Special Branch was a unit in the Metropolitan Police in London, formed as a counter-terrorism unit in 1883 and merged with another unit to form Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) in 2006. It maintained contact with the Security Service (MI5) and had responsibility for, among other things, personal protection of (non-royal) VIPs and performing the role of examining officer at designated ports and airports, as prescribed by the Terrorism Act 2000.
In response to the escalating terror campaign in Britain carried out by the militant Irish Fenians in the 1880s, the Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt established the first counter-terrorism unit ever in 1883, named Special Irish Branch, to combat Irish republican terrorism through infiltration and subversion. It initially formed a section of the Criminal Investigation Department within the London Metropolitan Police. [1]
Harcourt envisioned a permanent unit dedicated to the prevention of politically motivated violence through the use of modern techniques such as undercover infiltration. This pioneering branch was the first to be trained in counter-terrorism techniques. [2] Its name was changed to Special Branch as it had its remit gradually expanded[ when? ] [3] to incorporate a general role in counter-terrorism, combating foreign subversion, and infiltrating organized crime and trades unions, [4] [5] becoming the largest Special Branch in the United Kingdom. Although it later became independent of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), its officers were entitled to use the prefix "Detective" in front of their ranks.
Special Branch investigated the General Post Office Tower bombing in 1971 and the following year the investigative wing of its "X squad" became the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13). [6] It also investigated the sieges at Balcombe Street in 1975 and the Iranian Embassy in 1980, the Libyan Embassy shooting in 1984, along with the bombings at Hyde Park and Regents Park in 1982, Harrods in 1983, Brighton in 1984 and Bishopsgate in 1993.
The Nezar Hindawi attempted bombing of El Al flight from Heathrow to Israel in 1986 was also investigated by Special Branch, along with Provisional IRA mortar attacks on Downing Street in 1991 and Heathrow in 1994 and their Canary Wharf bomb in 1996. Beyond that campaign, it led the investigations into the racist and homophobic 1999 London nail bombings along with Richard Reid in 2001 and the bombings and attempted bombings in London in July 2005. The formation of SO13 had begun a process which on 2 October 2006 culminated in Special Branch and SO13 merging to form Counter Terrorism Command (SO15). [7]
[note A] DCI - Detective Chief Inspector
[note B] DSU - Detective Superintendent
[note C] CDR - Commander
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and intelligence in British, Commonwealth, Irish, and other police forces. A Special Branch unit acquires and develops intelligence, usually of a political or sensitive nature, and conducts investigations to protect the State from perceived threats of subversion, particularly terrorism and other extremist political activity.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London. In addition, it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom, including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people, such as the monarch and other members of the royal family, members of the government, and other officials.
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London's Metropolitan Police Service. It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7. It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbreviation of the Cockney rhyming slang "Sweeney Todd".
A covert operation or undercover operation is a military or police operation involving a covert agent or troops acting under an assumed cover to conceal the identity of the party responsible. Some of the covert operations are also clandestine operations which are performed in secret and meant to stay secret, though many are not.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch. The name derives from the CID of the Metropolitan Police, formed on 8 April 1878 by C. E. Howard Vincent as a re-formation of its Detective Branch. British colonial police forces all over the world adopted the terminology developed in the UK in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and later the police forces of those countries often retained it after independence. English-language media often use "CID" as a translation to refer to comparable organisations in other countries.
The Anti-Terrorist Branch was a Specialist Operations (SO) branch of London's Metropolitan Police Service, formed to respond to terrorist activities within the capital and the surrounding areas.
The Specialist Operations directorate is a unit of the Metropolitan Police of London, UK responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities including national security and counter-terrorism operations. The Specialist Operations Directorate is currently led by Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes.
There are six known secret anti terrorist policies of the Metropolitan Police. They are Operations Clydesdale, Rainbow, Kratos, Trammel, Camion and Lightning. None of them have had the operational details formally disclosed, and as a result, little information is known on these.
Detective Chief Inspector John George Littlechild was the first commander of the London Metropolitan Police Special Irish Branch, renamed Special Branch in 1888.
The Aviation Policing Command (APC) now renamed as Aviation Security Operational Unit (SO18) is a Specialist Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The unit is responsible for providing policing and security for both Heathrow and London City airports. London's other airports, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton are policed by Sussex, Essex, and Bedfordshire Police respectively, as they are not located in the Metropolitan Police District.
Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Branch (SO12) in October 2006, bringing together intelligence, operations, and investigative functions to form a single command. CTC has over 1,500 police officers and staff, and a number of investigators based overseas and also hosts the Counter Terrorism Policing headquarters.
The Special Detective Unit (SDU) is the main domestic security agency of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland, under the aegis of the Crime & Security Branch (CSB). It is the primary counter-terrorism and counter-espionage investigative unit within the state. The Special Detective Unit superseded the Special Branch, which itself replaced the older Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was founded in 1921. They work in conjunction with the Defence Forces Directorate of Military Intelligence (J2) – Ireland's national intelligence service – on internal matters. The unit's headquarters are in Harcourt Street, Dublin City.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations(DCI), previously referred to as Criminal Investigation Department(CID) is a department of the National Police Service mainly responsible for investigation. The current Director is Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim Amin The Director reports to the Inspector General of Police. Due to the sensitivity of the position, the Director of the DCI is appointed by the President of Kenya. The DCI headquarters are located on Kiambu Road, Nairobi. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations derives her mandate from Article 247 of the Constitution of Kenya and through the National Police Service Act 2011 which establishes the Directorate as an organ of the National Police Service (NPS)
Law enforcement in the Republic of Ireland is the responsibility of Ireland's civilian police force, the Garda Síochána, commonly referred to as the Gardaí. It is responsible for all civil policing within the country and has been the only territorial police force since their merger with the Dublin Metropolitan Police in 1925.
Peter John Michael Clarke, CVO, OBE, QPM is a retired senior police officer with London's Metropolitan Police most notably having served as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner with the Specialist Operations directorate, commanding the Counter Terrorism Command.
The National Surveillance Unit (NSU) is the principal clandestine intelligence gathering and surveillance operations unit of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The unit operates under the Crime & Security Branch (CSB), based at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, and also works from Harcourt Street, Dublin. Members of the unit are specially trained and selected Detective Gardaí who are tasked to remain covert whilst on and off duty, tracking suspected criminals, terrorists and hostile, foreign spies operating in Ireland. The unit's detectives are routinely armed. The National Surveillance Unit is understood to possess a manpower of approximately 100 officers, and is considered to be the most secretive arm of the force.
Ernest Radcliffe Bond, OBE, QPM,, also called Commander X, was a British soldier, and later policeman famous for his service in the Metropolitan Police Service.
The Crime and Security Branch (CSB) – previously known as C3 – is responsible for the administration of national security, counter terrorism and serious crime investigations within the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The section oversees intelligence relating to subversive, paramilitary and terrorism matters, conducts counter-intelligence, liaises with foreign law enforcement agencies, handles confidential informants, administers VIP and witness protection, monitors potential corrupt Garda officers and provides information on threats to the state to the Garda Commissioner and Government of Ireland.
Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime -CTTC is a specialized branch of Bangladesh Police formed to tackle terrorism and transnational crime. Deputy Inspector General Md. Asaduzzaman bpm (bar) is the chief of the branch.
Counter Terrorism Policing is the national collaboration of police forces working to prevent, deter, and investigate terrorism in the United Kingdom.
With the collapse of Parnell's political career in 1891 and the general, if temporary, demoralization of the Irish cause, the Special Branch's interests shifted to other revolutionary and anarchist groups, and the word Irish dropped out of the name.