The Air Force Department Constabulary (formerly the Air Ministry 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 ...

, responsible for policing the airfields and aerodromes under the control of the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

, later the Air Force Department. Policing at Air Ministry establishments was originally provided by the Metropolitan Police and local county constabularies. For a while, as an economy measure, some establishments were manned by warders who had no police powers but the Home Office forces remained at stores depots, where warders were considered to be inadequate, until about 1925. The passing of the

Special Constables Act 1923 The Special Constables Act 1923 ( 13 & 14 Geo. 5. c. 11); long title ''An Act to make perpetual, subject to an amendment, the Special Constables Act, 1914; to provide for the employment of special constables in connection with Naval, Military and ...

enabled these warders to be sworn as special constables under section 3 of the Act, and the regular police were then gradually withdrawn and replaced by warders or, as they were later styled, Air Ministry Constables. Originally the warders and later constabulary departments were under direct control of the commanding officer of the unit at which they served. In 1942 a superintendent was appointed to

RAF Maintenance Command RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. Histor ...

, which was the main user of the constabulary, to advise on police matters. Later in the same year, the superintendent was moved to the Air Ministry and the beginnings were made to centralise control. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the constabulary increased to a peak strength of 3,530 men. In 1946, F. J. May

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

was appointed as the first Chief Constable, and

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

D. F. Grierson MBE was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable. In 1948, responsibility for civilian airports was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, and a new police force, the

Ministry of Civil Aviation Constabulary Airport policing in the United Kingdom has taken many forms since the rise of scheduled airline services in the post-war period. Policing at major civilian airports was the responsibility of specialist constabularies operated by three central govern ...

was formed, leaving the Air Ministry Constabulary with responsibility for military airfields only. Reductions in the RAF, the relinquishing of control over civil airports and the introduction of more economical methods of policing saw the size of the force decrease to some 1155 men. In 1964 the force was renamed the Air Force Department Constabulary. 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 ...

absorbed the AFDC in 1971, along 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

Admiralty Constabulary The Admiralty Constabulary was a police force in the United Kingdom 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 docky ...

References

External links

Air Ministry/Air Force Department Constabulary insignia
Ministry of Defence Police Defunct police forces of the United Kingdom Defunct airport police forces of the United Kingdom Civilian police forces of defense ministries {{UK-law-enforcement-agency-stub

See also

References

External links