List of police forces in the United Kingdom

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There are a number of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom. There are four general types mostly concerned with policing the general public and their activities and a number of others concerned with policing of other, usually localised, matters.

Territorial police forces, who carry out the majority of policing. These are police forces that cover a 'police area' (a particular region) and have an independent Police Authority. Current police forces have their grounding in the Police Act 1964 (in England and Wales), the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 or the Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000, which prescribe a number of issues such as appointment of a Chief Constable, jurisdiction and responsibilities.
Special police forces, which are national police forces that have a specific, non-regional jurisdiction, such as the British Transport Police. The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 refers to these as 'special police forces'.
Non-police law enforcement agencies, whose officers are not police officers, but still enforce laws.

Miscellaneous forces, mostly having their foundations in older legislation or Common Law. These have a responsibility to police specific local areas or activities, such as ports and parks and before the passing of recent legislation such as the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 were often referred to as 'special police forces'; care must therefore be taken in interpreting historical use of that phrase. These constabularies are not within the scope of the legislation applicable to the previously-mentioned organisations but can still be the subject of statutes applicable to e.g. docks, harbours or railways. Until the passing of Railways and Transport Safety Act 2003, the British Transport Police was such a force.

Over the centuries there has been a wide variation in the number of police forces in the United Kingdom, with a huge number now no longer in existence. See List of defunct law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom for these.

Territorial police forces

England and Wales

Except in Greater London, each territorial police force covers one or more of the local government areas (counties) established in the 1974 local government reorganisations (although with subsequent modifications), in an area known as a police area. These forces provide the majority of policing services to the public of England and Wales. These forces have been known historically as "Home Office police forces" due to the Acts of Parliament^{citation needed} that established them although use of that description was only correct for the Metropolitan Police and in that case ceased to be so when local control was transferred from the Home Office to the Metropolitan Police Authority. It should be noted, that despite the implication of the term, all police forces are independent, with operational control resting solely with the chief officer of each force (the Chief Constable or with regard to the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police forces, their respective Commissioners) with oversight from a Police Authority for each force.

The Police Act 1996 is the most recent piece of legislation which outlines the areas of responsibility for the 43 territorial forces of England and Wales (found in Schedule 1 of the Act).

Constable is the lowest rank in the police service, but all officers, whatever their rank are "constables" in terms of legal powers and jurisdiction. Police officers in territorial police forces in England and Wales derive their jurisdiction from Section 30 of the Police Act 1996. This section outlines that such officers have jurisdiction throughout England and Wales and also the adjacent United Kingdom waters. Special Constables, who are part-time, volunteer officers of these forces, used to have a more limited jurisdiction - limited solely to their own force areas and adjacent forces. Since April 1st 2007, however Special Constables of England & Wales have full police powers throughout those two countries. This means that, in contrast to the majority of countries, all UK volunteer police officers now have exactly the same powers as their full time colleagues.

Generally, constables from English and Welsh territorial forces do not have jurisdiction in Scotland or Northern Ireland and vice versa. However, limited powers exist to pursue and arrest where a person flees over the border into Scotland in certain situations. Legislation is also in place for "mutual aid" situations, which extends constables' jurisdiction into any part of the United Kingdom when they are on loan to the receiving force. An example of this was the G8 conference at Gleneagles, Scotland, where 14,000 officers from every force throughout the United Kingdom were involved and had full police powers under Scots law for the period of the operation consequent to being on loan to Tayside Police, the local police force for the area.

A minor oddity to jurisdiction is that police officers of the Metropolitan Police who are responsible for Royalty and VIP protection have jurisdiction in any part of the United Kingdom whilst performing those functions.

As of September 2006 police numbers in England and Wales were:¹

Police officers: 141,354
Police Community Support Officers: 8,517
Other staff: 74,585

Police Officer numbers in England and Wales are at their highest ever levels.²

England

see also List of police forces in England sorted by county

*Note: Staffordshire, West Mercia and West Midlands participate in a partnership called the Central Motorway Police Group

As of September 2006 police numbers in England:¹

Police officers: 133,775
Police Community Support Officers: 8,133
Other staff: 70,818

Wales

As of September 2006 police numbers in Wales were:¹

Police officers: 7,579
Police Community Support Officers: 384
Other staff: 3,767

Scotland

Most police powers and functions have been inherited by the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament from the Scottish Office. Areas for which legislative responsibility remains with the UK Government include national security, terrorism, firearms and drugs. The Police (Scotland) Act 1967, as amended, is the basis for the organisation and jurisdiction of the eight territorial forces in Scotland. Constables of these eight forces have jurisdiction throughout Scotland. (See above comments under English and Welsh forces for jurisdiction in other parts of the United Kingdom). Each territorial force covers one or more of the areas of the local government regions established in the 1975 local government reorganisation (and since abolished), with minor adjustments to align with the current council area borders. These forces provide the majority of police services to the public of Scotland.

As of March 2005, police numbers in Scotland were:³

Police officers: 16,175
Special constables: 1,186
Other staff: 7,207

Northern Ireland

County and borough based police forces were not formed in Ireland as they were in Great Britain, with instead a single Royal Irish Constabulary covering most of Ireland (the exceptions being the Dublin Metropolitan Police, which was responsible for policing in Dublin, and the Belfast Town Police force, which was replaced by the RIC in the 1880s). The Royal Ulster Constabulary was formed in 1922 after the establishment of the Irish Free State, and served until the reforms of the police under the terms established initially by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 undertaken by the Patten Commission, which led to the renaming of the RUC in 2001. The Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 sets out the basis for the organisation and function of the police force in the province. Unlike Scotland, police powers have not been transferred to the devolved Northern Ireland Executive, instead remaining with the Northern Ireland Office.

Police Service of Northern Ireland

As of April 2007 police numbers in Northern Ireland were:⁴

Police officers: 7,244
Part time police officers: 888
Other staff: 2,701

The PSNI does not employ PCSOs.

Special police forces

These forces (except the SCDEA) operate in more than one jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. Within the multiple jurisdictions, the remit of some of the forces is further limited to the areas that they police, such as railway infrastructure or military/defence property. The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 gave the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police a limited, conditional jurisdiction to act outside of their primary jurisdiction if the situation requires urgent police action and the local force are not readily available, or if they believe that there is risk to life or limb, or where they are assisting the local force. As these forces are responsible to specific areas of infrastructure, they do not answer to the Home Office, but instead to the government department responsible for the area they police. Both the MDP and BTP do voluntarily submit themselves to HMIC inspection:

British Transport Police - Department for Transport and Scottish Government; the BTP operates only in Great Britain. As of September 2006, the BTP establishment was 2,492 police officers, 235 PCSOs and 997 other staff¹
Civil Nuclear Constabulary - Department of Trade and Industry; the CNC does not usually operate in Northern Ireland. As of April 2007, the CNC establishment was 758 police officers and 96 other staff⁵
Ministry of Defence Police - Ministry of Defence; the MOD police operates on Ministry of Defence estate throughout the UK. As of March 2006, the MDP establishment was 3,489 police officers (plus 291 probationers) and 530 other staff.⁶
Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency; the SCDEA operates in Scotland and although nominally an agency it is controlled by a police authority and Scottish police legislation⁷. As of March 2007, there were 197 police officers seconded to the SCDEA from the eight territoral police forces in Scotland, plus a further 77 police staff⁸

These forces are now defined in legislation as "special police forces".

Non-police law enforcement organisations

Bodies with limited executive powers

These organisations are not police forces and do not have police powers. They do have certain defined executive powers, however, in practice, these organisations will generally enlist the support of police officers from the territorial police forces should they need to execute arrest/search powers through a joint operation.

Health and Safety Executive
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Marine and Fisheries Agency (England and Wales only)
Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency

Bodies with investigatory powers

The following have quasi-police, investigative powers conferred by the The Regulation of Investigatory Powers (Communications Data) (Additional Functions and Amendment) Order 2006⁹

Bodies with limited police powers

Independent Police Complaints Commission

The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigates complaints against police officers and staff of the UK's police forces, and staff of HM Revenue and Customs, the Serious Organised Crime Agency in England and Wales and the UK Border Agency. Staff of the IPCC, for the purposes of the carrying out of an investigation and all purposes connected with it, have all the powers and privileges of constables throughout England and Wales and the territorial waters¹⁰.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

The Serious Organised Crime Agency is responsible for tackling organised crime with jurisdiction throughout England and Wales and some jurisdiction in Scotland and Northern Ireland (usually requiring permission or co-operation of the relevant government or police force). SOCA is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by, but operationally independent from, the Home Office. SOCA Officers can either be designated with the powers of a constable, Customs Officer and/or Immigration Officer. These designations can be unconditional or conditional: time limited or limited to a specific operation. Whilst SOCA Officers do not hold the office of constable, those who have been designated with the powers of a constable would enjoy the same powers and privileges of a police officer (except powers only available to a constable in uniform). During armed operations SOCA refer to themselves as 'police' and have the word 'police' on their body armour to avoid confusion.

UK Border Agency

Employees of the UK Border Agency may be Immigration Officers and/or customs officers. They hold certain powers of arrest, detention and search in addition to those available to Any person ¹¹ in England and Wales or to any person in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Miscellaneous constabularies

These constabularies generally come under the control of a local authority, public trusts or even private companies; examples include some ports police and the Mersey Tunnels Police. They could have been established by individual Acts of Parliament or under Common Law powers. Jurisdiction is generally limited to the relevant area of private property alone and in some cases (e.g. docks and harbours) the surrounding area. This, together with the small size of the constabularies, means they are often reliant on the territorial force for the area under whose jurisdiction they fall to assist with any serious matter. These constabularies do not have independent Police Authorities and their founding statutes (if any) do not generally prescribe their structure and formation.

Ports police

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

Ports police operating under the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847

Officers of these forces are sworn in as 'special constables' under section 79 of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847. As a result, officers have the full powers of a constable on any land owned by the harbour, dock, or port and at any place within one mile of any owned land. There are 224 constables sworn in under this act.¹² Serious or major incidents or crime generally become the responsibility of the local territorial police force.

Belfast Harbour Police, Belfast harbour, Belfast. Includes George Best Belfast City Airport.
Larne Harbour Police, Larne Harbour Ltd., Larne.
Port of Bristol Police, Port of Bristol, Bristol. Includes Avonmouth Dock, Bristol, Royal Portbury Dock, North Somerset, and 3 islands in the Bristol Channel: Denny Island, Flat Holme, Steep Holme.
Port of Felixstowe Police, Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk.
Port of Portland Police, Portland Harbour, Isle of Portland

Falmouth Docks Police, Falmouth Docks, Falmouth, Cornwall. Additionally provided for by Falmouth Docks Act 1959.
Port of Dover Police, Port of Dover, Dover. Additionally provided for by Dover Harbour Consolidation Act 1954 and The Dover Harbour Revision Order 2006. Given the large amount of property owned by the port, their jurisdiction effectively extends to all of Dover.

Other ports police

Port of Liverpool Police, Port of Liverpool, Liverpool. Sworn in under Mersey Docks and Harbour (Police) Order 1975.¹³
Port of Tilbury Police, formerly the Port of London Authority Police, Port of Tilbury, Essex. Founded before 1808, and oldest police force in England. Current authority derives from the Port of London Act 1968, and constables' jurisdictions extend throughout England & Wales in pursuance of an offence that has been committed within the Port of Tilbury.¹⁴
Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority Harbour Police, Tees and Hartlepool. Current authority derives from Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority Act 1966, and constables' jurisdictions extend to two miles beyond the harbour.¹⁵

Parks, Gardens and Forests not controlled by local authorities

These small constabularies are responsible for policing specific land and parks. Officers of these forces have the powers of a constable within their limited jurisdiction. They are not constables as dealt with in the general Police Acts.

Epping Forest Keepers

Current powers derive from regulations made under Epping Forest Act 1878

Kew Constabulary (formerly Royal Botanic Gardens Constabulary)

Kew Gardens has existed in some form for hundreds of years; the original powers might thus derive from Common Law but modified by more recent legislation.

Royal Parks Constabulary

On 1 April 2004, following a review of the Royal Parks Constabulary by Anthony Speed, the Metropolitan Police took on the responsibility of policing the Royal Parks in Greater London and the RPC was abolished in England.

In Holyrood Park, Edinburgh the powers of a Royal Parks constable are now reserved to some staff of Historic Scotland.

The Parks Regulation Act 1872 provides for the attestation of parks constables.

Local Authority Parks and Open Spaces in Greater London

These constabularies are responsible for enforcing bye-laws within the parks and open spaces of their respective local authorities in Greater London. Members of the constabularies are sworn as constables under section 18, Ministry of Housing and Local Government Provision Order Confirmation (Greater London Parks and Open Spaces) Act 1967. However, constables of these parks constabularies are not police 'constables' as defined in the Police Acts applicable to England and Wales and any powers above that of a 'person other than a constable' depend on the relevant byelaws and any legislation applicable to their limited territories.

Some of these constables have (or have had) a shared role as security staff for their own local authority's buildings and housing estates with appropriate changes of badges and/or uniform being made when changing to/from park duties.

Other

Belfast International Airport Constabulary - attested under article 19(3) of the Airports (Northern Ireland) Order 1994 as constables for the airport which employs them.
Cambridge University Constabulary - attested under the Universities Act 1825 as constables within the university precincts and up to four miles from them.
Mersey Tunnels Police - attested under section 105 of the County of Merseyside Act 1980 as constables in and around the tunnels.
York Minster Police - not attested constables.
Birmingham Market Police¹⁶ - not attested constables.

Military police

In British Forces Germany, under the Status Of Forces Act, military police have jurisdiction and primacy over British Forces personnel, their families, MOD contractors, and NAAFI staff. In the UK, they also enjoy similar powers, though they do not have primacy - this remains with the civil police. Members of millitary police services are not 'constables' in terms of criminal law and generally enjoy no police powers in the civilian environment.

Overseas law enforcement agencies in the UK

Main article: Law enforcement in the United Kingdom#Overseas police forces in the UK

There are certain instances where police forces of other nations operate in a limited degree in the United Kingdom:

Garda Síochána na hÉireann - Under an agreement with the British Government under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Garda Síochána and the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland are allowed to inspect the Sellafield nuclear facility in Cumbria.
Police aux Frontières - As part of the Channel Tunnel agreement between the British and French governments, the Police aux Frontières have jurisdiction at St. Pancras International, Ashford International Terminal and on Eurostar trains. The British Transport Police have a reciprocal arrangement at the Gare du Nord in Paris.
Military Police of visiting forces while present within the terms of the Visiting Forces Act 1952

Fictional police forces

In the majority of crime fiction, in print or on screen, set in the UK, real police forces are often used as the basis of the drama (though often set in fictional locations). However, there have been some works of fiction that have created their own police forces:

Cardiff City Police - the local police force for the City of Cardiff, South Wales in the television series Torchwood. The real Cardiff City Police was merged with several others in the 1960s to form the South Wales Police.
County Police or County Constabulary - a non-specific identity occasionally used for police dramas and sketches set in fictional or unspecified places on television, sometimes with matching uniforms and badges.
Dee Valley Police - the local force in Channel 4's Hollyoaks.
East Tyne Police - the local force in Close & True a legal drama starring Robson Green.
Heddlu Valleys/Valleys Police - the local police force in the BBC Wales television series High Hopes
Midsomer Constabulary - the local police force for the fictional county of Midsomer in the Midsomer Murders book and television series.
Newtown and Seaport - the towns patrolled by the characters in Z Cars, a UK television series from the 1960s. Set somewhere in Northern England to the north of Liverpool but possibly with no police force name actually mentioned.
Sandford Police Service - the police force for the village of Sandford in the film Hot Fuzz. Interestingly Sandford is also the fictional town used for training scenarios by most police forces. Hence most UK police officers were already familiar with the name before the film was released.
Thamesford Constabulary - the local police force for the fictional county of Thamesford in the television series Softly, Softly: Taskforce.
Tyneside Police - the police force for Tyneside used in 55 Degrees North police drama. The badge and uniforms were identical to Northumbria Police, the actual police force for Tyneside.
Wyvern Constabulary - the local police force for the fictional county of Wyvern originally seen during 1967 in the television series Softly, Softly and now featuring in the series Casualty, Holby City and HolbyBlue.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Police service strength in England and Wales at September 2006
^ Police numbers reach record high.
^ Police service strength in Scotland at March 2005
^ Police service strength
^ CNPA/CNC Annual Review 2006-07
^ Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency Annual Report 2005-2006
^ Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2006
^ SCDEA Annual Report 2006-07
^ Statutes on Line. Retrieved 20 November 2007
^ Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30)
^ Part III Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
^ http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/shippingports/ports/accountabilityreview?page=8
^ http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/shippingports/ports/accountabilityreview?page=16
^ http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/shippingports/ports/accountabilityreview?page=18
^ http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/shippingports/ports/accountabilityreview?page=17
^ YouTube footage of Birmingham Market Police. Retrieved 10 November 2007

External links

v • d • e

Law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom

Police forces

England	Avon and Somerset · Bedfordshire · Cambridgeshire · Cheshire · City of London · Cleveland · Cumbria · Derbyshire · Devon and Cornwall · Dorset · Durham · Essex · Gloucestershire · Greater Manchester · Hampshire · Hertfordshire · Humberside · Kent · Lancashire · Leicestershire · Lincolnshire · Merseyside · Metropolitan · Norfolk · North Yorkshire · Northamptonshire · Northumbria · Nottinghamshire · South Yorkshire · Staffordshire · Suffolk · Surrey · Sussex · Thames Valley · Warwickshire · West Mercia · West Midlands · West Yorkshire · Wiltshire

Wales	Dyfed-Powys · Gwent · North Wales · South Wales

Scotland	Central Scotland · Dumfries and Galloway · Fife · Grampian · Lothian and Borders · Northern · Strathclyde · Tayside

Northern Ireland	Police Service of Northern Ireland

Special forces	British Transport · Civil Nuclear · Ministry of Defence

Private	Belfast Harbour · Belfast International Airport · Cambridge University · Epping Forest · Falmouth Docks · Kew · Larne Harbour · Mersey Tunnels · Port of Bristol · Port of Dover · Port of Felixstowe · Port of Liverpool · Port of Portland · Port of Tilbury · Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority · York Minster

Military	Royal Air Force Police · Royal Military Police · Royal Navy Police (Royal Marines Police)

Crown dependencies	Guernsey · Isle of Man · Jersey (States) · Jersey (Honorary)

Overseas territories	Bermuda · British Virgin Islands · Falkland Islands · Gibraltar (MoD) · Pitcairn Islands · St. Helena · Sovereign Base Areas

Non-police agencies

National	Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre · HM Revenue and Customs · Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre · National Counter Terrorism Security Office · National Extremism Tactical Co-ordination Unit · National Wildlife Crime Unit · Serious Fraud Office (SFO) · UK Border Agency

England and Wales	Environment Agency · Health and Safety Executive · Her Majesty's Prison Service · Marine and Fisheries Agency · Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA)

Scotland	Health and Safety Executive · Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) · Scottish Environmental Protection Agency · Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency · Scottish Prison Service

Northern Ireland	Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland · Northern Ireland Prison Service · Organised Crime Task Force

Sovereign Base Areas	Sovereign Base Areas Customs

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This page was last modified on 23 November 2008, at 21:59.

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