- Formally:
- New Scotland Yard
- Date:
- 1829 - present
Scotland Yard
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What is Scotland Yard?
Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, and the name is often used to refer to that police force. The original headquarters got its name from its location on Whitehall, which was once the site of a medieval palace that housed Scottish royalty during their visits to London.
The London police force was created in 1829, and it replaced the old system of watchmen. Scotland Yard's responsibilities include crime detection and prevention, maintaining public order, supervising road traffic, and licensing public vehicles. The administrative head of Scotland Yard is the commissioner, who is appointed by the crown.
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Why is it called Scotland Yard?
Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, gets its name from its original location in Whitehall. The entrance to the police headquarters was on Great Scotland Yard, which is how the name originated.
The site was named Scotland Yard because it once housed a medieval palace used by Scottish royalty during their visits to London.
Established in 1829, the London police force replaced the old system of watchmen. Over time, the headquarters grew increasingly overcrowded, leading to relocation in 1890 to the Thames Embankment, where it was renamed New Scotland Yard.
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What part of the British police does Scotland Yard represent?
Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police, but the name often refers to the police force itself. It is located on the River Thames at Victoria Embankment. The London Metropolitan Police is responsible for policing all of Greater London, except for the City of London, which has its own police force. Scotland Yard's duties include crime detection and prevention, maintaining public order, supervising road traffic, and licensing public vehicles. The administrative head of Scotland Yard is the commissioner. Scotland Yard also assists other police forces and handles the British responsibilities of Interpol.
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What types of crimes does Scotland Yard investigate?
Scotland Yard, the headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police, handles a wide array of crimes within Greater London (excluding the City of London, which has its own police force). Their duties encompass crime detection and prevention, maintaining public order, supervising road traffic, and licensing public vehicles.
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) addresses all aspects of criminal investigation, including fraud, and maintains a criminal record office, fingerprint and photography sections, a Flying Squad, a police laboratory, and a detective-training school. Scotland Yard also maintains links between British law-enforcement agencies and Interpol, and a special branch of police guards visiting dignitaries, royalty, and statesmen.
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How is Scotland Yard different from other police stations in London?
Scotland Yard, synonymous with the London Metropolitan Police, distinguishes itself from other London police stations through its history, scope, and specialized functions. Established in 1829, the Metropolitan Police covers all of Greater London, except for the City of London, which has its own police force.
Scotland Yard houses the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which tackles criminal investigations and maintains extensive criminal records for the UK. It also liaises between British law enforcement and Interpol. While its jurisdiction is limited to London, its expertise is often sought by other police forces in England, especially for complex cases, and it assists in police training within the Commonwealth.
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Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police and, by association, a name often used to denote that force. It is located on the River Thames at Victoria Embankment just north of Westminster Bridge in the City of Westminster.
The London police force was created in 1829 by an act introduced in Parliament by the home secretary, Sir Robert Peel (hence the nicknames “bobbies” and “peelers” for policemen). This police force replaced the old system of watchmen and eventually supplanted the River (Thames) Police and the Bow Street patrols, the latter a small body of police in London who had been organized in the mid-18th century by the novelist and magistrate Henry Fielding and his half brother, Sir John Fielding. The original headquarters of the new London police force were in Whitehall, with an entrance in Great Scotland Yard, from which the name originates. (Scotland Yard was so named because it stood on the site of a medieval palace that had housed Scottish royalty when the latter were in London on visits.)
When Scotland Yard stationed its first plainclothes police agents on duty in 1842, there was a public outcry against these “spies,” but the police force gradually won the trust of the London public by the time Scotland Yard set up its Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 1878. The CID initially was a small force of plainclothes detectives who gathered information on criminal activities.
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By the late 19th century the London police headquarters at Scotland Yard had grown increasingly overcrowded, and in 1890 a new headquarters building was opened on the Thames Embankment and named New Scotland Yard. In 1967 the headquarters were again moved to a new building, this one at the junction of Victoria Street and Broadway, also called New Scotland Yard. There the headquarters remained for nearly 50 years before returning Thameside to the redesigned Curtis Green Building on Victoria Embankment in 2016.
The area supervised by the London Metropolitan Police includes all of Greater London with the exception of the City of London, which has its own separate police force. The Metropolitan Police’s duties are the detection and prevention of crime, the preservation of public order, the supervision of road traffic, and the licensing of public vehicles. The administrative head of Scotland Yard is the commissioner, who is appointed by the crown on the recommendation of the home secretary. Beneath the commissioner are various assistant commissioners overseeing such operations as administration, traffic and transport, criminal investigation (the CID), and police recruitment and training. The CID deals with all aspects of criminal investigation and comprises the criminal record office, fingerprint and photography sections, the company fraud squad, a highly mobile police unit known as the Flying Squad, the metropolitan police laboratory, and the detective-training school.
Scotland Yard keeps extensive files on all known criminals in the United Kingdom. It also has a special branch of police who guard visiting dignitaries, royalty, and statesmen. Finally, Scotland Yard is responsible for maintaining links between British law-enforcement agencies and Interpol. Although Scotland Yard’s responsibility is limited to metropolitan London, its assistance is often sought by police in other parts of England, particularly with regard to difficult cases. It also assists in the training of police personnel in the countries of the Commonwealth. Since 1833 the Yard has published The Police Gazette. See also Police: The formation of the English police.