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| Ministry of Defence Police | |
|---|---|
 Badge | |
 Flag | |
| Abbreviation | MDP |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1971 |
| Preceding agency | |
| Annual budget | £180 million[1][2] |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | United Kingdom |
| Constituting instrument | |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Ministry of Defence Police Committee |
| Headquarters | RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire, England |
| Constables | 2,594 |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executives |
|
| Divisions | 2 |
| Facilities | |
| Stations | 37 |
| Website | |
| www | |
The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services to designated high-risk areas, as well as uniformed policing and limited investigative services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and installations throughout the United Kingdom. The MDP are not military police. Service personnel often refer to the MDP by the nickname "MOD plod".[3][4]
The force was formed in 1971 by the merger of three separate service constabularies: the Air Force Department Constabulary, the Army Department Constabulary, and the Admiralty Constabulary. The force, which consists of two divisions, is headquartered at RAF Wyton, Cambridgeshire.
The MDP underwent a significant restructuring as part of the coalition government's post-2010 austerity measures, and the Strategic Defence and Security Review. Its budget was cut from £360 million to £180 million and it was to lose 20% of its manpower and up to 50% of its stations by 2016.[1]
As of March 2019[update], the force had a workforce of around 2,549 police officers and 227 police staff based at numerous defence and infrastructure locations across the United Kingdom.[5] The MDP has the second highest number of officers trained as authorised firearms officers of any police force, after the Metropolitan Police Service, who as of March 2019, had 2,623 AFOs.[6]
In 2016, MDP officers made 61 arrests.[7] Comparatively, in the year ending March 2017, a territorial police forces with similar numbers of officers, Sussex Police, made 17,506 arrests.[8]
- ^ a b "TalkThrough 150" (PDF). MoD Police. p. 33. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- ^ "MDPGA – Chief Executive's Annual Report and Accounts 2006–07" (PDF). Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 2007: 76.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Comment: Beware the Ministry of Defence Police | Columnists | guardian.co.uk". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ Ministry of Defence (20 February 2018). "We are Defence: this is Claire's story". Medium. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Freedom of information :Statistics for Equality Diversity and Inclusion - a Freedom of Information request to Ministry of Defence Police". WhatDoTheyKnow. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "Police use of firearms statistics, England and Wales: April 2018 to March 2019". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
- ^ "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000. MINISTRY OF DEFENCE POLICE: TOTAL NUMBER OF ARRESTS" (PDF). Gov.UK. 26 February 2018.
- ^ "Police powers and procedures England and Wales year ending 31 March 2017 second edition". GOV.UK. Retrieved 25 May 2018.