The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is the MOD's own dedicated civil Police Force of around 3,500 officers, all of them having full Constabulary powers.
MOD Police greeting returning sailors
They operate at MOD establishments and units throughout the United Kingdom, wherever their services are required, and are the UK's only truly national police force.
As a condition of service every officer is weapons trained and at any one time 70% of MDP officers on duty carry arms, either pistols or rifles. They are deployed at around 100 MOD sites requiring officers with constabulary powers and an armed security capability, including the guarding of Britain's nuclear deterrent.
Policing Functions
The MDP is responsible for the waterborne security of all Her Majesty's Dockyards and its marine units have the largest number of craft, both rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and launches, of any police force in the UK.
The Force also has around 400 dog handlers using police, arms/explosive/search (AES) and drugs dogs. New equipment such as cameras and harnesses have made difficult search areas more accessible.
MDP's CID and Fraud Squad are respected throughout the UK and have had some notable successes including the arrest and conviction of a former MOD Director of Ammunition Procurement, who was imprisoned for his activities in one of the largest corruption cases in British legal history.
The Operational Support Unit (OSU) is the MDP's centrally managed multi-capability response unit. Its specialist skills may be deployed anywhere in the UK at short notice. These include public order duties, anti-terrorist search teams and rope access skills - fully qualified officers skilled in the safe removal of protesters from difficult-to-reach areas, and in the use of specialist cutting equipment.
MOD International police
The Special Escort Group provides protection for the passage of nuclear material between MOD establishments.
As well as policing MOD sites, the Force is deployed at USAF bases in the UK. MDP officers also police public functions on MOD property such as the Fairford International Air Tattoo.
MDP Marine Units have policed many historic and public events including the anniversary commemorations of the Battle of the Atlantic at Liverpool and the D Day landings at HMNB Portsmouth, the start of the Cutty Sark Tall Ships race and the Trafalgar 200 ceremonies at Portsmouth.
Internationally, officers have been trained and deployed to support the UN policing force in Kosovo. Working conditions can be gruelling, as the infrastructure of the country was damaged considerably, and all dealings with the public require the services of translators. Nevertheless, there proves to be no shortage of volunteers from the MDP for this continuing assignment. Officers have also been deployed to Iraq, Bosnia and Jordan.
Headquarters
The MDP's Headquarters site at Wethersfield, opened by HRH The Princess Royal in September 1995, covers 825 acres with a perimeter fence of nine miles. A former United States Air Force base, it has a runway approximately two miles long, one of the longest in East Anglia. Facilities left behind by the Americans include an almost self-contained village comprising 150 houses and a school which has been converted into the MDP Police Training Centre. The site is home to an abundance of flora and fauna and has a preservation area within the perimeter fence.
Agency Status
In 1996 the MDP became an Agency under the Government's Next Steps initiative. Agency Status enables the Chief Constable, as Chief Executive, to develop efficient use of the facilities at the Headquarters site.