Metropolitan Police District | |
|---|---|
.svg) Metropolitan Police District and English police areas (City of London police area not shown) | |
| Status | Police area |
| Established | 1829 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,578 km2 (609 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 9,000,000 |
| • Density | 5,700/km2 (15,000/sq mi) |
| Police | Metropolitan Police Service |
TheMetropolitan Police District (MPD) is thepolice area which is policed by theMetropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of theceremonial county ofGreater London, which excludes theCity of London. The Metropolitan Police District was created by the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 as an ad hoc area of administration because the built-up area ofLondon spread at the time into many parishes and counties without an established boundary. The district expanded as the built up area grew and stretched some distance into rural land. When county police forces were set up in England, those of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey did not cover the parts of the counties within the MPD, while Middlesex did not have a county force. Similarly, boroughs in the MPD that elsewhere would have been entitled to their own police force did not have them.
The MPD was originally defined in reference to civil parishes and in 1946 was altered to correspond to local government districts. The MPD has been used for other purposes during its existence, such as the boundary forcoal tax and as a 'Greater London' statistical unit. When the Greater London Council was established in 1965, the MPD was expanded to include all of its territory, though some areas that did not become part of Greater London continued to be within it. In 2000, when theGreater London Authority was formed, the outer boundary of the MPD was retracted to coincide with Greater London and the neighbouring county forces then became responsible for those areas outside Greater London. The MPD now consists of the 32 boroughs of Greater London (including the City of Westminster), while the City of London is served by theCity of London Police.
The Metropolitan Police District was defined in the schedule of theMetropolitan Police Act 1829 as an approximately circular area within a seven-mile (11-kilometre) radius ofCharing Cross, which was divided into four districts and 17police divisions.
It consisted of parts of:
| Middlesex | TheLiberty of Westminster, TheHolborn division, the inner parishes of theFinsbury division, theTower division, theKensington division, the township of NewBrentford, theInns of Court and theliberty of Ely Place |
| Kent | The parishes ofSt Paul andSt Nicholas,Deptford, and the parish ofGreenwich |
| Surrey | The parishes ofBermondsey,Camberwell,Clapham,Lambeth,Newington,Putney,Rotherhithe,Streatham,Tooting,Wandsworth, andChristchurch, Southwark, TheLiberty of the Clink, The hamlet ofHatcham, and theBorough of Southwark |
There have been numerous changes to the boundaries of the MPD, and of the divisions therein. TheMetropolitan Police Act 1839 recognised that the "boundary is... very irregular" and made it lawful to add any place in theCentral Criminal Court District and also "any part of any parish, township, precinct or place" not more than 15 miles (24 km) from Charing Cross. The enlarged district encompassed the metropolitan area and some parts ofEssex,Kent,Hertfordshire andSurrey. The1911Encyclopædia Britannica notes that it included "those civil parishes [...] of which any part is within twelve miles (19 km) of, or of which no part is more than fifteen miles (24 km) from, Charing Cross".
| Metropolitan Police District 1840–1946 | |
| The map shows the MPD boundary in red. At the centre is the area of theMetropolitan Board of Works 1855–1889, which became theCounty of London in 1889. The other dashed lines show the boundaries ofEssex (containing Loughton),Kent,Surrey,Middlesex, andHertfordshire (going clockwise). |
The enlargement under the 1839 Act was carried out byOrder in Council made on 3 January 1840, which listed the following "parishes, townships, precincts, and places" ... "should be added to, and form part of, the metropolitan police district":[1]
In 1946 the Metropolitan Police District was somewhat redrawn by thePolice Act 1946, to match the then local government boundaries. The boroughs ofDartford andWatford, theurban district ofCaterham and Warlingham and the parish ofSt. Peter Rural were wholly excluded from the District; whilst the borough of Epsom and Ewell, the urban districts of Banstead, Cheshunt, Coulsdon and Purley, Crayford, Esher and Orpington were brought wholly within the district.[2] The definition, in the Fourth Schedule is as follows:[3]
In 1965 the administrative boundaries of London were extended. After 1965 the newly created Greater London more closely matched the MPD, and the MPD was defined again by section 76 of theLondon Government Act 1963. The former area of theMunicipal Borough of Romford andHornchurch Urban District, which had not previously been covered by the MPD but were now in Greater London, were added. The revised MPD included some areas that did not become part of Greater London.
In 1974 it was again restated as:[4]
Following the first periodic review of Greater London and the London boroughs by theLocal Government Boundary Commission for England, changes were made to theCity of London Police and MPD boundary on 1 April 1994, with several exchanges of territory.[5]
In 1998 the Government 'Green Paper' on theGreater London Authority[6] proposed to create apolice authority for the Metropolitan Police, who had previously been under the control of theHome Secretary. Initially, the government proposed to retain the areas outside the local government boundary, with a representative appointed to theMetropolitan Police Authority from the councils outside the Greater London Authority boundary.
However the government changed its mind and in theGreater London Authority Act 1999, the boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District were redefined to match Greater London. The excised county areas were reassigned toEssex Police,Hertfordshire Constabulary andSurrey Police.[7][8]
The London Coal and Wine Duties Continuance Act 1861 aligned the coal tax boundary to the MPD and a series ofcoal-tax posts can be found along the boundary as it existed at that time.
During the 20th century the population of theCounty of London was in decline and the London population was growing in the outer suburbs within the MPD. During this period the MPD was used as a definition of 'Greater London'. 1901 Census is an example of this.[9]
Not all parts of Greater London, although within the boundaries of the MPD, are policed by the Metropolitan Police. The Greater London Authority Act 1999 defines the Metropolitan Police District as consisting of "Greater London, excluding theCity of London, theInner Temple and theMiddle Temple." The City of London has its own police force, theCity of London Police, which also covers the Inner and Middle Temples. As constables of both forces are empowered throughoutEngland and Wales, mutual assistance is a routine matter. The City of London has limited policing jurisdiction with parks constabularies within their lands atHampstead Heath andEpping Forest (constables are attested under theMinistry of Housing and Local Government Provisional Order Confirmation (Greater London Parks and Open Spaces) Act 1967 (c. xxix) and theEpping Forest Act 1878 respectively, and not under the Police Acts as members of the City of London Police).
TheLondon Underground and the lines and stations of thenational railway network within the MPD are primarily policed by theBritish Transport Police but are not excluded from the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police.
TheRoyal Parks of London used to be policed by theRoyal Parks Constabulary (RPC) whose powers derived from theParks Regulation Act 1872. TheSerious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 abolished the RPC in England and Wales and provided for the transfer of personnel within Greater London into the Metropolitan Police, leaving the Royal Parks within the general jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police.
TheMinistry of Defence Police is responsible for policing a few Ministry of Defence buildings and property within the MPD. As with the BTP, their jurisdiction is not to the exclusion of the Metropolitan Police who have statutory responsibility for providing policing to the entire MPD.
