Specialist Crime

Trident

Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Cundy- Head of Trident - Shooting Prevention and Investigation

Key Responsibilities: Responsible for the prevention and investigation of shootings in London’s communities and all gun related murders within London’s black communities.

Key Units: The key units supporting this task include three Shooting Investigation Units, four Murder Investigation Teams (MITs) and five Proactive Units. These are supported by an Intelligence Unit incorporating airport liaison and immigration units, the Community Engagement Team and the Financial Payback Unit.

OCU Commander: Stuart Cundy is the Detective Chief Superintendent responsible for Trident and joined in 2010.

He joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1994 serving in both uniform and detective roles across south London, with two posts in Lambeth Borough and within the Lawrence Review Team established at the time of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry. In 2003 he transferred to the Specialist Crime Directorate as a murder Senior Investigating Officer and led a number of high profile cases, including the brutal murder of Sally Anne Bowman. In 2007 he was promoted to Detective Superintendent in the Serious and Organised Crime Command with responsibility for the MPS Flying Squad, including a number of key investigations, such as the first criminal trial in England and Wales without a jury and the £40m Graff diamond robbery.

Who we are

Trident Operational Command Unit (OCU) is the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) response to gun related activity occurring within London’s communities, but at this time only gun related murders within the black community. The levels of violence associated with this type of criminality are extreme, with the use of firearms becoming more prevalent

Trident was initially set up as an intelligence based initiative in April 1995 after the brutal murder of murders in and around areas of Lambeth and Brent, of particular mention was the murder of Marcia Lawes in Brixton by Delroy Denton. These incidents were made much harder to investigate due to unwillingness on the part of witnesses to come forward through fear of reprisals from the perpetrators of such criminal behaviour.

Following a continuation of the shootings and murders Trident was implemented on a London wide scale. In May 2004 Trident was expanded and currently has over 460 police officers and police staff engaged in the investigation and prevention of firearm murders and other gun crime affecting London’s communities. The aim is to co-ordinate resources and intelligence in support of both proactive and reactive operations and work closely with MPS Boroughs and other law enforcement agencies. This approach has led to the disruption and frustration of criminal activity of those individuals responsible for gun related violence.

What we do

SCD8 Trident Terms of Reference

• MURDER - Trident investigates all murders by shooting involving a lethal barrelled weapon or a weapon that has been converted to be such a lethal barrelled weapon, where both the victim(s) and suspect(s) are from black communities.
• SHOOTINGS - (i) Trident investigates all non-fatal shootings or discharges involving a lethal barrelled weapon or a weapon that has been converted to be such a lethal barrelled weapon, and (ii) Any threat to police officers and other police staff, for example PCSOs, where a firearm is produced but not discharged.
• PRO-ACTIVE OPERATOINS - Trident targets those who possess, supply, convert, reactivate and manufacture illegal firearms and those who seek to use illegal firearms to prevent shootings occurring.

The IAG

The introduction of the Trident Independent Advisory Group (IAG) was established upon the formation of Trident in June 2000. This group has assisted in harnessing community support and awareness of Trident activity and assisted in promoting the provision of information to police investigating gun criminality in and around London. The group is made up of individuals from within the black communities, drawn from Boroughs where high levels of Trident activity has been recorded. In conjunction with the IAG, various advertising, media and publicity work has been undertaken to communicate the ethos of Trident and ensure that the profile of this Command remains constant and sustained. This work established the web site www.droptheweapons.org where young people were actively encouraged to contribute ideas and creative content.

Trident IAG continue to encourage community confidence and provide invaluable support and advice to both the police and the communities. This relationship has served to create a positive climate for members of the black communities to come forward with information about gun related criminal activity. The depth and importance of gun related investigations, demands continued dialogue between the police and the communities and will enhance the flow of vital intelligence. Through such a partnership, the MPS will continue to develop long term initiatives and increase community confidence.