A brief history of The Federation

The history of the Federation is closely interwoven with the history of the Ministry of Defence Police. Indeed, it would not be over modest to say that the Force owes its very existence to the Federation's efforts, or rather to those of its predecessors.

Until 1971 there was no Defence Police Federation, nor was there a Ministry of Defence Police Force. Before that date, each of the three armed services had its own constabulary, with its own Chief Constable, and each of those constabularies had its own staff association. Recognising that unity is strength, these staff associations formed a Federal Council in 1953. Yet even this arrangement did not ensure the cohesion, solidarity and bargaining power needed to best protect members' interests. And so in 1971 the associations agreed to form a single Defence Police Federation.

The new Federation strongly believed that the MoD's three police forces should be amalgamated. This was the only way, it argued, of realising the forces' true potential and enhancing their officers' professionalism, and so ending for ever the idea that these officers were somehow inferior to "real" police officers - and that they should be paid accordingly. Even before the formation of the Defence Police Federation, the individual Defence constabularies' staff associations had fought constantly against the notion that their members should receive a considerably abated rate of full police pay. So the Federation campaigned tirelessly for amalgamation, and our views began to be echoed even within the Ministry of Defence itself. Finally, in 1971, the Department conceded, and the Ministry of Defence Police was formed.

Subsequent events proved the wisdom of the Federation's policy. In 1974 we achieved a long-held aim in the outcome of a MoD/DPF working party: the acknowledgement that the MDP's pay and conditions should be in all respects equal to those of their counterparts in Home Department forces. And every report and inquiry into the MDP since that one has reached the same conclusion - our officers are fully equal in competence to Home Department officers, and should receive full police pay.

The next landmark in the MDP's history was also to a great extent the result of the Federation's efforts. Ever since the establishment of the force in 1971, the Federation had campaigned for an Act of Parliament to replace the maze of regulations, statutory provisions and instructions on which the MDP's legal authority was based. We believed that such an Act would enable the officers we represented to discharge their duties more easily and to enhance their credibility as police officers. In 1987, following the recommendations of the Broadbent Report, we finally saw this aim realised, and Parliament passed the Ministry of Defence Police Act.

The Act was a landmark in the DPF's history too. It gave the Federation full legal status and put it on a par with the representative bodies of other police forces. We stand in relation to the Secretary of State for Defence as the Police Federation of England and Wales does to the Home Secretary.

Since the Act, the force has gone from strength to strength, and MDP officers have won widespread praise for their high standards, skills and professionalism. The Federation is proud to have played a part in this.