North Borneo Police Force

The North Borneo Police Force (NBPF), colloquially known as the Constabulary, officially known before 1 January 1950 as the North Borneo Armed Constabulary, and before 1946 as the British North Borneo Constabulary, was the sole police force and military unit raised by the British North Borneo Company for the protection of British North Borneo. After 1946, the Constabulary would become a function of the Crown Colony of North Borneo and the Colonial Police Service. Several smaller and more elite units fell under their command, such as the North Borneo Volunteer Force and the Mobile Police. The Constabulary was created by William Hood Treacher in September 1881, shortly before the signing of the Charter of North Borneo. When the Constabulary was established, its headquarters were at a building called The Barracks in Sandakan. Within a decade, they were at the Victoria Barracks in Jesselton. After the Second World War, they were moved to the Marina Barracks at Kepayan, which were dedicated by the Duchess of Kent. The leadership of the Constabulary primarily comprised several British officers, while the enlisted ranks were mostly indigenous troops. While originally limited to North Borneo alone, the Constabulary Ordinance Amendment No. 22 made provisions for reciprocal service between North Borneo and neighbouring territories in British Borneo. The Constabulary was led by a Commandant of the Constabulary, and for some years, also served as the Inspector of Prisons.

As it was both a police and military organisation, in addition to solving crimes, the Constabulary participated in wars, battles, and expeditions. They participated in the colonial wars of the company to pacify local rebellions against colonial rule, such as the punitive expeditions launched against the Mat Salleh Rebellion. They also fought piracy in the Sulu Sea. From the inception of the Constabulary in 1881 until the invasion of the colony by the Empire of Japanin World War II, they were an extension of the Chartered Company. During the war, the Constabulary was split in its functional capacity; Officially, the Constabulary was made the police force of Japanese North Borneo. Unofficially, most of its members became guerrilla resistance fighters and spies for the British Armed Forces, resisting the Japanese administration and working to free prisoners of war (POWs), who were placed under the command of Lionel Matthews. During the Cold War, the Constabulary was deployed to combat communist insurgencies throughout the jungles of Borneo.

After the war, the company could no longer afford the management of a colony, and the Constabulary became a function of the Crown Colony of North Borneo from 1946. On 31 August 1963, the Crown Colony was disestablished when Sabah entered into self-governance, and the Constabulary fell under the independent Sabah State until the signing of the Malaysia Agreement on 16 September 1963. Shortly afterward, the Police Force was merged with the Sarawak Constabulary and the Royal Federation of Malayan Police to create the Royal Malaysia Police. Sabah possessed a British police commissioner until 1967.