Port of Dover Police
Encyclopedia
The Port of Dover Police (PoDP) is a small non-Home Office
police
service which provides a 24 hour policing service to the Port
of Dover
, Kent
, England
.
. As a result, police officers of the PoDP have full powers of a constable within the limits of the harbour, dock, pier, and premises of the Dover Harbour Board (DHB), and within one mile (1.6 km) of the same.
In purely legal terms, as the DHB own significant areas of land on the sea front of Dover together with the one mile (1.6 km) extension of their jurisdiction, PoDP officers retain full constabulary powers throughout most of the Dover area. The DHB also own land in an area known as ‘Port Zone’ in the village of Whitfield
outside Dover itself. As a result PoDP have jurisdiction in an area to the north of Dover that does not fall within the 1 miles (1.6 km) radius of land owned by DHB that borders the sea.
However, in practical terms the policing activities of the PoDP are directed at the Eastern and Western Dock Terminals and the public promenade located between the two terminals. The PoDP do not police the ‘Port Zone’ outlined above and do not, as a matter of routine, exercise police powers outside of DHB owned land (apart from in cases of urgent assistance to Kent Police and in relation to traffic management to the extent that PoDP jurisdiction allows).
The area policed by the PoDP is not a separate police area
as defined by the Police Act 1996
and as a result primary responsibility for the maintenance and enforcement of criminal law throughout the County of Kent including the Port of Dover rests with the Chief Constable of Kent Police
. Kent Police and PoDP do have a long history of working together in relation to the port and its immediate surroundings.
However the PoDP do investigate all criminal offences within the Port except those offences deemed as serious or that are beyond the capability or capacity of its limited size. Serious offences committed within the Port, such as acts of terrorism
, murder
, manslaughter
, rape
, facilitation of illegal immigration or any incident involving the death (suspicious or not) of a person are investigated by Kent Police. However, PoDP officers will take immediate necessary action prior to the arrival of Kent Police officers in such cases. Kent Police assist PoDP with crimes that they do investigate by providing such services as forensic officers, specialist support units and custody office facilities (the PoDP not having their own custody suite).
Whilst national arrangements exist between territorial police forces for mutual aid
policing, these do not apply between a territorial and non ‘Home Office’ forces such as PoDP. However, the PoDP will, when resources and legal jurisdiction permit respond to calls for assistance from Kent Police in the Dover area.
, six Sergeant
s and thirty-eight Constable
s. The current Chief Officer is Chief Superintendent Steve Masters; the current Deputy Chief Officer is Superintendent Paul Wilczek.
Although the majority of officers perform uniformed patrol duties, the force also includes a small Criminal Investigation Department
staffed by three detective constables and a detective sergeant, CID officers attend detective training courses at Kent Police training school. One constable is employed as a training officer (initial and in-service training) and the force provides all initial training not only for its own officers and staff, but also for the Port of Bristol Police
and the Port of Felixstowe Police
.
The Port of Dover operates 24 hours a day seven days a week and sees over 16 million passengers pass through it each year, combined with huge volumes of cars lorries and coaches making it the busiest ferry port in Europe. This ensures that Port of Dover Police officers are kept busy, and have a very high level of interaction with the public, unlike some other port police forces in the UK which although have police powers are primarily used in a security role. Officers of the force effected over 700 arrests during 2009 for a wide variety of offences ranging from drink driving to theft, from fraud to public order. Add to that many hundreds of minor offences were dealt with by way of reporting for summons, or by the issue of fixed penalty notices.
Civilian staff are employed alongside police officers, particularly in the manning of the control room and cctv cameras in the operational police station just inside the main entrance to the Eastern Docks. A separate headquarters building is located further inside the Eastern Docks, from where the Chief Officer and his deputy operate, along with the CID department and administration staff.
(The numbers & letters in the first two images are representational - these actual collar number
s do not exist.)
The force operates a small fleet of marked and unmarked police vehicles. All police drivers undergo the standard police driving course. There is also a marine capability with Delta99, a rigid inflatable boat (RIB), which not only provides security within the docks and cruise ship terminals, but is also used to good effect in combating marine crime in the marina the inner harbour and surrounding areas of the port. The RIB also provides assistance to small craft and has been utilised in the recovery of property and bodies from the sea, the foreshore, and the inaccessible areas below the white cliffs that stretch east and west of the port.
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
service which provides a 24 hour policing service to the Port
Port of Dover
The Port of Dover is the cross-channel port situated in Dover, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and one of Europe's largest passenger ports, with 14 million travellers, 2.1 million lorries, 2.8 million cars and motorcycles and 86,000 coaches passing...
of Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Organisation & Role
The PoDP is established, funded and maintained by the owners of the Port of Dover, the Dover Harbour Board, the statutory undertakers, under section 79 of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847
The Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which governs harbors, docks, and piers.-Port police:...
. As a result, police officers of the PoDP have full powers of a constable within the limits of the harbour, dock, pier, and premises of the Dover Harbour Board (DHB), and within one mile (1.6 km) of the same.
In purely legal terms, as the DHB own significant areas of land on the sea front of Dover together with the one mile (1.6 km) extension of their jurisdiction, PoDP officers retain full constabulary powers throughout most of the Dover area. The DHB also own land in an area known as ‘Port Zone’ in the village of Whitfield
Whitfield, Kent
Whitfield is an ancient village and civil parish in the English county of Kent. It has a modern counterpart in the large settlement located at the junction of the A2 and A256 roads, some four miles north of Dover, of which that part of Whitfield has become a suburb of the Dover urban area.The...
outside Dover itself. As a result PoDP have jurisdiction in an area to the north of Dover that does not fall within the 1 miles (1.6 km) radius of land owned by DHB that borders the sea.
However, in practical terms the policing activities of the PoDP are directed at the Eastern and Western Dock Terminals and the public promenade located between the two terminals. The PoDP do not police the ‘Port Zone’ outlined above and do not, as a matter of routine, exercise police powers outside of DHB owned land (apart from in cases of urgent assistance to Kent Police and in relation to traffic management to the extent that PoDP jurisdiction allows).
The area policed by the PoDP is not a separate police area
Police area
A police area is the area for which a territorial police force in the United Kingdom is responsible for policing.Every location in the United Kingdom has a designated territorial police force with statutory responsibility for providing policing services and enforcing criminal law, which is set out...
as defined by the Police Act 1996
Police Act 1996
The Police Act 1996 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which defined the current police areas, constituted the current police authorities and set out the relationship between the Home Secretary and the territorial police forces. It replaced the Police and Magistrates Courts Act...
and as a result primary responsibility for the maintenance and enforcement of criminal law throughout the County of Kent including the Port of Dover rests with the Chief Constable of Kent Police
Kent Police
Kent Police is the territorial police force for Kent in England, including the unitary authority of Medway.-Area and organisation:The force covers an area of with an approximate population of 1,660,588 . The Chief Constable is currently Ian Learmonth, who was appointed in 2010 and is the former...
. Kent Police and PoDP do have a long history of working together in relation to the port and its immediate surroundings.
Memorandum of Understanding
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between PoDP and Kent Police sets out each organisation's responsibilities. The MOU sets out that ultimately the responsibility for the investigation of criminal offences committed within the Port and other DHB properties rests with Kent Police.However the PoDP do investigate all criminal offences within the Port except those offences deemed as serious or that are beyond the capability or capacity of its limited size. Serious offences committed within the Port, such as acts of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, facilitation of illegal immigration or any incident involving the death (suspicious or not) of a person are investigated by Kent Police. However, PoDP officers will take immediate necessary action prior to the arrival of Kent Police officers in such cases. Kent Police assist PoDP with crimes that they do investigate by providing such services as forensic officers, specialist support units and custody office facilities (the PoDP not having their own custody suite).
Whilst national arrangements exist between territorial police forces for mutual aid
Mutual aid (emergency services)
In emergency services, mutual aid is an agreement among emergency responders to lend assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. This may occur due to an emergency response that exceeds local resources, such as a disaster or a multiple-alarm fire. Mutual aid may be ad hoc, requested only when...
policing, these do not apply between a territorial and non ‘Home Office’ forces such as PoDP. However, the PoDP will, when resources and legal jurisdiction permit respond to calls for assistance from Kent Police in the Dover area.
Staffing
As of 2010, the Port of Dover Police had an establishment of one Chief Superintendent (Chief Officer), one Superintendent (Deputy Chief Officer), one InspectorInspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
, six Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
s and thirty-eight Constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
s. The current Chief Officer is Chief Superintendent Steve Masters; the current Deputy Chief Officer is Superintendent Paul Wilczek.
Although the majority of officers perform uniformed patrol duties, the force also includes a small Criminal Investigation Department
Criminal Investigation Department
The Crime Investigation Department is the branch of all Territorial police forces within the British Police and many other Commonwealth police forces, to which plain clothes detectives belong. It is thus distinct from the Uniformed Branch and the Special Branch.The Metropolitan Police Service CID,...
staffed by three detective constables and a detective sergeant, CID officers attend detective training courses at Kent Police training school. One constable is employed as a training officer (initial and in-service training) and the force provides all initial training not only for its own officers and staff, but also for the Port of Bristol Police
Port of Bristol Police
The Port of Bristol Police are a body of uniformed, warranted constables whose purpose is to protect the port complexes and community situated at the mouth of the River Avon on the border between Bristol and Somerset...
and the Port of Felixstowe Police
Port of Felixstowe Police
Port of Felixstowe Police is a small specialised police force responsible for policing the Port of Felixstowe. Officers of this force are sworn in as special constables under section 79 of the Harbours, Docks, and Piers Clauses Act 1847. As a result, officers have the full powers of a constable on...
.
The Port of Dover operates 24 hours a day seven days a week and sees over 16 million passengers pass through it each year, combined with huge volumes of cars lorries and coaches making it the busiest ferry port in Europe. This ensures that Port of Dover Police officers are kept busy, and have a very high level of interaction with the public, unlike some other port police forces in the UK which although have police powers are primarily used in a security role. Officers of the force effected over 700 arrests during 2009 for a wide variety of offences ranging from drink driving to theft, from fraud to public order. Add to that many hundreds of minor offences were dealt with by way of reporting for summons, or by the issue of fixed penalty notices.
Civilian staff are employed alongside police officers, particularly in the manning of the control room and cctv cameras in the operational police station just inside the main entrance to the Eastern Docks. A separate headquarters building is located further inside the Eastern Docks, from where the Chief Officer and his deputy operate, along with the CID department and administration staff.
Ranks
The rank structure of the Port of Dover Police is as shown below.(The numbers & letters in the first two images are representational - these actual collar number
Collar number
A collar number, also known as a shoulder number, Force Identification Number or occasionally as Force Number , identifies uniformed officers, Police Community Support Officers , and some police staff in UK police forces. Although now displayed on epaulettes A collar number, also known as a...
s do not exist.)
Facilities and Equipment
Officers wear identical uniforms to their colleagues in other forces throughout the country, including the familiar helmet of British police constables. They also wear stab resistant vests, carry asp extendable batons, rigid handcuffs and pava incapacitant spray. They are also equipped with encrypted personal radios.The force operates a small fleet of marked and unmarked police vehicles. All police drivers undergo the standard police driving course. There is also a marine capability with Delta99, a rigid inflatable boat (RIB), which not only provides security within the docks and cruise ship terminals, but is also used to good effect in combating marine crime in the marina the inner harbour and surrounding areas of the port. The RIB also provides assistance to small craft and has been utilised in the recovery of property and bodies from the sea, the foreshore, and the inaccessible areas below the white cliffs that stretch east and west of the port.