What is the exact nature of the relationship between these three organisations. I am trying to establish who would be responsible for investigating and busting an Italian mob in London. I imagine that MI6 would be less relevant unless they were, for example, receiving funding from outside the UK.
New Scotland Yard is home to the Metropolitan Police Service, the largest force responsible for policing London. MI5 (the Security Service) are responsible for maintaining the UK’s internal security against terrorism, espionage and so on. MI6 (the Secret Intelligence Service) is responsible for external intelligence-gathering and is by far the most secretive.
Information on MI6’s role is very hard to find. MI5, however, make plain their involvement in serious crime:
Basically, the 1996 Security Service Act gives MI5 a clear mandate for fighting crime. MI6 does not make public similar references, but then again it’s not an organisation that makes public any information. When MI5 is involved in crime-fighting the Act requires the appointment of a former chief officer of a police force to co-ordinate operations.
To elaborate a bit…
Scotland Yard is the HQ of the Metropolitan Police, the London police (except for the City of London - a tiny section downtown around the financial district, which has its own police force). The Metropolitan Police comes more directly under the UK central government than other UK police forces, and it’s the biggest force, so it sometimes assists other police forces. It’s popularly referred to as “Scotland Yard” after its address (strictly speaking “New” Scotland Yard).
MI5 is the domestic counter-espionage agency. Since the end of the Cold War it has managed to acquire extra responsibilities such as anti-terrorism and even drug/immigration and other law-enforcement duties, in the classic manner of bureaucracies without enough work to do.
Both the above functions overlap to some degree with the FBI/ATF/DEA in the US.
MI6 is the overseas intelligence gathering agency. Like the CIA. (The UK also has an electronic signals “eavesdropping” agency - GCHQ - roughly parallel to the NSA in the US).
The relatively good news is that these bodies are very small by US standards and actually cooperate, more or less.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think M15 does not have any powers of arrest . This is where MI5 and the FBI differ in their powers. When it becomes necessary to do this ,then they hand the case over to the ordinary police force to make the arrests. To coordinate the work of MI5 and the police ,most police forces have a " Special Branch " to act as a link between the two organisations .
I have just found this link which explains the role of the Special Branch . As can be seen its work follows very much the role of MI5
http://www.met.police.uk/so/special_branch.htmDidn’t the UK just recently establish an FBI type national crime fighting organization?
We do have the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) who are aimed at organised crime, drugs and (for God’s sake why?) Football Hooligans.
It isn’t an FBI type organisation, but a way of forces pooling their intelligence on criminals who operate accross force boundaries.
As to the listening station GCHQ, it is part of Echelon an information sharing system between UK, US (and I think Aus and NZ), so it also serves the NSA who have a huge base at Menwith Hill too.