The Military Police Corps (MP) ( ga, Cór Póiliní an Airm, ''PA'') is the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the

Irish Defence Forces The Defence Forces ( ga, Fórsaí Cosanta, officially styled ) derives its origins from the Irish Volunteers. Whilst the Irish for ''Defence Forces'' is , as Ó Cearúil (1999) points out, the Defence Forces are officially styled . is used i ...

responsible for the provision of

policing The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

service personnel and providing a

military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...

presence to forces while on exercise and deployment. Its tasks increase during wartime to include traffic control organisation and POW and

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

control. The Military Police are distinguished from other units by their wearing of a red beret. The Military Police enjoy a close working relationship with the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace"), more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Gove ...

at both national and local levels, with the Gardaí providing training in criminal investigation to the corps.

History

The MPC was first established in 1922 during the Irish Civil War when they took over military police duties from British troops before the corps was fully established in 1923.

Incidents

In 2011, the MPC reported that a Corporal on guard duty in Dublin in the

Government Buildings Government Buildings ( ga, Tithe an Rialtais) is a large Edwardian building enclosing a quadrangle on Merrion Street in Dublin, Ireland, in which several key offices of the Government of Ireland are located. Among the offices of State located ...

committed suicide on 27 December 2010.

Organisation

The Corps has three regular army companies and one special-purpose company: * 1st Brigade Military Police Company * 2nd Brigade Military Police Company *

Defence Forces Training Centre , image = Defense Force Training Centre Flag (Ireland).svg , image_size = 200px , caption = Flag of the DFTC , dates = , country = , role = , size = , command_structure = Defence Forces , garrison = * Curragh Camp, County Kildare *G ...

(DFTC) Military Police Company *Military Police

Company The two brigade companies provide general policing support to each of the army's territorial brigades. The DFTC company provides similar support to the Defence Forces Training Centre. The Air Corps and Naval Service now have Military Police Sections dressed in their own distinctive uniforms. Military Police are armed with the

Heckler & Koch USP The USP (''Universelle Selbstladepistole'' or "universal self-loading pistol") is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns. History Design work on a new family of p ...

service pistol and

Steyr AUG The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG. It was adopted by the Austrian A ...

assault rifle.

Restructuring

The Irish Army reduced to a two brigade structure in 2012, and the Military Police have also been reduced, based in the 1st Southern and 2nd Northern Brigades. Units disbanded in the Defense Forces Re-organisation of 2012: *4th Brigade Military Police Company (2012) *Military Police Section, Air Corps. Attached to the

Irish Air Corps "Watchful and Loyal" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = ''see list of wars'' , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , fl ...

(2012) *Military Police Section, Naval Service. Attached to the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier ma ...

(2012) *31st Reserve Military Police Company (2012) *54th Reserve Military Police Company (2012) *62nd Reserve Military Police Company (2012)

Equipment

Weapons

Uniform

MPC soldiers wear the red beret as standard, both regular and reserve.

References

External links

The Military Police Corps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Police Corps Law enforcement agencies of the Republic of Ireland

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Military Police Corps Military of the Republic of Ireland Military units and formations established in 1924