Territorial police force

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A territorial police force is a police service that is responsible for an area defined by sub-national boundaries, distinguished from other police services which deal with the entire country or a type of crime. In countries organized as federations, police responsible for individual sub-national jurisdictions are typically called state or provincial police.

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Canada

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP/GRC) is the federal-level police service. It also acts as the provincial police service in every province except for Ontario, and Quebec, which operate provincial police services, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador, which is served by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. The RCMP is also contracted to act as the territorial police force in Nunavut, Yukon and the Northwest Territories in addition to being the federal police force in those Canadian territories. [1]

Spanish Sahara

A separate Sahrawi indigenous unit serving the Spanish colonial government was the Policia Territorial. This gendarmerie corresponded to the Civil Guard in metropolitan Spain. It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks. [2]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom (UK) the phrase is gaining increased official [3] (but not yet statutory) use to describe the collection of forces responsible for general policing in areas defined with respect to local government areas. The phrase "Home Office Police" is commonly used but this is often inaccurate or inadequate as the words naturally exclude forces outside England and Wales, but include some special police forces over which the Home Secretary has some power.

The police forces referred to as "territorial" are those whose police areas are defined by:

Members of territorial police forces have jurisdiction in one of the three distinct legal systems of the United Kingdom – either England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland. A police officer of one of the three legal systems has all the powers of a constable throughout their own legal system but limited powers in the other two legal systems. Certain exceptions where full police powers cross the border with the officer are when officers are providing planned support to another force such as the G8 Conference in Scotland in 2005 or COP26 [4] officers of the Metropolitan Police who are on protection duties anywhere in the United Kingdom [5] and when taking a person to or from a prison. [6]

United Nations

The United Nations (UN) has operated territorial police forces in those parts of countries which have been under control of the UN from time to time. These were usually formed from police personnel on loan from member countries. A recent example is the use of such a force in East Timor in substitution for Indonesian National Police.

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A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other people may be granted powers of a constable without holding this title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Police</span> Territorial police force of Greater London

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London. In addition, it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom, including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people, such as the monarch and other members of the royal family, members of the government, and other officials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Transport Police</span> Police force responsible for railways in England, Wales and Scotland

British Transport Police is a national special police force that polices the railway network of England, Wales and Scotland. The force polices more than 10,000 miles of track and more than 3,000 stations and depots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in the United Kingdom</span> Police in the United Kingdom

Law enforcement in the United Kingdom is organised separately in each of the legal systems of the United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Most law enforcement duties are carried out by those who hold the office of police constable of a territorial police force.

A police authority in the United Kingdom is a public authority that is responsible for overseeing the operations of a police force. The nature and composition of police authorities has varied over time, and there are now just four dedicated "police authorities" in the United Kingdom, although the term can refer to various similar successor bodies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chief constable</span> Police officer rank in the United Kingdom

Chief Constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police, and Civil Nuclear Constabulary. The title is also held by the chief officers of the principal Crown Dependency police forces and the Sovereign Base Areas Police in Cyprus. The title was also held, ex officio, by the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers under the Police Reform Act 2002. It was also the title of the chief officer of the Royal Parks Constabulary until this agency was disbanded in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Newfoundland Constabulary</span> Canadian police service

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC) is the provincial police service for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Police ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships in police organisations. The rank system defines authority and responsibility in a police organisation, and affects the culture within the police force. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State police</span> Type of sub-national territorial police force

State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania, mostly Australia, United States, India, Canada and United Kingdom, because each of their state police are mostly at country level. These forces typically have jurisdiction over the relevant sub-national jurisdiction, and may cooperate in law enforcement activities with municipal or national police where either exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Constabulary</span> British volunteer police force

The Special Constabulary is the part-time volunteer section of statutory police forces in the United Kingdom and some Crown dependencies. Its officers are known as special constables.

County police, often called county sheriffs in the United States, are police forces existing primarily in the United States that possess primary jurisdiction over an entire county. England and Wales, two constituent countries of the United Kingdom, are policed by territorial police forces which are largely formed on a county basis. Historically, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the other two constituent countries of the UK, have had county police, although both countries now have unified national police services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement in Canada</span> Overview of law enforcement in Canada

Law enforcement in Canada is the responsibility of police services, special constabularies, and civil law enforcement agencies, which are operated by every level of government, some private and Crown corporations, and First Nations. In contrast to the United States or Mexico, and with the exception of the Unité permanente anticorruption in Quebec and the Organized Crime Agency of British Columbia, there are no organizations dedicated exclusively to the investigation of criminal activity in Canada. Criminal investigations are instead conducted by police services, which maintain specialized criminal investigation units in addition to their mandate for emergency response and general community safety.

This is a description of law enforcement in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Before the Republic left the union in 1922, one police force — the Royal Irish Constabulary — policed almost the whole island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Law enforcement by country</span>

In many countries, particularly those with a federal system of government, there may be several law enforcement agencies, police or police-like organizations, each serving different levels of government and enforcing different subsets of the applicable law.

A police area is the area for which a territorial police force in the United Kingdom is responsible for policing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of law enforcement in the United Kingdom</span>

The history of law enforcement in the United Kingdom charts the development of law enforcement in the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It spans the period from the Middle Ages, through to the development of the first modern police force in the world in the nineteenth century, and the subsequent modernisation of policing in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special constable</span> Auxiliary or specialized law enforcement officer

A special constable or special police constable can refer to an auxiliary or part-time law enforcement officer or a person who is granted certain (special) police powers.

<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".

References

  1. "The RCMP's History". Royal Canadian Mounted Police. 2007-07-09. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  2. Orden por la que se nombra a los Tenientes que se mencionan para cubrir vacantes de su empleo en la Policía Territorial de la Provincia de Sahara Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish)
  3. Used in explanatory note 422 of the Police Reform Act 2002.
  4. "Police Act 1996 (c. 16)". Opsi.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  5. "Police Act 1996 (c. 16)". Opsi.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  6. "section 23, Prison Act 1952". Statutelaw.gov.uk. Retrieved 2009-05-28.