Metropolitan Police District

The Metropolitan Police District (MPD) is the area policed by London's Metropolitan Police Service. It currently consists of Greater London, excluding the City of London and the Temples.

History

The Metropolitan Police District was defined in the Metropolitan Police Act 1829 as an approximately circular area within a seven-mile (11-km) radius of Charing Cross, which was divided into four districts and 17 police divisions.

There have been numerous changes to the boundaries of the MPD, and of the divisions therein. In 1839 the area of the MPD was increased to a radius of approximately 15 miles (24 km) from Charing Cross which encompassed the metropolitan area and some parts of Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire and Surrey. The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica notes that it included "those civil parishes [...] of which any part is within twelve miles of, or of which no part is more than fifteen miles from, Charing Cross".

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. <ref>Home Office Circular 100/1946</ref>

In 1965 the boundaries of London were redrawn to broadly, but not exactly, match the MPD, by section 76 of the London Government Act 1963. In 1974 it was again restated, by S.I. 1974/482, <ref>Hansard 4 May 1999 : Column 782</ref> <ref>National Archives: Explanatory note describing Metropolitan Police District in 1991. Retrieved January 30, 2006.</ref>:

• Greater London, excluding the City of London and the Temples
• Essex: Epping Forest : former Chigwell Urban District and parish of Waltham Abbey
• Hertfordshire: Broxbourne : former Cheshunt urban district
• Hertfordshire: Hertsmere
• Hertfordshire: Welwyn Hatfield: parish of Northaw (Northaw and Cuffley)
• Surrey: Elmbridge: former Esher urban district
• Surrey: Epsom and Ewell
• Surrey: Spelthorne
• Surrey: Reigate and Banstead: former Banstead urban district

The anomaly of having the Metropolitan Police responsible for areas outside the Greater London boundary continued until the Greater London Authority Act 1999 set up a Police Authority for Greater London (it previously having been under central government control), and consequently redefined the boundaries of the MPD to match Greater London. The excised county areas were reassigned to Essex Police, Hertfordshire Constabulary and Surrey Police. <ref>HMSO, Greater London Authority Act 1999. 1999 c. 29</ref>

Exceptions

Not all parts of 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.

The London Underground and main line railway stations are policed by the British Transport Police, although they form part of the Metropolitan Police District. The Royal Parks of London used to be policed by a separate force called the Royal Parks Constabulary (RPC). The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 abolished the RPC and placed the parks under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police.

References

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