Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, in which all

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

police forces once bore the title (and some still do). Constables also exist in some U.S. states including

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. *In English-speaking Canada, the starting rank of all police officers is Constable. The provincial police service of Newfoundland and Labrador is the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. This term reflects the force’s history of having been modelled after the Royal Irish Constabulary. In this case, Constabulary is used in the same sense in which it is used in the UK. *A large civil police force organised and trained along military lines, which may contain

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

elements. This is the usual definition in places outside

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

such as the former Royal Irish Constabulary, the former

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Jamaica Constabulary Force. *A military or

type force consisting of soldiers trained for police duties. Mostly established by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in the several countries over which it had protective status e.g. Philippine Constabulary; United States Constabulary in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. These forces also performed military functions by maintaining "mobile forces" of organised units.

Current UK police services titled "constabulary"

* Avon and Somerset Constabulary *

Belfast International Airport Constabulary The Belfast International Airport Constabulary (BIAC) is a small, specialised police force responsible for providing policing to the Belfast International Airport in Aldergrove, Northern Ireland. Officers employed by the force as empowered to ac ...

Cambridgeshire Constabulary Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the local territorial police force that covers the county of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough unitary authority. It provides law enforcement and security for an area of and population of 856,000 people, in a pred ...

* Cheshire Constabulary * Civil Nuclear Constabulary *

Derbyshire Constabulary Derbyshire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Derbyshire, England. The force covers an area of over with a population of just under one million. Organisation and structure To police the county ...

Durham Constabulary Durham Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing ceremonial county of County Durham in North East England. The force’s area is bordered by Cumbria Constabulary to the west, Cleveland Police to the south east, North ...

* Gloucestershire Constabulary * Hampshire Constabulary *

Hampstead Heath Constabulary The Hampstead Heath Constabulary (HHC) is the organisation that patrols Hampstead Heath, London, which is administered by the City of London Corporation. Duties The Hampstead Heath Constabulary consists of 12 constables and acts as the parks po ...

Havering Parks Constabulary The Havering Parks Constabulary is a body of constables responsible for policing the parks and open spaces of the London Borough of Havering. Organisation and Duties Constables The Constabulary is part of Havering Parks Protection Service, and wo ...

* Hertfordshire Constabulary * Kew Constabulary * Lancashire Constabulary *

Norfolk Constabulary Norfolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Norfolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 908,000 in a mostly rural area of , including 90 miles of coastline and 16 rivers, including the B ...

Suffolk Constabulary Suffolk Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing Suffolk in East Anglia, England. The force serves a population of 761,000 in a mostly rural area of 1,466 square miles (3,796 km2), including 49 miles of coastline and ...

Current constabularies in the Netherlands

* Royal Marechaussee * Dienst Speciale Interventies *

Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten The ''Brigade Speciale Beveiligingsopdrachten'' (BSB) ( en, Special Security Missions Brigade) is the elite police tactical unit of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Its missions include counter-terrorism, protection of government and military ...

Historic constabularies

;Philippines * Philippine Constabulary – created in 1901 by the American colonial administration. It was demilitarised and merged with the

Integrated National Police The Integrated National Police (INP) (Filipino: ''Pinagsamang Pulisyáng Pambansà'', ''PPP''; Spanish:''Policía Nacional Conjunto'', ''PNC'') was the municipal police force for the cities and large towns of the Republic of the Philippines. One ...

in 1991 to form the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Current ...

. ;Ireland * Royal Irish Constabulary – The United Kingdom's paramilitary police force in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1822–1922. ;Northern Ireland *

– The United Kingdom's police force in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

from 1922 – 2001 when it was reformed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland. * Ulster Special Constabulary – a reserve police force from 1920 until it was disbanded in 1970. ;Free City of Danzig * Free City of Danzig Police – The law enforcement agency of the semi-autonomous

Free City of Danzig The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...

from 1919 - 1945. ;United States * United States Constabulary –

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

military

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the U.S. Occupation Zone of

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. *

Pennsylvania State Constables The office of Pennsylvania State Constable is held as a municipally elected, sworn Peace Officer throughout the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Constables are elected in each borough, township, and city ward in the state—except i ...

– an elected office held in all Pennsylvania townships, boroughs, and cities except Philadelphia; unrelated to the

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and cr ...

;Malaysia * North Borneo Constabulary – The paramilitary police force of

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, which is present day Sabah. The territory of North Borneo ...

from 1800s to 1963 where it was officially incorporated into

Royal Malaysia Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) ( ms, Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM)), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation. Its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman ...

shortly after the formation of Malaysia. * Sarawak Constabulary – The paramilitary police force of Kingdom of Sarawak from 1800s to 1963 where it was officially incorporated into Royal Malaysia Police shortly after the formation of Malaysia. ;South Africa *

South African Constabulary The South African Constabulary (SAC) was a paramilitary force set up in 1900 under British Army control to police areas captured from the two independent Boer republics of Transvaal and Orange Free State during the Second Boer War. Its first ...

– The paramilitary gendarmerie force raised by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

to police captured areas of the two former Boer republics of the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

and

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

during the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

from 1900 to 1908.

External links

*{{Commonscat-inline Law enforcement units

Current UK police services titled "constabulary"

Current constabularies in the Netherlands

Historic constabularies

Further reading

External links