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 ...

, the term military police refers to the three branches of service police, responsible for policing armed forces personnel. The Royal Military Police polices the British Army, the Royal Navy Police polices the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, and the Royal Air Force Police polices the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. There are also a number of civilian police forces whose role is to police parts of the Defence Estate, in the UK and overseas, such as the Ministry of Defence Police, but such forces are not considered military police.

Service police

In the UK, service police are the formations of the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

responsible for policing armed forces personnel. Each of the services has its own service police branch, a standalone unit responsible for policing, close protection of VIPs and, in the case of the Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police, other matters such as traffic control. * The

is policed by the Royal Navy Police, members of which are traditionally referred to as Regulators (or Master-at-Arms if a Chief Petty Officer or

Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

). The Royal Navy Police also has

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

specialising as Service Policemen. Prior to 2009, the

Royal Marines Police The Royal Marines Police, or Royal Marines Police Troop (RM Police Troop) is the Royal Marines element of the Royal Navy Police and the military police arm of the Royal Marines. Members of the RM Police enforce service law and discipline. St ...

was an independent organisation within the Corps of Royal Marines. * The

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

is policed by the Royal Military Police. * The

is policed by the Royal Air Force Police who are responsible not only for the policing of service personnel, but also a number of specialist security roles such as Counter Intelligence, physical security, cybersecurity and

information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...

and Police Dogs. The Special Investigation Branch is the name given to the detective branches of all three Service police arms: the Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police. In December 2022 the separate SIBs were amalgamated into a single joint service unit called Defence Serious Crime Unit (DSCU).

Civilian police forces

There are several civil police forces responsible to the Ministry of Defence. They each have specific roles and are staffed by police officers who are not part of the armed forces and have the powers of a constable. *The Ministry of Defence Police is the UK-based civilian police force of the Ministry of Defence. It is responsible for providing police, investigative and guarding services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and the Defence estate throughout the United Kingdom. *The Sovereign Base Areas Police provide policing services for both the Eastern and Western

Sovereign Base Areas Akrotiri and Dhekelia (), officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA), is a British Overseas Territory made of two non-contiguous areas on the island of Cyprus. The areas, which include British military bases and instal ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. *The

Gibraltar Defence Police The Gibraltar Defence Police (GDP) is a civil police force which provides a policing and security service for the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence in Gibraltar. Prior to 17 December 2009 it was known as the Gibraltar Ser ...

provide policing services on Ministry of Defence land and waters in

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

.Section 78, Police Act 2006

References

{{UK private and military police forces

Service police

Civilian police forces

See also

References