Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency

The Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence. The organisation was formed on 1 April 2004 by the amalgamation of the MoD Police Agency with the Ministry of Defence Guard Service, with the purpose of providing a coordinated approach to the provision of security to MoD property. The agency has its Headquarters in Wethersfield, Essex and is headed by a Chief Executive, who also serves as the Chief Constable of the MoD Police. In addition to providing policing and security to MoD property, the MDPGA contracts out its services to external users; these can include other executive agencies of the British Government (Dstl, Royal Mint), commercial users (QinetiQ) and visiting armed forces from overseas.^[1]

Organisation

The organisation is divided into two main areas:

Ministry of Defence Police

Main article: Ministry of Defence Police

The Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) supplies specialised civilian policing services to the MoD community, both military and civilian units. It also supports the Defence vision (a force for good in the world) by contributing to international policing in countries such as Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan; its principal role in these regions is to help develop a model for human rights-based local policing, by training and mentoring local recruits.^[1]

Ministry of Defence Guard Service

Main article: Ministry of Defence Guard Service

The Ministry of Defence Guard Service (MGS) role is to provide unarmed guarding and access control services to MoD units across the UK. It guards over 200 sites including the MoD HQ in London, the nuclear submarine base at HM Naval Base Clyde, and the RAF stations at Menwith Hill and Fylingdales

Agency role

The agency's role as defined in its Corporate Plan is: Delivering effective policing and guarding as part of the UK's Defence capability. The focus of all agency activity is to counter the following crimes and security risks faced by the MoD:

• Terrorist attack and the threat of attack.
• Disruption and disorder caused by protestors.
• Theft of key assets.
• Major financial fraud.
• Unauthorised intrusion onto the Defence Estate.^[1]

Agency outputs

• Protection of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent.
• Defence business continuity: the ability to reinforce the protection of Defence personnel and property.
• Defensive armed policing: the capability to deter and respond to, an armed attack on Defence personnel and property.
• Uniformed policing: the effective use of police powers to deter, detect, and respond to crime and disorder.
• Guarding: the provision of unarmed guarding and access control to Defence personnel and property.
• Crime investigation: the prevention, detection and investigation of crime that impacts significantly against Defence capability, and the recovery of stolen assets.
• International capability: the contribution of specialist policing expertise in support of wider Defence and foreign policy objectives.
• Policy: contributing to Defence policing and guarding policy.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/WhatWeDo/SecurityandIntelligence/MoD PoliceGA/