The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary was the armed security police force of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. The force existed for 50 years, up until 1 April 2005.
On 1 April 2005, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) was established in adherence to the Energy Act 2004, replacing the UKAEA Constabulary largely because a number of nuclear sites were poorly guarded, and that a force with more specialist attributes was needed to combat the possibility of terrorist threats. The force is now made up of 650 armed personnel (the majority of whom were from the UKAEA Constabulary), protecting sixteen atomic sites and protecting transportation of nuclear materials around the United Kingdom.
Famous quotes containing the words atomic, energy, authority and/or constabulary:
“When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb.”
—J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904–1967)
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)
“Destiny. A tyrant’s authority for crime and a fool’s excuse for failure.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“When constabulary duty’s to be done,
A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)