History of the Ministry of Defence Police facts for kids
The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a special police force in the United Kingdom. Its job is to protect important places like military bases, naval dockyards, and government buildings. The MDP makes sure these places are safe from crime and terrorism.
The history of this police force goes back a long, long way, starting in 1686. Over many centuries, it changed and grew into the force we know today. Before 1965, the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force were all run by separate government departments. Each had its own minister. But in 1965, they all came together under one big department: the Ministry of Defence.
The oldest military force in Britain is the Royal Navy. In 1686, a man named Samuel Pepys created a group of civilians to guard the Royal Naval dockyards. These were like early security guards. Later, in 1834, the Royal Navy dockyards got their own uniformed police service.
As Britain's armed forces became more organised, other military places also got police. During the First World War, separate civilian police forces were formed for the Army and Navy. Then, in the 1940s, during the Second World War, the Air Force Constabulary was added.
Contents
1686: Porters, Rounders, and Watchmen
The Royal Navy has been a central part of the government since the 1600s. As early as 1686, leaders knew they needed a way to stop crime in their dockyards. Samuel Pepys, who was in charge of Admiralty affairs, gave instructions to prevent people from stealing naval supplies.
He said guards should check workers leaving the yards and watch the gates carefully. They also had to patrol the yards at night to make sure the watchmen were doing their job. Because of Pepys' orders, a group of "Porters, Rounders, Warders, and Watchmen" was formed to guard the Naval yards.
These early guards had different roles:
- Porters greeted visitors and took them to the right people.
- Rounders patrolled the yard, checking everything. They seemed to be the most important, watching over the others.
- Warders looked after the keys and helped the Porters at the gates.
- Watchmen worked only at night, guarding important buildings. They were part-time workers from the dockyard who stayed on duty after their normal work.
Besides these civilian guards, there were also Marines who helped with security. Both the civilian and military guards worked closely together. In 1834, this early force was replaced by the first official Dockyard Police.
1834: The First Dockyard Police Force
Around the same time, in 1829, Sir Robert Peel created the famous Metropolitan Police in London. The Admiralty, which ran the Navy, decided to follow this new idea. So, on May 20, 1834, they replaced the old "Porters, Rounders, Warders, and Watchmen" with proper police forces. These new police officers were called Special Constables.
These new police forces got advice from the Metropolitan Police. This made sure they were set up with the best ideas for police work at the time. The officers had full police powers inside the dockyards. Later, they even got powers to act as police officers up to five miles outside the dockyard, especially for crimes by employees or naval staff.
Working for the new Dockyard Police was a good job back then. They earned good wages and even got extra money for catching thieves. They could also take their families with them if they had to move for work. However, after only 26 years, these dockyard police forces were disbanded. An inspection found they weren't well-trained and some officers weren't fully focused on their duties.
So, it was decided that the Metropolitan Police would take over policing the Admiralty's sites. This arrangement lasted for the next 75 years.
1860: The Metropolitan Police Takes Over
After a new law was passed in 1860, the Metropolitan Police officially took over policing the large naval dockyards like Portsmouth and Devonport. They also took over smaller naval sites. They created five special police divisions just for these naval locations:
- Woolwich Arsenal
- Portsmouth
- Devonport
- Chatham
- Pembroke
A sixth division was added for Rosyth Dockyard in 1916.
About 400 Metropolitan Police officers worked at these Admiralty sites. The new law also gave them powers to act up to fifteen miles outside the military sites. This was for crimes involving Crown property or military personnel. They also started policing some army sites for the first time.
The Metropolitan Police continued many traditions of the earlier dockyard guards. They acted as both police and firefighters. They also helped HM Customs and Excise stop smuggling. In the early days, they even watched over convicts who were working in the yards.
1922: The Royal Marine Police
After the First World War, Britain faced economic problems. There was a big push to save money. In 1922, a committee suggested that the Metropolitan Police should leave the dockyards. The Admiralty decided to create a new force called the Royal Marine Police.
The Royal Marine Police started on October 13, 1922. Its members were mostly serving or retired Royal Marines. They were sworn in as special constables, giving them police powers. They were also subject to military law. A chief constable was appointed in 1932, but it took until 1934 to fully replace the Metropolitan Police.
When the Second World War began in 1939, it became hard to find enough retired Royal Marines to join the police force. So, the rules changed. They allowed ex-servicemen from any part of the armed forces to join a new section called the Royal Marine Police Special Reserve. But this still wasn't enough.
So, a third force was created: the Admiralty Civil Police. Anyone could join this force, even if they hadn't served in the military. By the end of the war in 1945, the Admiralty had three different police forces, each with different rules. This was confusing and not very efficient. So, in October 1949, all three forces were disbanded. A new, single force called the Admiralty Constabulary was formed.
1949: The Admiralty Constabulary
When it was formed, the Admiralty Constabulary had about 3,500 officers. They policed around 150 different Naval sites across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Before this, training for the police forces was very basic. But with the new Admiralty Constabulary, a proper training school was set up. Instructors were trained at police colleges to make sure they could teach new recruits properly.
Army and Air Force Police Forces
War Office/Army Department Constabulary
In the early days, the Army used its own soldiers to guard military sites. There wasn't much need for civilian police, except for places like the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. Around 1860, the Metropolitan Police started policing the Royal Arsenal.
Later, in 1925, the Army decided it needed its own civilian police force. This was partly due to worries about a German spy network. A force was created that later became known as the War Department Constabulary. This force got its powers from various laws, allowing them to act as constables within military sites and up to 75 miles around them.
This Constabulary was responsible for policing about 60 Army sites across the UK. It also looked after some Ministry of Aviation sites and was even responsible for security at the Royal Mint. In 1964, the War Office became the Army Department, and the force was renamed the "Army Department Constabulary".
The Air Ministry/Air Force Department Constabulary
At first, the Metropolitan Police and local police forces were responsible for policing airports and sites belonging to the Air Ministry. In 1923, the Air Ministry Constabulary was created as a permanent police force.
In 1948, civilian airports became the responsibility of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which formed its own police force. This left the Air Ministry Constabulary to focus only on military airfields. In 1964, the Air Ministry was reorganised, and the force was renamed the Air Force Department Constabulary.
The Modern Ministry of Defence Police
1971: The Ministry of Defence Police is Born
In 1965, the Army, Air Force, and Navy departments all combined to form the new Ministry of Defence. This was a natural step, especially after the Second World War, which showed how important it was for all military branches to work together.
Following this, the three separate police forces (Admiralty Constabulary, Army Department Constabulary, and Air Force Department Constabulary) joined together. In October 1971, they officially became the new “Ministry of Defence Police (MDP)”.
The 1970s and 1980s were very busy for the new MDP. After a quieter period, they now had to deal with a serious new threat: Irish Republican Terrorism. Groups like the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) and Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) attacked military and defence sites. The MDP's main job for 20 years was to fight this threat.
In the early 1980s, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (a group against nuclear weapons) became very popular again. People were worried about nuclear war. There were huge protests, especially at USAF (RAF) Greenham Common, where US Cruise Missiles were placed. The MDP had to deal with these large protests.
In the 1960s, the MDP mostly just guarded gates and checked passes. But by the 1970s and 1980s, they had to quickly learn to deal with terrorists and large protests. By the late 1980s, the MDP was well-equipped, armed, and trained to handle these challenges.
Most of the MDP's work was "behind the wire," meaning inside the secure areas of military sites. But they increasingly needed to work outside these areas to stop terrorists before they attacked. This led to the need for new laws to give the MDP more powers.
1974: Female Police Officers Join
Even though some police forces had female officers since 1915, the MDP didn't have any until 1974. That year, two female sergeants joined the MDP from other police forces.
The first four female MDP recruits started their training in January 1975. They had to have special uniforms made because there were no female uniforms in stock. They were given truncheons (police batons), but their uniforms didn't have pockets to put them in! At this time, female officers were not given trousers, and their housing allowance was only half of what male officers received. Today, the MDP has over 340 female officers.
1987: The Ministry of Defence Police Act
The MDP's powers came from many different laws and rules. It became clear that one specific law was needed to cover the MDP and its special role. So, in 1987, Parliament passed the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987. This law brought many of the old powers together, making them clearer and easier to understand.
Now, all MDP officers are officially sworn in as constables under this Act. This gives them the "Powers and privileges of Constables" anywhere in the UK where they have jurisdiction.
1996: Agency Status
On April 1, 1996, the Ministry of Defence Police became a Defence Agency. This was a big step, as it was the first British police force to become an agency. This meant it operated more like a business unit within the Ministry of Defence.
The Chief Constable of the MDP is in charge of the police officers and reports directly to the Secretary of State for Defence.
2000-2009: New Powers and Threats
Under the 1987 Act, MDP officers mostly had powers only on Defence land or over Defence personnel. They could help local police "in the vicinity" of Defence land, but this wasn't clearly defined. This meant MDP officers couldn't always act in emergencies if a serious crime happened just off Defence land.
Because the MDP's role was changing from just guarding inside bases to more mobile policing, the Chief Constable asked for more powers. These new powers, called ‘Extended Jurisdiction’, were included in the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security (ATCS) Act 2001. This happened partly because of the fuel protests of 2000, when the government wanted to use the MDP to help with fuel convoys but found it would be unlawful.
Even with these new powers, the MDP generally doesn't police the public directly, except in some military towns. But they often help local police forces and deal with all kinds of crime.
After the September 11 attacks in the US, the threat of al-Qaeda/Islamist terrorism became the MDP's main focus. The MDP formed mobile teams of armed officers to patrol and deal with crime around Defence sites. This was part of a big change to focus on armed security and counter-terrorism.
Traditional unarmed guarding jobs were given to the MOD Guard Service. This allowed the MDP to focus on specialist armed policing, like protecting nuclear weapons and critical national infrastructure. For example, in 2007, the MDP was sent to protect gas intake stations from terrorist attacks.
2004: Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
In 2004, the MDP Agency expanded to include the MOD Guard Service (MGS). It was renamed the "Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency" (MDPGA). This agency brought together the two main physical security services within the Ministry of Defence.
However, due to budget cuts in 2010, the MDPGA was disbanded on April 1, 2013. The MDP went back to being a standalone police force. The MGS was significantly reduced and became part of another organisation.
2010: Budget Cuts and Changes
After the 2010 general election, the UK government decided to cut public spending, including many civilian jobs in the Ministry of Defence. The MDP was told to reduce its size from nearly 3,100 officers to about 2,400 by April 2016.
In April 2012, the MDP changed its command structure. Instead of five geographic divisions, it now has two functional divisions: 'Nuclear Division' and 'Territorial Division'.
|
