Special Patrol Group (RUC)

Royal Ulster Constabulary
Abbreviation	RUC
Agency overview
Formed	1 June 1922
Preceding agency	Royal Irish Constabulary
Dissolved	4 November 2001
Superseding agency	Police Service of Northern Ireland
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Northern Ireland, UK
Operations jurisdiction	Northern Ireland, UK
Map of Royal Ulster Constabulary's jurisdiction
Size	13,843 km2 (5,345 sq mi)
General nature	Local civilian police

The Special Patrol Group (SPG) of the Royal Ulster Constabulary was a tactical reserve of 310 officers which had the role: "to provide support to divisional policing both uniform and CID, to police interface areas at times of civil unrest, and to do so in a disciplined way. The Special Patrol Group was preceded by the Reserve Force, the name was changed to Special Patrol Group in 1970 to mirror the introduction of the Metropolitan Special Patrol Group and to avoid confusion between the Reserve Force and the newly formed RUC Reserve.^[1]