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XPENDITURE COMMITTEE (DEFENCE & EXTERNAL AFFAIRS SUB-COMMITTEE) 43

4. When the emergency arose in Cyprus, NAAFI made special efforts to maintain a good standard of service, and the relative lack of complaints suggests that they have substantially succeeded in doing so. There may have been occasional unavoid- able shortages but NAAFI believe that they have been able to satisfy their customers' needs at reasonable prices.

January 1976.

APPENDIX 17

PROTECTION OF THE SOVEREIGN BASE AREAS IN CYPRUS (D.35)

Memorandum by the Ministry of Defence (SCOE 67/9)

1. The task of protecting the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus against internal security threats falls primarily to the teeth arms element of the Army garrison. This consists at the moment of one infantry battalion, two infantry companies and one armoured reconnaissance squadron with small engineer and helicopter detachments. The size of the protection force required at any one time depends on the current assessment of the threat to the SBAs and to certain Retained Sites. In judging what this force level should be, the availability for security duties, in an emergency, of other servicemen in the SBAs is taken into account. So also is the capability to reinforce the garrison rapidly from the UK if the security situation deteriorates.

2. Within the general arrangements for protecting the Western SBA, the RAF Regiment Field Squadron based there provides forces for the local ground defence of Akrotiri airfield and is also available for IS duties. The maintenance, from a technical point of view, of the facilities at RAF Akrotiri is carried out by the personnel established to run the airfield.

3. Policing and guard duties in the SBAs and Retained Sites are carried out by the following police forces:

Establishment

(a) SBA Police. (A civilian force responsible to the Adminis-

trator for law enforcement within the SBAS)

103

(b) Royal Military Police

63

(c) Army Depot Police. (A largely civilian force employed

exclusively on guard duties)

401

(d) RAF Provost and Security Services and RAF Auxiliary Police. (A mixed Service/civilian force whose principal task is the protection of property)

145

4. The bulk of the effort of these police forces taken together is devoted to preventing unauthorised entry to Army and RAF installations which might be attractive to an intruder either because of the value of the equipment or stores in them or for military reasons. The Army Depot Police and most of the RAF P & SS and Auxiliary Police are organised for this purpose in static guard posts, mobile patrols and dog patrols. A less direct but nonetheless important con- tribution to the security of property and equipment in the SBAs and Retained Sites is made by the SBA Police, the Royal Military Police, and the RAF P & SS and Auxiliary Police with their responsibility for the prevention and detection of crime and for the maintenance of security standards.

5. On present plans we are making reductions of about 30 per cent in the overall size of the police forces in order to take account of the contraction in the policing requirement as a whole which results from the general reduction in force levels in Cyprus. It is not anticipated that the retention of both SBAS with a reduced population will lead to a major problem of pilfering or vandalism. Attractive equipment is being removed from vacant buildings. We are satisfied that the police forces at their lower levels will continue to be able to provide adequate protection of essential buildings and equipment.

January 1976