Ministry of Defense Police
The Ministry of Defense Police ( MDP ; German " Police of the Defense Ministry " ) is a civilian police authority in the British Ministry of Defense . Within the ministry, it belongs to the Ministry of Defense Police and Guarding Agency (MDPGA), which was created through administrative merger on April 1, 2004 from the MDP and the Ministry of Defense Guard Service .
The MDP is a special police force. It is responsible for security and order in the area of the Ministry of Defense and its subordinate institutions as well as for its personnel. It has also been guarding the natural gas processing operations since 2008, limited to three years.
The MDP is not with the Royal Military Police of the British Army to be confused which part of the military police is in the UK. In addition to the MDP, there are also the Sovereign Base Areas Police (SBAP) in Cyprus and the Gibraltar Defense Police (GDP) as civilian police forces within the Ministry of Defense. You are independent of the MDP. Police officers from these agencies are trained at the Department of Defense Police School. GDP officials support the MDP on the occasion of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations in Portsmouth.
The MDP has 3,500 officers who are distributed over 110 stations in 86 locations.
history
In 1971 the MDP was formed from the Air Force Department Constabulary (under the Air Ministry ), the Army Department Constabulary (under the War Office ) and the Admiralty Constabulary (under the Admiralty ).
These three agencies were set up under the Special Constables Act 1923.
tasks
The MDP is primarily responsible for the security and order in the facilities of the Ministry of Defense and not for the general police service. Nevertheless, it supports territorial police in the context of administrative assistance. While the members of the Service Police have only limited rights against civilians, the members of the MDP have full police powers over civilians and soldiers.
The MDP police officers are appointed as police officers in one of the three legal systems of the United Kingdom (England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), depending on where they are based. However, their appointment is not limited to one legal system. Your powers are not determined by the location, but the official act must be in connection with the Ministry of Defense. However, they do not need to be on the territory of the Department of Defense to exercise their powers. You may perform tasks of a territorial or special police, if these tasks arise during an activity that is related to their actual tasks. For example, the protection of an accident site in front of a barracks by the MDP or the pursuit of a criminal during a patrol is permitted. The Chief Constable of the MDP must inform the Chief Constable of the responsible police immediately.
In detail, the following applies to the performance of tasks. The members of the MDP have police duties
- in places, on land, air and water vehicles owned, controlled or used for purposes
- of the Secretary of State for Defense,
- of the Defense Council of the United Kingdom,
- of a headquarters or a defense organization under the Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Application of Law) Order 1965 or
- from offices of a friendly power
- on land, air and water vehicles that are owned, controlled or used for purposes of a weapons factory and used for the manufacture or development of weapons and equipment for defense purposes,
- on land, air and water vehicles which are owned, controlled or used for purposes of a shipyard, for tasks for which armed forces are used,
- in areas for which ministers have agreed to use the MDP and this has been made public.
- in matters relating to the property of the Crown, of international defense alliances, of military equipment or shipyards, or of securing such territory against unauthorized acts
- in matters relating to persons under the control of the Defense Council, employed by or appointed by the Department of Defense or Defense Council, or who are subject to an authority under the Visiting Forces Act 1952
- in matters related to a criminal offense against the above-mentioned persons
- in matters relating to the above-mentioned persons and fulfilling offenses under the anti-corruption laws from 1889 to 1916
- in all other matters carried out on the basis of a contract with the Minister of Defense for the purposes of his Ministry or the Defense Council.
The MDP may also act when asked to assist in a specific official act, investigation or activity by a police officer from a Territorial Police including the Police Service of Northern Ireland , the British Transport Police or the Civil Nuclear Constabulary . Police officers from the MDP then have the authority of the requesting police authority for the respective case. In the event of a request by a territorial police, the powers are limited to the official territory of the respective authority; In the case of a special police, the MDP police officer has the same rights as a police officer of the respective special police.
In addition, the Chief Constable of one of the above authorities can ask the MDP for assistance. For example, the MDP was active at the G8 meeting in Gleneagles in 2005 because of such a requirement. In addition, after the terrorist attacks on London's local transport on July 7, 2005 , the MDP became active due to such a request by the Metropolitan Police. This mission was also the largest mission by armed officers of the MDP outside of their actual area of responsibility.
A police officer of the MDP can also provide himself with the rights of a police officer of a territorial police ( urgently powers ) if facts justify the assumption that a person has committed, is committing or will commit a criminal offense or that an intervention to combat a danger to life or death Life of a person is necessary. The police officer may only exercise his rights if he is wearing a uniform or can identify himself with an official ID and there are good reasons why the officer cannot act with his own rights and the arrival of the local police cannot be awaited.
The MDP divides its tasks into five areas:
- Armed security and counter-terrorism
- Uniformed service
- Criminal Investigation and Fraud
- Conduct and crime prevention
- International cooperation and training
Departments
The MDP is represented in 86 locations with 120 offices. In addition to barracks, these include military living areas, military training areas, royal shipyards, the Atomic Weapons Establishment , the Royal Arsenal , ammunition depots and warehouses, the Royal Ordnance Factories , research facilities and, since January 2008, natural gas terminals as part of the Critical National Infrastructure program . Since the end of the Cold War and the Northern Ireland conflict , the closure of the Royal Arsenal Woolwich and the privatization of facilities such as the Royal Ordnance Factories, the number of services has been reduced. Furthermore, the armed guards at many barracks were taken over by the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS). Here the MDP is still on site for pure police tasks, but with a reduced staff.
structure
The MDP is headed by a Chief Constable who also heads the Ministry of Defense Police and Guarding Agency. Since 1995 is the seat on the former air base of the United States Air Force in Wethersfield , which since then as MDPGA Wethersfield is called. There is the control center and the police headquarters (Wethersfield Central Control Room and Gold Command Suite), as well as the police school.
Since 2003, the MDP has been divided into the following districts, each of which is headed by a Chief Superintendent:
- Scottish Division
- North Eastern Division
- Western Division
- Atomic Weapons Establishment Division (AWE Division)
- South East Division.
In each district there is a management staff, a criminal investigation department (CID) and a support group, which is responsible for short-term operations in emergencies.
Uniform and armament
uniform
Except for the badge, the uniform is identical to that of the Metropolitan Police Service . Officials for special armed tasks and in high security areas wear black vests and trousers and baseball caps. Black ballistic helmets and military body armor can also be used. All officers are equipped with protective vests, irritant sprayers with nonivamide , batons and handcuffs.
Armament
At the MDP, all officers are trained in weapons, and about three-quarters of officers are armed on duty; Most of the officers wear the MP 7 from Heckler and Koch.
Some special units, for example the officials in the security zone of the government buildings (Government Security Zone) and the members of the tactical support groups and the Special Escort Group , are equipped with the MP 5 from Heckler and Koch or with the SIG-Sauer-P226 pistol. The SIG Sauer P226 was exchanged for the FN Browning HP in units with an additional handgun . Units in London are equipped with electro pulse devices (so-called tasers ) which, together with the rubber bullets that have been introduced, are intended to offer an alternative to the use of weapons.
Officials in the AWE Division and those who work with nuclear weapons or nuclear material, such as the Special Escort Group, have been equipped with the SA80 assault rifle since 2007 .
vehicles
In addition to patrol cars, the MDP also uses off-road vehicles and special armored escort vehicles. In 2006, Battenberg markings were introduced. The AWE Division and the Special Escort Group use armored vehicles based on the Mercedes-Benz Vario . They are blue for use on public roads, while they are also available in olive green for use on military grounds. The vehicle replaced the Alvis Tactica vehicles.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ MDPGA Chief Executive's Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06
- ↑ [1]
- ^ Button, Mark (2002). Chapter 5: "Specialized Police Organizations". In: Private Policing . Cullompton: Willan Publishing. ISBN 1-903240-52-2
- ^ Special Constables Act 1923
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ Talkthrough magazine 124 Page 4
- ↑ title = Firearm's Training
- ↑ MoD Police takes delivery of the 21st Century Weapon ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
