Police division

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A division was the usual term for the largest territorial subdivision of most British police forces. In major reforms of police organisation in the 1990s divisions of many forces were restructured and retitled Basic Command Units (BCUs), although as of 2009 some forces continue to refer to them as divisions.

The term was and is used in many other countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth.

United Kingdom

The term has existed since the creation of police forces in the early 19th century. Most police forces were divided into divisions, usually commanded by a

Deputy Assistant Commissioner
.

Each division could cover a wide rural area, a substantial town, or a portion of a city, depending on the population (

Chief Superintendents and most other forces followed suit. With the reforms of the 1990s, sub-divisions and divisions acquired a variety of new names - for instance, in 1999 the Metropolitan Police replaced its divisions with "Borough Policing", whose boundaries were based on the 1965 London boroughs.[2]

Metropolitan Police divisions, 1829–1999

1829

  • A (Whitehall)
  • B (Westminster[a])
  • C (St James's)
  • D (Marylebone)
  • E (Holborn)
  • F (Covent Garden[b])
  • G (Finsbury)
  • H (Whitechapel)
  • K (Stepney[c])
  • L (Lambeth)
  • M (Southwark)
  • N (Islington)
  • P (Camberwell)
  • R (Greenwich)
  • S (Hampstead)
  • T (Kensington[d])
  • V (Wandsworth)

Later additions by formation date

  • W (Clapham) (1865)
  • X (Willesden) (1865)
  • Y (Highgate[e]) (1865)
  • J (Bethnal Green[f]) (1886)
  • F (Paddington) (1886)[3]
  • Z (Croydon) (1921)
  • Q (Kilburn) (1965)
  • I (Heathrow) (1984[g])

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Police Force divides its territory into 23 divisions or districts, each reporting to one of the six regions.

India

In

Deputy Superintendent
of Police. Sub Divisions are further divided into Police Circles. In the case of a district including large cities, two separate police districts are created, known as the City Police District, headed by a Commissioner, and the Rural District Police, headed by a Superintendent.

Republic of Ireland

In the

Chief Superintendent. Divisions are further divided into districts, commanded by a Superintendent
.

Singapore

The Singapore Police Force divides the city-state into seven divisions of varying physical sizes and population. These boundaries tend to be demarcated in terms of cases handled by observing criminal trends over time, instead of being based on area or population sizes alone.

Canada

A few police departments in Canada use divisions to represent stations or patrol areas, but some are a mix of operational and administrative units with the force.

A few police agencies using divisions include:

Notes

  1. ^ Later known as Chelsea
  2. ^ Abolished c.1869
  3. ^ Later known as Bow
  4. ^ Later known as Hammersmith
  5. ^ Later Tottenham
  6. ^ Later known as Hackney
  7. ^ Abolished 1986

References

  1. ^ 'Division' and 'Sub-Division', in Martin Fido and Keith Skinner, The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard (London; Virgin Books, 1999), pages 70-71 and 255
  2. ^ 'Borough Policing', in Martin Fido and Keith Skinner, The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard (London; Virgin Books, 1999), pages 25
  3. ^ "Timeline - 1829 to 1899". Friends of the Metropolitan Police Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2 November 2020.