The changing role of the MDP
8. The table below contains a breakdown of the MDP's
complement at January 2001 relative to its strength in 1987.
Complement of the Ministry of Defence
Police
(Figures in brackets show actual strengths)
Rank
|
1987
|
Jan 2001
|
Chief Constable |
1 (1) |
1 (1)
|
Deputy Chief Constable
|
1 (1) |
1 (1)
|
Assistant Chief Constable
|
5 (5) |
3 (3)
|
Chief Superintendent
|
10 (9) |
4 (4)
|
Superintendent |
26 (25) |
24 (28)
|
Chief Inspector |
52 (49) |
58 (59)
|
Inspector |
180 (173)
|
123 (112) |
Sergeant |
707 (698)
|
585 (557) |
Constable |
4,019 (3,880)
|
2,830 (2,678) |
Total |
5,001 (4,841) |
3,629 (3,443) |
Source: Special Report from the Select Committee
on the Armed Forces Bill, Session 2000-2001, HC 145-II, Ev p 234
By October 2001, the complement had fallen further
to 3,437 (and the strength to 3,354); it is planned that it will
continue to reduce, to about 3,000 by 2005.[12]
The reduction in numbers has occurred as a result of a decision
to replace some of the armed guarding posts filled by MDP officers
with the new Military Provost Guard Service. The grounds for this
decision were that police officers with full constabulary powers
were over-qualified for a straightforward guarding role and that
using personnel specifically engaged for guarding duties would
provide a more appropriate and cheaper option.[13]
This reduction has meant that the MDP has had to change from a
largely static force to a highly mobile one, which includes area
policing teams, each covering a number of MoD establishments,
and travelling between them as necessary. The change in deployment
patterns is cited as one of the reasons for the changes in the
MDP's jurisdiction proposed in the Anti-Terrorism Bill.[14]
9. The way in which the MDP fulfils its role has
also changed since the force was established. At the time of the
consideration of the Ministry of Defence Police Bill in 1987,
the Minister responsible said that—
... Serious crime, like all crime, is the responsibility
of the Home Department forces ... The Ministry of Defence police
would hand over responsibility for such crimes at once. If the
case involved murder, rape or any such thing there would be no
question, and the investigation would be handed, straight away,
to the Home Department forces, although, conceivably, the MDP
may be first on the scene of the crime.[15]
The MoD's view is that these principles remain valid
but that the experience and expertise of the MDP has developed
since the 1987 Act, leading to a 'shift of emphasis in the handling
of cases' in which both the MDP and local police forces have an
interest, resulting in the MDP taking responsibility for investigating
a greater range of crimes.[16]
The Chief Constable of the MDP describes this as an 'evolution'
of the MDP's role, in response to the expectation of the people
whom the force serves.[17]
10. This evolution has been accompanied by an increasing
professionalism. The MDP now has a Criminal Investigation Department
(CID) of 167 officers and over 10,000 allegations of crime were
investigated in the 1999-2000 reporting year, including 30 cases
of rape. The MDP achieved a 38 per cent success rate in solving
crimes in that year, which compares favourably with other police
forces.[18]
ACPO's representative told us that the transfer, since 1992, to
the Ministry of Defence Guard Service of much of the basic unarmed
guarding duties on the defence estate, which the MDP used to undertake,
has contributed to other police forces increasingly coming to
regard the MDP as equals.[19]
The growing reputation for professionalism which the MDP is developing
is further reflected in the deployment, since mid-2000, of around
55 MDP officers to assist the UN International Police in Kosovo
with law enforcement, on 12-month tours of duty.[20]
Quinquennial Review of the MDP
Agency
11. MoD agencies are required to undergo regular
review of how they deliver services. These are expected to take
place every five years and are therefore known as quinquennial
reviews. The MDP has now been established as an agency for five
years and a review is currently under way. As a first stage, the
review is assessing:
(a) Whether there is
a continuing need for the services provided by the MDP
(b) To what extent other
organisations could contribute to meeting those requirements
(c) If a continuing need
for the MDP's services is established, how these should be configured.
The first stage of the review is expected to be completed
shortly. If agency status is confirmed by this first stage, the
second stage of the review process will then develop detailed
proposals for improvements in service delivery by examining such
areas as: aims, objectives and outputs; deployment of personnel;
relationship with customers, other police forces and others; effective
use of technology; cost structures; organisation and management
structures; and personnel policies.[21]
11 The
MPGS was initially established in 1997, as a two-year pilot scheme
with 118 personnel. At the end of the pilot in 1999, the intention
was to increase the force to 600, with plans for a further increase
to 1,400. The strength in 2001 is however only 329, with a
target of 817 by 2005. See HC Deb, 23 June 1999 , c 398w and
1 July 1999, c 469; and Special Report of the Select Committee
on the Armed Forces Bill, Session 2000-01, HC 154-II, Ev p 231 Back
12 HC Deb,
22 November 2001, c 380w; HC 154-II, Session 2000-01, op cit,
Ev p 231 Back
13 See
Eighth Report from the Defence Committee, Session 1995-96, HC
189, op cit, paragraphs 68-83 Back
14 Explanatory
Notes to the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Bill, paragraph
237 Back
15 HC
Deb, 27 January 1987, c 279 Back
16 See
Special Report from the Select Committee on the Armed Forces Bill,
Session 2000-01, HC 154-II, Ev p 234 Back
17 ibid,
Q 725 Back
18 MDP
Chief Constable's Annual Report and Accounts 1999-2000, HC 609,
Session 1999-2000, p 12 Back
19 Q 99 Back
20 HC
Deb, 18 April 2000, c 429w Back
21 MoD
Contracts Bulletin, 6 June 2001, p 15 Back
