WMounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in the UK for crime prevention and high visibility policing roles. The added height and visibility that the horses give their riders allows officers to observe a wider area, and it also allows people in the wider area to see the officers, which helps deter crime and helps people find officers when they need them. A disadvantage however is that, when employed for crowd control, there is a risk that some people may be trampled. In at least one case this has resulted in the police officer riding the horse to be sued.
WThere have been five equine recipients of the Dickin Medal since its creation in 1943. The first three were British horses Regal, Olga, and Upstart, followed by the Canadian Corps Cavalry horse Warrior and the American Sergeant Reckless. The first three received their awards at a ceremony on 11 April 1947 at Hyde Park in recognition of the courage they exhibited during World War II. These three were mounts used by members of the Metropolitan Police Service during official duties and to aid civilians during the Blitz and later bombings from September 1940 to late 1944. Warrior served on the Western Front during World War I and was awarded an honorary posthumous medal in September 2014. Another posthumous award was given in 2016 to Sergeant Reckless, a mare who served during the Korean War with the United States Marine Corps and was given the rank of staff sergeant. Of the recipients, three were honoured for courage during active duty, one for remaining calm when his stable was bombed on two occasions and one to commemorate the actions of animals during the First World War. The first three horses were selected primarily as a way to honour the entire mounted police force instead of singling out any particular deed. Olga, Upstart and Regal are buried at the Metropolitan Police Mounted Training Establishment at Thames Ditton which also displays their medals in a museum.
WThe Metropolitan Police Mounted Branch is the mounted police branch of London's Metropolitan Police. It is part of Met Operations.
WThe Natal Mounted Police (NMP) were the colonial police force of the Colony of Natal created in 1874 by Major John Dartnell, a farmer and retired officer in the British Army as a semi-military force to bolster the defences of Natal in South Africa. When required the NMP would be assisted by the Colony's volunteer regiments including the Natal Carbineers. It enlisted European officers, NCOs and natives and men of the NMP fought and died in the Battle of Isandlwana and at Rorke's Drift during the Zulu War of 1879.
WThe New South Wales Mounted Police Unit is a mounted section of the New South Wales Police Force. Founded by Governor Thomas Brisbane, on 7 September 1825, the Mounted Police were recruited from a British military regiment stationed in NSW at the time, to protect travellers, suppress convict escapees and fight Indigenous Australians. The force remained the mounted division of the British Army in the colony of New South Wales until 1850, when it took upon a more civilian role. The NSW Mounted Police Unit is the oldest continuous mounted group in the world.
WThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police, often known as the Mounties, are the federal and national police service of Canada, providing law enforcement at the federal level. The RCMP also provide provincial policing in eight of Canada's provinces and local policing on a contract basis in the three territories and more than 150 municipalities, 600 Indigenous communities, and three international airports. The RCMP do not provide active provincial or municipal policing in Ontario or Quebec. However, all members of the RCMP have jurisdiction as a peace officer in all provinces and territories of Canada. Despite the name, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are no longer an actual mounted police service, with horses only being used at ceremonial events.
WIn Mexico, the term Rurales (Spanish) is used in respect of two armed government forces. The historic Guardia Rural was a rural mounted police force, founded by President Benito Juárez in 1861 and expanded by President Porfirio Díaz. It served as an effective force of repression and a counterweight to the Mexican Army during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The rurales were dissolved during the Mexican Revolution.
WThe Sri Lanka Police Mounted Division is the mounted division of the Sri Lanka Police. The responsibility of the division is to conduct safe policing of crowd control at large public order events and provide ceremonial escorts. The police mounted division is under purview of the DIG - Colombo Range and control of a SSP - Mounted Division and has a strength of two Inspectors, four Sub-Inspectors, 10 sergeants, 34 constables with 60 horses.
WThe Mounted Branch is the mounted police unit of Victoria Police who operate on horseback. The Mounted Branch can trace its origins to units formed more than 180 years ago.