History UsefulNotes / BritishCoppers

* '''Hendon''': A shorthand term within the police (especially the Met) for a police training centre or police training in general, named after the Peel Centre (a.k.a. Hendon Police College) where most Met officers are trained. As the name implies, it's located in Hendon in north-west London [[note]] actually, it's within the NW9 postcode area which technically means it's in Colindale, which is also the name of the nearest Tube station[[/note]].

* '''Detective Chief Inspector (DCI):''' the highest-ranked detective in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of a large town police station, or else in charge of a specialist unit at the force HQ. The most common rank for fictional detectives (among them [[Series/LifeOnMars2006 Gene Hunt]]), as this is the lowest rank of officer who can lead a murder investigation. However, the real life job is less 'hands-on' than it is in fiction. For example, the jobs of examining the scene and interviewing suspects are usually done by experienced [=DCs=], with the DCI running it from behind the scenes.

* '''British Transport Police:''' deal with policing on the rail network.

* '''Special Branch''' (SB) was a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, working in close concert with [=MI5=] which does not have any powers of arrest or detention. In 2006, the Metropolitan Police's Special Branch was merged with the Anti-Terrorism Branch ([=SO13=]) to form a new department called Counter Terrorism Command ([=SO15=]).

* ''Series/TheSweeney'' dealt with the Met's Flying Squad. [[Series/LifeOnMars2006 Gene]] [[Series/AshesToAshes2008 Hunt]] is something of an AffectionateParody.

* The title character of ''Series/InspectorMorse'' was a CID ''chief'' inspector in the Thames Valley Police, based in Oxford. The prequel, ''Series/{{Endeavour}}'', maintained a notable level of historical accuracy in that it started off with the Oxford City Police and showed their merger into the Thames Valley force.

* The main character in ''Film/HotFuzz'' is a top Met cop who gets transferred to TheWestCountry. Parts of the opening montage were filmed at Hendon Police College, the Met's principal training centre (which is why so many TV cops, especially the London-based ones, refer to "Hendon" when they talk about their time as trainees).

* For older viewers, ''Series/DixonOfDockGreen'' exemplified the British version of the OldFashionedCopper.

* The best-known example is probably ''Series/TheBill'' which ran from 1983 to 2010 and centred on the fictional [[DangerousWorkplace Sun Hill]] police station. Notable for subverting the HollywoodCopUniform trope as the makers had special permission from the Met to use authentic police uniforms. A short-lived spin-off, ''Series/Burnside'', focussed on one of the CID characters.

* ''Series/TheSweeney'' dealt with the Met's Flying Squad.
* The title character of ''Series/InspectorMorse'' was a CID ''chief'' inspector in the Thames Valley Police, based in Oxford. The prequel, ''Series/Endeavour'' maintained a notable level of historical accuracy in that it started off with the Oxford City Police and showed their merger into the Thames Valley force.

->''"'Allo 'Allo 'Allo. Wot's all this then!"''

* '''Special Constabulary:''' Special Constables ("Specials" for short) are part-time volunteers, who are expected to work at least one shift per 1-2 weeks. There are some variations in how police services organise their special constabulary. Most often, they give their specials a separate command structure with equivalent ranks (Special Constable, Special Sergeant, etc.), but different rank insignia. The highest-ranked special in the force is the "Chief Officer", who is also a special constable.
* '''Flying Squad:''' A specialist detective unit in the Met which deals with robberies. So named because unlike most officers, they travel freely across division/borough boundaries. The only unit in which detectives regularly carry guns, their most daring work involves disrupting heists in progress. Made famous in ''Series/TheSweeney''.
* ''' Murder Squad:''' The detective unit within a division or constabulary that, as the name suggests, investigates murders. The actual name of this unit varies across the country but unlike in the USA, it's rarely 'Homicide'. Usually, it's something like 'Major Investigation Team' or 'Major Crimes Unit'.
* '''Operation Trident:''' The Met's gang crime unit.
* '''Public Order Unit:''' Specialist riot policing units.
* '''Neighbourhood Policing Team:''' Known by several names, these are small teams of officers and [=PCSOs=] (see below) who carry out community policing in local neighbourhoods. They sometimes respond to emergencies, but are more likely to be involved in endless community meetings and preventative work.
* '''Joint Units:''' Police forces can merge certain departments. Traffic policing units have frequently been merged, as their officers tend to operate over a much wider area. Joint units have become increasingly used as a means to save money.
* '''Police Community Support Officers ([=PCSOs=]):''' A creation of the Blair government, [=PCSOs=] are uniformed civilians with blue epaulettes and limited powers (basically to detain you until an actual constable arrives). They were felt by some to be a cheap way to either boost police numbers, or, in more recent years, to maintain them. Despite being some of the most visible members of the police force, their appearances in fiction have been very little, but usually mocked mercilessly. One term, employed by ''Magazine/PrivateEye'' among others, is 'plastic police'.

The British police are known for their distinctive helmets. Pictured above, they are properly called 'custodian helmets'. They are good for, among other things, [[HandOrObjectUnderwear covering up a naked man's offensive bits]] and give rise to the derogatory term "tithead". These are worn by male constables and sergeants on foot patrol. Other male officers wear a peaked cap, while women wear a bowler hat. Some services (including Scotland's) have replaced the custodian helmet altogether, but they are still seen on ceremonial occasions such as Remembrance Day parades.

Interestingly, despite the significantly smaller quantity of firearms in circulation in the United Kingdom and unlike some US forces, a ballistic vest is part of every British police officer's uniform and taking it off while on duty can be a disciplinary offence if they're currently compulsory (for instance after a firearms incident, or gang violence is expected, or by default in most parts of London). This is because it's also an anti-stab vest.

!!Detectives (from the 'Criminal Investigation Department', or CID) use a similar system, but with different connotations in fiction:
* '''Detective Constable (DC):''' roughly equivalent to the American rank of Detective. Bottom of the totem pole: that's why [[Series/TheLastDetective DC "Dangerous" Davies]] is so pathetic--he's experienced and quite competent, but has never been promoted above DC.

* '''Detective Chief Inspector (DCI):''' the highest-ranked detective in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of a large town police station, or else in charge of a specialist unit at the force HQ. The most common rank for fictional detectives, as this is the lowest rank of officer who can lead a murder investigation. However, the real life job is less 'hands-on' than it is in fiction. For example, the jobs of examining the scene and interviewing suspects are usually done by experienced [=DCs=], with the DCI running it from behind the scenes.

!Units
!!Special Branch
"Special Branch" was a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, and work in close concert with MI5, who do not have any powers of arrest or detention. The Metropolitan Police Special Branch was merged with the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Metropolitan Police to form a new department called Counter Terrorism Command.

The Special Branch has been derided as the "Political Police", as they are given the politically sensitive cases. People tend to think that can include doing the bidding of the party in power in legally questionable ways. In reality, this translates to infiltrating far-left and far-right groups, regardless of whether or not the groups in question are lawbreakers. They have also been criticized for [[AgentProvocateur suggesting illegal protest actions]] and sleeping with the people they're supposed to be protecting, then leaving without the consequences.

The Special Branch should not be confused with ''Special Constables'', who are part-time volunteers.

!!Other notable or well-known units:
* '''Special Constabulary:''' Special constables are part-time volunteers, who are expected to work at least one shift per 1-2 weeks. There are some variations in how police services organise their special constabulary. Most often, they give their specials a separate command structure with equivalent ranks (Special Constable, Special Sergeant, etc.), but different rank insignia. The highest-ranked special in the force is the "Chief Officer", who is also a special constable.
* '''Flying Squad:''' A specialist detective unit in the Met which deals with robberies. So named because unlike most officers, they travel freely across division/borough boundaries. The only unit in which detectives carry guns, their most daring work involves disrupting heists in progress. Made famous in ''Series/TheSweeney''.

!Officer numbers

!!Police Community Support Officers ([=PCSOs=])
A creation of the Blair government, [=PCSOs=] are uniformed civilians with blue epaulettes and limited powers (basically to detain you until an actual constable arrives). They were felt by some to be a cheap way to either boost police numbers, or, in more recent years, to maintain them. Despite being some of the most visible members of the police force, their appearances in fiction have been very little, but usually mocked mercilessly. One term, employed by ''Magazine/PrivateEye'' among others, is 'plastic police'.
* For example, this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwYxkZ9jTvk Mitchell and Webb sketch]].
* Or in this ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation'' review for ''VideoGame/ZombiU'':
--> "It can be quite demoralising if you spend several hours as [[AwesomeMcCoolname Zack Danger]], [[HardboiledDetective PI]], only to make one stupid mistake and get stuck with [[DonutMessWithACop Fat]] Bob, the [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] Community Support Officer!"

* '''The Civil Nuclear Constabulary:''' If it's nuclear and not a weapon (which are the problem of the MOD police) then this lot are responsible for protecting it. Unlike pretty much all other police in the UK, these guys are ''heavily'' armed, regular patrol issue including G36 assault rifles, Glock sidearms, tasers, ASP batons, CS spray and ''30mm Autocannons''.[[note]]These are mounted on nuclear material ships that they protect in transit[[/note]]

!No Guns Please, We're British Police Officers

* '''Flying Squad:''' A elite detective unit in the Met who target robberies. So named because unlike most officers, they travel freely across division/borough boundaries. The only place where detectives carry guns, their most daring work involves disrupting heists in progress. Made famous in Series/TheSweeney.

* ''' Murder Squad:''' The detective unit within a division or constabulary that, as the name suggests, investigates murders. The actual name of this unit varies across the country but it's rarely 'Homicide'; often, it''s something like 'Major Investigation Team' or 'Major Crimes Unit'.

A creation of the Blair government, [=PCSOs=] (you might hear the name "Blunkett's Bobbies", after David Blunkett, the then Home Secretary) are uniformed civilians with blue epaulettes and limited powers (basically to detain you until an actual constable arrives). They were felt by some to be a cheap way to either boost police numbers, or, in more recent years, to maintain them. Despite being some of the most visible members of the police force, their appearances in fiction have been very little, but usually mocked mercilessly. One term, employed by ''Magazine/PrivateEye'' among others, is 'plastic police'.

The classic blue serge uniforms of old, being classic fanservice if worn by a female, have also gone from everyday use. Nowadays, police uniforms are black. Until the 2000s, officers wore a white shirt with a black tie[[note]]A clip-on tie, otherwise the officer can be grabbed by it.[[/note]] with women wearing either the tie or a black/white chequered cravat. Senior officers continue to wear white shirts and ties/cravats, but most forces have moved the rank-and-file officers to wearing black t-shirts with a stab vest. Officers who are out on the beat will very often wear a yellow hi-vis jacket over this.

* '''Chief Inspector (Ch Insp):''' An 'operations manager' of a police station. Indeed, many uniform Chief Inspectors will have the subtitle "Chief Inspector of Operations", followed by the station at which they're based. The Chief Inspector is an entirely desk bound job. His/her duties seldom involve actually going out on the street, and most usually involve endless meetings with community groups. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of Captain.

The British police force that is by far the most often portrayed in fiction is the [[UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard Metropolitan Police Service]] ("the Met" or "Scotland Yard"). It polices almost all of Greater London, apart from the tiny central area that is policed by the City of London Police. In fiction the Met tends to be horribly corrupt and sometimes being worse criminals than the people they arrest and has [[InterserviceRivalry poor relationships with the other forces]] (in the past, at least, this was very much TruthInTelevision, but it is still a popular fiction trope).

That said, police forces do have units of armed officers who can respond to a scene if guns are needed. These include [=CO19=] (formerly [=SO19=], until it got moved in the MPS structure) for the Metropolitan Police, and are generally referred to simply as the Armed Response Unit by regional forces. These officers are regularly issued semi-automatic weapons for special duties and are authorised to shoot armed suspects ''without'' prior warning in special circumstances. A semiautomatic-only version of the famous Heckler & Koch [=MP5=] was the most common shoulder-arm until relatively recently, but 5.56mm carbines such as the H&K G36 or Steyr AUG have begun to displace the aging 'Hockler'. Minimum qualifications for membership of these units are comparable to that of a SWAT team in a major US city.

Additionally, unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, where officers only carry guns for certain duties, police officers in Northern Ireland are ''always'' armed when out on duty. For [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles obvious reasons]]. Within the UK, two other specialist groups are also routinely armed: The Civil Nuclear Constabulary, who guard Britain's nuclear reactors, and Protection Command, whose remit is providing protection to the Royal Family, senior politicians, and diplomats.

Additionally, unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, where officers only carry guns for certain duties, police officers in Northern Ireland are ''always'' armed when out on duty. For [[UsefulNotes/TheTroubles obvious reasons]].

Most British police officers do not carry guns. This dates back to the founding of the first Police force in Victorian London: citizens were strongly opposed to the idea of lawmen patrolling the streets, so they were designed to be as PR-friendly as possible. The Police themselves, the Police Federation (the Union for rank and file officers) and the general public are all strongly against the routine arming of police officers in modern times. For the police, the reasons for this are twofold: a) it enables officers to get a lot more hands-on in taking down a suspect, rather than resorting to pepper-spray or a taser, because they don't have to worry about the perp trying to grab their gun and b) if the police were armed, they would have to train officers in how to ''use'' them. This would mean laying off everyone who failed to qualify, or accepting ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy levels of skill at arms. As "ordinary" British criminals[[note]]Gang members and those involved in organised crime might do so, but your average burglar won't as it will massively increase his sentence if he gets caught[[/note]] generally do not carry firearms either this is not a major limitation. Most officers instead carry a baton. This is often called a truncheon, though this term specifically refers to the traditional 14-inch wooden baton. These days, a 21-inch collapsible baton is more common.

A creation of the Blair government, [=PCSOs=] (you might hear the name "Blunkett's Bobbies", after David Blunkett, the then Home Secretary) are uniformed civilians with blue epaulettes and limited powers (basically to detain you until an actual constable arrives). They were felt by some to be a cheap way to either boost police numbers, or, in more recent years, to maintain them. Despite being some of the most visible members of the police force, their appearances in fiction have been very little, but usually mocked mercilessly. One term, employed by ''PrivateEye'' among others, is 'plastic police'.

!!The boys and girls in black

!!British uniformed police use the following ranks, in order of authority/seniority:

* '''Police Inspector (Insp):''' The manager of ~3 uniform teams that work the same shift. Mostly a desk bound position, although a Uniform Inspector can still regularly be called out to any kind of major incident. Roughly equivalent to the American rank of Lieutenant.

Officers of these ranks are informally called the 'chief officers', though only the Commissioner's and Chief Constables are actual chiefs of a police force.

* '''Detective Chief Superintendent (DCS):''' The highest detective rank, answerable to the uniformed chiefs. Many of the regional forces have just one DCS, as the overall boss of their detective branch.
Note that unlike American police forces, these ranks avoid sharing the names of military ranks (apart from Sergeant). This dates to when Peel named the ranks in the Metropolitan Police, and he wanted to console people's fears that they would be too militaristic.

An interesting side note is that while there is a perception that officers who graduate from uniform to CID detective have undergone a 'promotion', this is not strictly true - becoming a detective is a specialisation, not a promotion. Uniform officers actually have greater powers in the United Kingdom in the sense that some police powers can only legally be exercised by 'a constable in uniform'. The person in charge of the cells will be a uniform officer (normally a sergeant), while the detectives go about collecting evidence and interviewing suspects. This is a marked difference to the American style of policing: in the UK, a move from uniform Constable to Detective Constable is more of a ''sideways step'' than any kind of promotion, while the American model sees "earning your detective badge" as being a step up. Still, the perception persists that detectives are somehow "better" than uniform because the responsibilities of their work are usually more varied, and they are seen as exercising their brains while their uniform counterparts are seen as the dumb muscle.

!Special Branch

The classic blue serge uniforms of old, being classic fanservice if worn by a female, have also gone from everyday use. Nowadays, police uniforms are black, worn sometimes with a white shirt and usually with a yellow hi-vis jacket.

* '''Commander (CMDR):''' A bit of a curates' egg rank. It exists only in the Met and City of London forces and has the same insignia as an Assistant Chief Constable. In the latter it is fully equivalent to an ACC. In the Met, it is an extra level of command between the chief supers and the Commissioner's assistants. If you meet a Commander in fiction it will probably be on the way out of a brothel and they stand a good chance of being a corrupt sexual deviant and will probably end up dead in a very messy way. Commander Gideon is an outstanding exception.

Special Branch was a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security in British and Commonwealth police forces, and work in close concert with MI5, who do not have any powers of arrest or detention. The Metropolitan Police Special Branch was merged with the Anti-Terrorism Branch of the Metropolitan Police to form a new department called Counter Terrorism Command.

Special Branch has been derided as the "Political Police", as they are given the politically sensitive cases. People tend to think that can include doing the bidding of the party in power in legally questionable ways. In reality, this translates to infiltrating far-left and far-right groups, regardless of whether or not the groups in question are lawbreakers. They have also been criticized for [[AgentProvocateur suggesting illegal protest actions]] and sleeping with the people they're supposed to be protecting, then leaving without the consequences.

Special Branch should not be confused with ''Special Constables'', who are part-time volunteers.

Uniformed officers traditionally haven't worn name badges, but instead have an alpha-numeric designator on their epaulettes (if they're Constables or Sergeants) that varies from force to force in layout. In the Met, it's generally two or three numbers, followed by one or two letters representing your borough or command unit - so an officer from Havering (KD) might be 719KD. (Met epaulettes display this upside down, with the command unit code above the numbers.) Times are always changing, however, and since 2009 name badges are generally compulsory for public-facing officers.

There have been [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Tomlinson#Officer_in_the_video:_Simon_Harwood recent scandals]] where uniformed officers have removed their numbered epaulettes before expected public disorder situations. One officer found to have done this is currently awaiting trial for manslaughter and misconduct in public office after a member of the public died due to his actions.

In case anyone is interested, the reason they traditionally don't wear nametags is because officers with unusual or embarrassing names (Pratt, Dick, etc) would be subject to ridicule by antisocial types.

* '''Detective Constable (DC):''' roughly equivalent to the American rank of Detective. Bottom of the totem pole: that's why [[TheLastDetective DC "Dangerous" Davies]] is so pathetic--he's experienced and quite competent, but has never been promoted above DC.

The first one, London Town's [[UsefulNotes/ScotlandYard Metropolitan Police]] was founded by Sir UsefulNotes/RobertPeel in 1829. Peel has the Met's training centre at Hendon (featured in ''Film/HotFuzz'') named after him and his name is the source of ''two'' of the UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish terms for police officers. These are the now-defunct "peelers" (except in Northern Ireland, where it is still used) and the slightly less defunct "[[Series/DixonOfDockGreen bobbies]]".

* '''Superintendent (Supt):''' The overall boss of a large police station, a Superintendent is mostly an administrator; they may also direct the tactical response to a major incident.

* '''Commander (CMDR):''' A bit of a curates' egg rank. It exists only in the Met and City of London forces and has the same insignia as an Assistant Chief Constable. In the latter it is equivalent to an ACC. In the Met, it is an extra level of command between the chief supers and the Commissioner's assistants. If you meet a Commander in fiction it will probably be on the way out of a brothel and they stand a good chance of being a corrupt sexual deviant and will probably end up dead in a very messy way. Commander Gideon is an outstanding exception.

* '''Commissioner:''' The overall chief of the Met and City of London forces. The Met Commissioner has the highest profile of any British police officer; the appointment of a new Commissioner attracts much media coverage. Not to be confused with the elected position of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_and_Crime_Commissioner Police and Crime Commissioner]], who is independent from the service they're attached to and manages how their funds are spent.

* '''Chief Constable:''' Outside of the Met they replace the titles of Commissioner and their deputies (Deputy Chief Constable) replace Commander. Other than that there is no real difference.

* '''Detective Sergeant (DS):''' as with their uniformed counterparts, responsible to a group of DCs.
* '''Detective Inspector (DI):''' an experienced and seasoned detective. May have [=DCs=] reporting to him/her as well as DSs. Sometimes used for detective fiction protagonists, [=DIs=] lead investigations into serious crimes, but not a crime as serious as murder.
* '''Detective Chief Inspector (DCI):''' the highest ranked detective, in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at a large town police station, or else a specialist unit at the force HQ. The most common rank for fictional detectives, as this is the lowest rank of officer who can lead a murder investigation. However, fiction often exaggerates their role. In real life, the jobs of examining the scene and interviewing suspects are often done by experienced [=DCs=], while the DCI handles the admin.
* '''Detective Superintendent (DSupt):''' Mostly an administrator but may lead a serious crimes investigation. A force will typically have one who manages the performance of the local [=CIDs=] and others who lead the specialist units that are based at force HQ, which deal with serious crimes or those that require specialised detectives.

Many organisations now call themselves police "services", which has got some comment from older officers in crime shows.