The Admiralty Constabulary was a police force 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

formed under the Special Constables Act 1923. It was formed on 1 October 1949 by merging the Royal Marine Police and the Royal Marine Police Special Reserve (both policing dockyards since 1923) and the Admiralty Civil Police (previously policing naval hospitals). That Admiralty Constabulary was in turn amalgamated with the

Army Department Constabulary The Army Department Constabulary was a security police force in the United Kingdom formed as a result of the Special Constables Act 1923. Originally, the Army used serving soldiers to guard its establishments and the only call for police was at pla ...

and the Air Force Department Constabulary in 1971 to form the

Ministry of Defence Police The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force#United Kingdom, special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are ...

Precursors

The constabulary can trace its history back to 1686 when the Royal Navy needed an organisation to prevent

dockyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involve ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...

. So the Secretary to the Admiralty –

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

, the diarist – formed a force of 'porters, rounders, warders and watchmen' to guard the naval yards. Porters identified and escorted visitors, rounders patrolled the yard, warders were responsible for the keys and backed up the porters at the gates, and the part-time watchmen guarded buildings and areas by night. In 1834 this force became the first dockyard police, with full police powers within the dockyards, and acting as policemen over offences committed by employees and naval personnel within a radius of five miles of the yard. Rewards for obtaining convictions quickly led to corruption, so the force was 'cleaned up' and then abolished. In 1860 dockyard divisions of the Metropolitan Police took over and senior naval officers became magistrates. From 1923 onwards the Metropolitan Police presence began to be replaced by Royal Marines appointed as special constables under the Special Constables Act 1923. No. 3 (Devonport) Division was the last of these six divisions to be pulled out, leaving in 1934, the year which also saw the formal formation of the Royal Marine Police.

Notes

Sources

* Button, Mark (2012). Private Policing. Oxford, England: Routledge. .
Focus on the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP), QuestOnline
* Hind, Bob (24 April 2016). "In days when the Admiralty ran its own police force". The News. * Ministry of Defence Police Bill ords(Hansard, 27 January 1987)". hansard.millbanksystems.com. Hansard, vol 109 cc276-85. Retrieved 13 March 2018.

External links

Royal Navy Admiralty departments Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence Police 1949 establishments in the United Kingdom 1971 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Civilian police forces of defense ministries * {{UK-law-enforcement-agency-stub

Precursors

See also

Notes

Sources

External links