. Some had offshore bank accounts containing six-figure sums. Phone-hacking scandal expands with police probe The Metropolitan Police's handling of civil unrest, racial issues and terrorism has also come under the microscope. In 1979 and the early 1980s, when there were a number of riots and violent protests in London, police conduct was widely criticized.

In one protest by the Anti-Nazi League, a young New Zealander, Blair Peach, was hit by a cosh carried by a member of the Met's "Special Patrol Group" and died. It was 30 years before the Met published its conclusion that Peach was killed by a police officer, but that other police officers in the same unit had refused to cooperate with the inquiry by lying to investigators. The officer responsible was never identified. At the same time, evidence emerged of racism in the Met, which had few recruits from ethnic minorities. After riots in south London in 1981, a public inquiry found disproportionate and indiscriminate use of "stop and search" powers by the police against black people. An inquiry into the murder of a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993 found the force suffered from "institutional racism" and that detectives had made little effort to apprehend the white youths suspected of killing Lawrence in an unprovoked attack. In 2005, a 27-year old Brazilian -- Jean Charles de Menezes -- was shot dead at an underground station in London after being mistaken by police for Hussain Osman, one of four would-be suicide bombers.

An inquest recorded an "open verdict" -- in effect not absolving the police, and the Met made a compensation payment of $160,000 to the victim's family. The truth is, we've all been in this together. --British PM David Cameron News Corporation Ltd. To its critics, the shooting illustrated a changing culture in the Met, one where aggression and a resort to firearms had trumped community policing and restraint. That perception was reinforced by the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor who was hit by an officer with a baton during protests at the G20 summit in 2009. A poll taken shortly afterwards showed 59% of people felt the police had used an unacceptable level of violence at the London protests. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched three investigations into incidents during the summit. The Met's defenders point out that crime rates in the capital have fallen, that London has been free of terrorism since 2005 and that its specialist units have rolled up some substantial criminal networks as well as investigated the "cash for peerages" scandal that rocked the Labour government led by Tony Blair. There has also been greater outreach to ethnic minorities.

The current crisis for the Metropolitan Police is about both illegal conduct and excessively close relationships between senior officers and media executives. A Scotland Yard inquiry is underway into alleged illegal payments to police officers in exchange for information. In addition, the IPCC is investigating whether Assistant Commissioner John Yates had "inappropriately" hired the daughter of a long-time associate, Neil Wallis. Wallis was a senior executive at News International who later became a consultant to the Met. He was arrested last week in connection with the phone-hacking scandal. Yates resigned Monday but vigorously denied any wrong-doing. Police chief steps down amid scandal Another former senior officer, Andy Hayman, who was in charge of the original hacking investigation, became a columnist with The Times, a News International title, after his retirement. During heated exchanges with a parliamentary committee last week, Hayman was dubbed "Clouseau rather than Columbo." He later attacked what he called the "lynch-mob mentality" of the committee. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has acknowledged that relationships between the media, police and politicians became too cozy. "The truth is, we've all been in this together," Cameron said on July 8.

Of the British people, he said: "Just look at who they put their trust in. The police to protect them. The politicians to represent them. The press to inform them. All of them have let them down." Whatever the results of the many inquiries now underway, faith in the Metropolitan Police has again been shaken. One poll found that 63% of the public felt less confidence in the police after the latest revelations. With the London Olympics less than a year away, the Met's top officer and the man in change of its counter-terrorism operations are gone; and the rest of its leadership is dogged by the turmoil within. Share this on: News of the World, London Metropolitan Police and MedPoint | Ile Maurice News of the World, London Metropolitan Police and MedPoint Rafic Soormally Membre News of the World, London Metropolitan Police and MedPoint​ In the investigations concerning telephone hacking and corruption allegations through bribes effected by News of the World (NoW) journalists to gain inside information, Ms Rebekah Brooks, resigned as CEO of NoW. She has now been arrested even though she always claimed she never authorised telephone hacking nor had any knowledge of it.

In the same vein, the London Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, also resigned amidst allegations that some of his Police Officers were on the NoW payroll. Rupert Murdoch and former aide Rebecca Brooks Sir Paul Stephenson, former Metropolitan Chief Commissioner ​ The phone hacking and corruption scandal which shook Rupert Murdoch’s Jewish media empire to its foundations is still causing many arrests and many heads to roll in spite of his advertisement of an apology for all the hurt and damage which has been done. The latest ‘victim’ counts the resignation on Friday 15 July 2011 of the now defunct NoW CEO, Rebekah Brooks, also one of the closest aides of Rupert Murdoch. Ms Brooks has also been arrested yesterday (17th July 2011) by officers investigating allegations of corruption and phone hacking. The Police Operation Weeting was launched to investigate allegations of phone hacking by newspaper journalists into high-profile figures and even victims of crime. The London Metropolitan Police Chief, Sir Paul Stephenson, also resigned over the scandal.

He said that : « I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met's links with News International (owners of NoW) at a senior level and in particular in relation to Mr Neil Wallis (a NoW journalist) who as you know was arrested in connection with Operation Weeting last week.» « In 2009 the Met entered into a contractual arrangement with Neil Wallis, terminating in 2010. I played no role in the letting or management of that contract. » « I have heard suggestions that we must have suspected the alleged involvement of Mr Wallis in phone hacking. Let me say unequivocally that I did not and had no reason to have done so. I do not occupy a position in the world of journalism; I had no knowledge of the extent of this disgraceful practice and the repugnant nature of the selection of victims that is now emerging; nor of its apparent reach into senior levels. » The « reach to senior levels » within the Metropolitan Police Force relates to alleged corrupt Police Officers who had been paid by NoW journalists.

Sir Paul Stephenson also addressed the « the suspicion that the contractual relationship with Mr Wallis was somehow kept secret » and recognises « that the interests of transparency might have made earlier disclosure of this information desirable ». Even though there is no evidence that Sir Paul Stephenson was involved in the NoW scandal, or that he was aware of it, he took full responsibility as the Chief of the Metropolitan Police and resigned honourably while the investigations are still going on. The MedPoint mega scandal There are clear parallels with the investigations surrounding the Mauritian government’s purchase of an unused MedPoint clinic, at an increased price of Rs145m from an original valuation of Rs75m a few weeks earlier, belonging to people with connections in or close to the government. The investigations by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) have been going on since around January 2011 and nearing conclusion.

The Mauritian Police (CCID) is also investigating allegations made by Paul Bérenger, leader of the opposition, that, according to his information from « ministerial sources », it was the Prime Minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam who had instructed the Chief Government Valuer Yodhun Bissessur to proceed to the second valuation of the idle clinic after he had met with its main owner Dr Malhotra, brother-in-law to the Minister of Finance Pravind Jugnauth in Ramgoolam’s government, and son-in-law to Sir Anerood Jugnauth, President of the Republic of Mauritius. But, up to now, even though the Chief Government Valuer (a mere Civil Servant) has been suspended from duties and provisionally charged, no single politician in government has resigned. As Prime Minister who is running the country, Dr Ramgoolam, while denying Bérenger’s allegations, has not revealed who gave the controversial instructions for the second valuation to his Chief Government Valuer Yodhun Bissessur who, in turn, is also not revealing the identity of the ‘mysterious’ responsible person who gave those instructions.

Whether or not Dr Malhotra will clarify all this and explain who he spoke or wrote to in government to clinch the MedPoint deal at Rs145m remains to be seen. Conclusion If one follows the words of Sir Paul Stephenson when resigning, namely that « I have heard suggestions that we must have suspected the alleged involvement… », one is bound to question the Mauritian Prime Minister’s role in the government’s purchase of MedPoint at the increased contractual price of Rs145m, and ask whether, as a responsible PM, he had conducted his own internal inquiries to identify the responsible parties. The fact the PM has flatly denied Bérenger’s allegations and referred the matter to the Police, does not mean that the problem will go away if vital information about the MedPoint government purchase is kept secret. In the London Metropolitan Police contract with Mr Wallis, Sir Paul Stephenson, as quoted above, spoke of the suspicion of a contractual relationship being kept secret and earlier disclosure in the interests of transparency.

Even though Sir Paul Stephenson claimed his innocence with no finger pointing directly at him and the investigations have not yet been concluded, he resigned as the Metropolitan Police Chief simply because he assumes full responsibility for the phone-hacking and corruption scandal affecting his department. But no one is taking any responsibility for the MedPoint mega scandal being investigated by the anti-corruption investigators of ICAC and no one is resigning either. M Rafic Soormally Metropolitan Police Service : definition of Metropolitan Police Service and synonyms of Metropolitan Police Service (English) The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is the territorial police force responsible for Greater London , excluding the "square mile" of the City of London which is the responsibility of the City of London Police . [9] The MPS also has significant national responsibilities such as co-ordinating and leading on counter-terrorism matters and protection of the British Royal Family and senior figures of Her Majesty's Government . [10] At the end of October 2011, the MPS employed 48,661 (full-time) personnel. This included 31,478 sworn police officers, 13,350 non-police staff, and 3,831 non-sworn Police Community Support Officers .

This number excludes the 5,479 Special Constables , who work part-time (a minimum of 16 hours a month) although have the same powers as regular officers. [6] This makes the Metropolitan Police the largest police force in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, and one of the biggest forces in the world. [11] The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis , known commonly as Commissioner, is the overall operational leader of the force, responsible and accountable to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime . The post of Commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne . The post is currently occupied by Bernard Hogan-Howe , QPM. The Commissioner's sub-ordinate, the Deputy Commissioner, is currently Craig Mackey, QPM. A number of informal names and abbreviations exists for the Metropolitan Police Service, such as "the Met", "Met Pol", "MP" and "the MPS". In colloquial London (or Cockney ) slang, it is referred to as the "Old Bill". [1] In statutes it is referred to in the lower case as the "metropolitan police force" or the "metropolitan police", without the appendage "service".

The MPS is also referred to by the metonym Scotland Yard after the location of its original headquarters in and around Great Scotland Yard, Whitehall . [12] The current headquarters of the MPS is New Scotland Yard . Contents The Metropolitan Police Service was founded in 1829, under the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 , and at that time merged with the River Thames Marine Police Force which had been formed in 1798. Police area and other forces The police area policed by the Metropolitan Police Service is known as the Metropolitan Police District (MPD). In terms of geographic policing the MPS is divided into a number of Borough Operational Command Units which directly align with the 32 London boroughs covered. The City of London (which is not a London borough) is a separate police area and is the responsibility of the separate City of London Police . The Ministry of Defence Police are responsible for policing of Ministry of Defence property throughout the United Kingdom, including its headquarters in Whitehall and other MoD establishments across the MPD. [13] The British Transport Police is responsible for policing of the rail network in the United Kingdom , including London.

Within London, they are also responsible for policing of the London Underground , Tramlink and the Docklands Light Railway . [14] The English part of the Royal Parks Constabulary , which patrolled a number of Greater London's major parks, was merged with the Metropolitan Police in 2004, and those parks are now policed by the Royal Parks Operational Command Unit . [15] There is also a small park police force, the Kew Constabulary , responsible for the Royal Botanic Gardens , whose officers have full police powers within the park. A few London borough councils maintain their own borough park constabularies, though their remit only extends to park by-laws , and although they are sworn as constables under laws applicable to parks, their powers are not equal to those of constables appointed under the Police Acts, meaning that they are not police officers. [16] It should be noted that despite these specialist police forces the MPS is statutorily responsible for law and order throughout the MPD and can take on primacy of any incident or investigation within it.

MPS officers have legal jurisdiction throughout all of England and Wales, including areas which have their own special police forces, such as the Ministry of Defence, as do all police officers of territorial police forces. Officers also have limited powers in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Within the MPD, the MPS will take over the investigation of any serious crime from the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police if it is deemed appropriate. Terrorist incidents and complex murder enquiries will almost always be investigated by the MPS, with the assistance of any relevant specialist force, even if they are committed on railway or Ministry of Defence property. (A minor oddity to the normal jurisdiction of territorial police officers in England and Wales is that MPS officers involved in protection duties of the Royal Family and other VIPs have full police powers in Scotland and Northern Ireland in connection with those duties.) Organisation and structure Main article: Organisation and structure of the Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service is organised into four main directorates, each with differing responsibilities. They are Territorial Policing, Specialist Crime and Operations Directorate, Specialist Operations and administration and support. Each is overseen by an Assistant Commissioner, or in the case of administrative departments a director of police staff which is the equivalent civil staff grade.

The management board is made up of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and internal department heads. Ranks See also: Police ranks of the United Kingdom The Metropolitan Police Service uses the standard British police ranks, indicated by shoulder boards, up to Chief Superintendent , but uniquely has five ranks above that level instead of the standard three; namely Commander, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner. [17] All senior officers above the rank of Commander are chief police officers of ACPO rank. The MPS approved the use of name badges in October 2003, with new recruits wearing the Velcro badges from September 2004. The badge consists of the wearer's rank, followed by their surname. [18] Following controversy over assaults by uniformed officers with concealed shoulder identification numbers [19] during the G20 summit , Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said, "the public has a right to be able to identify any uniformed officer whilst performing their duty" by their shoulder identification numbers. [20] The MPS uniformed officer rank structure, with shoulder badge features, is as follows: Special Constable (SC or MSC): an SC Crown, Divisional call sign and shoulder number.

Police Constable (PC): Divisional call sign and shoulder number. Sergeant (Sgt or PS): Three pointing-down chevrons above divisional call sign and shoulder number. An 'acting' sergeant, such as a substantive constable being paid an allowance to undertake the duties of a sergeant for a short period of time, displays two pointing-down chevrons above the divisional call sign, and shoulder number. The use of three chevrons by an acting sergeant is technically incorrect, and should only be used during a period of temporary promotion. Commissioner For a comparison of these ranks with other British police forces (in and out of London) see Police ranks of the United Kingdom . The MPS also has several active Volunteer Police Cadet units, which maintain their own internal rank structure. [21] The Metropolitan Special Constabulary (MSC) is a contingent of part-time volunteer police officers and is attached to most Borough Operational Command Units. The MSC has its own internal rank structure . The prefix "Woman" in front of female officers' ranks has been obsolete since 1999. Members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) up to and including the rank of Chief Superintendent prefix their ranks with "Detective".

Detective ranks are equivalent in rank to their uniform counterparts. Other departments, such as Special Branch and Child Protection, award non-detectives "Branch Detective" status, allowing them to use the "Detective" prefix. None of these detective ranks confer on the holder any extra pay or supervisory authority compared to their uniformed colleagues. Resources Two MPS officers overseeing an event at Trafalgar Square MPS officers supervising World Cup revellers in 2006 MPS mounted officers policing a protest at Westminster MPS BMW 3 series MPS employees consist of uniformed police officers, Special Constables , civilian staff, and Police Community Support Officers . [22] The MPS was the first force to introduce PCSOs. Uniformed traffic wardens, who wear a uniform with yellow and black markings, are a distinct body from local authority civil enforcement officers . The former have greater powers that include being able to stop vehicles and redirect traffic at an incident.

[23] Police numbers 1912: 20,529 [34] Fleet The MPS operates and maintains a fleet of more than 8,000 vehicles [35] which are used for a range of duties, including: [36] Area cars, used for patrol and pursuit duties Incident Response Vehicles (IRVs), used for patrol and emergency response Traffic units, used to patrol the highways, reduce traffic offences and encourage road safety Protected carriers, used for public order duties Control units, used for incident command and control purposes Armoured multi-role vehicles, used for public order duties, airport duties or as required General purpose vehicles, used for general support and transportation duties of officers or equipment Training vehicles, used to train police drivers Miscellaneous vehicles, such as horseboxes and trailers A full list of the front-line vehicles in the MPS fleet is located here: [36] The majority of vehicles have a service life of three to five years; the MPS replaces or upgrades between 800 and 1,000 vehicles each year. The MPS Air Support Unit operates three Eurocopter EC 145 helicopters, using the call signs India 97, India 98 and India 99.

The helicopters are marked in police livery and used for a range of operations. They each cost £5.2 million and have a service life of ten years, meaning they will become due for replacement in 2017. [36] The Marine Policing Unit operates a total of 22 vessels, from its base in Wapping. Cost of the service Annual expenditure for single years, selected by quarter centuries. [37] 1829/30: £194,126 69 Stations In addition to the headquarters at New Scotland Yard, there are 140 police stations in London. [40] These range from large borough headquarters staffed around the clock every day to smaller stations which may be open to the public only during normal business hours, or on certain days of the week. A traditional blue lamp as seen outside most police stations. This one is outside Bow Street police station Most police stations can easily be identified from one or more blue lamps located outside the entrance, which were introduced in 1861.

The oldest police station, which opened in Bow Street in 1881, closed in 1992 and the adjoining Bow Street Magistrates' Court heard its last case on 14 July 2006. [41] The oldest operational police station is in Wapping , and opened in 1908. It is the headquarters of the Marine Policing Unit (formerly known as Thames Division), which is responsible for policing the River Thames . It also houses a mortuary and the River Police Museum. Paddington Green Police Station is an MPS station that has received much publicity for its housing of terrorism suspects in an underground complex.

The Marine Policing Unit is based at Wapping MPS stations may house a variety of roles and ranks of police staff, such as: Uniformed police officers and Special Constables who are responsible for attending emergency calls ; Uniformed police officers and Special Constables who make up a "safer neighbourhood team", policing a specific area; Police Community Support Officers responsible for a general presence in the community and assisting in policing duties; MPS-employed traffic wardens who enforce parking regulations; Non-police Crime Reduction Officers who are responsible for attending public functions with advice, visiting households, and handing out items such as personal alarms; Non-police Firearms Enquiry Officers responsible for issuing firearms certificates and related duties; Non-police Station Reception Officer or Station PCSO who are responsible for interaction with members of the public who enter the front office of the station, along with general administration; Non-police fingerprinting and identification staff who are responsible for maintaining criminal identity archives; Police cadets assisting police officers, PCSOs or other police staff in non-confrontational duties; and CID detectives concerned with criminal investigations.

Most stations have temporary holding cells where an arrested person can be held until either being released without charge, bailed to appear at court on a later date, or remanded until escort to a court. In 2004 there was a call from the Institute for Public Policy Research for more imaginative planning of police stations to aid in improving relations between police forces and the wider community. [42] Notable incidents and investigations Notable major incidents and investigations in which the MPS has been involved include: 1888–1891: Whitechapel murders : Suspected to have been carried out by Jack the Ripper who killed at least five prostitutes. No suspect was ever charged with the murders, and the identity of the killer remains unknown. 1911: Siege of Sidney Street : Members of a Latvian gang took a couple hostage on 2 January 1911 after an unsuccessful attempt to rob a jeweller's; Home Secretary Winston Churchill later arrived at the scene and authorised a detachment of Scots Guards to assist police from the Tower of London .

[43] 1970-1990s: Provisional IRA bombing campaign : Throughout the last quarter of the 20th century, a number of bombings were carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army . A list of bombings carried out within the Metropolitan Police District , and those planted in central London, can be found here . [44] 1975: Balcombe Street Siege : From 6 to 12 December 1975, Provisional IRA members took a couple hostage in their home, while on the run from police. [45] 1975: Spaghetti House siege : The Spaghetti House siege occurred on 18 September 1975 when alleged members of the Black Liberation Army attempted to commit an armed robbery at the Spaghetti House restaurant to gain publicity for their cause. However, the robbery was discovered by police, and the would-be robbers initiated a siege by taking hostages.

[46] 1975: Moorgate tube crash : A London Underground train failed to stop and crashed into the buffers at the end of a tunnel, resulting in the largest loss of life during peacetime on the Tube with over 42 people killed. [47] 1976: Notting Hill Carnival riot: After MPS officers attempted to arrest an alleged pickpocket at the Notting Hill Carnival on 30 August 1976, a riot ensued leading to over 100 officers being admitted to hospital. [48] 1978–1983: Muswell Hill murders: Serial killer Dennis Nilsen murdered at least 15 men and boys over a period of five years. He was known for retaining corpses for sex acts, and disposing of body parts by burning them or dumping them in drains. Some remains were found in his home at Muswell Hill when MPS officers apprehended him. [49] 1979: Death of Blair Peach : Teacher Peach was fatally injured in April 1979 during a demonstration in Southall by the Anti-Nazi League against a National Front election meeting taking place in the town hall.

He was knocked unconscious and died the next day in hospital. Police brutality was never proven to be a contributory factor in his death, but it was claimed that he had fallen to a blow from a rubberised police radio belonging to the MPS's now disbanded Special Patrol Group. [50] In 2010, a police report was disclosed which stated that it was likely an MPS officer "struck the fatal blow" and attributed "grave suspicion" to one unnamed officer, who it says may also have been involved in a cover-up along with two colleagues. [51] 1980: Iranian Embassy Siege : Members of a terrorist group calling themselves the Democratic Revolutionary Movement for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRMLA) took staff hostage in the Iranian embassy. The MPS were heavily involved in negotiations but after six days they were terminated, and the British Army 's Special Air Service (SAS) stormed the building. Five separatists and one hostage died.

[52] 1981: Brixton riot : – During the early 1980s the MPS began Operation Swamp which was implemented to cut street crime by the use of the Sus law which legally allowed officers to stop people on the suspicion of wrongdoing. Tensions rose within the black community after a black youth was stabbed, leading to severe rioting on 11 April 1981. [53] 1982–86: The Railway Rapists: John Duffy and David Mulcahy committed 18 rapes of women and young girls at or near railway stations in London and South East England , murdering three of their victims. MPS officers and The British Transport Police worked with neighbouring forces to solve the crimes. Duffy was convicted in 1988, but Mulcahy was not brought to justice until almost ten years later. [54] 1985: Brixton riot : Rioting erupted in Brixton on 28 September 1985, sparked by the shooting of Dorothy Groce by police seeking her son Michael Groce in relation to a suspected firearms offence who believed to be hiding in his mother's home.

He was not there at the time, and Groce was part-paralysed by the bullet. [55] 1985: Broadwater Farm riot : A week after the Brixton riot, while tensions among the black community were still high, riots broke out in Tottenham, north London, after the mother of a black man whose house was being searched died of a heart attack during the operation. During the riot, PC Keith Blakelock was murdered. Blakelock's murder remains unsolved. [56] 1986: The Stockwell Strangler: Kenneth Erskine carried out a series of attacks in Stockwell on elderly men and women, breaking into their homes and strangling them to death. Most were sexually assaulted before being murdered. In 2009, Erskine's murder convictions were reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after an appeal. [57] 1987: King's Cross fire : MPS officers assisted The British Transport Police when a fire broke out under a wooden escalator leading from one of the Underground station platforms to the surface at King's Cross. The blaze and resulting smoke claimed 31 lives, including that of a senior firefighter.

[58] 1988: Clapham Junction rail crash : MPS officers assisted The British Transport Police when a packed commuter train passed a defective signal and ran into the back of a second train, derailing it into the path of a third oncoming train. 35 people were killed and 69 injured. [59] 1989: Marchioness disaster : The pleasure boat Marchioness was struck by a dredger and sank, killing 30 people. [60] 1990: Poll Tax Riots : Rioting triggered by growing unrest against the Community Charge, and grew from a legitimate demonstration which had taken place earlier. An estimated £400,000 worth of damage was caused. [61] 1993: The Gay Slayer: Former soldier Colin Ireland tortured and murdered five gay men in a deliberate bid to gain notoriety (he had read an article that said to be a 'serial killer' one must have killed five times or more). [62] Ireland was given a whole-life tariff in 1993 and died in prison on 21 February 2012.

[63] 1993: Murder of Stephen Lawrence : A series of operations failed to convict the killers of schoolboy Stephen Lawrence, despite substantial evidence. The resulting MacPherson inquiry found that the MPS was "institutionally racist". [64] Two men, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were convicted on 3 January 2012 for their role in Lawrence's murder. Their trial was based on newly-discovered forensic evidence, following a cold case review in 2007 which found a tiny spec of Lawrence's blood on a jacket belonging to Dobson and one of Lawrence's hairs on trousers belonging to Norris. [65] The pair were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 15 years 2 months for Dobson and 14 years 3 months for Norris. [66] 1995: Brixton riot : A large gathering protested outside Brixton police station over the death of a local man in police custody, leading to a riot. Three police officers were injured and a two-mile exclusion zone was set up around Brixton. Later reports showed that the male in custody died of heart failure, said to be brought on because of difficulties restraining him.

[67] 1999: The London Nailbomber: David Copeland carried out a series of hate attacks on ethnic minority areas and on a pub frequented by the gay community. [68] 1999: Carnival Against Capitalism : Previously peaceful anti-capitalist demonstrations ended with disorder in the City of London , which caused widespread damage, particularly to businesses identified with global capitalism. [69] 2001: May Day protest: In an attempt to control crowds, the MPS employed the tactic of "kettling", and were criticised for detaining innocent bystanders for long periods of time. [70] 2001: Thames murder case : The dismembered body of a young boy believed to have been between the ages of four and seven was spotted floating in the River Thames, named by police as Adam in the absence of a confirmed identity. During the investigation a police commander and a detective chief inspector met with Nelson Mandela. [71] The case was never solved. [72] 2004: Pro-hunting protests: Demonstrators protesting against the Hunting Act 2004 outside parliament were involved in violent confrontations with the MPS.

[73] 2005: 7 July bombings : Four suicide bombings across London, in which MPS officers worked to a major incident plan to provide coordination, control and forensic and investigative resources. [74] 2005: 21 July attempted bombings and death of Jean Charles de Menezes : Multiple attempted bombings across London, in which MPS officers worked to a similar plan to that used two weeks previously. In the aftermath of these events, Jean Charles de Menezes was mistakenly targeted as a potential terrorist and shot dead in a deployment of Operation Kratos . [75] 2006: Transatlantic aircraft bomb plot : Alleged plot to detonate liquid explosives on transatlantic aircraft and other related terrorist activities by militant Islamists were foiled by British police, including MPS officers. [76] [77] 2006: Operation Mokpo: Officers from Operation Trident made the MPS's largest ever seizure of firearms after a series of raids in Dartford, Kent. [78] 2007: Attempted car bombings : Attempted car bombings in central London.

One of the devices, in a car outside a nightclub, was initially reported by a London Ambulance Service paramedic dealing with an unrelated incident nearby. MPS bomb disposal officers defused this device and another located in an underground car park. Subsequent investigation led to convictions of those involved. The MPS deployed some of their specialist riot vehicles, similar to this one pictured, to the 2009 G-20 protests 2008: National Black Police Association boycott: Declared against the police force on the grounds of racial discrimination. This followed high profile controversies involving high-ranking black officers, including allegations of racism made by Tarique Ghaffur – the highest ranking Asian officer in the MPS – against commissioner Ian Blair . 2009: G-20 summit protests and Death of Ian Tomlinson : The MPS used the "kettling" technique to contain large numbers of demonstrators during the G-20 protests. Ian Tomlinson , a bystander to the protests, died from internal bleeding after he was struck with a baton and pushed to the ground by a police constable of the Territorial Support Group. [79] The jury at the inquest into Tomlinson's death returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

Following a separate incident, a sergeant in the Territorial Support Group was suspended after being filmed striking a woman's face with his hand and her leg with a baton, but was later cleared of any wrongdoing. [80] MPS officers policing the "Protest the Pope" rally on 18 September 2010 2010: Pope Benedict XVI's visit : In September 2010, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to undertake a state visit to the UK. Around 10,000 people demonstrated on the streets of London when the pope's tour of England and Scotland arrived in the capital. [81] 2011: Anti-cuts protest : 201 people were arrested, and 66 were injured, including 31 police officers, as up to 500,000 people demonstrated in central London against planned public spending cuts. It was described as the largest protest in the United Kingdom since the 15 February 2003 anti-Iraq War protest and the largest union-organised rally in London since the Second World War.

2011: Conviction of the Night Stalker: Operation Minstead concluded after 12 years on 24 March 2011 with the conviction of the Night Stalker. Delroy Grant raped and assaulted elderly victims over a period of 17 years from 1992 to 2009 across south London, Kent and Surrey. He was found guilty of 29 charges, including burglaries, rapes and sexual assaults, but MPS officers linked him to over 200 different offences during the 1990s and 2000s. [82] Grant was given four life sentences and ordered to serve a minimum of 27 years in prison. [83] 2011: Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton : 5,000 MPS officers were deployed to police the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011. In advance of the event, Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens said "People who want to come to London to peacefully protest can do that but they must remember that it is a day of national celebration".

In fact, approximately one hundred people were pre-emptively arrested in advance of the wedding and were detained without charge for the duration of the wedding, with the apparent aim of suppressing protest. Other protestors were arrested on the day of the wedding; some were detained at railway stations on arrival. The Metropolitan Police claim that one million people were physically present in London to watch the wedding procession. [84] 2006–2011: News International phone hacking scandal : Part of the scandal revolves around the allegations that some police officers accepted payment from journalists in exchange for information. [85] 2011: Tottenham riots : Dozens of officers were injured in a series of public disturbances initially in the Tottenham area, following an incident in which a suspect was shot dead by MPS officers. [86] The MPS launched Operation Withern, [87] a major investigation into the disturbances which spread into many other areas of the city and included instances of arson and looting . 2012: racism allegations Ten officers were referred to the IPCC for a series of alleged incidents involving racism.

These included the assault of a 15-year-old boy and racist abuse of a 21-year-old black man while he was under arrest following the 2011 riots. [88] Officers killed in the line of duty See also: List of British police officers killed in the line of duty The Police Memorial Trust lists and commemorates all British police officers killed in the line of duty, and since its establishment in 1984 has erected over 38 memorials to some of those officers.

Since 1900, the following officers of the Metropolitan Police Service are listed by the Trust as having been killed while attempting to prevent, stop or solve a criminal act in progress: [89] [90] [91] Rank Democratisation and reformation of the police force | Free Malaysia Today Democratisation and reformation of the police force July 22, 2011 FMT LETTER From P Dev Anand Pillai, via e-mail As I write this piece, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner of London, Sir Paul Stephenson and his deputy and head of counter terrorism John Yates both the number one and two respectively of the London Metropolitan police force have resigned due to the News of the World phone hacking scandal which has brought the entire British media to its knees when the public was let known as to how phones were hacked all in the name of sensational news. As we see these people take responsiblity for their acts or that of their subordinates or when their credibility as civil servants entrusted with the office of the head of police, is questioned or belittled, we tend to think will our police force ever be like this?

Perhaps the word responsibility or credibility in office is not important to policemen in Malaysia, for our men here, it is more of a license to hone the art of survival in the vast web of corruption that we Malaysians have to endure. The reformation of the police force is long overdue but do we see such an effort ever taking off? Will the Independant Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission ( IPCMC) ever be set up in this country? We had seen how the government buckles under pressure from the policemen threatening to allow lawlessness in the country if such a commission were ever set up. This is the result of years of indoctrination and propaganda which the police have been subject to all in the name and interests of protecting the political elite in this country. In the process, we have created automatons or just plain complaint robots out of our men in blue. There are many who are educated in the force today, amongst some of them there are even PHd holders sitting in the ranks of ASP and above but even by having such an education, in general we do not see the police force being a educated one till today.

With the recruitment of young boys and girls from the non-Malay segment of society after the Hindraf uprising and the upset elections for BN in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the standard of intellect is still low and pathetic. Most believe that once they don the uniform, the people will have to submit to them and they can’t be questioned when they are supposedly carrying out their duties. This does not augur well for the future of the force. Many amongst the young Rela recruits who have been now seconded to the Police for the additional “beef up” look that they are trying to spook the people with, don’t even know what the basic rights of citizens are under the Federal Constitution. Most don’t even know that the Federal Constitution is the highest law of the land and the Police Act 1967, which the police see as their bible, is subservient to the Constitution. Any provision in the Police Act which runs contrary to the rights provided under the Consitution is to be declared null and void. With such a power instrument such as the Constitution in our hands, most Malaysians still seem naive and ignorant when it comes to knowing their rights.

This makes the job of the police much easier as they don’t have to know themselves what the said rights are. Education in the force though it may have improved over the years in the upper ranks, has not seen the same trend in the lower ranks. There have been many from the lower ranks who have studied on the side and made it on their own as practising lawyers and some have even asked for inter-departmental transfers and gone on to the prosecution services as deputy public prosecutors. But overall, the education and the intellectual level is still wanting. This was last seen when they had charged Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj the MP for Sungei Siput under Section 122 of the Penal Code for waging a war against the Yang Dipertuan Agong. If we had smarter police officers who are in charge and having the discretion to take action, such a absurd charge would not have been thought about in the first place. Our Police force has been taught to apprehend first and then think off a charge to frame on the arrestee. When the first 24 hours is up and they have yet to frame a charge, they run to a friendly and equally intellectually challenged magistrate who will rubber stamp anything that the police asks for.

Without stopping to ask, why and for what an extension of the remand period is needed, most of these magistrates will just nod at everything the arresting or investigating officer of the police says. Only when a member of the Bar is present acting on behalf of the arrestee, the whole act is thwarted and they would have to think of something to respond to the questioning of the lawyer representing the arrestee. The good and capable officers are usually kept in cold storage departments of the force, mainly for the fact that they are known to question their superiors on orders that are to be carried out and they may even have given their view of how it should be done. This is where democratization of the force is necessary. The Inspector General of Police should be answerable to a Parliamentary Select Committee like what we see being implemented in the State of Selangor by the current administration where every state employee and elected representatives know that they will be made answerable to how their allocations were spent.

State Chief Police Officers (CPO) and Officers in Charge of Police Districts (OCPD) should be made to meet the people and tell them what they intend to do for the State before being subject to being elected by the people in an election to choose the CPOs and the OCPDs. These are new arrangements which does not follow the British model that we are used to, but it can be modified to suit our own needs taking into account that corruption seeps in the deepest in the police force. We had seen for ourselves the video in Malaysiakini and in Youtube of how our Malaysians friends in London had a field day using a loud-hailer to call out to the Prime Minister and shame him in front of the hotel that he was staying in, all in full view of the British police force. The police never harrassed them but instead ensured that they were behind a barricade and a given line when they went about on the tirade of the PM. This is what rights is all about in a democracy and this is what a smart, democratic and efficient policing is all about.

Here we have the police and the immigration picking up the French lawyer who is going to initiate the case into the Scorpene Submarines purchase by our government when he was about to disembark in KLIA from Penang. This is all the result of decades of indoctrination in the police force which has created a class of policemen and women who can’t understand what fundamental rights are all about in a democracy. They can’t comprehend what ideology is, they just can’t understand the concept of communism, socialism, capitalism and our own brand of executive-controlled state guided psuedo-democracy. They seemed to be so automated that their education is simply like putting in programmed circuits in a robot’s motherboard. We must have a police force that is free from the reigns of the executive when it comes to policing. What we see today is that the police force bends backwards when it comes to BN and attacks like a wounded terrier when it comes to the opposition. Yet despite all this, they still go running to the opposition lawyers when they are sacked from the force, knowing well that it is only they who are brave enough to face the onslaught of the prosecution and the executive.

Each of the races has their objectives when they join the force, the Malays are divided two categories, one is a group that really does the work and are capable and intelligent. This group will slowly rise up but will be eventually overtaken by the other group which specialises in “apple-polishing”, they do this so well that they are moved up just at the right time to overtake the more deserving ones who usually end up in the sidelines till retirement. Amongst the Chinese, they join the force to build contacts which will be useful later when they come out into the business world. Off course, there are those who will stay on and retire in the police force but for the Chinese, they see themselves as an asset which the Malay dominated police force need badly to liaise with the business world and the underworld which is dominated by the Chinese. For the Indians, they see it as a kind of empowerment, donning the blue uniform which will give them power which they can wield over the common man and most of all they see it as a way to make the contacts with the right parties for future purposes.

One has regularly seen many lower ranking Malay and Indian policemen also doubling up as runners for tycoons, developers, money-lenders, petrol kiosk owners and other well to do individuals who seem to trust the policemen in mufti to do their bidding for them. Amongst the Indians there is a common feeling that they should know the way the force works so that they will be able to reap the maximum benefits from it before the past catches up with them. They will try and get into the divisions of the force which has the most maximum contact with the business world which in a way will lead them to know the underworld as well. They will be quite contended if they reach the position of ASP, DSP and SP, anything beyond that will be a bonus provided their horroscope stars are shining. Therefore, they see the police force as an opportunity to benefit for themselves and not a a service to the people and the nation. The day the police start their reformation and become policemen first instead of moonlighting as political mafia thugs, will be the day we see the good old ways of policing and co-operation with the people coming into life again.

Perhaps when the opposition alliance manages to maintain control of most of the West Coast states again, the reformation process will start. All this while the people have been passive and have taken the brickbats and the brutality when they have to face the police. But as the truth comes out through many other modes of modern media, and as the indoctrination wears thin, the people are now realising that they have been taken for fools all this while. They have now begun to ask questions as they gain knowledge as to what their rights is under the Constitution which has long been the most misunderstood written instrument in the country. Though it empowers, many are still ignorant. The democratisation and reformation of the police force lies with the people, and this is something which all must realise and the best way to ensure that we be a part of it is to ensure that you are a registered voter.

Question: What was the name of the Chief Commissioner of the London Metropolitan police force who resigned in 2011?
Answer: PAUL STEPHENSON