Specialist Operations was a group of twenty specialist Metropolitan Police units which were set up in 1986 as part of Sir Kenneth Newman's restructuring of the Metropolitan Police Service. Most of the units designated SO units were already in existence, many of them as departments of C Division and its branches, and all were presided over by an Assistant Commissioner of Special Operations (ACSO). Metropolitan Police redirects here. ...

SO designations

Due to continual restucturing of the Metropolitan Police, only a few of the original SO units still exist in their original form and still use the SO designation. These are marked in bold. Where possible, the current name or organisation of the former SO unit is listed in italics. Where the SO designation has been reassigned to another unit, the units are listed in order

• SO1 - International and Organised Crime / Homicide Unit (now Murder Investigation Team)
• SO2 - Crime Support Branch / Department Support Group
• SO3 - Scenes of Crime Branch / Directorate of Forensic Services (now SCD4 Forensic Services)
• SO4 - National Identification Service
• SO5 - Miscellaneous Force Indexes / Child Protection (now SCD5 Child Abuse Investigation Team)
• SO6 - Fraud Squad (now SCD6 Economic and Specialist Crime)
• SO7 - Serious and Organised Crime (was originally SO1)
• SO8 - Forensic Science Laboratory / Flying Squad
• SO9 - Flying Squad (reassigned to SO8, then became part of SO7) / Regional Crime Squad
• SO10 - Crime Operations Group (now SCD10 Covert Policing)
• SO11 - Criminal Intelligence Branch
• SO12 - Special Branch
• SO13 - Anti-Terrorist Branch
• SO14 - Royalty Protection Branch
• SO15 - Royal Palaces Division
• SO16 - Diplomatic Protection Branch
• SO17 - PNC Bureau (now the Police Information Technology Organisation) / Palace of Westminster Division
• SO18 - Aviation Security / Airport Policing
• SO19 - Force Firearms Unit
• SO20 - Forensic Medical Examiners Branch

Also known as a Major Investigation Team and abbreviated to MIT. Murder Investigation Teams are the specialised homicide squads of Londons Metropolitan Police Service. ... (Other meanings: a union flying squad is a subset of a labor union) The Flying Squad is a branch of Londons Metropolitan Police force. ... (Other meanings: a union flying squad is a subset of a labor union) The Flying Squad is a branch of Londons Metropolitan Police force. ... SO10 or Specialist Operations - Covert Operations is a defunct branch of Scotland Yard. ... SO10 or Specialist Operations - Intelligence is a defunct branch of Scotland Yard. ... Special Branch is the arm of the British, Irish and many Commonwealth police forces that deals with national security matters. ... SO13 or Specialist Operations - Anti-Terrorist Branch is a branch of Scotland Yard. ... The Police National Computer (PNC) is a computer system used by police forces in the UK. Created in 1974 and now consisting of several databases accessible 24 hours a day, it is run by the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO). ... The Palace of Westminster Division (also called SO17, from its Specialist Operations designation) is a branch of the London Metropolitan Police responsible for the security of the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament). ... SO18 or Specialist Operations - Airports Policing is a branch of Scotland Yard. ... The Force Firearms Unit (better known by its Specialist Operations designation SO19) is the department of the London Metropolitan Police which provides firearms-related support to the generally unarmed force. ...

See also

• Territorial Operations

External links

• Metropolitan Police Specialist Operations