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Water police

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An NYPD boat on patrol in New York Harbor
A Metropolitan Police launch on the River Thames in London
Patrol boat of the Wasserschutzpolizei of Bremen/Germany
A Chicago Police Department boat on Lake Michigan
Police boat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England
Police boats on the Baltic Sea in front of an old icebreaker in Helsinki, Finland
Bay constable on patrol in waters on the north shore of Long Island, NY

Water police, also called harbour patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols or river police, are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organisation, who patrol in water craft. Their patrol areas may be coastal sea waters, rivers, estuaries, harbours, lakes, canals or a combination of these.

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 specialised units arrive), and allowing the police to reach locations not easily accessible from land. They may also be responsible for coastal security, conservation law enforcement, immigration and smuggling patrols, and diving search operations (although many police organisations have separate units to handle this).

Equipment ranges from personal water craft and inflatable boats to large seagoing craft, but most police vessels are small to medium, fast motor launches. In some areas these vessels incorporate a firefighting capability through a fixed deck nozzle.

List of water police units

See also

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