This is a description oflaw enforcement inNorthern Ireland and theRepublic of Ireland. Before the Republic (then called theIrish Free State) left theunion in 1922, one police force — theRoyal Irish Constabulary — policed almost the whole island (aside fromDublin, where theDublin Metropolitan Police were the main force; Belfast, where theBelfast Borough Police were the main force; and the borough of Londonderry, where theLondonderry Borough Police were the main force before merging with the RIC).
TheRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), renamed thePolice Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2001, is the direct descendants of that force, while a new police force — theGarda Síochána — was set up in theIrish Free State (Republic of Ireland since 1949). Today, due to the sharing of a land border and legislation introduced to both countries after theBelfast Agreement of 1998, there is cooperation between the main police forces of jurisdictions.
TheRepublic of Ireland has a single national civilian police force, theGarda Síochána (Guardians of the Peace). This force is responsible for all aspects of territorial civil policing. The Garda Síochána have been the only territorial police force in the Republic since the disbandment of the Civic Guard gendarmery in 1922, and the incorporation of the Dublin Metropolitan Police in 1925.
In addition to the Gardaí, other policing bodies include:
Law enforcement inNorthern Ireland follows a similar model to that of the rest of theUnited Kingdom in that it is the responsibility of the local territorial police force. However unlike England and Wales, which have police forces divided by local areas such as ceremonial counties or local council areas, Northern Ireland (like Scotland) has a single territorial police force, thePolice Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), formerly known as theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). This force, one of the largest geographically in the UK, is responsible for all local policing in the province.
In addition to the PSNI, there are other agencies which have responsibility for specific parts of Northern Ireland's transport infrastructure:
Officers of these forces have fullconstabulary powers within one mile of the specific locations they police, which come from specific pieces of legislation relating to them.
A further civilian police force with powers in Northern Ireland is theMinistry of Defence Police, which has responsibility for policing all MOD property; they are assisted in this by theNorthern Ireland Security Guard Service. Additionally, theRoyal Military Police has a presence inBritish Army barracks.
