About us

As an officer in the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP), you will be joining a national police force, with units deployed across the UK at Defence and Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sites.

Your initial training will be of the standard delivered to any UK police service and, if successful, you receive the full powers and privileges of a constable within the MDP.

Whilst the MDP’s primary focus is to provide civil policing and armed security for UK nuclear weapons sites, you will also have the opportunity to carry out other roles such as community policing within Service family housing estates or detective work in our Criminal Investigation Department (CID).  The MDP also has the largest Marine Unit (Portsmouth, Plymouth and Clyde), and Police Dog capability of any UK police service.

Most officers commence their probationary service at one of the MOD’s nuclear sites, such as AWE Aldermaston or Burghfield which offer a range of options for professional development and provide significant challenges to new and established officers alike.  Beyond the Nuclear environment the diverse range of sites and roles available throughout the UK offers MDP officers a unique opportunity for a rewarding and varied police career.

With such a range and depth of possibilities available we hope you are inspired by the thought of a future within the MDP and are ready to find out more.

Role of the MDP

The MDP is a unique and specialised national civilian police service, not to be confused with the military police.  The MDP concentration is focused on the Defence Community, providing them the same service as any of Britain's local police forces, as well as armed security at key defence sites, including the protection of Britain's nuclear deterrent and Critical National Infrastructure.

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Our Headquarters and Training College are at Wethersfield in Essex, with five Divisions covering the UK from RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall to Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE), Caithness in Scotland.  We police an environment in which the terrorist threat is always prevalent.  Many of our tasks are Counter Terrorist orientated such as safeguarding the perimeters of military bases, protecting against the sabotage of assets and the threat of terrorist incursion – requiring exceptionally high levels of vigilance.

At the same time, our role as a civilian police force is to create a safe environment for the Defence community, free from crime and the fear of crime.  We perform many of the duties associated with other police forces across the country, with the support of specialist units; including one of the largest Fraud Squads in the country and a marine unit comprising of the largest fleet of amphibious craft of any British police force. The MDP also contributes significantly to International Peacekeeping missions as directed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Her Majesty’s Government.