Metropolitan Police District | |
---|---|
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 |
The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the police area which is policed by the Metropolitan Police Service in London. It currently consists of the ceremonial county of Greater London, which excludes the City 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 of London 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 for coal 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 In 2000, when the Greater London Authority was formed, the outer boundary of the MPD was retracted to coincide with Greater London and the neighbouring county forces then became responsible for those areas outside Greater London.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 the City of London Police.
The Metropolitan Police District was defined in the schedule of the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 as an approximately circular area within a seven-mile (11-kilometre) radius of Charing Cross, which was divided into four districts and 17 police divisions.
It consisted of parts of:
Middlesex | The Liberty of Westminster, The Holborn division, the inner parishes of the Finsbury division, the Tower division, the Kensington division, the township of New Brentford, the Inns of Court and the liberty of Ely Place |
Kent | The parishes of St Paul and St Nicholas, Deptford, and the parish of Greenwich |
Surrey | The parishes of Bermondsey, Camberwell, Clapham, Lambeth, Newington, Putney, Rotherhithe, Streatham, Tooting, Wandsworth, and Christchurch, Southwark, The Liberty of the Clink, The hamlet of Hatcham, and the Borough of Southwark |
There have been numerous changes to the boundaries of the MPD, and of the divisions therein. The Metropolitan Police Act 1839 recognised that the "boundary is... very irregular" and made it lawful to add any place in the Central 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 of Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire and Surrey. The 1911 Encyclopædia 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 the Metropolitan Board of Works 1855–1889, which became the County of London in 1889. The other dashed lines show the boundaries of Essex (containing Loughton), Kent, Surrey, Middlesex, and Hertfordshire (going clockwise). |
The enlargement under the 1839 Act was carried out by Order 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 the Police Act 1946, to match the then local government boundaries. The boroughs of Dartford and Watford, the urban district of Caterham and Warlingham and the parish of St. 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 the London Government Act 1963. The former area of the Municipal Borough of Romford and Hornchurch 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 the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, changes were made to the City of London Police and MPD boundary on 1 April 1994, with several exchanges of territory. [5]
In 1998 the Government 'Green Paper' on the Greater London Authority [6] proposed to create a police authority for the Metropolitan Police, who had previously been under the control of the Home Secretary. Initially, the government proposed to retain the areas outside the local government boundary, with a representative appointed to the Metropolitan Police Authority from the councils outside the Greater London Authority boundary.
However the government changed its mind and in the Greater London Authority Act 1999 the boundaries of the Metropolitan Police District were redefined to match Greater London. The excised county areas were reassigned to Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary and Surrey Police. [7]
The London Coal and Wine Duties Continuance Act 1861 aligned the coal tax boundary to the MPD and a series of coal-tax posts can be found along the boundary as it existed at that time.
During the 20th century the population of the County 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. [8]
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 the City of London, the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple." The City of London has its own police force, the City of London Police, which also covers the Inner and Middle Temples. As constables of both forces are empowered throughout England and Wales, mutual assistance is a routine matter. The City of London has limited policing jurisdiction with parks constabularies within their lands at Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest (constables are attested under the Greater London Parks & Open Spaces Act 1967 and the Epping Forest Act 1878 respectively not under the Police Acts as members of the City of London Police).
The London Underground and the lines and stations of the national railway network within the MPD are primarily policed by the British Transport Police but are not excluded from the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police.
The Royal Parks of London used to be policed by the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC) whose powers derived from the Parks Regulation Act 1872. The Serious 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.
The Ministry 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.
Middlesex was a county in southeast England. Its area was almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbouring ceremonial counties. The county's boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hills formed the northern boundary with Hertfordshire.
The counties of England are divisions of England. There are currently 48 ceremonial counties, which have their origin in the historic counties of England established in the Middle Ages. The current ceremonial counties are the result of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 and are based on the Local Government Act 1972 administrative counties which included a number of new counties such as Greater Manchester and Tyne and Wear. However, some counties introduced by the Local Government Act 1972, including Avon, Cleveland and Humberside no longer exist. The term "county", relating to any of its meanings, is used as the geographical basis for a number of institutions such as police and fire services, sports clubs and other non-government organisations.
The County of London was a county of England from 1889 to 1965, corresponding to the area known today as Inner London. It was created as part of the general introduction of elected county government in England, by way of the Local Government Act 1888. The Act created an administrative County of London, which included within its territory the City of London. However, the City of London and the County of London formed separate ceremonial counties for "non-administrative" purposes. The local authority for the county was the London County Council (LCC), which initially performed only a limited range of functions, but gained further powers during its 76-year existence. The LCC provided very few services within the City of London, where the ancient Corporation monopolised local governance. In 1900, the lower-tier civil parishes and district boards were replaced with 28 new metropolitan boroughs. The territory of the county was 74,903 acres (303.12 km2) in 1961. During its existence, there was a long-term decline in population as more residents moved into the outer suburbs; there were periodic reviews of the local government structures in the greater London area and several failed attempts to expand the boundaries of the county. In 1965, the London Government Act 1963 replaced the county with the much larger Greater London administrative area.
Ceremonial counties, formally known as counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies, are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the monarch's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have the same boundaries and serve a similar purpose, being the areas to which high sheriffs are appointed. High sheriffs are the monarch's judicial representative in an area.
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Epsom and Ewell is a local government district with borough status in Surrey, England, covering the towns of Epsom and Ewell. The borough lies just outside the administrative boundary of Greater London, but it is entirely within the M25 motorway which encircles London. Many of the borough's urban areas form part of the wider Greater London Built-up Area.
Epping Forest District is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named after the ancient woodland of Epping Forest, a large part of which lies within the district. The council is based in the town of Epping. The district also includes the towns of Loughton, Waltham Abbey, Chigwell, Buckhurst Hill, as well as rural areas. The district is situated in the west of the county, bordering north-eastern Greater London.
Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, 13.5 miles (21.7 km) north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and Epping Forest in the east, with large sections forming part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.
Coulsdon and Purley Urban District was a local government district in northeast Surrey from 1915 to 1965. The local authority was Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council. The former area of the district is now mostly part of the London Borough of Croydon in Greater London, with parts in the Tandridge District and the Borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey.
Chingford was a local government district in south west Essex, England from 1894 to 1965, around the town of Chingford. It was within the London suburbs, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. Its former area now corresponds to the northern part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Greater London.
The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functions from the eight private water companies which had previously supplied water to residents of London. The board oversaw a significant expansion of London's water supply infrastructure, building several new reservoirs and water treatment works.
The London Government Act 1963 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the area, resulting in local authorities responsible for larger areas and populations. The upper tier of local government was reformed to cover the whole of the Greater London area and with a more strategic role; and the split of functions between upper and lower tiers was recast. The Act classified the boroughs into inner and outer London groups. The City of London and its corporation were essentially unreformed by the legislation. Subsequent amendments to the Act have significantly amended the upper tier arrangements, with the Greater London Council abolished in 1986, and the Greater London Authority introduced in 2000. As of 2016, the London boroughs are more or less identical to those created in 1965, although with some enhanced powers over services such as waste management and education.
Northaw and Cuffley is a civil parish in the Welwyn Hatfield borough of Hertfordshire, England. Located approximately 13.5 miles (21.7 km) north of central London and adjacent to the Greater London boundary, it is a partly urbanised parish with large sections of open land. Northaw and Cuffley is a recent renaming of the ancient parish of Northaw, covering the settlements of Northaw and Cuffley. The local council is Northaw and Cuffley Parish Council.
The London Traffic Area was established by the London Traffic Act 1924 to regulate the increasing amount of motor traffic in the London area. The LTA was abolished in 1965 on the establishment of the Greater London Council.
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The Local Government Act 1958 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom affecting local government in England and Wales outside London. Among its provisions it included the establishment of Local Government Commissions to review the areas and functions of local authorities, and introduced new procedures for carrying these into action.
The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London, also known as the Herbert Commission, was established in 1957 and published its report in 1960. The report made recommendations for the overhaul of the administration of the capital. They were modified and implemented by the London Government Act 1963.
Administrative counties were subnational divisions of England used for local government from 1889 to 1974. They were created by the Local Government Act 1888, which established an elected county council for each area. Some geographically large historic counties were divided into several administrative counties, each with its own county council. The administrative counties operated until 1974, when they were replaced by a system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties under the Local Government Act 1972.
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