This study examines the legal authority of military police to conduct law enforcement activities in relation to civilians at military installations in the United States. The examination focuses on the lack of statutory arrest power and the legal rationales of citizen's arrest, protection of government property, and installation commanders authority to maintain law and order. The study establishes that the lack of statutory arrest power is a product of the historical notion that military personnel ought not to execute laws against civilians. Further, the legal rationales used to support current military police operations are inappropriate because they provide little guidance to military police; they are neither legally nor logically sound; and, they do not provide for effective criminal prosecutions by permitting military police violations of civilians constitutional rights and unwarranted tort litigation. The study concludes by proposing statutory language providing military police law enforcement authority. This proposal satisfies current notions of appropriate civil-military relationships. It also permits effective and uniform law enforcement at military installations by providing specific guidance to military police thereby avoiding violations of the Bill of Rights with concomitant civil and criminal litigation.

ADA 057794 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)