Provosts are military police (MP) whose duties are policing solely within the armed forces of a country, as opposed to gendarmerie duties in the civilian population. However, many countries use their gendarmerie for provost duties.
As with all official terms, some countries have specific official terminology which differs from the exact linguistic meaning. The head of the military police is commonly referred to as the provost marshal, an ancient title originally given to an officer whose duty was to ensure that an army did no harm to the citizenry.
Military police are concerned with law enforcement (including criminal investigation) on military property and concerning military personnel, installation security, close personal protection of senior military officers, management of prisoners of war, management of military prisons, traffic control, route signing and resupply route management. Not all military police organizations are concerned with all of these areas, however. These personnel are generally not front-line combatants but, especially when directing military convoys, will be at or close to the front line. Some MPs, such as the U.S. Military Police Corps, are used as the primary defense force in rear area operations.
In many countries, military forces have separate prisons and judicial systems, different from civilian entities. The military possibly also has its own interpretation of criminal justice.
Australia
The Joint Military Police Unit is the unified provost agency of the Australian Defence Force and includes the Australian Defence Force Investigative Service.
Austria The military police of the Austrian Bundesheer is called Kommando Militärstreife & Militärpolizei (Austrian Military Police).
Belgium The Belgian Army's Military Police Group (Groupe Police Militaire in French, Groep Militaire Politie in Dutch) performs military police duties on behalf of all four components of the Belgian military. The group is headed by a lieutenant-colonel and numbers 188 members in five MP companies.
Military police duties in Belgium have always included enforcement of military discipline, managing road traffic and wartime handling of prisoners of war. In 2003, duties relating to refugees and deserters in wartime were transferred from the then disbanded Gendarmerie Nationale to the MPs. Members of the former 4 and 6 MP Companies were folded into the new MP Group, along with some Gendarmes previously assigned MP-related duties.
Belgian MPs are identified by black armbands with the letters MP in white block letters, worn on the left arm.
Brazil Despite the name, Brazil's Military Police, or Polícia Militar (PM) units in each Brazilian state are not provost forces, but gendarmerie-like law enforcement units responsible for preventive police and public security. Each branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, however, has its own provost force.
Canada The Canadian Forces Military Police (CFMP) contribute to the effectiveness and readiness of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Department of National Defence (DND) through the provision of professional police, security and operational support services worldwide.
CFMP are classified as peace officers in the Canadian Criminal Code,Military Police and Reports on Persons in Custody which gives them the same powers as civilian law enforcement personnel to enforce Acts of Parliament on or in relation to DND property or assets anywhere in the world. They have the power to arrest anyone who is subject to the Code of Service Discipline (CSD), regardless of position or rank under the National Defence Act (NDA). CFMP have the power to arrest and charge non-CSD-bound civilians only in cases where a crime is committed on or in relation to DND property or assets, or at the request of the Minister of Public Safety, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada or Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Although CFMP jurisdiction is only on DND property across Canada and throughout the world, any civilian accessing these areas falls under MP jurisdiction and is dealt with in the same manner as by a civilian policing agency. If a crime is committed on or in relation to DND property or assets, CFMP have the power to arrest and charge the offender, military or civilian, under the Criminal Code. The purpose of the CFMP is not to replace civilian police officers but rather to support the Canadian Forces through security and policing services.Military Police Powers CFMP also have the authority to enforce Provincial traffic law on military bases in accordance with section 6(1) the Government Property Traffic Regulations (GPTR).
People's Republic of China (mainland)
Each branch of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and each police branch of the Chinese People's Armed Police has its own military police. In accordance with the Regulations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on Police Preparedness, Article 7 stipulates that in units above the regimental level, "the military affairs department of the commander's organ shall be responsible for the management of police preparedness operations in the region", which is externally referred to as the police preparedness office, and shall dispatch and lead police pickets to perform police preparedness duties in accordance with the provisions of Article 27. Article 4 of the Police Regulation provides that: The main tasks of policing are (1) Maintaining military discipline. (2) Maintaining order in the operation of military vehicles and traffic safety. (3) To investigate and deal with impersonation of military personnel, military vehicles and military units in accordance with the prescribed authority (4) To safeguard the image of the army and the legitimate rights and interests of soldiers out in the field (5) To carry out temporary guard duty.
The duties of the military police detachment are only concerned with issues such as the military appearance and discipline of military personnel and vehicles. Legal matters involving criminal law enforcement and public security administrative law enforcement rights belong to the military procuratorates and military defence departments. Cases of impersonation of military personnel, military vehicles and military units detected during police picketing are transferred to the jurisdiction of local judicial organs for handling. The jurisprudence is that in general criminal cases (i.e. excluding crimes against military duties), military status does not constitute a special subject. According to Article 4 of the Regulations on Handling Criminal Cases Involving the Military and Localities, which was implemented by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice and the General Political Department of the PLA on 1 August 2009, the principle of personal jurisdiction is adopted, and military personnel (including active military personnel, military civilian personnel, non-active public service personnel, employees on staff, retired personnel administered by the military, as well as reserve personnel and other personnel performing military The investigation, prosecution, trial and execution of penalties against military personnel (including active-duty military personnel, military civilian personnel, inactive public service personnel, employees on staff, retired personnel administered by the military, as well as reservists and other personnel carrying out military duties) shall be under the jurisdiction of the military defence departments, military procuratorates and military courts; the investigation, prosecution, trial and execution of penalties against local personnel shall be under the jurisdiction of local judicial organs. before the 2018 institutional reform, personnel of the public security border guard, fire-fighting and security forces formerly included in the sequence of the Chinese People's Armed Police Force were determined in accordance with local personnel jurisdiction.
Taiwan Unlike military police in many other countries, the Republic of China Military Police () is a separate branch of the ROC Armed Forces. The ROCMP is responsible for enforcing military law, maintaining military discipline, providing backup for the civilian police force and serving as combat troops during times of emergency, providing security for certain government buildings, including the Presidential Office Building in Taipei City, as well as performing counter-terrorism and VIP-protection operations. The ROCMP is also charged with the defense of Taipei, the capital of Taiwan.
Finland The Sotilaspoliisi ("Soldier Police") are the military police of the Finnish Defence Forces. Their emblem is a black armband on the left shoulder with the letters 'SP' in white. SPs have no power over civilians except inside military zones and installations. However, SPs can be used as temporary manpower when the regular police are undermanned. For example, during the 2005 Helsinki athletics championships, military police conscripts were placed all along the running tracks through the city to prevent the large numbers of spectators from obstructing the runners. In these cases they are given a limited amount of power over civilians, as the regular police needed the extra support to handle the large influx of tourists. As military police conscripts are trained with basic police techniques they are suitable for usage in instances such as these in Finland.
France The Gendarmerie Nationale acts as both the provost military police and one of the two national police forces of France. The Gendarmerie Maritime polices the Navy (and also acts as a coast guard and water police force) and the Gendarmerie de l'Air polices the Air Force; both are branches of the Gendarmerie Nationale. La prévôté, or gendarmerie prévôtale, is a Gendarmerie Nationale unit based out of France during war operations or when large units of the French armed forces are stationed overseas.
Germany The Feldjäger are the current military police of the German Bundeswehr. The term Feldjäger ("field rifleman" or "field hunter") has a long tradition and dates back to the mid-17th century. As the current German constitution explicitly forbids the employment of troops on German territory (except for technical assistance as part of disaster relief), Feldjäger jurisdiction applies only to military facilities and military personnel. Their motto is Suum Cuique, ("to each his own"),Derived from Cicero, De Finibus, Bonorum et Malorum, liber V, 67: "(...) ut fortitudo in laboribus periculisque cernatur, (...), iustitia in suo cuique tribuendo.") the motto of the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle.
During World War II, Nazi Germany had numerous military police units of the Wehrmacht. The primary units were the Feldgendarmerie, Geheime Feldpolizei and the Feldjägerkorps.
Greece Each branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces used to maintain its own police service. i.e. Stratonomia as the military police of the Hellenic Army, Naftonomia of the Hellenic Navy and Aeronomia of the Hellenic Air Force. As of 2014, all three military police entities merged to create a single 'Armed Forces Police' (Astynomia Enoplon Dynameon).
India The Corps of Military Police (CMP) is the military police of the Indian Army. In addition, the CMP is trained to handle prisoners of war and to regulate traffic, as well as to handle basic telecommunication equipment such as telephone exchanges. They can be identified by their red berets, white lanyards and belts, and they also wear a black brassard with the letters "MP" imprinted in red.
Internal policing duties in a regiment are handled by the Regimental Police, who are soldiers of the unit who are assigned to policing tasks for a short period of time. They are essentially used to regulate regimental discipline, and can be identified by a black brassard with the letters "RP" embossed in gold or white.