Policing plutonium: Issues in the provision of policing services at nuclear facilities and for related materials in Transit

Abstract

This paper examines the policing issues arising from nuclear power. After outlining the general security problems associated with the production of nuclear material, the paper considers two issues: site security and the secure movement of material in transit. In the latter case, increased international movement in nuclear material poses new and complex problems concerning the co-ordination of policing and the appropriate jurisdiction of police and security forces. The paper also considers the policing of nuclear power in Britain, looking at the role of the Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary (AEAC) and its relationship to other civil police forces: a relationship which exposes profound operational and constitional contradictions. The concluding section first discusses the problems of achieving an appropriate balance between secrecy, security and civil liberties in a “nuclear state”, finally considering how the issues discussed here relate to wider debates about policing and social control.