Royal Military Police Close Protection Unit
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
The Service Police Close Protection Unit (CPU) is a joint unit within the British Army's Royal Military Police (RMP) Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) & Royal Marine Police (RM Police) that has designated responsibility for protecting senior military and government personnel when deployed overseas. The unit itself does not supply the majority of the manpower for such taskings, but trains individuals from the RMP, Royal Navy Police, RAF Police and Royal Marines Police Troop for the role, as well as taking on urgent and short-notice taskings.{{cite book |title=The history of the Corps of Royal Military Police |last1=Crozier |first1=S. F. |date=2014 |publisher=Naval and Military Press |year= |isbn=1783310952 |location= |pages=}}{{cite book |last1=Hayman |first1=Charles |title=The Armed Forces of the United Kingdom 2014-2015. |date=2014 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=1783463511 |page=113}}
History
The CPU was formed in the late 1970s, after a number of RMP bodyguards attended the Special Air Service bodyguard course at Hereford, and brought the skills back to an RMP-specific course, the first of which ran in 1976. Three years later, the course and unit moved to Longmoor Camp where it remains.{{cite book |title=Deter, Suppress, Extract!: a history of Royal Military Police Close Protection |last1=Keightley |first1=Richard |publisher=Helion |year=2014 |isbn=1910294020 |location= |pages=}}
Structure
The CPU is a sub-unit within the Service's Police Specialist Operations Regiment, commanded by a major. It is considerably smaller than most Joint Policing companies, however, with just a small Tri service staff of experienced CP operatives who act as instructors or are held ready to deploy on short-notice tasks.
Role
Close protection operatives trained by CPU protect high-ranking British army officers in high-threat environments, most notably during the Iraq war and Afghanistan war, and ensuring counter-insurgency and peacekeeping operations.{{cite news |last1=Collier |first1=Hatty |title=Gunfire rings out as military police hold training exercise in Battersea Park |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/gunfire-rings-out-as-military-police-hold-training-exercise-in-battersea-park-a3590031.html |accessdate=17 June 2019 |work=Evening Standard |date=17 July 2017}} They also protect British ambassadors and other high-ranking Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in locations where the threat level demands it.{{cite book |last1=Cowper-Coles |first1=Sherard |title=Cables from Kabul : the inside story of the West's Afghanistan campaign |date=2011 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0007432038}}{{pn|date=June 2025}}{{cite news |title=RMP Showcases Close Protection Unit Skills |url=https://www.forces.net/news/rmp-showcases-close-protection-unit-skills |access-date=17 June 2019 |date=5 April 2018}}
Training
The CPU offers a range of training courses. These include the eight-week Close Protection Course that qualifies service police men and women to be CP operatives, a further eight-week pre-deployment training course carried out before teams deploy overseas, and specialist driving courses for locally employed civilian drivers.
Equipment
The CPU trains and deploys with a range of specialist weapons not used by the majority of the British army. These include the Diemaco C8. In the past the SIG Sauer P226 was utilised; however, this has been replaced with the Glock 19. The H&K MP5K is still utilised. The H&K 417 is used for longer distance engagments and deemed necessary on deployments by the Team Leader & 2iC.
In the future the Close Protection Unit is exploring the purchase of the SIG Sauer MCX.{{cite web |title=Royal Military Police train for close protection |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/royal-military-police-train-for-close-protection |website=Gov.uk |access-date=17 June 2019 |date=7 August 2012}}