Scotland Yard

Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard, though an Old Scotland Yard has never existed) is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service, the territorial police force responsible for policing most of London.

The name derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became the public entrance to the police station, and over time the street and the Metropolitan Police became synonymous. The New York Times wrote in 1964 that just as Wall Street gave its name to New York's financial district, Scotland Yard became the name for police activity in London.

The force moved away from Great Scotland Yard' in 1890 and the name New Scotland Yard was adopted for subsequent headquarters. The current New Scotland Yard is located on Broadway in Victoria and has been the Metropolitan Police's headquarters since 1967.

Scotland Yard appeared in the 1935 monster movie Werewolf of London, directed by Stuart Walker. One of the characters, Sir Thomas Forsythe, was the director of Scotland Yard. Two of the personnel under his charge was Detective Inspector Evans and Police Constable Harkins. Along with a man named Paul Ames, they consulted about the recent murder of a pedestrian on Goose Lane, which was actually committed a werewolf named Wilfred Glendon. ^[1]

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service became aware of the existance of a vampire cult operating out of Croxley Heath. As several members of the cult were known to be important figureheads in the English political structure, the SIS requested Scotland Yard to look into the affair. Scotland Yard sent a man named Hanson in undercover to infiltrate the cult. He was captured, but later escaped, although he suffered severe gunshot injuries during the attempt. When he was recovered by Inspectors Murray and Torrence, Hanson revealed the identities of some of the more notable members. However, he died before he could inform his peers that the cult was actually headed by the vampire lord, Dracula. Murray and Torrence employed the aid of occultist Lorrimer Van Helsing and his granddaughter, Jessica, to help them crack the secrets of the cult. They found a nest of vampires living in the crypts below the Psychical Examination and Research Group (PERG) manor house. Murray and Torrence fought up against several vampire women as well as the cult's human guards. Torrence was shot to death by sniper fire during this affair. ^[2]