About Police Authority

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Date updated: 17/05/2022

The City of London Corporation’s Court of Common Council is the Police Authority for the Square Mile as set out in the City of London Police Act 1839. The Court delegates this duty (except for the appointment of the Police Commissioner) to the Police Authority Board and its Committees (Strategic Planning and Performance; Resource, Risk and Estates; Professional Standards and Integrity; Economic Crime and Cyber; and Police Pensions Board).

The Board is responsible for holding the Commissioner to account in running an effective and efficient service; ensuring value for money in the way the Force is run; and setting policing priorities taking into account the views of the local community.

Policing the Square Mile

The City of London is home to over 8,000 residents and an additional 500,000 City workers, visitors, and commuters travel to or through the City every day. In recent years, the City has also developed into a major tourist destination with a vibrant night time economy, attracting around 4m visitors a year.

The City of London Police is responsible for ensuring the safety and security of all these individuals while they are within the City’s boundaries. The force also leads nationally on fraud and economic crime, which includes delivering the UK‘s national fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre, Action Fraud. There are over 1,000 officers and staff in the City of London Police delivering these local and national services.

How the Square Mile is policed

Both the City of London Corporation and the City of London Police organise regular events to engage with residents and businesses in the City and obtain views on what our local policing priorities should be (these are detailed in the Force’s Policing Plan, progress against which is reported in their Annual Report).

To achieve outcomes that matter to local people, the City Corporation is able to draw from expertise in the wide-ranging areas of services it provides and establish effective and strong partnership working, for example, through the Safer City Partnership.