History of the Ministry of Defence Police

As far as is known, the Army used serving soldiers to guard their establishments in the early days and as (unlike naval dockyards) the employment of civilians by the Army was minimal, there was little call for a civilian police force, except for places such as the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. Consequently, the first records of police on Army Department sites appear circa 1860 when a division of the Metropolitan Police was created to police the Royal Arsenal. This was a straightforward arrangement as Woolwich is in London.

Since medieval times there has always been an Army, until comparatively recent times, it consisted of separate bodies raised on a territorial basis; the formation of the Royal Air Force occurred only in the 20th century, after the development of manned human flight.

The Royal Navy, as a department of central government, has existed since 1600 and as early as 1686 records show that the Admiralty was aware of the need for an organisation to prevent crime within its dockyards. At that time, the Secretary for the Affairs of the Admiralty of England (Samuel Pepys), delivered to the special commissioners of the Navy an instruction which included the following:

"To enquire after and make use of all means for preventing the embezzlement of any of our Stores, and to that end... to be frequent in visiting the Workmen at their departure out of our said Yards, keeping a Strict and Severe Eye upon the respective Porters of the same, and to the attendance given at the Gates... and lastly to be as frequent as he may, and the distance of Places will admit, in his nightly rounds in and about each of our said Yards, for discovering any unfaithfulness or neglect that may be found in the Watch, charged with the safety of our Stores during that Season".

As a result of Pepys' instructions a force of "Porters, Rounders, Warders and Watchmen" was formed to guard the Naval yards.^[1]

The roles performed by the first force of "Porters, Rounders, Warders and Watchmen" were as follows: Porters were responsible for identifying visitors and escorting them to the appropriate heads of departments; Rounders patrolled the Yard or, as their name implies, "did the rounds"; Warders were responsible for the keys and backed up the Porters at the gates; Watchmen, who were employed at night only, guarded or watched important buildings or areas. The latter were part-timers, being dockyard employees who remained in the Yard, on a roster basis—every fourth night after carrying out their normal work and received an extra shilling for the duty. The Rounders appear to have been the senior branch of the force as they kept an eye on the other three bodies and frequently reported their misdemeanours to the Commissioner in charge of the Dockyard.

Apart from this civilian forces, there existed also a military force of Marines, comprising one subaltern, a number of non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and 36 privates. Both the civil and military guards were closely linked and an indication of the economy practised in those days exists, in the form of the Daily Orders Book. The front cover of this book indicated that by reading it in a straightforward manner one would find the order applicable to the Military Guard, but by turning the book upside down and starting at the back the orders for the Civil Guard could be found. Both sets of orders were illuminating and often give examples of professional jealousy. The order book was in great demand by the commissioners during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, a typical order being that issued on 27 January 1793 which read:^[1]

"A constant look out is to be kept at the gates to prevent admission of two strangers and if the discovery be made of two strangers about 6 feet high, one having a large purple scar upon the right side of his face, both of them speaking English, and appearing to be Englishmen—if within the Gates they are to be stopped and if without some trusty person sent to watch them, and in either case the Commissioner is to be immediately informed thereof".

In 1834 this force was disbanded and the first formal Dockyard Police was formed.^[1]

There were constant changes in the organisation during the 18th century, caused mainly by the requirement for the Marine Guard to serve overseas but in 1861 this guard was finally abolished... "except at Chatham, Portsmouth and such places as convicts were employed".

By comparison with the police arrangements then existing throughout the country, the dockyard system was well organised but its fatal weakness was that the Watchmen and Rounders were still being selected from dockyard workers who performed these tasks in addition to their normal duties and in 1822 the commissioner at Portsmouth reported that:

"the night Rounders are men of the very best character selected from the Shipwrights of the Yard" and that "the Warders now at the Yard Gates are the best we have ever had, and by their strict attention to this part of their duty have become very obnoxious to the people in general".

While the above events were taking place in the dockyards, Sir Robert Peel's recommendations culminated in the creation of the Metropolitan Police (the Peelers) in 1829, and although there was no hint of the Admiralty looking upon this method of protection with any favour, on 20 May 1834 they disbanded the Porters, Rounders, Warders and Watchmen and introduced police forces; consisting of Special Constables for the dockyards and a smaller number of other establishments.

In forming these police forces they had the benefit of the advice of a superintendent of the newly formed Metropolitan Police whose greatest service was that he ensured they were formed in accordance with "the new and advanced theories and ideals of police functions and duties which had been conceived and formulated by the Two Commissioners of the Metropolitan Police" and which "were quickly copied throughout the entire area of the Country and of the Empire". Members of the new Dockyard Police forces were sworn in under a form of oath. This gave them full police powers within the limits of the dockyards; at a later stage, powers were given to operate under certain specific circumstances as policemen, in connection with offences committed by employees and naval personnel, within a radius of five miles outside the dockyard.

The conditions of employment in the new Dockyard Police forces were very good when compared with those of the majority of people during the 19th century. They received good wages, had the incentive of rewards, and could even take their families on overseas service (although "family" only included one child). Constables were paid 19 shillings per week for a seven-day week and were allowed half pay—up to a maximum of 28 days—when on sick leave. This latter condition was one which did not apply to most employees in the country even one hundred years later. On the 28th day they were required to be fit for duty or, if unfit, were dismissed; if after dismissal they fully regained their health they were given preference for re-entry over all other applicants for employment with the force.^[1]

Reference to salaries paid to higher ranks is not made in the Dockyard Police Regulation Book but old dockyard standing orders show that in 1845 the Lieutenant Director was in receipt of £250 per annum plus fringe benefits—in the form of 15 pence per night subsistence allowance paid for duties which kept him out of the yard all night—together with expenses incurred in boat or carriage hire. A similar order, dated 6 December 1858 gives details of a pay rise for Serjeants who received £1.4s.6d. for a seven-day week. No mention is made of Inspectors.

As has already been stated, in addition to normal pay, certain rewards were payable and one such incentive was promulgated in 1859, being a payment of £2.10s.0d to policemen who detected persons embezzling government stores after such persons had been found guilty in a summary court; similar payments were made of up to £10, in cases where offenders were convicted on indictment. No doubt there were cases where unscrupulous policemen made false accusations for financial gain, and this incentive has long since disappeared. Despite the relatively good conditions of service things did not appear to have been going at all well with the Dockyard Police forces, and eventually the Admiralty asked for an independent review of their efficiency. This task was allotted to Superintendent Mallelieu of the Metropolitan Police. He set about this in a thorough manner and his final report made it quite clear that, in general, the Dockyard Police forces were ill-trained and, in some instances, not devoting all their energy towards police duties.

As a consequence of this report, and despite such recommendations as training the forces along the Metropolitan Police's lines, increasing pay, and introducing a system whereby men frequently transferred from one establishment to another to avoid undue familiarity with employees—many of whom were related to policemen of local origin. It was finally decided that the best answer was to disband the dockyard forces and introduce the Metropolitan Police into the Dockyards. So, after only 26 years, the dockyard police forces ceased to exist and the Admiralty establishments were, for the next 75 years, policed by the Metropolitan force. In fact, the Metropolitan Police already had experience of Dockyard work, having taken over the responsibility for the two yards at Deptford and Woolwich—which were both already within the metropolitan district in 1841 but until 1858 they had been reluctant to accept any commitment outside the Metropolitan Police district.

On this occasion, however, the Metropolitan Commissioner, Sir Richard Mayne (KCB), raised no objection, merely stating that the proposals could be carried out "by an adequate addition to his Force and such alteration to the Law as found necessary". This latter comment was necessary so that authority might be given for the Metropolitan Police to operate outside both their own metropolitan district and the naval establishments for which they were responsible.^[1]

One of Superintendent Mallelieu's major recommendations was that the various establishments should "be grouped together for police purposes". Much later the Admiralty Constabulary (1943) was so organised, as was the present day MoD Police during the 1970s, and therefore a direct link existed between Supt Mallelieu, Sir Richard Mayne, the Metropolitan Police and the MoD Police.^[1]

Following the necessary Act of Parliament in 1860 – the Metropolitan Police Act 1860 – the Metropolitan Police took over policing of Portsmouth and Devonport Dockyards. The smaller establishments in the same vicinities and the remaining naval establishments were quickly taken over, creating five devoted divisions (identified by numbers rather than by letters as were assigned to normal territorial Metropolitan Police divisions):

1. Woolwich Arsenal
2. Portsmouth
3. Devonport
4. Chatham
5. Pembroke

A sixth, for Rosyth Dockyard, was added on 1 January 1916.

There were 128 members of the Metropolitan Police employed at Deptford and Woolwich; and approximately 400 in the other Admiralty establishments. Superintendent Mallelieu was placed in overall charge with a rank "Immediately below that of the Assistant Commissioners". The Act of Parliament increased the geographical area of their powers to a radius of fifteen miles outside the establishment for which they were responsible, with the proviso that these powers were only to be exercised in respect of property of the Crown or persons subject to naval or military discipline. It was also authorised for the first time, their policing of certain army establishments. Another Act of Parliament – the Admiralty Powers, &c. Act 1865 – followed in 1865, which gave considerable assistance to the police in that it made the admiral-superintendent of each yard a magistrate – thus giving him the authority to hear cases brought before him by the Metropolitan Police.

Cells were built adjacent to the main police offices and offenders were kept in them overnight after being charged and brought before the Admiral the next day. The admiral-superintendent could, if he found them guilty, impose a fine or term of imprisonment.

As magistrates, the various admirals-superintendent were also able to issue search warrants which, again, made life much easier for the police. Many of the traditions of the dockyard police and watchmen before them, were carried on by the Metropolitan Police. They continued to serve in the dual role of policemen and firemen; they carried deputations from HM Customs and Excise to assist in the prevention of smuggling, and in the early days they were still responsible for seeing that convicts employed in the yard did not loiter or evade work. The Metropolitan Police also formed a Water Police Branch. At Devonport Dockyard the whole of that branch lived on an old hulk which had at one time been commissioned as the fifth-rate warship HMS Leda. There was an inspector in charge who was allocated what had been the captain's quarters and the remainder of the men lived in the rest of the ship's accommodation. If they were married their families also lived in this accommodation with them. The main difficulty appeared to be that of cooking facilities, as there was only one galley, which had to be allocated in strict rotation.

Originally the men were required to row one complete patrol of the harbour during each shift, but as time went on they managed to obtain the use of steam pinnaces or large coal-burning vessels the size of tugs. Their duties must have been arduous as their powers covered the whole of the waters, which comprised the Port of Plymouth and extended as far as the tidal waters flowed. Is some cases the tide flows upriver for twenty miles, so in the days when they used boats propelled by oars an emergency call to distant parts would have fully tested the endurance of all concerned.^[2] During the First World War detachments from the dockyard divisions also policed Royal Navy Cordite Factory, Holton Heath, in Dorset and the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Priddy's Hard, Gosport.

After the First World War there was a general call for economy throughout the country which was in a state of economic depression and furthermore the Metropolitan Force were under very great pressure in the London area from the effects of the 1926 United Kingdom general strike. In June 1922, the Geddes Committee on National Expenditure recommended the withdrawal from the dockyards of the Metropolitan Police and the Admiralty at that time decided to institute a force to be known as the Royal Marine Police to replace the Metropolitan Force.

The Royal Marine Police was created by an Order in Council and came into being on 13 October 1922. It was administered by the Adjutant General Royal Marines and attached for records, pay, clothing and discipline to the three Royal Marine Divisions at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth (Devonport).

All the members were sworn in as special constables under the Special Constables Act 1923^{[citation needed]} but were, as the name implies, originally serving and retired members of the Corps of Royal Marines^{[citation needed]} and they were all subject to military law under the provisions of the Army Act.^{[citation needed]} Pensioners from the Royal Navy were subsequently and reluctantly accepted. A chief constable was appointed in 1932 but the replacement of the Metropolitan Police was not completed until 1934 due in part to the Admiralty's desire to proceed cautiously. Initially, members of this new Force were recruited according to their previous ranks in the Armed Forces, ex-NCO's being recruited as Constables in the main and ex-Officers as Chief Inspector and above. This method created a semi-military force as the lower ranks still served under men who had commanded them in the RM or RN. They were subject to Military Law as has already been stated and furthermore during their first two years service they were required to purchase their discharge if they wished to leave the Force. During the first year's service the discharge fee was £20 and during the second year, £10.

Training in the Royal Marine Police and its associated forces was limited to a 3-week course in one of the main dock yards where a self-taught instructor would endeavour to initiate recruits after reading various Acts of Parliament and books of Law. The force also had little time to establish themselves before the Second World War of 1939 was upon them. The restrictive practice of recruiting only RN and RM pensioners showed its weakness with the drying up of the source of supply, men who expected to retire from the Forces being retained for the duration of the War. To counter this the rules were amended to permit ex-servicemen from any branch of the Armed Forces to enlist in a new section of the force known as the Royal Marine Police Special Reserve. This still failed to achieve its aim and a third force, the Admiralty Civil Police was formed and anyone, regardless of former military service, could join. In fact, many men who did join that Force were allowed to do so as an alternative to joining the Armed Forces.

Consequently, at the end of the War in 1945, the Admiralty found itself with three police forces, each with different conditions of service and discipline, but all under the same Chief Constable. This situation was obviously undesirable and inefficient and in October 1949 the three forces were disbanded and the Admiralty Constabulary was formed.

At the time of its formation the Admiralty Constabulary comprised some 3500 men policing some 150 separate Naval establishments throughout Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It recognised the RMP's previous unreliable training methods opened a training School. Volunteers were called to fill posts as instructors and successful applicants were sent on a six-month course of tuition at various local police colleges to ensure they were fitted for the task.

In 1925, with the abolition of No. 1 (Woolwich Arsenal) Division of the Metropolitan Police and after a wartime climate of hysteria over an alleged huge German spy network, it was found necessary for the Army to have a civilian police of its own principally for investigation. A force was formed under the auspices of that department which became known later as MI5. This was soon followed by the inauguration of a dedicated War Department Constabulary. This force derived its authority from various Acts of Parliament notably the Metropolitan Police Act 1860 (later expanded to cover Scotland) which states:

"...may be authorised and specially sworn to execute the office of constable within all or any of Her Majesty's Dockyards, victualing yards, steam factory yards and in principle stations of the War Department in England and Wales and within 75 miles of such yards or station...with regard to property of the Crown or of persons subject to Naval, Marine or Military discipline"^[3]

This Constabulary was responsible for the policing of some 60 stations throughout the UK for the War Office, plus a number of Ministry of Aviation Establishments, and also employed on certain other duties in London. The force was also responsible for security of the Royal Mint. The initial strength was 2100 but this was later reduced by the transfer of around 300 men to the newly formed Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary which took over the responsibility of Atomic Stations from the War Department Constabulary in 1954.^[4]

Applicants for the force were required to be Sergeants or above from the Army, or Corporals from the Royal Military Police. They were required to be of Exemplary Character, if possible to be in possession of the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with a 22-year service pension. They were given a four-week training course before joining a station and were on three months’ probation, at the end of which they were required to pass an examination. Promotion up to Superintendent was from within the ranks of the force.

Where it was not possible to recruit regular constables, a small number of Auxiliary Police Constables, with lower qualifications on entry, and lower pay were employed. The Force was renamed "Army Department Constabulary" in 1964 when the War Office became The Army Department.