Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, in which all

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

police forces once bore the title (and some still do). Constables also exist in some U.S. states including

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. *In English-speaking Canada, the starting rank of all police officers is Constable. The provincial police service of Newfoundland and Labrador is the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. This term reflects the force’s history of having been modelled after the Royal Irish Constabulary. In this case, Constabulary is used in the same sense in which it is used in the UK. *A large civil police force organised and trained along military lines, which may contain

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

elements. This is the usual definition in places outside

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

such as the former

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

, the former

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is one of three provincial police forces in Canada, alongside the Ontario Provincial ...

, Jamaica Constabulary Force. *A military or

type force consisting of soldiers trained for police duties. Mostly established by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in the several countries over which it had protective status e.g. Philippine Constabulary; United States Constabulary in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. These forces also performed military functions by maintaining "mobile forces" of organised units.

Current UK police services titled "constabulary"

* Avon and Somerset Constabulary *

Belfast International Airport Constabulary The Belfast International Airport Constabulary (BIAC) is a small, specialised police force responsible for providing policing to the Belfast International Airport in Aldergrove, Northern Ireland. Officers employed by the force as empowered to ac ...

Cambridgeshire Constabulary Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the local territorial police force that covers the county of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough unitary authority. It provides law enforcement and security for an area of and population of 856,000 people, in a pred ...

* Cheshire Constabulary * Civil Nuclear Constabulary *

Derbyshire Constabulary Derbyshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Derbyshire, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million. Organisation and structure To police the county ...

Durham Constabulary Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing ceremonial county of County Durham in North East England. The force’s area is bordered by Cumbria Constabulary to the west, Cleveland Police to the south east, Nor ...

* Gloucestershire Constabulary * Hampshire Constabulary *

Hampstead Heath Constabulary The Hampstead Heath Constabulary (HHC) is the organisation that patrols Hampstead Heath, London, which is administered by the City of London Corporation. Duties The Hampstead Heath Constabulary consists of 12 constables and acts as the parks p ...

Havering Parks Constabulary The Havering Parks Constabulary is a body of constables responsible for policing the parks and open spaces of the London Borough of Havering. Organisation and Duties Constables The Constabulary is part of Havering Parks Protection Service, and wo ...

* Hertfordshire Constabulary * Kew Constabulary * Lancashire Constabulary *

Norfolk Constabulary Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including 90 miles of coastline and 16 rivers, including the B ...

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline an ...

Current constabularies in the Netherlands

* Royal Marechaussee * Dienst Speciale Interventies *

Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten The ''Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten'' (BSB) ( en, Special Security Missions Brigade) is the elite police tactical unit of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Its missions include counter-terrorism, protection of government and military o ...

Historic constabularies

;Philippines * Philippine Constabulary – created in 1901 by the American colonial administration. It was demilitarised and merged with the Integrated National Police in 1991 to form the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currentl ...

. ;Ireland *

– The United Kingdom's paramilitary police force in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

from 1822–1922. ;Northern Ireland *

– The United Kingdom's police force in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

from 1922 – 2001 when it was reformed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland. * Ulster Special Constabulary – a reserve police force from 1920 until it was disbanded in 1970. ;Free City of Danzig *

Free City of Danzig Police The Free City of Danzig Police (German: ''Polizei der Freien Stadt Danzig'') or ''Schutzpolizei'', as it was known locally, was a state constabulary and the official law enforcement agency within the Free City of Danzig, primarily from 1921 to 19 ...

– The law enforcement agency of the semi-autonomous

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

from 1919 - 1945. ;United States * United States Constabulary –

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

military

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the U.S. Occupation Zone of

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. * Pennsylvania State Constables – an elected office held in all Pennsylvania townships, boroughs, and cities except Philadelphia; unrelated to the

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and c ...

;Malaysia * North Borneo Constabulary – The paramilitary police force of

North Borneo (I persevere and I achieve) , national_anthem = , capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945);Jesselton (1946) , common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc. , ...

from 1800s to 1963 where it was officially incorporated into Royal Malaysia Police shortly after the formation of Malaysia. * Sarawak Constabulary – The paramilitary police force of Kingdom of Sarawak from 1800s to 1963 where it was officially incorporated into Royal Malaysia Police shortly after the formation of Malaysia.

External links

*{{Commonscat-inline Law enforcement units

Current UK police services titled "constabulary"

Current constabularies in the Netherlands

Historic constabularies

Further reading

External links