The Port of Portland Police is a non- Home Office ports police force responsible for the Port of Portland in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

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 ...

History

The force was established in 1997 when the

Portland Harbour Portland Harbour is located beside the Isle of Portland, Dorset, on the south coast of England. Construction of the harbour began in 1849; when completed in 1872, its surface area made it the largest man-made harbour in the world, and rema ...

Authority Ltd. bought the port from the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. It is a body of constables attested under section 79 of the

Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847 The Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which governs harbours, docks and piers. Port police The act allows two justices of the peace to swear in port police officers as "special constables" w ...

(as incorporated by Portland Harbour Revision Order 1997). The Port Police staff the main entrance to the Port 24 hours a day, year-round.

Present Day

In February 2018, four new constables were sworn in. In July 2020, the Port Police agreed a memorandum of understanding with the local police force,

Dorset Police Dorset Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the county of Dorset in the south-west of England, which includes the largely rural area covered by Dorset Council, and the urban conurbation of Bournemouth, Christchurch ...

. This will involve the sharing of assets, improving communication and allowing the collation of information.

Duties

The Port Police guard the main entrance to the Port, 24 hours a day, all-year-round. The Port Police are responsible for ensuring the security and safety of the port and its tenants, employees, users and visitors as well as the international ships visiting the port. The Port of Portland has its own ''Byelaws'' (Portland Port General Byelaws 2018) and these are enforced by the Port Police.

Powers

All Port Police officers are sworn in as "special constables" under Section 79 of the

(HDPCA). ''N.B. The act uses the term 'special constable'; at the time this act was passed 'special constable' meant any constable who was not a member of a territorial police force.'' As a result, officers have the full powers of a constable on ''"any land owned by the harbour, dock, or port and at any place within one mile of any owned land".''

Uniform

Portland Port Police officers wear a typical UK Port Police uniform. All officers have a "warrant card" which is used to identify their authority as constables.

Operational Uniform

This uniform is worn for everyday operational police duties and consists of: *Black t-shirt or white shirt & black tie *Black trousers *Black jacket with police markings and rank slide *Black boots *

Custodian helmet The custodian helmet is a type of helmet worn predominantly by male police officers in the United Kingdom, within England and Wales, and certain other places around the world. History The custodian helmet is the headgear traditionally worn by m ...

(males) with Portland Port Police helmet badge. *Peaked cap with black and white checquered cap band and capbadge.

Rank structure

The rank structure of the Portland Port Police force is as follows:

Vehicles

The Portland Port Police use the following vehicles as police vehicles, all vehicles are marked with blue and yellow battenburg marks, blue flashing lights, sirens and Portland Port Police badge: *

Land Rover Discovery Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various isla ...

External links

Official website of the Port of Portland Police

References

{{UK private and military police forces Government agencies established in 1997 Police forces of England Isle of Portland Port police forces of the United Kingdom