Palace of Westminster Division

The Palace of Westminster Division (SO17) was a branch of the Specialist Operations Directorate within London's Metropolitan Police Service. SO17 was responsible for security at the Palace of Westminster, where the two houses of the UK Parliament meet, as well as for the rest of the Parliamentary Estate. Officers of SO17 were unarmed, as were the rest of the service, with armed security being provided by the Diplomatic Protection Group (SO6). In April 2015, SO6 and SO17 merged to form the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.