Police organisation
Civil Nuclear Constabulary
An armed United Kingdom police force whose jurisdiction is an estate rather than a place: civil nuclear sites, nuclear material in transit, and other critical national infrastructure.
At a glance
- Official name
- Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC)
- System
- United Kingdom
- Level of government
- Special jurisdiction
- Kind of body
- Specialist national service
- Status
- Currently operating
- Official website
- https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-nuclear-constabulary — confirmed against the organisation’s own pages on 17 September 2026.
- Facts last checked against sources
- 17 September 2026
What it is
The CNC states that it protects civil nuclear sites and nuclear materials in England and Scotland, and that it also polices and protects other, non-nuclear critical national infrastructure. Two things distinguish it inside the British system. Its officers are routinely armed, which ordinary Home Office forces are not. And it is governed by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority rather than by a police and crime commissioner or by the Scottish Police Authority, so a force operating across two legal systems answers to neither of their normal governance routes.
What it covers
Civil nuclear sites and nuclear materials in England and Scotland, whether on site or in transit, together with other critical national infrastructure the force states it protects.
Broad responsibilities
- Armed protective security at civil nuclear sites
- Protection of nuclear material in transit
- Protection of other critical national infrastructure
- Counter-terrorism within that remit
Who it answers to
Governed by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, which the constabulary names itself.
Other organisations to compare
- British Transport Police — United Kingdom
Sources
About us — Civil Nuclear Constabulary
Civil Nuclear Constabulary · Institutional (self-description) · link verified 2026-09-17
SCOPE: the Civil Nuclear Constabulary only. The constabulary's own about page on GOV.UK, which is its official web presence, read directly. Supports the official name, the protection of civil nuclear sites and nuclear materials in England and Scotland, the policing of other non-nuclear critical national infrastructure, and governance by the Civil Nuclear Police Authority. The page states a workforce figure, which is not published. The Energy Act 2004, under which the force is constituted, was NOT fetched and no statutory claim rests on this source. The page uses the abbreviation CNC for the force throughout.