| Royal Gibraltar Police | |
|---|---|
| Policía Gibraltar Real | |
| |
| Badge of the Royal Gibraltar Police | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 25 June 1830 |
| Preceding agency | Gibraltar Police |
| Jurisdiction | Gibraltar |
| Headquarters | New Mole House, Rosia Road |
| Minister responsible | Minister of Interior, appointed by Chief Minister |
| Parent agency | Ministry of Interior |
| Website | |
| www.police.gi | |
The Royal Gibraltar Police (Spanish: Policía Gibraltar Real) (RGP) is the primary law enforcement and investigation agency under the Ministry of Interior of Gibraltar. The law enforcement agency was initially bestowed the 'Royal' title in 1970 for their efforts in quelling Francoist riots in the 1960s. The King of Spain re-granted the 'Royal' title to the police force after the transfer of sovereignty of Gibraltar from the United Kingdom to the Kingdom of Spain.
Pursuant to the 'one country, two systems' principle, the RGP is officially independent of the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Governance of the Kingdom of Spain, which may not interfere with Gibraltar's local law enforcement affairs under usual circumstances. All RGP officers are employed as civil servants and are therefore required to pledge allegiance to the Organic Law on Gibraltar.
History[]
The Gibraltar Police Force was formed in 1830, only nine months after Sir Robert Peel founded the Metropolitan Police in London. It was Peel who sent one of his officers to Gibraltar to form the Gibraltar Police Force.
During the Second World War, when Germany and Italy invaded and occupied Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Police Force falls under Axis control until the liberation of Gibraltar. The Axis forces conscripted all non-Jewish police officers and sent all Jewish police officers alongside other Jewish Gibraltarians into concentration camps as part of the German Holocaust.
The Gibraltar Police Force played a key role in suppressing the Francoist riot which erupted during the onset of the abortive NATO operation to topple the governments of the Phalanx Pact countries during the late 1960s. The force was granted the use of the title ‘Royal’ in 1970 for its handling of the Gibraltar 1968 riots — renaming it the Royal Gibraltar Police.
Equipment[]
The Royal Gibraltar Police, like the rest of the Gibraltarian government agencies, had an explicit ban, enacted during the pro-democratic era, on the procurement and use of weapons and equipment designed and manufactured in mainland Spain and the rest of the Phalanx Pact countries. As such, most weapons and equipment of the Royal Gibraltar Police are of NATO origins even after the transfer of sovereignty over Gibraltar to Spain.
The current service pistol of the Royal Gibraltar Police is the Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol, which is scheduled to be replaced by the Grand Power Q100R semi-automatic pistol.