A territorial police force is a
police
The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...
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
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...
, police responsible for individual sub-national jurisdictions are typically called
state or provincial police.
Canada
The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...
(RCMP/GRC) are the federal-level police service. They also act as the provincial police service in every province except for
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
, who operate provincial police services, as well as
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, which is served by the
Royal Newfoundland Constabulary. The RCMP are 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.
Spanish Sahara
A separate
Sahrawi indigenous unit serving the
Spanish colonial government was the ''Policia Territorial''. This gendarmerie corresponded to the
Civil Guard
Civil Guard refers to various policing organisations:
Current
* Civil Guard (Spain), Spanish gendarmerie
* Civil Guard (Israel), Israeli volunteer police reserve
* Civil Guard (Brazil), Municipal law enforcement corporations in Brazil
Historic ...
in metropolitan
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. It was commanded by Spanish officers and included Spanish personnel of all ranks.
United Kingdom
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 ...
(UK) the phrase is gaining increased official (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
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
, 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:
*
Police Act 1996 – England and Wales, later legislation matched the
Metropolitan Police District to the boundary of
Greater London
*
Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 – Scotland
*
Police (Northern Ireland) Act 2000 – Northern Ireland (renaming the
Royal Ulster Constabulary the
Police Service of Northern Ireland without changing the area served)
Members of territorial police forces have jurisdiction in one of the three distinct legal systems of the United Kingdom – either
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
or
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
. 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, officers of the
Metropolitan Police who are on protection duties anywhere in the United Kingdom and when taking a person to or from a
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
.
United Nations
The
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
(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
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...
in substitution for
Indonesian National Police.
References
{{Reflist
External links
The Police in Scotland
Law enforcement units
Law enforcement in the United Kingdom