More about this area

The force says...

At just over one square mile, the City of London represents the smallest territorial force area in the country. Protecting a high concentration of national critical infrastructure sites within an area of historical, cultural and national economic importance presents unique challenges. The City of London does not have a Police and Crime Commissioner, instead it is held to account by a Police Committee of democratically elected members and two independent members.

The City’s small residential population of just over 9,000 swells each day to over 483,000 people, working predominantly in professional finance industries (insurance, legal, banking) and increasingly the service industries as a result of a vibrant night-time economy and an increasing density of shops, restaurants and bars.

The force balances national obligations (it leads on the country’s response to economic crime and cyber crime reporting) with local concerns, resulting in a broad range of policing priorities, many of which support delivery of national protective services. These include counter terrorism and public order, cyber crime, vulnerability through to local concerns such as road safety, acquisitive and violent crime.

As national lead force for economic crime, the force is home to Action Fraud and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau. Additionally, it maintains funded units dedicated to tackling insurance fraud and intellectual property crime.

Since 2011 the force has achieved the required savings to balance its budget although this has involved the use of reserves.

The force has increased officer numbers to 756, however, this remains significantly fewer than the 2010/11 number of 878.

A key challenge for the force remains meeting increasing demand and levels of threat with limited resources and the need to make further savings.

Disclaimer: the above statement has been prepared by City of London Police. The views and information in it are not necessarily those of HMICFRS.