Lettered Departments
In 1909, Commissioner Sir Edward Henry, realising that the Assistant Commissioners' workload was becoming too great, appointed a fourth Assistant Commissioner, who took over some of the duties of the Assistant Commissioner (Executive). The four became known as Assistant Commissioners "A", "B", "C" and "L", heading departments with the same letter designations. Assistant Commissioner "A" effectively acted as Deputy Commissioner until 1931, when a separate Deputy Commissioner was appointed. From 1922 until 1931, Assistant Commissioner "A" was generally known as the Deputy Commissioner.
After World War I, Assistant Commissioner "B" became responsible solely for traffic and lost property, with his other former duties divided between Assistant Commissioners "A" and "L". Assistant Commissioner "L" was responsible for "L" (Legal) Department until its reorganisation in 1931. After 1931, he was renamed Assistant Commissioner "D" and became responsible for policy and planning.
By the end of World War II, Assistant Commissioner "A" (Operations and Administration) was responsible for all uniformed police, including specialist units, except traffic police, which were under Assistant Commissioner "B" (Traffic). Assistant Commissioner "C" (Crime) headed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and Assistant Commissioner "D" (Personnel and Training) was responsible for recruitment, training, welfare, communications and police dogs. In 1970, Commissioner Sir John Waldron designated Assistant Commissioner "D" as the senior Assistant Commissioner. As policing became more technical, Assistant Commissioner "B" also became responsible for technical support.
Read more about this topic: Assistant Commissioner Of Police Of The Metropolis
Famous quotes containing the words lettered and/or departments:
“I dreamed as in my bed I lay,
All night’s fathomless wisdom come,
That I had shorn my locks away
And laid them on Love’s lettered tomb:
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In a great tumult of the air.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“A man sees only what concerns him.... How much more, then, it requires different intentions of the eye and of the mind to attend to different departments of knowledge! How differently the poet and the naturalist look at objects!”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)