The Marine Policing Unit (MPU) is the waterborne policing unit of London's
Metropolitan Police Service, forming part of the Met Taskforce (MO7) within
Met Operations
Met Operations, also known as Met Ops, is one of the four business groups which forms the Metropolitan Police Service and is responsible for providing operational support services.. It was created during the 2018-19 restructuring of the service, am ...
. Its 22 vessels are responsible for waterborne policing of the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in
Greater London and supporting the rest of the Metropolitan Police and to the
City of London Police when dealing with incidents in or around any waterway in London. A specialist underwater and confined-spaces search team carries out searches throughout the
Metropolitan Police District. The unit also has 24 officers who are trained in rope access techniques and trained to carry out searches and counter-demonstrator operations at height.
In 1839 the
Marine Police Force
The Thames River Police was formed in 1800 to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and in the lower reaches and docks of the Thames. It replaced the Marine Police, a police force established in 1798 by magistrate P ...
was merged into the Metropolitan Police as the Thames Division. It held that name until being renamed the Marine Support Unit in 2001 and taking on its present name seven years later. The unit is still headquartered at Wapping, where a former carpenters' workshop also houses the River Police Museum, founded in 1974 and now curated by John Joslin and Rob Jeffries, two former officers with the unit.
Area of responsibility
Originally focusing on the Pool of London, since the 19th century it has had responsibility for the 47 miles of the Thames between
Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chi ...
in the west and Dartford Creek in the east. This includes the stretch of river within the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...
, since the City of London Police does not have its own marine unit. Above Hampton Court,
Surrey Police have responsibility for policing but a launch is supplied by the
Environment Agency. Below Dartford Creek, responsibility lies with both
Essex Police and
Kent Police, who have combined forces and formed a joint marine unit, with Kent based at
Sheerness and Essex based at
Burnham-on-Crouch
Burnham-on-Crouch is a town and civil parish in the Maldon District of Essex in the East of England. It lies on the north bank of the River Crouch. It is one of Britain's leading places for yachting.
The civil parish extends east of the town ...
.
Ranks
Before 1839 the River Police held the ranks of 3rd, 2nd and 1st Inspector due to the special powers invested to Inspectors on the river by legislation regarding the boarding of vessels on the Thames. These ranks were retained when the River Police became Thames Division, uniquely among Metropolitan Police divisions and taking the place of Sergeants or Station Sergeants in the Metropolitan Police's other divisions. 3rd Class Inspectors were ranked and paid as Sergeants in the rest of force, 2nd Class Inspectors as
Station Sergeants and 1st Class Inspectors as
substantive Inspectors. These ranks were replaced by normal Metropolitan Police ranks in 1903, though for many years after that date Thames Division officers are still ranked on their service sheets using these old Inspector ranks.
History
1839-1945
In 1839 the
Marine Police Force
The Thames River Police was formed in 1800 to tackle theft and looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and in the lower reaches and docks of the Thames. It replaced the Marine Police, a police force established in 1798 by magistrate P ...
was merged into the
Metropolitan Police Force, retaining its Wapping base. Initially patrols continued in rowing boats, some of which remained in use until 1905. Impetus to change was provided when, on 3 September 1878, the steam
collier ''Bywell Castle'' ran into the pleasure
steamer in Galleons Reach, resulting in the loss of over 600 lives. The subsequent inquest and inquiry recommended that Thames Division should have steam launches, as rowing galleys had shown themselves to be inadequate for police duty, and the first two were commissioned in the mid-1880s. In 1910 the first motor vessels were introduced.
Wapping and a number of ex-navy hulks were the Division's only bases until 1874, when it opened a station at Waterloo Police Pier (now
Tower Lifeboat Station). A second land station was built further east at
Blackwall in 1893 using land freed up from the
General Steam Navigation Company
The General Steam Navigation Company (GSN), incorporated in 1824, was London's foremost short sea shipping line for almost 150 years. It was the oldest shipping company in the world to begin business with seagoing steam vessels.
Foundation
...
's cattle wharf at
Coldharbour - it was a three-storey building comprising cells, accommodation and a boat-launch. In 1907 the present Wapping station was built.
1945-present
Post-war Thames Division commemorated its founders with police vessel names including the supervision launches ''John Harriott'' (1947-1963) and ''Patrick Colquhoun'' (1963-2003), and Targa duty boats in use, the ''John Harriott'' and the ''Gabriel Franks''.
Due to the
decline of the docks at
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...
in the late 20th century, the Blackwall River Police Station was closed in the 1970s and converted to residential properties in 1982.
In November 1978, Thames Division became a specialist unit under the direct command of
Assistant Commissioner "A".
On 20 August 1989 the
''Marchioness'' disaster occurred when an aggregate dredger, the ''Bowbelle'', collided with a passenger vessel, the ''Marchioness'', near
Cannon Street Railway Bridge
Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is o ...
. Four Metropolitan Police patrol boats assisted in the rescue of 87 people. Fifty-one passengers died, though, and following subsequent inquiries the government asked the
Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the
Port of London Authority and the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution to work together to set up a dedicated search and rescue service for the tidal River Thames. Consequently, on 2 January 2002, the RNLI set up four lifeboat stations at
Gravesend,
Tower Pier,
Chiswick and
Teddington, taking over the role of primary search and rescue service on the river from Thames Division.
References
External links
*
{{UK private and military police forces
Marine Policing Unit
Transport on the River Thames
Crime in London
Port of London
History of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
History of the River Thames
1798 establishments in England
Port police forces of the United Kingdom