Royal Navy Police
The service-police branch responsible for law enforcement, crime investigation and discipline within the Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
Last updated August 24, 2026
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Overview
The Royal Navy Police (RNP) is the service-police branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and Royal Marines. Its principal responsibilities are maintaining good order and discipline, investigating suspected offences, preventing crime, gathering evidence, and advising commanders on security and protective matters. RNP personnel work in both uniformed and plain-clothes roles aboard ships, at naval shore establishments, and alongside Royal Marine formations, including 3 Commando Brigade. The organisation is the modern successor to the Royal Navy's Regulating Branch. Naval discipline historically relied on the captain, first lieutenant, ship's marshals, ship's corporals and, from approximately 1699, the Master at Arms rate. These personnel supervised sentries, shipboard order, punishment and aspects of the ship's daily security. Shore-based naval policing became more systematically organised during the Second World War. A 1944 review by Colonel D. H. C. Shepherd concluded that improvised landing patrols in naval-port areas were inadequate for effective policing and reporting. The resulting reforms created a dedicated provost organisation and a Leading Patrolman rating, and centralised training in a specialist regulating school. The branch was renamed the Royal Navy Police in 2007 following the Armed Forces Act 2006. Personnel continued to be informally associated with the older term “Regulators” until 2009. In that year, the RNP absorbed the Royal Marines Police, although naval and Royal Marine personnel have generally continued to serve in their respective operational environments. A Royal Marine troop provides policing support to 3 Commando Brigade as part of the United Kingdom landing force. The RNP has jurisdiction over Royal Navy personnel subject to service discipline and reciprocal authority in appropriate circumstances over personnel from the British Army and Royal Air Force. Its authority over civilians is limited and derives from legislation. Under arrangements introduced in January 2021, designated RNP personnel received maritime law-enforcement powers in English and Welsh territorial waters, including powers to stop, board, divert, search and detain vessels and to arrest people. These powers are subject to statutory and operational safeguards, including police authorisation requirements and restrictions concerning Scottish and foreign waters. The force is headed by the Provost Marshal (Navy), a Commander based at HMS Excellent. RNP regional units operate from the principal naval bases at Portsmouth, Devonport and Clyde. The former Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch was disbanded in December 2022, with serious-crime functions transferred into the tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit. The RNP remains the smallest of the United Kingdom's three service-police branches. Its motto is “Ne Cede Malis,” commonly rendered as “Do not yield to adversity.”
History
Naval discipline predates the modern Royal Navy Police by centuries. At sea, the captain traditionally exercised authority as the Crown's representative, assisted by the first lieutenant and personnel responsible for order and enforcement. Ship's marshals and ship's corporals performed early policing and guard duties before the Master at Arms rate became established around 1699. The Master at Arms supervised discipline, sentries, guards, weapons training and the execution of punishments, and also conducted shipboard rounds to check fires, lanterns and intoxication. The limitations of informal shore patrol arrangements became particularly visible during the Second World War. In September 1944, the Admiralty commissioned Colonel D. H. C. Shepherd, a Royal Marine who had served as Naval Provost Marshal in Malta, to examine naval policing in the principal port areas. His review found that temporary patrols made up of petty officers and leading ratings often lacked specialist knowledge, found report writing difficult and regarded patrol work as punitive. The report recommended a permanent provost organisation and a Leading Patrolman rating to reinforce naval patrols and undertake dedicated policing work. Admiralty Fleet Order 6681/44, issued on 21 December 1944, implemented the principal recommendations. Regulating training, previously conducted at individual port barracks, was centralised. A Royal Navy Regulating School opened at Beechwood Camp in Devon in 1945, moved to Fort Wallington near Portsmouth in 1946, then to HMS Cicero in Essex in 1947 and HMS Excellent in 1948. It remained at HMS Excellent until November 2005. Leading Patrolmen were renamed Leading Regulators in 1968. The Regulating Branch gradually developed from a discipline-focused organisation into a broader service-policing function. Its work came to include criminal investigations, evidence handling, crime prevention, liaison with civilian and specialist police forces, and advice to naval commanders. The branch was renamed the Royal Navy Police in 2007 in connection with the Armed Forces Act 2006. The older “Regulator” designation continued to be used for personnel until 2009, when the modern RNP identity became established. The Royal Marines Police was incorporated into the RNP in 2009. Although the two personnel streams have generally remained associated with their parent operational communities, the unified organisation provides policing capability across naval and Royal Marine activities. The RNP also provides a Royal Marine troop to 3 Commando Brigade. The branch's legal remit expanded in a specific maritime context after the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union. Contingency planning identified a possible need for service police to support maritime law enforcement. Regulations taking effect on 7 January 2021 gave the RNP defined powers in English and Welsh territorial waters, including authority to stop, board, divert and detain vessels, search vessels and people, and arrest individuals. The powers are constrained by police permission, territorial rules, hot-pursuit provisions and requirements concerning foreign waters. Organisationally, the RNP is led by the Provost Marshal (Navy), based at HMS Excellent, with regional command units at Portsmouth, Devonport and HMNB Clyde. In December 2022, the former Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch was disbanded and serious-crime responsibilities were moved to the tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit. Recruitment has also evolved: while the branch historically drew candidates from serving personnel, direct civilian applications became possible from 2018, followed by specialist selection and training. RNP patrol personnel use dedicated protective and communications equipment, body-worn cameras and a dark-blue beret with policing-marked outer equipment when conducting general police duties.
- 2022
Special Investigation Branch replaced
[1]The former RNP Special Investigation Branch was disbanded and replaced for serious-crime work by the Defence Serious Crime Unit.
- 2021
Maritime policing powers activated
[1]New statutory arrangements came into effect, giving the RNP defined maritime law-enforcement powers in English and Welsh territorial waters.
- 2018
Direct civilian applications introduced
[1]The branch began allowing eligible civilians to apply directly, rather than relying exclusively on internal recruitment.
- 2009
Royal Marines Police incorporated
[1]The Royal Marines Police was subsumed into the Royal Navy Police, creating a unified service-police organisation for the naval service and Royal Marines.
- 2007
Branch renamed Royal Navy Police
[1]The Royal Navy Regulating Branch adopted the Royal Navy Police name following the Armed Forces Act 2006.
- 1968
Leading Patrolmen renamed Leading Regulators
[1]The specialist junior patrol rating created after the Shepherd review received the Leading Regulator designation.
- 1945
Royal Navy Regulating School established
[1]A central school opened at Beechwood Camp in Devon to train regulating personnel and maintain branch records.
- 1944
Shepherd review of naval shore policing
[1]The Admiralty commissioned a review that identified weaknesses in temporary naval patrols and recommended a dedicated provost organisation and specialist patrol rating.
- 1699
Master at Arms tradition established
[1]The Master at Arms rate was introduced in approximately this period, continuing the Royal Navy's long-standing arrangements for shipboard discipline, sentry supervision and order.
Products and positioning
A specialist military-policing and investigative service embedded within the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, combining shipboard, shore-based, operational and maritime law-enforcement functions.
Military policing
Service policing
The RNP maintains good order and discipline among personnel subject to service law. Duties include responding to incidents, investigating disciplinary breaches, supporting commanders and policing ships, naval bases and Royal Marine locations.
Investigation service
Crime investigation
RNP personnel investigate suspected crime, collect and preserve evidence, prepare reports and liaise with territorial police forces and other specialist policing bodies. Serious-crime responsibilities are coordinated through the tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit following the 2022 organisational change.
Maritime security · 2021
Maritime law enforcement
Under statutory arrangements effective from January 2021, designated RNP personnel can exercise specified powers in English and Welsh territorial waters, including stopping, boarding, searching, diverting and detaining vessels and arresting people, subject to legal safeguards and operational authorisation.
Defence support
Operational policing support
The RNP supplies policing capability to deployed naval forces and Royal Marine units. A Royal Marine troop supports 3 Commando Brigade, while other personnel operate aboard ships, at shore establishments and within regional command structures.
Brand decisions
2022
Transition to the Defence Serious Crime UnitStrategyBackground
The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence reorganised serious-crime investigation across the armed forces.
Action taken
The Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch was disbanded and its role replaced by the tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit.
Aftermath
The RNP continued its wider service-policing functions while serious-crime capability became part of a joint defence structure.
2021
Extension of maritime enforcement authorityOtherBackground
Post-European Union transition contingency planning identified a possible need for service-police support in maritime law enforcement.
Action taken
Statutory arrangements granted specified maritime policing powers to the RNP in English and Welsh territorial waters, with restrictions on independent action and foreign or Scottish waters.
Aftermath
The RNP acquired a limited legal capacity to exercise arrest and vessel-intervention powers over civilians in the United Kingdom's maritime jurisdiction.
2009
Integration of Royal Marines PoliceStrategyBackground
The Royal Navy and Royal Marines required a unified service-police structure while retaining policing support in their distinct operational environments.
Action taken
The Royal Marines Police was incorporated into the Royal Navy Police.
Aftermath
The RNP became the service-police organisation for both the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, including dedicated support to 3 Commando Brigade.
2007
Adoption of the Royal Navy Police identityStrategyBackground
The former Regulating Branch was being aligned with the modern service-policing role and the legal framework associated with the Armed Forces Act 2006.
Action taken
The Royal Navy renamed the branch Royal Navy Police.
Aftermath
The new designation formally reflected its broader policing and investigative responsibilities, although the term “Regulator” remained associated with personnel for a further period.
Recent events
- 2022
Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch disbanded[1]
Other
The former Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch was replaced by the tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit in December 2022.
- 2021
Maritime law-enforcement powers come into force[1]
Regulation
Statutory arrangements granted the Royal Navy Police defined powers in English and Welsh territorial waters, subject to legal and operational safeguards.
- 2009
Royal Navy Police absorbs Royal Marines Police[1]
Other
The Royal Navy Police took the Royal Marines Police into its organisation, while retaining distinct operational employment patterns for naval and Marine personnel.
- 2007
Royal Navy Regulating Branch renamed Royal Navy Police[1]
Other
The Royal Navy's Regulating Branch adopted the Royal Navy Police name following changes associated with the Armed Forces Act 2006.
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