Menwith Hill is patrolled in vehicles by the Ministry of Defence Police
(MDP). They make tours around the fence and the internal and surrounding
roads (e.g. the A59). This is done approximately on the hour, every hour
. When patrolling inside the base at night, they drive with their headlights
on and you can see them coming.
There are also MDP dogs and handlers. They patrol the fence line and the
antenna fields.
On any one shift there will be between 20 and 40 MDPs, but generally they
don’t get out of their vehicles unless they have to. There are police
guarding the three gates in addition to the patrols.
The MDP have powers of arrest both on and off the base.
There are also American security officers patroling the inside of the base at radom intervels, these officers have no jurisdiction over anyone other than the US personnel working at Menwith Hill.
