The Met-wide operation includes borough officers, Safer Neighbourhoods teams and staff from the Specialist Crime Directorate and Central Operations.

The Directorate will sit within Territorial Policing and has been created to co-ordinate the Met's response to tackling violent crime and ensure our assets are best deployed to meet the needs of Londoners.

It will have particular responsibility for the investigation of rape and sexual offences, domestic violence, hate crime and the management of dangerous offenders in the community, missing persons and the Racial and Violent Crime Task Force pro-active team who will target violent offenders.

A key part of the new directorate will be the formation of a Violent Crime Intelligence Unit, whose role will be to identify dangerous people, dangerous places and those most likely to become victims of violence.

The Intelligence Unit will pass analysis to an Operations Board, consisting of Deputy Assistant Commissioners from across the MPS, who will identify the tactics and resources needed to solve the problems.

The directorate will be overseen by Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin.

Commander Steve Allen will lead the Directorate with Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Dillnutt.

Commander Steve Allen said:

"Crime is at its lowest for five years, we have the lowest homicide rate in 10 years, detections are up and Safer Neighbourhoods teams are beginning to have a real impact.

"The creation of the Violent Crime Directorate is about building on that success and ensuring that the organisation works in a co-ordinated way to deal with all forms of violence."

Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin said:

"The creation of the new directorate is a great opportunity for the Met to make London even safer. People want us to be tackling the things that make them feel unsafe and our commitment is to bring together the expertise and the resources that are needed to deal with their concerns head-on."