Territorial Support Group

The Territorial Support Group (TSG) is a Met Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) which focuses on public order policing and other specialist areas. In 2012 it consisted of 793 officers and 29 support staff. The TSG is a uniformed unit of the MPS that replaced the similarly constituted Special Patrol Group in 1987. TSG units patrol London in marked police vans or "carriers", using the call sign prefix "Uniform". Generally, each carrier has an advanced (police) driver, six constables, and a sergeant. Territorial Support Group "serials" often comprise three carriers, twenty-one constables, and three sergeants reporting to an inspector. They separately patrol designated areas experiencing serious levels of gang violence or disorder. When deployed, a group is managed by the MPS Information Room. Due to the public order nature of their role, a number of carriers will often be assigned to a specific event. TSG officers can be identified from the distinctive "U" on their epaulettes. Some TSG officers are also plainclothes officers, who carry tasers and handcuffs.