ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF POLICE OF THE METROPOLIS

'Assistant Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis', usually just called 'Assistant Commissioner' ('AC'), is today the third highest rank in the London Metropolitan Police, ranking below Deputy Commissioner and above Deputy Assistant Commissioner.

Contents
19th century
Lettered departments
Reorganisation in the 1980s and 1990s
Current organisation
Assistant Commissioners
Assistant Commissioners "A"
Assistant Commissioners "B"
Assistant Commissioners "C"
Assistant Commissioners "L/D"
Assistant Commissioners Specialist Operations
Assistant Commissioners Territorial Operations
Assistant Commissioners Management Support
Assistant Commissioner Inspection and Review
Assistant Commissioners Personnel and Training
Assistant Commissioners Central Area (1)
Assistant Commissioners North-West Area (2)
Assistant Commissioners North-East Area (3)
Assistant Commissioner South-East Area (4)
Assistant Commissioners South-West Area (5)
Assistant Commissioner Strategic Development
Assistants Commissioners Territorial Policing
Assistant Commissioners Policy, Review and Standards
Assistant Commissioner Human Resources
Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime
Assistant Commissioner Central Operations
Assistant Commissioner Service Improvement
Assistant Commissioner Professional Standards and Intelligence

19th century


The rank of Assistant Commmissioner was introduced by the Police Act 1856, which abolished the two Joint Commissioners and established a single Commissioner (Sir Richard Mayne) assisted by two Assistant Commissioners. The Assistant Commissioner (Administrative) was in charge of administration and discipline. The Assistant Commissioner (Executive) was in charge of executive business, supplies and buildings. The first two men to fill these posts were Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Labalmondière and Captain William C. Harris respectively.
Like the Commmissioner, the Assistant Commissioners were sworn in as Justices of the Peace, although they could not try criminal cases. This continued until 1973. Like the Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioners were mainly appointed from outside the police until well into the 20th century, although career police officers could and sometimes did rise to the rank.
In 1878, Howard Vincent was appointed Director of Criminal Intelligence, a post that had equal rank to the Assistant Commissioners, but not the title. On his resignation in 1884, his post was replaced by a third Assistant Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner (Crime).

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, 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.

Reorganisation in the 1980s and 1990s


In 1985, Commissioner Sir Kenneth Newman finally abolished the system of lettered departments. He redesignated the four Assistant Commissioners as:

★ Assistant Commissioner Territorial Operations (ACTO), in charge of all uniformed and CID units based on the divisions.

★ Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations (ACSO), in charge of all specialised and centralised uniformed and CID units.

★ Assistant Commissioner Personnel and Training (ACPT), in charge of all personnel issues, including recruitment, training and welfare.

★ Assistant Commissioner Management Support (ACMS), in charge of strategic planning, management services, public relations and a number of other miscellaneous departments.
In 1992, with increasing focus on the Met's image and quality of service, Commissioner Sir Peter Imbert redesignated the ACMS as Assistant Commissioner Inspection and Review (ACIR), in charge of collecting performance data from across the Metropolitan Police area.
In 1995, Commissioner Sir Paul Condon introduced the widest-ranging reorganisation when he increased the number of Assistant Commissioners to six. The previous eight Areas, each commanded by a Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC), were reduced to five, each commanded by an Assistant Commissioner, designated AC 1 to 5. Each Assistant Commissioner also managed a number of headquarters branches. ACSO remained outside the Area system and continued to manage the Specialist Operations units.

Current organisation


In 2000, the system changed again, with policing restructured around the Boroughs and the Areas being abolished. The six Assistant Commissioners were reduced to four again. With the creation of the Specialist Crime Directorate under its own Assistant Commissioner in 2002, there are now five Assistant Commissioners:

★ Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing, currently Tim Godwin

★ Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations, currently Andy Hayman

★ Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime, currently Steve House

★ Assistant Commissioner Central Operations, currently Tarique Ghaffur

★ Assistant Commissioner Service Improvement, currently Alan Brown
Assistant Commissioners are equivalent in rank to the Chief Constables of other British police forces and wear the same badge of rank: a crown over crossed tipstaves in a wreath.

Assistant Commissioners


Assistant Commissioners "A"


Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Labalmondière, 1856–1884

Sir Alexander Carmichael Bruce, 1884–1914

Frank Elliott, 1914–1918

Brigadier-General William Horwood, 1918–1920

Sir James Olive, 1920–1925

Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Royds, 1926–1931

Sir Trevor Bigham, 1931

Lieutenant-Colonel David Allan, 1931

Brigadier James Whitehead, 1933–1938

Lieutenant-Colonel John Carter, 1938–1940

John Nott-Bower, 1940–1945

Major John Ferguson, 1945–1946

Major Sir Philip Margetson, 1946–1957

Alexander Robertson, 1957–1958

Douglas Webb, 1958–1961

Lieutenant-Colonel Ranulph Bacon, 1961–1963

Sir John Waldron, 1963–1966

John Hill, 1966–1968

James Starritt, 1968–1972

John Mastel, 1972–1976

Wilford Gibson, 1977–1984

Geoffrey Dear, 1984–1985
Assistant Commissioners "B"


Captain William C. Harris, 1856–1881

Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Pearson, 1881–1890

Sir Charles Howard, 1890–1902

Major Sir Frederick Wodehouse, 1902–1918

Frank Elliott, 1918–1931

Sir Alker Tripp, 1932–1947

Sir Henry Dalton, 1947–1956

Joseph Simpson, 1956–1957

Douglas Webb, 1957–1958

John Waldron, 1958–1963

Andrew Way, 1963–1969

Colin Woods, 1970–1972

Henry Hunt, 1972–1974

Patrick Kavanagh, 1974–1977

John Dellow, 1982–1984

Colin Sutton, 1984–1985
Assistant Commissioners "C"


James Monro, 1884–1888

Sir Robert Anderson, 1888–1901

Edward Henry, 1901–1903

Sir Melville Macnaghten, 1903–1913

Sir Basil Thomson, 1913–1921

Major-General Sir Wyndham Childs, 1921–1928

Sir Trevor Bigham, 1928–1931

Sir Norman Kendal, 1931–1945

Ronald Howe, 1945–1953

Sir Richard Jackson, 1953–1963

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Ranulph Bacon, 1963–1966

Peter Brodie, 1966–1972

Colin Woods, 1972–1975

Gilbert Kelland, 1977–1984

John Dellow, 1984–1985
Assistant Commissioners "L/D"


Frederick Bullock, 1909–1914

Trevor Bigham, 1914–1928

Norman Kendal, 1928–1931

Major Maurice Tomlin, 1931–1933

Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Percy Laurie, 1933–1936

Sir George Abbiss, 1936–1946

Major Philip Margetson, 1946

Colonel Arthur Young, 1947–1950

Captain John Rymer-Jones, 1950–1959

Tom Mahir, 1959–1967

Robert Mark, 1967–1968

John Hill, 1968–1972

John Mastel, 1972

John Alderson, 1972–1974

Henry Hunt, 1974–1978

Geoffrey Dear, 1982–1984

Geoffrey McLean, 1984–1985
Assistant Commissioners Specialist Operations


John Dellow, 1985–1987

John Smith, 1989–1990

William Taylor, 1990–1994

Sir David Veness, 1994–2005

Andy Hayman, 2005–
Assistant Commissioners Territorial Operations


Geoffrey McLean, 1985–1991

Robert Hunt, 1991–1995
Assistant Commissioners Management Support


John Smith, 1987–1989

Peter Winship, 1989–1992
Assistant Commissioner Inspection and Review


Peter Winship, 1992–1995
Assistant Commissioners Personnel and Training


Colin Sutton, 1985–1988

Wyn Jones, 1989–1993
Assistant Commissioners Central Area (1)


Anthony Speed, 1995–1999
Assistant Commissioners North-West Area (2)


Baden Skitt, 1995–1997

Anderson Dunn, 1997–2000
Assistant Commissioners North-East Area (3)


Anderson Dunn, 1995–1997

Paul Manning, 1997–2000
Assistant Commissioner South-East Area (4)


Ian Johnston, 1995–2000
Assistant Commissioners South-West Area (5)


Paul Manning, 1995–1997

Denis O'Connor, 1997–2000
Assistant Commissioner Strategic Development


Anderson Dunn, 2000–2001
Assistants Commissioners Territorial Policing


Ian Johnston, 2000–2001

Michael Todd, 2001–2003

Tim Godwin, 2003–
Assistant Commissioners Policy, Review and Standards


Michael Todd, 2000–2001

Tarique Ghaffur, 2001–2002
Assistant Commissioner Human Resources


Bernard Hogan-Howe, 2001–2004
Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime


Tarique Ghaffur, 2002–2006

Steve House, 2006–
Assistant Commissioner Central Operations


Steve House, 2005–2006

Tarique Ghaffur, 2006–
Assistant Commissioner Service Improvement


Alan Brown, 2005–2006
Assistant Commissioner Professional Standards and Intelligence


John Yates, 2006–

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