# What does ‘Scotland Yard’ mean to you, if anything **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2018, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861 "2018-10-12T16:06:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/21 "2018-10-12T17:24:56Z")
I think British investigation in general. Used to think of it as more London-focused until the polonium-210 poisoning incident. But the impression given by Arthur Conan Doyle in his books (yes, many many years ago,) was always that Scotland Yard was incompetent and more of a hindrance to justice than a help. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/22 "2018-10-12T17:31:54Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I think British investigation in general. That’s more of what I think of it as, and also London-focused. I don’t really quite think of it as FBI, though–to me, I think more of MI5 for that, but, yeah, it’s not quite split up the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/23 "2018-10-12T17:34:23Z")
An address linked to British Police, HQish types (it’s not just “a police station which happens to be famous”), not sure which specific body is it assigned to. Mystery writers tend to use the name either to mean “the police” or, if some of the characters are station cops, to mean “the brass”; specific powers and ability levels tend to be as variable as those attributed to vampires and werewolves. When the name shows up in the news in Spain, it’s usually preceded by “_un portavoz de_” (a spokesperson from). The legal news in question are usually from London, but then, we get a lot more legal news from London than from, say, Manchester. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/24 "2018-10-12T17:39:12Z")
> [@](#): > > “This is Inspector Winship and Doctor Tart. They were in the yard.” > “[That’s FROM the Yard!](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081376/?ref_=ttqt_qt_tt)” Heh ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/25 "2018-10-12T17:44:58Z")
Like “Five-Oh” pretty much any cops above the level of local patrol but I believe its the British national investigative police force. And of course Inspector Flying Fox of the Yard. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/26 "2018-10-12T17:46:20Z")
I think of Scotland Yard as the London-area police force, but in the context of investigations. The police walking down the street isn’t part of Scotland Yard. MI-5, not Scotland Yard, is what I compare the FBI to in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Seren359](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Seren359](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seren359)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/27 "2018-10-12T17:52:15Z")
Scotland yard (or Old Scotland yard) was the building housing the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London. They investigated many high profile cases and gained a reputation in the Victorian press. What many people do not realise is that there are two police departments in London. The “Met” cover the large area of greater London, but the “City of London” police department only covers a very small area in the centre of the City which covers the royal palaces and the very rich peoples houses! ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/28 "2018-10-12T17:59:31Z")
I figure it’s synonymous with London cops (bobbies?), or possibly _all_ British police, depending on how absentminded I’m being. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/29 "2018-10-12T18:00:31Z")
London Police Headquarters. In my head, it’s where difficult cases get assigned, the upper ranks of police have offices, and paperwork goes to get stored. A bit like 1 Police Plaza in NY (which I know from many, many, many episodes of Law & Order) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/30 "2018-10-12T18:24:10Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > More like our FBI. That’s pretty much what I think of it as also, but that’s because in movies/TV, it seems like the regular policemen are basically run of the mill London cops, but the detectives are always from Scotland Yard. In reality, they’re all part of the Metropolitan Police- so there’s not much distinction there, and Scotland Yard just means the headquarters. Kind of like if you had a regular old Dallas cop on the scene, and detectives from “Jack Evans” - all that means is that the detectives came from the headquarters building downtown. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/31 "2018-10-12T18:34:33Z")
**New** Scotland Yard is the police; **Great** Scotland Yard is where they used to be and before that was the site of the Scottish Embassy to England. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/32 "2018-10-12T18:43:43Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I’ve always thought it to be England’s bureau of detectives, the investigative branch of their police department. Exactly this. Did anyone else play the [board game](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_Yard_(board_game))? That’s probably where my perception came from, it’s a detective game. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/33 "2018-10-12T18:45:11Z")
My very first thought upon hearing the phrase Scotland yard is of [Sherlock Hemlock](http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sherlock_Hemlock). My second thought would as others have said, the British equivalent of the FBI. All I know about the British legal system comes entirely from BBC (and apparently Jim Henson). ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/34 "2018-10-12T18:56:37Z")
Without having given it much thought, I had always assumed that it was the National police force, where National might have meant English or possibly the whole UK. After reading this thread it would seem it is just the Metro London force. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/35 "2018-10-12T19:15:47Z")
I used to play a board game called Scotland Yard. I don’t think I’d had the name ‘Scotland Yard’ cross my mind in years, until you mentioned it. I remembered vaguely that it was some kind of police or investigative body in Britain (but not Scotland). I probably knew better what it was when I was a kid reading Sherlock Holmes stories. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/36 "2018-10-12T19:22:23Z")
It’s gota sign outside. I’ve played chess against the Metropolitan Police team there… ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/37 "2018-10-12T19:36:27Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I think of Scotland Yard as the London-area police force, but in the context of investigations. The police walking down the street isn’t part of Scotland Yard. > > MI-5, not Scotland Yard, is what I compare the FBI to in my head. Really? I always thought MI5 was equivalent to the CIA and/or the NSA. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/38 "2018-10-12T19:49:53Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Really? > > I always thought MI5 was equivalent to the CIA and/or the NSA. MI5 (formally the Security Service) handles the counter-espionage role of the FBI. The CIA equivalent is MI6 (formally the Secret Intelligence Service), and the NSA equivalent is GCHQ. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/39 "2018-10-12T20:20:45Z")
The original Metropolitan Police office in 3-5 Great Scotland Yard (which was subsequently the army’s Central London Recruiting Depot in 1914) is currently being refurbished for use as an upmarket hotel (went down there on business recently) ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861/40 "2018-10-12T20:54:15Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > I also think of it as the UK equivalent of the US FBI. Me too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-scotland-yard-mean-to-you-if-anything/822861.md?page=3)