National Counter Terrorism Policing Network

The National Counter Terrorism Policing Network (NCTPN) (also known as the Police Counter-Terrorism Network) 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 Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations (ACSO) who also acts as the National Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing. The Network is also functionally coordinated by the Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism who is usually a Metropolitan Police Service Deputy Assistant Commissioner 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'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 National 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 Metropolitan Police Service Assistant Commissioner of Specialist Operations Mark Rowley with the vice chair being West Midlands Police Chief Constable David Thompson. 

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 National Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (NCTPHQ). 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 National 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, the Director of Counter Terrorism Strategy and Policy, the Director of Counter Terrorism Resources, the National Coordinator Protect and Prepare, the National Coordinator Prevent, and the National Coordinator Pursue who is the concurrent Deputy Senior National Coordinator.

National Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters
The National Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (NCTPHQ) is responsible for developing policy and strategy and providing a single national counter terrorism policing voice on behalf of the National Counter Terrorism Policing Network. The NCTPHQ 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.

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

Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism 
The Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism (SNC) is responsible for coordinating counter terrorism investigations and prevention activities for the National Counter Terrorism Policing Network. The SNC is usually a concurrent Metropolitan Police Service Counter Terrorism Command Deputy Assistant Commissioner and is aided by the Deputy Senior Coordinator for Counter Terrorism from outside the Metropolitan Police. In March 2018 Neil Basu (former Deputy Assistant Commissioner and SNC) was promoted to Assistant Commissioner and in May 2018 Dean Haydon, new Deputy Assistant Commissioner, was appointed as a new SNC.

Regional Counter Terrorism Units
The National 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:

North West Counter Terrorism Unit led by the Greater Manchester Police with Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Isle of Man Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary, and Merseyside Police.
North East Counter Terrorism Unit led by the West Yorkshire Police with Cleveland Police, Durham Constabulary, Humberside Police, Northumbria Police, North Yorkshire Police, and South Yorkshire Police.
South East Counter Terrorism Unit led by the Thames Valley Police for Hampshire Constabulary, Kent Police, Surrey Police, and Sussex Police.
West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit led by the West Midlands Police with Staffordshire Police, Warwickshire Police, and West Mercia Police.
Counter Terrorism Command led by the Metropolitan Police Service with City of London Police.
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:

South West Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit led by the Avon and Somerset Police with Devon and Cornwall Police, Dorset Police, Gloucestershire Constabulary, Wiltshire Police, States of Guernsey Police Service, and States of Jersey Police.
Welsh Extremism and Counter Terrorism Unit 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 with Essex Police, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Hertfordshire Constabulary, Suffolk Constabulary, and Norfolk Constabulary.
East Midlands Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit 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.

See also
Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism
National Counter Terrorism Security Office
Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit
National Domestic Extremism and Disorder Intelligence Unit
CONTEST
Operation Temperer
United Kingdom National Security Council
United Kingdom National Security Strategy
Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre
Civil Contingencies Secretariat
Cabinet Office Briefing Room
National Crime Agency
Home Office Minister of State for Security
Metropolitan Police Service 
Specialist Operations
Counter Terrorism Command
Protection Command
Counter Terrorist Specialist Firearms Officer
Authorised Firearms Officer and Armed Response Vehicle
United Kingdom Special Forces
United Kingdom intelligence agencies
United Kingdom law enforcement agencies

References

External links
 UK Counter Terrorism Police
 MI5

Category:Counter-terrorism in the United Kingdom
Category:Terrorism in the United Kingdom
Category:Metropolitan Police
Category:Government of the United Kingdom
Category:Law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom
Category:National police forces of the United Kingdom
Category:Specialist police agencies of the United Kingdom