The Civil Affairs Police Force (CAPF) was established to maintain peace and security in

British Malaya The term "British Malaya" (; ) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British Empire, British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. Unlike the ...

. The force was set up by the British Military Administration which took over the administration of

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

from the

Japanese Imperial Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

when the latter surrendered in August 1945. The establishment of CAPF in September 1945 was an important development in the history of the police force. It was the first time a single, centrally administered police force was set up for the entire British Malaya. Prior to the Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945, several police forces existed in the region. The force was led by

Commissioner of Police A police commissioner is the head of a police department, responsible for overseeing its operations and ensuring the effective enforcement of laws and maintenance of public order. They develop and implement policies, manage budgets, and coordinate ...

H. B. Longworthy H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet. H may also refer to: Musical symbols * H number, Harry Halbreich reference mechanism for music by Honegger and Martinů * H, B (musical note) * H, B major People * H. (noble) (died after 1279) ...

. As an initial step to restore the police force, all existing police officers were sent for intensive training courses at the newly built police training centre in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

. By 1946, a total of 1,512 police officers from all over Malaya had completed the Refresher Courses at the training centre. In January 1946, CAPF began accepting new recruits. The first recruitment drive had to reject about 85 per cent of the applicants due to overwhelming response. In the first recruitment of 700 new officers, 500 were trained in Kuala Lumpur while the remaining 200 were trained in

Johor Bahru Johor Bahru, abbreviated as JB, is the capital city of the Malaysian state of Johor. It is the core city of Johor Bahru District, Malaysia's second-largest district by population and the second-largest district economy. Covering an area of ...

. On 1 April 1946, in line with the establishment of the

Malayan Union The Malayan Union (; Jawi: كساتوان مالايا) was a union of the Malay states and the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca. It was the successor to British Malaya and was conceived to unify the Malay Peninsula under a single g ...

, the Civil Affairs Police Force was renamed to

Malayan Union Police Force Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

.Malayan Union Police Force
(Malay language)

References

External links

Royal Malaysian Police
(Official site) {{Royal Malaysia Police Force Royal Malaysia Police Defunct law enforcement agencies of Malaysia British Malaya 1945 establishments in British Malaya