Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1987 c. 4 |
Ministry of Defence PoliceAct 1987
1987 CHAPTER 4
An Act to make fresh provision for the Ministry of Defence Police.
[5th March 1987]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 The Ministry of Defence Police.
(1) There shall be a police force to be known as the Ministry of Defence Police and consisting—
(a) of persons nominated by the Secretary of State; and
(b) of persons who at the coming into force of this Act are special constables by virtue of appointment under section 3 of the Special Constables Act 1923 on the nomination of the Defence Council.
(2) A person nominated under subsection (1) above shall—
(a) in England and Wales be attested as a constable by making the declaration required of a member of a police force maintained under the Police Act 1964 before a justice of the peace;
(b) in Scotland make the declaration required of a person on appointment to the office of constable of a police force maintained under the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 before a person before whom such a declaration may be made by a person appointed to that office; and
(c) in Northern Ireland be attested as a constable by taking and subscribing the oath required of a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary before a justice of the peace.
(3) The Secretary of State shall appoint a chief constable for the Ministry of Defence Police, and they shall operate under the chief constable's direction and control.
(4) The Secretary of State shall have power—
(a) suspend a member of the Ministry of Defence Police from duty; and
(b) to terminate a person's membership.
(5) The Secretary of State shall appoint a committee, to be known as the Ministry of Defence Police Committee, to advise him with respect to such matters concerning the Ministry of Defence Police as he may from time to time require and may make regulations concerning membership and the procedure of the Committee.
(6) The power to make regulations conferred by subsection (5) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
2 Jurisdiction.
(1) In any place in the United Kingdom to which subsection (2) below for the time being applies, members of the Ministry of Defence Police shall have the powers and privileges of constables.
(2) The places to which this subsection applies are—
(a) land, vehicles, vessels, aircraft and hovercraft in the possession, under the control or used for the purposes of—
(i) the Secretary of State for Defence;
(ii) the Defence Council;
(iii) a headquarters or defence organisation; or
(iv) the service authorities of a visiting force;
(b) land, vehicles, vessels, aircraft and hovercraft which are—
(i) in the possession, under the control or used for the purposes of ordnance company; and
(ii) used for the purpose of, or for purposes which include, the making or development of ordnance or otherwise for naval, military or air force purposes;
(c) land, vehicles, vessels, aircraft and hovercraft which are—
(i) in the possession, under the control or used for the purposes of a dockyard contractor; and
(ii) used for the purpose of, or for purposes which include, providing designated services or otherwise for naval, military or air force purposes;
(d) land which is in the vicinity of land mentioned in any of paragraphs (a) to (c) above and on which a constable of the police force for the police area in which the first-mentioned land is situated, or, in Northern Ireland, of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, has asked the Ministry of Defence Police to assist him in the execution of his duties; and
(e) land where the Secretary of State has agreed to provide the services of the Ministry of Defence Police under an agreement notice of which has been published in the appropriate Gazette.
(3) Members of the Ministry of Defence Police shall also have the powers and privileges of constables in any place in the United Kingdom to which subsection (2) above does not for the time being apply, but only—
(a) in relation to Crown property, international defence property, ordnance property and dockyard property;
(b) in relation to persons—
(i) subject to the control of the Defence Council;
(ii) employed under or for the purposes of the Ministry of Defence or the Defence Council; or
(c) in relation to matters connected with anything done under a contract entered into by the Secretary of State for Defence for the purposes of his Department or the Defence Council; and
(d) for the purpose of securing the unimpeded passage of any such property as is mentioned in paragraph (a) above.
(4) Subsections (1) to (3) above shall have effect in the territorial waters adjacent to the United Kingdom as they have effect in the United Kingdom, but as if the references in subsections (1) and (3) to the powers and privileges of constables were references to the powers and privileges of constables in the nearest part of the United Kingdom.
(5) In this section—
‘appropriate Gazette’ means—
(i) in relation to land in England or Wales, the London Gazette;
(ii) in relation to land in Scotland, the Edinburgh Gazette, and
(iii) in relation to land in Northern Ireland, the Belfast Gazette;
‘Crown property’ includes property in the possession or under the control of the Crown and property which has been unlawfully removed from its possession or control;
‘designated services’ means services designated under subsection (1) of section 1 of the Dockyard Services Act 1986 ;
‘dockyard contractor’ means a company which is a dockyard contractor as defined by subsection (13) of that section;
‘dockyard property’ means property which—
(a) belongs to a dockyard contractor, is in its possession or under its control or has been unlawfully removed from its possession or control; and
(b) is (or was immediately before its removal) used to any extent for the purpose of providing designated services or otherwise for naval, military or air force purposes;
‘headquarters’, ‘defence organisation’ and ‘visiting force’ mean respectively a headquarters, defence organisation or visiting force to which the Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Application of Law) Order 1965 , or any order replacing that Order, applies;
‘international defence property’ means property which belongs to, is in the possession or under the control of or has been unlawfully removed from the possession or control of a headquarters, a defence organisation or the service authorities of a visiting force;
‘ordnance company’ means a company in which there is for the time being vested any property, right or liability which has at some time been the subject of a transfer by virtue of a provision made under section 1(1)(a) of the Ordnance Factories and Military Services Act 1984 ;
‘ordnance property’ means property which—
(a) belongs...
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