Isle of Man Constabulary

Isle of Man Constabulary
Meoiryn-Shee Ellan Vannin
Badge of the Isle of Man Constabulary.
Agency overview
Formed September, 1863
Annual budget £15 million[1]
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction* Crown dependency of Isle of Man, United Kingdom
Isle of Man Constabulary area
Size 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi)
Population 80,000
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Douglas
Sworn members 200
Agency executive Mike Langdon, Chief Constable
Divisions 5
Facilities
Stations 10
Website
www.gov.im/dha/police
Footnotes
* Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction.

The Isle of Man Constabulary (Manx: Meoiryn-Shee Ellan Vannin) is the organisation responsible for policing the Isle of Man, an island of 80,000 inhabitants situated equidistant from Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England.

Structures and Deployment

The force has about 236 officers in its establishment being the national police service of the Isle of Man. As the Isle of Man is not a part of the United Kingdom, the Constabulary is responsible to the Minister of Home Affairs of the Isle of Man Government. Nevertheless, the service volunteers itself for inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) for England and Wales.

The force is split into five neighbourhood policing teams (NPTs). Northern NPT covers the North of the Island - Ramsey, Andreas, Bride, Ballaugh, Lezayre, Maughold, Jurby. Western NPT covers Patrick, German, Michael, and Peel. Southern NPT covers the Airport, Ballasalla, Castletown, Port St Mary, and Port Erin. Eastern NPT covers Braddan, Laxey, Lonan, and Onchan. Douglas NPT covers the borough of Douglas. Each NPT is controlled by an inspector who has established a partnership with the local community to help solve issues affecting the local area.

Every year the force polices the Isle of Man TT races.

The constabulary's headquarters are in the Manx capital, Douglas. The present Chief Constable is Gary Roberts.

Uniform

In terms of uniform, the force looks very similar to police in the United Kingdom, apart from the custodian helmets worn by male constables and sergeants. White helmets were introduced in 1960 as a summer alternative to the older black helmets (partly for tourism reasons).[2] White helmets were used as a summer option in other police forces (including Brighton, Southend-on-Sea and Swansea Borough Police forces; Peterborough City Police; the Metropolitan Police's band; and the New Zealand Police), but this practice ceased in the UK in 1969 and in New Zealand in the 1990s. The white helmet is now worn year round by officers on foot patrol. Officers on mobile patrol tend to wear peaked caps.

Officers of the rank of sergeant and above may carry a "signalling stick" when on foot patrol. This is in effect an additional rank indicator. Until very recently constables "acting up" in the rank of sergeant were referred to as "carrying the stick". If the "acting" was only short term, the stick was often the only indicator for their additional responsibilities.

Social media presence

The Isle of Man Constabulary have started to branch out into social media, predominantly Twitter. An example of this is the Isle of Man Police Dog Section[3] which has been updating their followers on the latest litter of puppies and general goings on of the dog unit. (https://twitter.com/IOMPoliceDogs)

Scandals

During the tenure of Mike Culverhouse, the force was involved in many scandals,[4][5] including the Manx Bugging Scandal and almost all senior officers except the Chief Constable were either suspended, retired or dismissed.

Rank structure

The rank structure of the Isle of Man Constabulary follows the practice of United Kingdom county (as opposed to London) territorial police forces, except that there are no ranks of chief superintendent or assistant chief constable. There are usually three chief inspectors, taking responsibility, respectively, for local neighbourhood policing, island-wide policing, and motorsport policing - the latter post being largely due to the Isle of Man TT racing and associated motorsports activities, and one superintendent.

Isle of Man Police ranks
RankPolice
Constable		SergeantInspectorChief
Inspector		Super-
intendent		Deputy
Chief
Constable		Chief
Constable
Insignia
For a comparison of these ranks with other British police forces see Police ranks of the United Kingdom.

Chief Officers

Emergency services on the Isle of Man

See also

References

  1. ↑ Isle of Man Constabulary – Baseline Assessment, October 2006.
  2. ↑ Police History - Isle of Man Constabulary
  3. ↑ Isle of Man Police Dog Section https://twitter.com/IOMPoliceDogs
  4. ↑ Cheshire Police Chief Constable chairs enquiry (Para46d) http://www.cheshire.police.uk/uploads/240603.doc
  5. ↑ Latest IOM news: http://www.iomonline.co.uk/template/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=870&articleid=958675

External links