Royal Falkland Islands Police
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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2007) |
| Royal Falkland Islands Police | |
| Coverage | |
|---|---|
 Royal Falkland Islands Police area |
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| Area | Falkland Islands |
| Size | 12,173 km² |
| Population | Approx 3,000 |
| Operations | |
| Formed | 1846 |
| HQ | Stanley |
| Budget | {{{budget}}} |
| Officers | 18 |
| Divisions | |
| Stations | 1 |
| Chief Officer | |
| Website | RFIP website |
The Royal Falkland Islands Police is the local police force in the Falkland Islands. The Force was established on 1 November 1846 with the appointment of Francis Parry as Chief Constable. The Constables Ordinance 1846, which had been enacted by the colony's Legislative Council on 27 October of that year, brought about the birth of an establishment that has remained at the service of the public ever since. The current Chief Police Officer is Superintendent Paul Elliott, latterly of Lincolnshire Constabulary
The Falkland Islands Police Force was granted the "Royal" prefix by HM The Queen on 1 January 1992. This followed an inspection by the Deputy Inspector General of Dependent Territories Police and was granted in recognition of 146 years of loyal service to the Crown and of the professional standards achieved by the force in the 10 years since its virtual destruction by the Argentine occupation of the Falkland Islands in 1982.
The Royal Falkland Islands Police consists of an establishment of 6 General Duties Constables, a number of Reserve Constables (similar to UK Special Constables), 1 Sergeant Support, 1 Sergeant Operations/Crime, 1 Detective Sergeant CID, an Inspector and a Chief Officer of Superintendent rank. Two civilian staff are employed one as Senior Clerk and the other as Licensing Officer. A gaoler is also employed as the Islands Prison is contained within the Police building and administered by the Chief Police Officer. An Island wide service is provided with 24 hour cover. The control desk maintains a listening watch on marine and civilian emergency radio frequencies and is the terminus of the telephone "999" system.
The Police Station, which has remained the Headquarters Building since it was completed in 1873, is situated centrally in Stanley. The building, which has had several wooden extensions added over the years, was built of stone by the detachment of Royal Marines that were stationed in the Colony at that time. The station took a direct hit from a British missile, during the Falklands Conflict, on 11 June 1982 and was severely damaged. The fabric of the building was repaired but after 135 years of continual service it is to be radically updated in 2008.
The Royal Falkland Islands Police uphold adopted English Statute Law and local Ordinances and are governed by the Police Ordinance 2000. Codes of practice are published and originate from the Criminal Justice Ordinance 1989. All equipment issued to officers and practices used comply with Home Office and Association of Chief Police Officers, (ACPO), guidelines. Police equipment is purchased directly from suppliers or through the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary with whom an affiliation has been formed since 1990. Officers do not ordinarily carry firearms however they are issued with and trained in the use of Quikcuff and CASCO.
The transport fleet consists of 1 Land Rover 90, 1 Land Rover 110 for camp (rural) patrols, major incident control and 2 Land Rover Discoveries, as general patrol vehicles.
Communication is based on VHF FM radio and is encrypted. The use of a repeater greatly extends the range of coverage.
[edit] External links
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