Royal Air Force Police | |
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Royal Air Force Police crest
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Active | 1 April 1918 – present |
Country | United Kingdom |
Allegiance | HM The Queen |
Branch | Royal Air Force |
Type | Service Police |
Role | Policing and Counter-intelligence |
Motto(s) |
Fiat justitia (Latin: Let justice be done) |
March | RAF Police March Past |
Website | Royal Air Force Police |
Commanders | |
Provost Marshal (RAF) |
Group Captain Steven Horne |
Insignia | |
Identification symbol |
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the Provost Marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence missions.
The RAFP was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. By the end of World War II there were 500 officers & 20,000 NCOs in the RAFP. In January 1947, the RAF Provost Branch became a Specialist Branch within the RAF. In December 1950, George VI approved the crest and motto Fiat Justitia. By 2009, the RAFP had served in 66 countries around the globe.
RAFP non-commissioned officers and warrant officers are noticeable by their white-topped caps (giving rise to their nickname of "Snowdrops"), which they have worn since 1945, and by black and red flashes worn below their rank slides. RAFP commissioned officers wear the standard peaked cap of all RAF officers, with the red and black flashes. In dress uniform, all RAFP wear a red and black brassard on the left arm, reflecting the flashes worn with normal working dress. In tactical dress, RAFP personnel wear red "MP" badges, the internationally recognised symbol for military police.
"I do solemnly and sincerely declare and affirm that as a member of the Royal Air Force Police I will well and truly serve Her Majesty the Queen, acting with fairness, integrity, diligence and impartiality, upholding fundamental human rights and according equal respect to all people; and that I will, to the best of my power, maintain service law and investigate independently and impartially all service offences against people and property; and that while I continue to be a member of the Royal Air Force Police I will, to the best of my skill and knowledge, discharge all the duties of that appointment faithfully according to law."