The Homicide and Major Crime Command (SCO 1) is an Operational Command Unit of the Metropolitan Police responsible for the investigation of

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

and other serious crimes in London. Most of their work was carried out by major investigation teams (MITs), of which there were 24. It was formerly known as the Homicide and Serious Crime Command (SCD 1). , there were 722 personnel in SCO 1, including 540 police officers and 182 civilian staff.

Major investigation teams

Major investigation teams (MITs) are the specialised homicide squads of the Homicide and Major Crime Command—there are twenty-four MITs within the MPS. MITs investigate cases of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

, attempted murder where the evidence of intended threat and other investigations identified for specialist needs. MITs were established in 2000 to replace the former

Area Major Incident Pool The Metropolitan Police of Greater London, England is organised into five main directorates, each headed by an Assistant Commissioner, and four civilian-staffed support departments previously under the umbrella of Met Headquarters, each headed ...

s (AMIPs) as part of the MPS's Serious Crime Group. In 2001, there were thirty-one murder investigation teams operating in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, made up of eight hundred and thirty-four police officers, one hundred and eighty-two civilian staff, and fourteen senior detectives. Currently, all homicide investigation in

is undertaken by the Specialist Crime and Operations Directorate's Homicide Command, which is split geographically into five units (West, Central, East, North and South), each led by a Detective Superintendent. Each of the Command Units has four Major Investigation Teams (MITs), consisting of fifty staff, led by a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI), who performs the role of senior investigating officer (SIO).

Other units

In addition to the MITs, the Homicide and Serious Crime Command also had five citywide units: *The Central Criminal Court Trials Unit worked with the MITs and

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...

on cases that go to

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

at the Central Criminal Court at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. The unit also advocated good practice and procedure through the Policy Unit, Forensic Science Services and the Detective Training Academy. *The Special Projects Investigation Unit reviewed serious crime investigations and conducted primary investigations in certain cases. *The Coroner's Office ensured that investigations Were correctly undertaken within the legal constraints of the powers of the

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

. Coroner's Officers had a key role as liaison between Operational Command Units, the Coroner's Office and the families of the victims. They also attended the scenes of unexplained deaths to support officers by identifying possible causes of death and advising on scene preservation and the recovery of the deceased. *The HOLMES Support Unit supported police forces nationwide in their use of

HOLMES Holmes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective * Holmes (given name), a list of people * Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...

, the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

Large Major Enquiry System. *Forensic Review Support staff reviewed current or historical scenes of crime

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

. The unit worked with the Specialist Crime Review Group and Homicide Units and provided advice on forensic evidence recovery including

forensic science Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

advances.

References

External links

Homicide and Serious Crime Command official website
{{Metropolitan Police Metropolitan Police units