Policía del puerto de Tilbury

Ocho oficiales de la fuerza se ahogaron en los muelles entre 1913 y 1951, y otras víctimas mortales fueron atropelladas por un tren, aplastadas bajo parte de la carga de un barco y caídas en un dique seco. Los muelles sufrieron graves daños durante el Blitz y el agente Robert Charles Winney y el sargento Charles Edward Showell recibieron póstumamente la Mención Honorífica del Rey por su valerosa conducta en defensa civil tras morir a causa de una bomba sin explotar la noche del 18 al 19 de septiembre de 1940. ^{[ 4 ]}

Un agente portuario puede entrar en cualquier embarcación dentro del área de la policía portuaria (y puede llevar consigo a personas para que le ayuden si lo considera necesario): ^{[ 12 ]}

• si, con causa razonable, sospecha que se ha cometido o está a punto de cometerse un delito grave a bordo del buque, o
• con el fin de arrestar a una persona a la que legalmente puede arrestar, o
• si, con causa razonable, cree que al hacerlo podrá facilitar la detección de un delito grave cometido, o la prevención de un delito grave que, con causa razonable, sospecha que está a punto de cometerse, dentro del área de la policía portuaria. ^{[ 12 ]}

Un agente portuario puede confiscar cualquier cosa que encuentre a bordo que, con causa razonable, sospeche que ha sido robada u obtenida ilegalmente. ^{[ 12 ]}

Un agente portuario puede, dentro de las instalaciones del puerto, entrar y registrar una embarcación o vehículo si, con causa razonable, sospecha que podría encontrar algo que haya sido robado u obtenido ilegalmente: ^{[ 12 ]}

• en o desde las instalaciones del puerto, o
• en o desde una embarcación ya sea en un muelle de la Autoridad Portuaria o en un embarcadero provisto por la Autoridad Portuaria. ^{[ 12 ]}

A port constable may seize anything found on board the vessel or in the vehicle which he with reasonable cause suspects to have been so stolen or obtained unlawfully.^[12]

Any constable (not just a port constable) may, within the port police area, stop and search a person whom he, with reasonable cause, suspects of having or conveying in any manner anything which has been stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained:^[13]

• on or from the port premises, or
• on or from a vessel either in a dock of the Port Authority or at a pier provided by the Port Authority.^[13]

It is an offence to resist, obstruct or impede a constable in the execution of his duty, or to not carry out the lawful orders of a constable.^[14]

A constable may detain a person who, after being warned by an officer of the Port Authority not to do so, gets on to, or remains, on a movable bridge belonging to the Port Authority, when it is about to be moved, or is being moved, or before it is properly closed and fastened, if that person's name and address is unknown to and cannot be ascertained by the constable.^[15]

Serious or major incidents or crimes become the responsibility of the local territorial police force police force, Essex Police.

The Port of Tilbury Police are recognised as a 'specified police force' who can instigate criminal proceedings under the auspices of the Crown Prosecution Service.^[16]

The Port of Tilbury Police are the only port constabulary where the length of service of constables is recognised for the purposes of reckonable service should they join a territorial police force or the British Transport Police. ^[17]

Port of Tilbury police officers are classed as 'port constables' by virtue of section 7^[18] of the Act, which allows a chief officer of a territorial police force to grant permission for port constables to act within the relevant territorial police area in relation to port police business. As of July 2014, the Port of Tilbury Police had not applied to the Chief Constable of Essex to extend their jurisdiction to that of the police force area of Essex Police in relation to port police business.^[19]