MI5, officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), and Defence Intelligence (DI). MI5 is directed by the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), and the service is bound by the Security Service Act 1989. The service is directed to protect British parliamentary democracy and economic interests and to counter terrorism and espionage within the United Kingdom (UK). Within the civil service community, the service is colloquially known as Box, or Box 500, after its official wartime address of PO Box 500; its current address is PO Box 3255, London SW1P 1AE.
The Home Office (HO), also known as the Home Department, is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for immigration, security, and law and order. As such, it is responsible for policing in England and Wales, fire and rescue services in England, Border Force, visas and immigration, and the Security Service (MI5). It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs, counterterrorism, and immigration. It was formerly responsible for His Majesty's Prison Service and the National Probation Service, but these have been transferred to the Ministry of Justice.
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February 2022.
A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate with other law enforcement agencies and community groups. Additionally, the commissioner handles high-profile cases, addresses public concerns, and represents the department in various forums.
The Director General of Police (DGP) is the highest-ranking police officer in Indian states and union territories. The DGP is appointed by the cabinet and holds a three-star rank. The DGP is responsible for overseeing the entire police force and law enforcement activities within their respective jurisdiction. This position holds significant authority and plays a crucial role in maintaining law and order, implementing crime prevention strategies, and ensuring public safety. The DGP is usually appointed by the state government and works closely with other law enforcement agencies and government officials to uphold the rule of law and protect citizens' rights.
Dame Cressida Rose Dick is a British former police officer who served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2017 to 2022. She is both the first female and the first openly homosexual officer to lead the Metropolitan Police Service.
The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command, or CEOP Command, is a command of the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA), and is tasked to work both nationally and internationally to bring online child sex offenders, including those involved in the production, distribution and viewing of child abuse material, to the UK courts. The centre was formed in April 2006 as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, and was absorbed into the NCA on 7 October 2013 by the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
Dame Sara Joanne Thornton, was the UK's Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner from May 2019 until April 2022. She was appointed by the Home Secretary at the time, Sajid Javid, in succession to Kevin Hyland who left the post in May 2018.
CONTEST is the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism strategy, first developed by Sir David Omand and the Home Office in early 2003 as the immediate response to 9/11, and a revised version was made public in 2006. Further revisions were published on 24 March 2009, 11 July 2011 and June 2018. An Annual Report on the implementation of CONTEST was released in March 2010 and in April 2014. The aim of the strategy is "to reduce the risk to the UK and its interests overseas from terrorism so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence." The success of this strategy is not linked to total elimination of the terrorist threat, but to reducing the threat sufficiently to allow the citizens a normal life free from fear.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and international borders, but it can be tasked to investigate any crime. The NCA has a strategic role as part of which it looks at serious crime in aggregate across the UK, especially analysing how organised criminals are operating and how they can be disrupted. To do this, it works closely with regional organised crime units (ROCUs), local police forces, and other government departments and agencies.
Keith Bristow QPM served as the first Director-General of the National Crime Agency from 2011 to 2016. He was formerly the Chief Constable of Warwickshire Police, and was appointed in October 2011 to oversee the creation of the NCA and, following its launch in 2013, led the organisation in its mission to cut serious and organised crime in the UK. Between 2011 and 2013, Bristow built and designed the agency, from concept to full operational crime-fighting, working closely with the Government, global partners and participating in the UK National Security Council. He is the former Vice Chairman of Arcanum, a global strategic intelligence company and a subsidiary of Magellan Investment Holdings and currently Executive Chairman of Heligan Group.
Sir Mark Peter Rowley is a British police officer who has been the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis since September 2022.
Dame Lynne Gillian Owens, is a senior police officer in the United Kingdom. She was made interim Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in September 2022 before being confirmed as that role's permanent holder in February 2023, the first-ever such female holder.
Joint Operations Cell is a unit of GCHQ, a British signals intelligence agency, and the National Crime Agency (NCA), a United Kingdom national law enforcement agency. It opened in November 2015 with the intention of tackling a range of crime on the Dark Web, initially focusing on child sexual exploitation, but also including international sex trafficking and the sale of drugs and weapons on darknet markets. Its intelligence methods include analysis of data gathered through mass surveillance. Joint Operations Cell is a collaborative effort of GCHQ and NCA, co-located in Warrington.
Philip Michael Christopher Gormley, is a British former senior police officer. He is the current CEO for EACH based in Norfolk, England.
Anil Kanti "Neil" Basu is a former senior British police officer.
The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Act 2021 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act makes provision for the use of undercover law enforcement agents and covert sources and the committing of crimes in the undertaking of their duty. It was also referred to as the "Spy Cops Bill" – a reference to the UK undercover policing relationships scandal.
A permanent under-secretary of state, known informally as a permanent secretary, is the most senior civil servant of a ministry in the United Kingdom, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis. Permanent secretaries are appointed under a scheme in which the prime minister has the final say in the recruitment process; since 2015, the PM chooses directly from a list created by the Civil Service Commissioners rather than only having a veto over the Commissioners' preferred candidate.
The home secretary is one of the most senior and influential ministers in the UK government, and the holder of a Great Office of State. The home secretary's remit includes law enforcement in England and Wales, matters of national security, issues concerning immigration, and oversight of the Security Service (MI5).
The Investigatory Powers Commissioner (IPC) is an "Arms-Length" public official in the United Kingdom who oversees the use of investigatory powers of public authorities such as Police, Law Enforcement Agencies, Intelligence Services, Local Councils and Prisons. They lead the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) and are assisted in their functions by Judicial Commissioners, who are all required to have held high judicial office.
