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Revision as of 12:28, 24 April 2006 by Wnjr (talk | contribs) (spelling)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The Special Patrol Group (SPG) was a controversial unit of the London Metropolitan Police.
The SPG was formed in 1961 to provide a centrally-based mobile squad for combatting particularly serious crime and other problems which could not be dealt with by local divisions.
The convenient presence of a disciplined, well-organised team brought the group into increased use for the control of protests and demonstrations, where their presence sometimes came to assume unwanted symbolic significance.
Their most controversial incident came in 1979 when they attended a protest by the Anti-Nazi League in Southall, London, and, during a running battle, demonstrator Blair Peach was allegedly beaten to death. In the inquiries which followed, various weaponry was found in the possession of SPG officers, including baseball bats, crowbars and sledgehammers. It is worth noting of course that crowbars and sledgehammers are used to enter barricaded properties, although baseball bats are not, and the significance of finding these items may be considered dubious. No SPG officer was ever charged with the attack, although later an internal report was leaked to the extent that the Metropolitan Police paid an out of court settlement to Peach's family. The SPG was also cited as a major factor in the 1981 Brixton riots.
The SPG was disbanded in 1986, with the role of mobile support and public order unit being taken over by the newly formed Territorial Support Group (TSG).
The SPG was a frequent butt of jokes on Not the Nine O'Clock News including a sketch where Rowan Atkinson criticises a racist Police Officer with the conclusion 'I have no alternative but to send you to the Special Patrol Group'.
In 1982, a destructive hamster was named Special Patrol Group by its owner, the punk character Vyvyan in the BBC sitcom The Young Ones.
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