The 'Sovereign Base Areas Police' is the local civilian police force for the British controlled Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) of
Akrotiri and Dhekelia in
Cyprus. Established in August 1960, the force has responsibility for all 15,000 residents of the SBAs, including military personnel. However, for any military offences committed by service personnel on military property, authority lies with the Cyprus Joint Police Unit, which is a military unit made up of members of the
Royal Military Police and
Royal Air Force Police.
The SBA police force consists of a total of 256 officers, consisting of seven British senior officers, with the remainder recruited from the
Greek Cypriot and
Turkish Cypriot communities. In addition to its regular policing duties, the SBA Police has responsibility for the operation of Dhekelia Prison.
Although the SBA Police is administered by the
Ministry of Defence, it is a separate force from the
Ministry of Defence Police (MDP).
See also
★
Sovereign Base Areas
★
Ministry of Defence Police
★
Gibraltar Services Police
External link
★
SBA Police website