Constabulary
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Constabulary may have several definitions.
- A civil, non-paramilitary police force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in Britain, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and some still do). See: Law enforcement in the United Kingdom.
- A large civil police force organized and trained along military lines, which may contain paramilitary elements. This is the usual definition in places outside of Great Britain (e.g., Royal Irish Constabulary, Royal Ulster Constabulary, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Pennsylvania Constabulary, Jamaica Constabulary Force etc.). These were based on the French Gendarmerie, originally consisting of military personnel seconded to or recruited directly to the constabulary or military veterans and later became all civilian forces after they were well established.
- A military or para-military type force consisting of soldiers trained for police duties[1]. These were mostly established by the United States in the several countries over which it had protective status (e.g., Philippine Constabulary, United States Constabulary in West Germany after World War II, Nicaraguan National Guard, Panama National Guard). These forces also performed military functions by maintaining "mobile forces" of organised units. In Europe such forces are called Gendarmeries, Carabinieri (in Italy) or Guardia Civil (in Spain).
A partial list of constabulary around the world:
- Royal Gibraltar Police
- Isle of Man Constabulary
- Civil Nuclear Constabulary
- Belfast International Airport Constabulary
- Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
- Fife Constabulary
- Northern Constabulary
- (Wandsworth Police)[1]
- Mexican Rurales during the administration of president Porfirio Díaz (1876–1911).
- (Pakistani Frontier Constabulary forces)[2]
[edit] Historic
Ireland
- Royal Irish Constabulary - Britain's paramilitary police force in Ireland from 1822 - 1922.
- Royal Ulster Constabulary - Britain's paramilitary police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 - 2001 when it was reformed as the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
- Ulster Special Constabulary - Northern Ireland reserve police force from 1920 until it was disbanded in 1970.
United States
- United States Constabulary - United States Army military gendarmerie force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the U.S. Occupation Zone of West Germany and Austria.
- Arizona Rangers - existed from 1901 - 1909 and reformed as the auxiliary branch of the Arizona Highway Patrol in 1957
- California State Rangers - existed from 1854 - 1887 when it was merged into the California State Police which in turn was merged with the California Highway Patrol in 1995
- New Mexico Mounted Police - now part of the New Mexico State Police
- Massachusetts State Police - very paramilitary in its early years. Now totally demilitarized outside of the training academy.
- Pennsylvania Constabulary - now called the Pennsylvania State Police
- Royal Hong Kong Police Force - Britain's paramilitary police force in Hong Kong from 1844 until the 1997 transfer of sovereignty to the People's Republic of China.
- British South Africa Police
- South African Police of the Apartheid era.
- Southwest African Police - paramilitary police force of South African occupied Southwest Africa (now called Namibia) from 1915 - 90.
Others:
- Philippine Constabulary - now called the Philippine National Police since 1991.
[edit] References
- ^ Webster defines it as “an armed police force organized on military lines but distinct from the army.”
[edit] See also
“Constabulary Attitudes of National Guard and Regular Soldiers in the U.S. Army” David R. Segal, Brian J. Reed, and David E. Rohall Armed Forces & Society, Jul 1998; vol. 24: pp. 535-548 http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/24/4/535
“UN Peacekeepers: The Constabulary Ethic and Military Professionalism” Charles C. Moskos, Jr. Armed Forces & Society, Jul 1975; vol. 1: pp. 388-401 http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/1/4/388
