The Military Provost Staff are the Army's specialists in custody and detention, providing advice inspection and surety within custodial establishments. The MPS form part of the
Adjutant General's Corps and are based at the
Military Corrective Training Centre
Colchester Garrison is a major garrison located in Colchester in the county of Essex, Eastern England. It has been an important military base since the Roman era. The first permanent military garrison in Colchester was established by Legio XX V ...
(MCTC) in
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
.
History
The Military Prison Staff Corps was formed in 1901 under Army Order 241. It was redesignated the Military Provost Staff Corps in 1906. As the Military Provost Staff it became part of the Adjutant General's Corps (AGC) on 6 April 1992, forming the Provost Branch along with the
Royal Military Police. It retains a separate identity within the AGC, however, keeping its
cap badge
A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...
and other symbols. The MPS does not recruit directly from civilian life, but only accepts applications from soldiers already serving in the Army. All its members hold a minimum rank of
corporal.
MPS Regiment
In December 2015,
the Military Provost Staff Regiment was formed as part of
1st Military Police Brigade
The 1st Military Police Brigade (1 MP Bde) is a policing formation of the British Army, which is the only one-star command of the Royal Military Police. The brigade was formed in 2014, but due to be reduced to a Colonel's command in 2022 and re ...
.
The regiment is currently organised as follows:
[Royal Military Police Journal 2016.]
* Regimental Headquarters, at Berechurch Hall Camp,
Colchester Garrison
** Headquarters Company
** No. 1 Company (Army Reserve)
** SCF Company
** Detention Company
The Commanding Officer of the regiment is a
Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and also holds the title of Commandant, Military Corrective Training Centre.
References
External links
Military Provost Staff
{{Authority control
British administrative corps
Prison and correctional agencies
Adjutant General's Corps
Military discipline
Military units and formations established in 1901