Counter Terrorism Policing is the national collaboration of police forces in the United Kingdom working to prevent, deter and investigate terrorism in the United Kingdom. The Network is governed by the National Police Collaboration Agreement Relating to Counter Terrorism Activities Made Under Section 22A of the Police Act 1996. The Network is accountable to the United Kingdom Government and the National Police Chiefs' Council Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee which is chaired by the

Metropolitan Police Service The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations (ACSO) who also acts as the National Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing. The Network is also functionally coordinated by two Senior National Coordinators who are usually

Deputy Assistant Commissioners co-located within the Counter Terrorism Command. The Network stretches across the United Kingdom and sees specialist officers and staff working with the Home Office, MI5 and other intelligence, security and criminal justice agencies around the world. It is made up of dedicated Regional Counter Terrorism Units and national police units and is responsible for the delivery of the policing contribution to the CONTEST strategy. The

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...

's Joint Counter Terrorism Teams, Canada's Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams, and the United States' Joint Terrorism Task Force model can be seen as analogous to the Counter Terrorism Policing Network.

Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee

The Counter Terrorism Coordination Committee (CTCC) of the National Police Chiefs' Council is a national coordination body made of chief officers of the nine regional lead counter terrorism police forces and other thematic leads alongside senior representatives of government departments and other agencies including the Home Office and MI5. It is chaired by

Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations. The CTCC is the focal point for on counter terrorism policing and related issues and is responsible for developing national counter terrorism and domestic extremism strategic policy through the Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (CTPHQ). The CTCC also liaises with government and other partners on behalf of UK police forces. The CTCC is also staffed by a small number of chief police officers dedicated full-time to providing strategic direction and coordination relating to particular counter terrorism policing themes. The Counter Terrorism Policing Senior Leadership as defined by the National Counter Terrorism Collaboration Agreement as the CTCC Chair, Vice Chair(s)s, the Senior National Coordinator Pursue & Prevent, the Senior National Coordinator Protect & Prepare, the Director General of CTPHQ, and the Director of CT Resources.

Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters

The Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters is responsible for developing policy and strategy and providing a single national counter terrorism policing voice on behalf of the Counter Terrorism Policing Network. The CTPHQ also coordinates national projects and programmes, provides administrative and support services to the national network, advises the government on budgets and resourcing for counter terrorism policing in England and Wales.

Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre

Within the CTPHQ is the Counter Terrorism Policing Operations Centre serving as the central operational command made up of units that provide operational support to the Counter Terrorism Policing Network. Teams within the Operations Centre are: *Ports Team *Intelligence Team *Firearms Suppression Team *Coordination Centre

Senior National Coordinators

The Senior National Coordinator Pursue & Prevent is responsible for coordinating counter terrorism investigations and prevention activities for the Counter Terrorism Policing Network. The Senior National Coordinator Protect & Prepare is responsible for advising and coordinating national Counter Terrorism Policing protection and preparation activities.

Regional Counter Terrorism Units

The Counter Terrorism Policing Network is made up of eleven Regional Counter Terrorism Units (CTUs) and Regional Counter Terrorism Intelligence Units (CTIUs) which bring together intelligence, operations and investigation functions around the United Kingdom to help prevent, disrupt and prosecute terrorist activities. Units are regionally based and resourced by regional police forces and are composed of detectives, financial and cyber investigators, community contact teams, intelligence analysts, and forensic specialists. Each CTU provides coordination and specialist support for their respective regions. The CTUs are located as follows: *Counter Terrorism Policing North West led by the Greater Manchester Police with Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Isle of Man Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary, and Merseyside Police. *Counter Terrorism Policing North East led by the West Yorkshire Police with Cleveland Police, Durham Constabulary, Humberside Police, Northumbria Police, North Yorkshire Police, and South Yorkshire Police. *Counter Terrorism Policing South East led by the Thames Valley Police for Hampshire Constabulary,

Kent Police Kent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the and approximately 1.8 million inhabitants of Kent, a county in the south east of England. History On 14 January 1857, a 222-strong 'Kent County Constabulary' was formed u ...

, Surrey Police, and

Sussex Police Sussex Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing in the whole of Sussex. Its jurisdiction covers the ceremonial counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The force is headquartered in Malling House, Lewes, East Sussex. His ...

. *Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands led by the West Midlands Police with Staffordshire Police, Warwickshire Police, and West Mercia Police. * Counter Terrorism Command led by the

with

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, ou ...

. *Eastern Region Counter Terrorism Unit The Regional Counter Terrorism Intelligence Units are also resourced by the police forces in their respective areas and carry out primarily intelligence gathering operations. The CTIUs are located as follows: *Counter Terrorism Policing South West led by the

Avon and Somerset Police Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the county of Somerset and in four districts that used to be in the defunct county of Avon: Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and So ...

with Devon and Cornwall Police, Dorset Police, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Wiltshire Police,

States of Guernsey Police Service The Guernsey Police, is the police service for the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a jurisdictional sub-group of Crown Dependencies within the Channel Islands. The service's enforcement jurisdiction extends across the entire bailiwick and encompasses t ...

, and States of Jersey Police. *Counter Terrorism Policing Wales led by the South Wales Police with Dyfed–Powys Police, Gwent Police, and North Wales Police. *Eastern Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit led by the

Bedfordshire Police Bedfordshire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire in England, which includes the unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton. Its headquarters are in Kempston, B ...

with

Essex Police Essex Police is a territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Essex, in the East of England. Essex Police is responsible for a population of over 1.8 million people and an area of . The chief constable is Ben-Julian Harri ...

Cambridgeshire Constabulary Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the local territorial police force that covers the county of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough unitary authority. It provides law enforcement and security for an area of and population of 856,000 people, in a pred ...

, Hertfordshire Constabulary,

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline and ...

, and

Norfolk Constabulary Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including 90 miles of coastline and 16 rivers, including the B ...

. *Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands led by the Derbyshire Police with Leicestershire Police, Lincolnshire Police, Northamptonshire Police, and Nottinghamshire Police. *Scotland Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit led by the Police Scotland. *Northern Ireland Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit led by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Special Branches

In addition to the regional counter terrorism units, local Special Branches assist in protecting national security and are in some police forces managed and tasked by the regional counter terrorism units.''The Terrorism Acts in 2012: Report of the Independent Reviewer on the Operation of the Terrorism Act 2000 and of part 1 of the Terrorism Act 2006''. Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation David Anderson. Page 46

References

External links

Counter Terrorism Policing

MI5
{{UK policing units Counterterrorism in the United Kingdom Terrorism in the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police Government of the United Kingdom National law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom