The Dún Laoghaire Harbour Police is a small, specialised

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

force in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

County Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

operating under the jurisdiction of the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Country Council. The force has the power of arrest under Section 54 of the ''Harbours Act 1996'

to arrest persons in connection with offences under the Act, although they are then required to hand them over to the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

. Prior to the passage of the Act, the Harbour Police were under the employ of the Department for the Marine and were sworn as

constables A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

under the ''Harbour, Docks & Piers Clauses Act 1847''. The force was established in 1836 as the Kingstown Harbour Police under the provisions of the ''Kingstown Harbour Act 1836'', making it the oldest extant police force in Ireland. The current name was taken in 1924.

See also