# Territorial Operations

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Group of eighteen specialist Metropolitan Police units

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**Territorial Operations** was a group of eighteen specialist Metropolitan Police units which were set up in 1986 as part of Sir [Kenneth Newman](/source/Kenneth_Newman)'s restructuring of the [Metropolitan Police Service](/source/Metropolitan_Police_Service). The Territorial Operations units were designed to support the Metropolitan Police areas and divisions.[1] While area-based policing was designed to decentralise the operations of [New Scotland Yard](/source/New_Scotland_Yard), the TO units were intended to provide central operational and logistic support to Areas and divisional OCUs ([Operational Command Units](/source/Operational_Command_Unit)).

## TO designations

The Territorial Operations groups were disbanded in 1995 due to restructuring of the Metropolitan Police.[1] The current term 'Territorial Policing' refers to the co-operation of [BCUs](/source/Organisation_and_structure_of_the_Metropolitan_Police#Basic_Command_Unit_(BCU)) with pan-London units, many of them formerly TO units. The remaining pan-London units are now the remit of [Met Operations](/source/Organisation_and_structure_of_the_Metropolitan_Police#Met_Operations). Where units have been renamed or reassigned, these are listed in italics.

- TO1 – General Department Services and HQ Support

- TO3 – Area Support

- TO4 – Public Carriage Office[2] (*now the [Transport for London](/source/Transport_for_London) [Public Carriage Office](/source/Taxicabs_of_the_United_Kingdom)*)

- TO5 – Central Ticket Office[2] (*now run by the [Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency](/source/Driver_and_Vehicle_Licensing_Agency) or local borough authorities*)

- TO6 – Central Services (*now the [Firearms Enquiry Team](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Firearms_Enquiry_Team&action=edit&redlink=1)*)

- TO7 – Divisional Support (*now the [Charities Office](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charities_Office&action=edit&redlink=1) and Borough Licensing Officers*)

- TO9 – Crime and Divisional Policing Policy Branch[2]

- TO10 – Courts Division[2]

- TO14 – Traffic[2] (*now CO15 – [Traffic Operational Command Unit](/source/Traffic_Operational_Command_Unit)*)

- TO18 – Public Order Training[2] (*now CO11 – Metropolitan Police Public Order Operational Command Unit*)

- TO20 – Public Order[2] (*now CO11 – Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group*)

- TO25 – Central Communications Branch[2] (*now Command, Control, Communication and Information – C3i*)

- TO26 – [Air Support Unit](/source/Metropolitan_Police_Air_Support_Unit)[2]

- TO27 – [Mounted Branch](/source/Metropolitan_Police_Mounted_Branch)[2]

- TO28 – Police Dog Section[2]

- TO29 – Thames Division[2] (*now [Marine Policing Unit](/source/Marine_Policing_Unit)*)

## See also

- [Central Operations](/source/Central_Operations)

- [Specialist Operations](/source/Specialist_Operations)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_1-1) Fido, Martin; Skinner, Keith (1999). [*The Official Encyclopedia of Scotland Yard*](http://archive.org/details/officialencyclop0000fido). London: Virgin Books. p. 260. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-85227-712-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-85227-712-3) – via Internet Archive.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:1_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:1_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:1_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:1_2-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-:1_2-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-:1_2-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-:1_2-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-:1_2-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-:1_2-11) Moss, Alan. ["Departments and Branches at Scotland Yard 1829 - 2000"](https://historybytheyard.co.uk/branches_at_the_yard1.htm). *History by the Yard*. Retrieved 14 March 2026.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Territorial Operations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_Operations) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_Operations?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.