page_title: Ministry of Defence Police
section_title: Uniform, armament and equipment
hierarchical_section_title: Ministry of Defence Police / Uniform, armament and equipment
caption_attribution_description: English: Protected Escort Vehicle of The Ministry of Defence Police
context_page_description: The Ministry of Defence Police is a civilian special police force which is part of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The MDP are not military police and should not be confused with the Royal Military Police or any other Service Police organisation.
  Although superficially similar to other UK police forces, the MDP is significantly different in role, function and accountability. The MDP's primary responsibilities are to provide armed security and counter terrorism services, as well as uniformed policing and limited investigative services to Ministry of Defence property, personnel, and installations throughout the United Kingdom.
  The different role is clearly borne out by the number of arrests made by MDP officers against forces with similar numbers of police officers. In 2016, MDP officers made 61 arrests. In comparison, in the year ending March 2017, Sussex Police made 17,506 arrests whilst Avon & Somerset Constabulary recorded 26,694 arrests for notifiable crimes.
  MDP officers are attested as constables under the Ministry of Defence Police Act 1987. All MDP officers are trained as Authorised Firearms Officers and 90% of those on duty are armed at any given time.
caption: MDP protected patrol vehicle (Battenburg Markings)
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