History of the Metropolitan Police Service by the end of the 19th century. During the 1860s, the flintlock pistols that had been purchased in 1829 were decommissioned from service, being superseded by 622 Beaumont–Adams revolvers firing the .450 cartridge which were loaned from the army stores at the Tower of London following the Clerkenwell bombing. In 1883, a ballot was carried out to gather information on officers' views on whether they wished to be armed, and 4,430 out of 6,325 officers serving on outer divisions requested to be issued with revolvers. The now obsolete Adams revolver was returned to stores for emergencies, and the Bulldog 'Metropolitan
Organisation and structure of the Metropolitan Police Service being formally made by Her Majesty The Queen. The Frontline Policing Directorate, formerly known as Territorial Policing, is commanded by Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt who is responsible for providing the day-to-day local policing of Greater London, the police area defined in legislation as the Metropolitan Police District. Until 2018 the MPD was divided into 32 Borough Operational Command Units (BOCUs); with each London borough assigned a BOCU. Each BOCU was commanded by a Chief Superintendent. Each BOCU provided police officers (Regular and Specials) who were responsible for patrolling, and responding to emergencies. Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) were usually made up