The Military Police are responsible
for the prevention and investigation of offences, the enforcement of
discipline and the general policing of the Defence Forces. In wartime,
additional tasks include the provision of a traffic control
organisation to allow rapid movement of military formations to their
mission areas. Other wartime roles include control of prisoners of war
and refugees.
Traditionally, the Military Police have also had a
considerable involvement at state and ceremonial occasions. In recent
years the Military Police have been deployed in many UN missions (e.g.
Iran /Iraq) and later in the former Yugoslavia (SFOR). They enjoy a
very close working relationship with An Garda Síochána at national and
local levels. The Gardai assist in providing specialist police training
to the Military Police in the field of crime investigation.