Counter Terrorism Policing is the national collaboration of

police forces The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

working to prevent, deter, and investigate

terrorism in the United Kingdom Terrorism in the United Kingdom, according to the Home Office, poses a significant threat to the state. There have been various causes of terrorism in the UK. Before the 2000s, most attacks were linked to the Northern Ireland conflict (the ...

. The network is governed by the National Police Collaboration Agreement Relating to Counter Terrorism Activities Made Under Section 22A of the

Police Act 1996 The Police Act 1996 (c. 16) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas in England and Wales, constituted Police Authority, police authorities for those areas, and set out the re ...

. The network is accountable to the

United Kingdom Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

and the

National Police Chiefs' Council The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is a national coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom and the representative body for senior police officers in the United Kingdom. Established on 1 April 2015, it replaced the forme ...

Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee which is chaired by the Metropolitan Police Service Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations (ACSO) who also acts as the Head of Counter Terrorism Policing. The network is also functionally coordinated by two Senior National Coordinators who are usually Metropolitan Police Service Deputy Assistant Commissioners co-located within the

Counter Terrorism Command Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Br ...

. As of 7 October 2024, Matt Jukes was Head of Counter Terrorism Policing. Counter Terrorism Policing stretches across the United Kingdom and sees specialist officers and staff working with 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 ...

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

and other intelligence, security and criminal justice agencies around the world. It is made up of dedicated regional Counter Terrorism Units and national police units and is responsible for the delivery of the policing contribution to the

CONTEST CONTEST is the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism strategy, first developed by Sir David Omand and the Home Office in early 2003 as the immediate response to 9/11, and a revised version was made public in 2006. Further revisions were publish ...

strategy. The

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...

's Joint Counter-Terrorism Teams,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Joint Terrorism Task Force A Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is an American locally-based multi-agency partnership between various federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating terrorism and terrorism-related crimes, led by the Federal Burea ...

model can be seen as analogous to Counter Terrorism Policing.

Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee

The Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee (CTCC) of the

is a national coordination body made of chief officers of the nine regional lead counter terrorism police forces and other thematic leads alongside senior representatives of government departments and other agencies including the

and

. It is chaired by Metropolitan Police Service Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations. The CTCC is the focal point for on counter terrorism policing and related issues and is responsible for developing national counter terrorism and domestic extremism strategic policy through the Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (CTPHQ). The CTCC also liaises with government and other partners on behalf of UK police forces. The CTCC is also staffed by a small number of chief police officers dedicated full-time to providing strategic direction and coordination relating to particular counter terrorism policing themes. The Counter Terrorism Policing Senior Leadership as defined by the National Counter Terrorism Collaboration Agreement as the CTCC Chair, Vice Chair(s)s, the Senior National Coordinator Pursue, the Senior National Coordinator Protect & Prepare, the Director General of CTPHQ, and the Director of Counter Terrorism Resources.

Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters

The Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters is responsible for developing policy and strategy and providing a single national voice on behalf of the Counter Terrorism Policing. The CTPHQ also coordinates national projects and programmes, provides administrative and support services to the national network, advises the government on budgets and resourcing for counter terrorism policing in England and Wales.

Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre

Within the CTPHQ is the Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre serving as the central operational command made up of units that provide operational support to Counter Terrorism Policing. Teams within the Operations Centre are: * Ports Team * Intelligence Team * Firearms Suppression Team * Coordination Centre

Senior National Coordinators

The Senior National Coordinator for Pursue is responsible for coordinating counter terrorism investigations. The Senior National Coordinator for Protect & Prepare is responsible for advising and coordinating national Counter Terrorism Policing protection and preparation activities.

Regional Counter Terrorism Units

Counter Terrorism Policing is made up of eleven regional Counter Terrorism Units (CTUs) and regional Counter Terrorism Intelligence Units (CTIUs) which bring together intelligence, operations and investigation functions around the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

to help prevent, disrupt and prosecute terrorist activities. Units are regionally based and resourced by regional police forces and are composed of detectives, financial and cyber investigators, community contact teams, intelligence analysts, and forensic specialists. Each CTU provides coordination and specialist support for their respective regions. The CTUs are located as follows: * Counter Terrorism Policing North West led by the

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

with

Cheshire Constabulary Cheshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Cheshire in North West England, comprising the unitary authority, unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Borough of ...

Cumbria Constabulary Cumbria Constabulary is the territorial police force in England covering the unitary authority areas of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness in the ceremonial county of Cumbria. As of September 2017, the force had 1,108 police officers, 535 p ...

Isle of Man Constabulary The Isle of Man Constabulary () is the national police service of the Isle of Man, an island of 85,000 inhabitants, situated approximately equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England. Structures and deployment The force has a ...

Lancashire Constabulary Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, Lancashire, Hutton, near the cit ...

, and

Merseyside Police Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The service area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million. As of September 2017 the service has 3,484 police o ...

. * Counter Terrorism Policing North East led by the

West Yorkshire Police West Yorkshire Police, formerly the West Yorkshire Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, England. It is the fourth largest territorial police force in England ...

with

Cleveland Police Cleveland Police is a territorial police force in England responsible for the policing the boroughs of Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire and Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham within North East England. T ...

Durham Constabulary Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the council areas of County Durham and Darlington in North East England. It does not cover all of the ceremonial or historic area of Durham, parts of which are covered ...

Humberside Police Humberside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the East Riding of Yorkshire, including Kingston upon Hull, and northern parts of Lincolnshire, including Grimsby and Scunthorpe. History Humberside Police was created ...

Northumbria Police Northumbria Police is a territorial police force in England, responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. It is the largest police force in the North East by geographical area and number of officers. T ...

North Yorkshire Police North Yorkshire Police is the territorial police force covering the unitary authority, unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and the City of York in northern England. As of April 2024 the force had a strength of 1,665 police officers, 127 spe ...

, and

South Yorkshire Police South Yorkshire Police (SYP) is the territorial police force responsible for policing South Yorkshire in England. The force is led by Chief Constable Lauren Poultney. Oversight is conducted by Mayor Oliver Coppard. History The force was fo ...

. * Counter Terrorism Policing South East led by the

Thames Valley Police Thames Valley Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Thames Valley region, covering the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in South East England. It is the largest non-metropolitan police force ...

for

Hampshire Constabulary The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012 The force area in ...

Kent Police Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in South East England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed under C ...

Surrey Police Surrey Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the Counties of England, county of Surrey in South East England. The force is currently led by Chief Constable Tim De Meyer. The force has its headquarters at Mount Brown ...

, and

Sussex Police Sussex Police are the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Their jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. Their headquarters are in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex. Hi ...

. * Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands led by the

West Midlands Police West Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. The force covers an area of with 2.93million inhabitants, which includes the cities of ...

with

Staffordshire Police Staffordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent in the West Midlands of England. It is made up of 11 local policing teams, whose boundaries are matched to the nine local authoritie ...

Warwickshire Police Warwickshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Warwickshire in England. It is the second smallest territorial police force in England and Wales after the City of London Police, with 1,126 regular officers as of Ju ...

, and

West Mercia Police West Mercia Police (), formerly the West Mercia Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Herefordshire, Shropshire (including Telford and Wrekin) and Worcestershire in England. The force area cover ...

. *

led by the Metropolitan Police Service with

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force#United Kingdom, territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, England, including the Middle Temple, Middle and Inner Temple, Inner Temples. The for ...

. The Regional Counter Terrorism Intelligence Units are also resourced by the police forces in their respective areas and carry out primarily intelligence gathering operations. The CTIUs are located as follows: * Counter Terrorism Policing South West led by the

Avon and Somerset Police Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West Engla ...

with

Devon and Cornwall Police Devon and Cornwall Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Devon and Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly) in South West England. The force serves approximately 1.8 million people over an ...

Dorset Police Dorset Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Dorset in South West England, which includes the largely rural area covered by Dorset (unitary authority), Dorset Council, and the urban conurbation of Bournem ...

Gloucestershire Constabulary Gloucestershire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire in South West England. The force formerly covered the area of South Gloucestershire, however this was transf ...

Wiltshire Police Wiltshire Police, formerly known as Wiltshire Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Wiltshire (including the Borough of Swindon) in South West England. The force serves 722,000 people over an area ...

States of Guernsey Police Service The Guernsey Police, is the police service for the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a jurisdictional sub-group of Crown Dependencies within the Channel Islands. The service's enforcement jurisdiction extends across the entire bailiwick and encompasses th ...

, and

States of Jersey Police The States of Jersey Police or States Police are a paid Police, police force in the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey. Alongside the unpaid Honorary Police, the States Police make up the 13 official police forces on the island, though the States Police ...

. * Counter Terrorism Policing Wales led by the

South Wales Police South Wales Police (; SWP) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Constabulary, Car ...

with

Dyfed–Powys Police Dyfed-Powys Police (; DPP) is the territorial police force in Wales policing Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire (which make up the former administrative area of Dyfed) and the unitary authority of Powys (covering Brecknockshire, Radn ...

Gwent Police Gwent Police () is a territorial police force in Wales, responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen. The force was formed in 1967 by the amalgamation of Monmouthshire ...

, and

North Wales Police North Wales Police () is the territorial police force responsible for policing North Wales. Its headquarters are in Colwyn Bay. , the force has 1,510 police officers, 170 special constables, 182 police community support officers (PCSO), 71 p ...

. * Counter Terrorism Policing Eastern led by the

Bedfordshire Police Bedfordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in the town of ...

with

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harring ...

Cambridgeshire Constabulary Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the local territorial police force that covers the county of Cambridgeshire and the Peterborough district of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire administered by the unitary authority of Peterborough City Co ...

Hertfordshire Constabulary Hertfordshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Hertfordshire in England. Its headquarters is in Welwyn Garden City. The current chief constable is Andy Prophet. As of March 2019, the force consist ...

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline a ...

, and

Norfolk Constabulary Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including of coastline and 16 rivers, including the Broads N ...

. * Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands led by the

Derbyshire Police Derbyshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Derbyshire, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million. History In 1965, the force had an establishment ...

with

Leicestershire Police Leicestershire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire. History Leicestershire Police was formed in 1839. In 1951 ...

, Lincolnshire Police,

Northamptonshire Police Northamptonshire Police (colloquially known as Northants Police) is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Northamptonshire in the East Midlands of England, in the United Kingdom. The Northamptonshire police area i ...

, and

Nottinghamshire Police Nottinghamshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the shire county of Nottinghamshire and the unitary authority of Nottingham in the East Midlands area of England. The area has a population of just over 1 million. ...

. * Scotland Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit led by the

Police Scotland Police Scotland (), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottis ...

. * Northern Ireland Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit led by the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

Special Branches

In addition to the regional counter terrorism units, local Special Branches assist in protecting national security and are in some police forces managed and tasked by the regional counter terrorism units.''The Terrorism Acts in 2012: Report of the Independent Reviewer on the Operation of the Terrorism Act 2000 and of part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006''.

Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation The Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation is appointed by the Home Secretary and by the HM Treasury, Treasury for a renewable three-year term and tasked with reporting to the Home Secretary and to Parliament on the operation of counter-terr ...

David Anderson. Page 46

References

External links

Counter Terrorism Policing

MI5
{{UK policing units Counterterrorism in the United Kingdom Terrorism in the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police Government of the United Kingdom National law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom

Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee

Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters

Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre

Senior National Coordinators

Regional Counter Terrorism Units

Special Branches

See also

References

External links