| List Of Police Forces In The United Kingdom |
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There are also national police forces that have a specific focus, such as such as the British Transport Police . The Serious Organised Crime And Police Act 2005 refers to these as 'special police forces'. There are also a number of 'private constabularies' that have escaped police reform, mostly having their their foundations in old legislation. 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 Former Police Forces In The United Kingdom for these. POLICE FORCES IN ENGLAND AND WALES (HOME OFFICE POLICE SERVICES) The territorial forces use the boundaries of the Local Government Areas (counties) established in the 1974 local government reorganisations (although with subsequent modifications). These forces provide the majority of policing services to the public of England and Wales. These forces are known as " Home Office police forces" due to the Acts Of Parliament that established them. It should be noted, that despite the implication of the term, all police forces are independent, with operational control resting solely with the Chief Constable of each force (or the Commissioner with regard to the Metropolitan Police and City Of London Police ), 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). The Act also outlines the jurisdiction of Constable s of these forces. ''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 Home Office 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 Constable s, who are part-time, volunteer officers of these forces, have more limited jurisdiction. Generally, constables from English and Welsh Home Office 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. 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. A minor oddity to jurisidiction 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. In late 2005, the government announced that there was to be a reorganisation of Home Office police forces in England and Wales. Several options are currently under review, but any force with less than 4,000 regular officers will probably be merged with other forces to form regional police services. This is a controveral subject and many forces have made known their objections to the proposals. A decision as to the future organisation of the Home Office police forces is due to be made in February 2006. England :''see also List Of Police Forces In England Sorted By County Wales
POLICE FORCES IN SCOTLAND Most police powers and functions have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament . 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). The territorial forces use the boundaries of the Local Government Regions established in the 1975 local government reorganisation, with minor adjustments to align with the current Council Area borders. These forces provide the majority of police services to the public of Scotland.
NORTHERN IRELAND SPECIAL POLICE FORCES These forces have jurisdiction in either England and Wales or Scotland, although some cover both, whilst the Ministry of Defence Police covers Northern Ireland as well. Within these broad jurisdictions, the remit of some of the forces is further limited to the areas that they police, such as railway infastructure or military property, whilst others, such as the Serious Organised Crime Agency are not hindered in this respect. The Anti-terrorism, Crime And Security Act 2001 gave the British Transport Police and Ministry of Defence Police a conditional jurisdiction to act outside of their primary jurisdicition if they suspect a crime, believe that there is risk to life or limb, or have permission from the local force.
PRIVATE CONSTABULARIES These constabularies generally come under the control of a local authority or even private companies, in the case of some ports police and the Mersey Tunnels Police. They have been established by individual Acts Of Parliament to police specific local areas. Jurisdiction is invariably limited to that area alone. This, together with the small size of the constabularies, means they are reliant on the territorial force for the area whose under whose jurisdiction they fall to assist with any serious matter. These constabularies do not have independent Police Authorities and their founding statutes invariably do not prescribe their structure and formation. Ports police
Parks and Open Spaces These small police forces are reponsible for policing specific land and parks. Officers of these forces have full powers of a constable within their limited jurisdiction.
These constabularies are responsible for policing bye-laws within the parks and open spaces of their respective local authorities in London. Constables of these forces cannot enforce criminal law and are not police officers as such.
Other
MILITARY FORCES AND AGENCIES
SEE ALSO
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