Water police, also called bay constables, coastal police, harbor patrols, marine/maritime police/patrol, nautical patrols, port police, or river police are a specialty law enforcement portion of a larger police organization, who patrol in water craft. Their patrol areas may include coastal tidal waters, rivers, estuaries, harbors, lakes, canals or a combination of these.
Duties and functions
Water police are usually responsible for ensuring the safety of water users, enforcing laws relating to water traffic, preventing crime on vessels, banks and shores, providing search and rescue services (either as the main provider or as an initial response unit before more specialized units arrive), and allowing land-based police to reach locations not easily accessible. They may also be responsible for coastal security, environmental law enforcement, immigration and smuggling interdiction, and diving operations (although many police organizations have separate units to handle this). Their operations may coordinate with other agencies with similar assets such as in the United States the various Federal, State or Local authorities may work together to promote or achieve similar enforcement or rescue outcomes. In the United States, some states have combined the duties of water police with those of conservation officers or state police.
A rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) used by the UK's North West Police Underwater Search & Marine Unit. It is marked as both POLICE and HEDDLU, as it operates in both England and Wales
Equipment used ranges from personal water craft and inflatable boats to large seagoing craft, but most police vessels are small to medium, fast motorboats. In some areas these vessels incorporate a firefighting capability through a fixed deck nozzle.[1] The operators of these vessels are generally trained in many rescue disciplines including first aid, vessel dewatering,[2] and firefighting. They may also be trained as divers for rescue and recovery and as boat operators who may engage in towing operations.
Hellenic Coast Guard, whose full name is "Harbour Corps-Hellenic Coast Guard," was originally founded in 1919 as the "Harbour Corps" (Greek: Λιμενικό Σώμα) to act as Greece's maritime and harbour police. It still performs this role, and it is often referred to as the "Harbour [Corps]" (Λιμενικό) in everyday Greek parlance.
Hong Kong Police ForceMarine Region – The Marine Police patrol 1,651 km2 (637 sq mi) of waters within the territory of Hong Kong, including 263 islands. The Marine Region with about 3,000 officers, and a fleet of 143 in total, made up of 71 launches and 72 craft is the largest of any civil police force.[3][4][5] Was referred to as Water Police until 1948 when it was renamed Marine Police.
