Scotland Yard

Scotland Yard is the traditional name of the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police. The name derives from a small, enclosed field in the Whitehall district of London, which was adjacent to the force's original headquarters. The name has remained through subsequent moves, first in 1890 to "New" Scotland Yard, an ornate brick building in the Italian Revival style designed by Norman Shaw on the Victoria Embankment, and then in 1967 to the present New Scotland Yard on Victoria Street in Westminster. Because the original Detective Division of the Metropolitan Police had its offices in the rear of Whitehall Place in the first of these buildings, the name has been especially associated with the department's detective branch, known since 1878 as the Criminal Investigation Department or CID.

History

Scotland Yard was founded as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police by Sir Robert Peel. It opened on 29 September 1829, housing the two commissioners and their administrative staffs. It was not (and has never been) a police station in the usual sense, since each division of the police operates its own local stations, but has housed certain centralized units, such as the CID and the Special Branch, which operate with a degree of independence in their specialized areas.