Military Provost Guard Service

Last updated

Military Provost Guard Service
MPGS Capbadge.png
Cap Badge of the MPGS
CountryFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
BranchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
RoleArmed Guarding
Commanders
Current
commander
Provost Marshal (Army)
Colonel of
the Regiment
King Charles III
Insignia
Tactical Recognition Flash MPGS TRF.svg

The Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS) is responsible for maintaining physical security at British Armed Forces locations throughout Great Britain. It is one of three constituent units of the Adjutant General's Corps Provost Branch (the other two parts being the Royal Military Police and the Military Provost Staff). The Provost branch is the responsibility of the Provost Marshal who is a Brigadier from the Royal Military Police. The MPGS also works alongside the unarmed Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS). In Northern Ireland, armed security at Ministry of Defence establishments is provided by the uniformed civilian Northern Ireland Security Guard Service in a similar manner to that of the MPGS in Great Britain.

Contents

History and operational role

Tactical recognition flash of the MPGS Tactical recognition flash (TRF) of the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS). MOD 45159321.jpg
Tactical recognition flash of the MPGS

Duties

The MPGS was formed in the wake of structural changes of the Armed Forces and the increased threat of terrorism in 1997. [1]

The MPGS's duties include: [2]

Personnel

To join the MPGS, applicants must have served for at least three years in any arm or service, including the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, Army Reserve, and Royal Auxiliary Air Force. They must have completed that service within six years of application to the MPGS, unless they have relevant service in the Police or HM Prison Service since leaving the armed forces. [3]

To join, they have to re-enlist into the Regular British Army on a Military Local Service Engagement (MLSE). The MLSE is a form of engagement which is ideally suited to use by the MPGS. It is renewable on a three-yearly basis providing the soldier continues to meet the requirements and standards of the service, as well as there being a continued need for MPGS soldiers at that particular unit. [3]

Training

All MPGS soldiers are trained at the Defence School of Police and Security (DSPS), part of the Defence College of Logistics, Policing and Administration (DCLPA). [4]

Their training includes:

  • Powers of arrest
  • Powers of search
  • Use of force
  • Patrolling techniques
  • Incident handling
  • Notebook instruction
  • Maintenance of Occurrence Books
  • Maintenance of Security Registers
  • Processing telephone calls
  • Accounting for security equipment
  • Weapons handling
  • Marksmanship, including live firing
  • Judgmental assessment.

Relationship with other agencies

There are 26 police constabularies that currently have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Military Provost Guard Service in respect of the legal authority for carrying firearms on UK roads. [5]

Locations in the United Kingdom

The MPGS page of the British Army website publishes a map listing locations in the UK where MPGS provides security. [6] There are:

Equipment

Beret badge Cap badge of the Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS). MOD 45159322.jpg
Beret badge

The main firearm used by the MPGS is the SA80 L85A2 assault rifle; Glock  9 mm semi-automatic pistols may also be used. All MPGS soldiers must pass a weapon handling test biannually to use firearms. [7]

Vehicles

Some vehicles have an amber strobe beacon on the roof for increased visibility. In late 2013, the Ministry of Defence purchased Ford Ranger pickups for use within the MPGS and other MOD departments. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of the United Kingdom

The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military police</span> Police organization part of the military of a state

Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear reconnaissance, logistic traffic management, counterinsurgency, and detainee handling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Military Police</span> Military police of the British Army

The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises. Members of the RMP are often known as 'Redcaps' because of the scarlet covers on their peaked caps and scarlet coloured berets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adjutant General's Corps</span> Corps of the British Army

The Adjutant General's Corps is a corps in the British Army responsible for many of its general administrative services, named for the Adjutant-General to the Forces. As of 2002, the AGC had a staff of 7,000 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Marines Police</span> Military unit

The Royal Marines Police, or Royal Marines Police Troop is the Royal Marines element of the Royal Navy Police and the military police arm of the Royal Marines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gibraltar Defence Police</span> Civil police force for the MoD in Girbraltar

The Gibraltar Defence Police (GDP) is a civil police force which provides a policing and security service for the Ministry of Defence in Gibraltar. Prior to 17 December 2009 it was known as the Gibraltar Services Police (GSP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Military Service Corps</span> Military unit

The Hong Kong Military Service Corps (HKMSC) was a British army unit and part of the British garrison in Hong Kong. Throughout the history of Hong Kong, it has been the only regular British army unit raised in the territory made up almost entirely of Locally Enlisted Personnel (LEP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military Provost Staff</span> Custody and detention arm of the British Army

The Military Provost Staff are the Army's specialists in custody and detention, providing advice inspection and surety within custodial establishments. The MPS form part of the Adjutant General's Corps and are based at the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) in Colchester, Essex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Defence School of Policing and Guarding</span> Military unit

The Defence School of Policing and Guarding is the training centre for the Service Police of the British Armed Forces including the Ministry of Defence. It consolidates training for the Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police and the Ministry of Defence Police in one location, assuring consistent standards across the services. The centre was established at Southwick Park, near Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldershot Garrison</span> Military installation in Hampshire, England

Aldershot Garrison, also known as Aldershot Military Town, is a major garrison in South East England, between Aldershot and Farnborough in Hampshire. The garrison was established when the War Department bought a large area of land near the village of Aldershot, with the objective of establishing a permanent training camp for the Army. Over time, this camp grew into a military town and continues to be used by the Army to the present day. It is home to the headquarters of the Army's Regional Command, and it is also the administrative base for the 101st Logistic Brigade. The garrison plays host to around 70 military units and organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provost (military police)</span>

Provosts are military police (MP) whose duties are policing solely within the armed forces of a country, as opposed to gendarmerie duties in the civilian population. However, many countries use their gendarmerie for provost duties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military police of the United Kingdom</span> Three UK military police services

In the United Kingdom, the term military police refers to the three branches of service police, responsible for policing armed forces personnel. The Royal Military Police polices the British Army, the Royal Navy Police polices the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force Police polices the Royal Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regimental police</span> Military police role

Regimental police or regimental provost (RP) are soldiers responsible for regimental discipline enforcement and unit custody in the British Army, other Commonwealth armies and some armed forces structured in the British tradition. They belong to the regiment or corps in which they enforce discipline rather than the Royal Military Police or its equivalent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence Police</span> Civilian police force of the United Kingdoms Ministry of Defence

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ireland Security Guard Service</span>

The Northern Ireland Security Guard Service (NISGS) is a civilian organisation of the Ministry of Defence that provides armed security at military establishments in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Military Police Brigade</span> Military unit

The 1st Military Police Brigade is a policing formation of the British Army, which is the only one-star command of the Royal Military Police. The brigade was formed in 2014 and is commanded by a brigader, but is due to be re-structured and reduced to a colonel's command.

The Germany Guard Service (GGS) is a British Ministry of Defence security organisation that provides armed security to the British Armed Forces, in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Structure of the British Army</span> Organisation of the British Army

The page contains the current structure of the British Army. The British Army is currently being reorganised to the Future Soldier structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armed forces in Wales</span> Overview of the British Armed Forces operating in Wales

The Armed forces in Wales are the military bases and organisation in Wales or associated with Wales. This includes servicemen and women from Wales and Welsh regiments and brigades of the British Armed Forces.

References

  1. "MoD Police and guarding". UK Parliament. 10 March 1999. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  2. "Military Provost Guard Service". Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Military Provost Guard Service at RAF Marham". RAF Marham website. Ministry of Defence. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
  4. Adjutant General's Corps, Provost Branch. "Military Provost Guard Service". army.mod.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  5. "DO Letterhead (Andover) Outside MOD". Whatdotheyknow.com. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  6. "Military Provost Guard Service - Where we serve". army.mod.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  7. "Military Provost Guard Service". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 24 July 1996. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  8. "Ford Ranger pick-up joins the military | Car News, Reviews & Buyers Guides". Perrys.co.uk. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2016.