The Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) (Welsh: Heddlu Sifil Niwclear) is a special police force responsible for providing law enforcement and security at any relevant nuclear site and for security of nuclear materials in transit within the United Kingdom. The force has over 1,500 police officers and support staff. Officers within the force are authorised firearms officers, due to the nature of the industry the force protects. The CNC was established on 1 April 2005, replacing the former Atomic Energy Authority Constabulary established in 1955. The CNC does not guard the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons; this role is the responsibility of the British Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence Police. Role The core role of the CNC is to provide armed policing and security for civil nuclear establishments and materials throughout the United Kingdom and to maintain a state of readiness against any possible attack on a licensed nuclear site. The CNC is established in Chapter 3, sections 51–71, of the Energy Act 2004. The act sets up the Civil Nuclear Police Authority and the position of chief constable, defines the powers of members of the constabulary, mandates that His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary must inspect the force and amends several other acts. It falls under the remit of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy instead of the Home Office. The CNC's Annual Report for 20102011 (page 15) states that "... the crime dealt with by officers at civil nuclear sites remains low in volume. The management and investigation of crime does not form any part of the Constabulary's mission statement." Whilst the CNC are a police force, this acknowledgement would suggest the role of a CNC police officer is that of providing armed security, rather than primarily being concerned with law enforcement. This role is also evidenced in the number of arrests made by the force annually compared with a territorial police force of a similar number of police officers. In 2016, CNC officers made 24 arrests. This compares to Dorset Police, a force with a similar number of officers who made 7,460 arrests annually in the latest annual figures. During the year 20102011, the CNC made 12 arrests, although two of those people were de-arrested at the scene (one when it was realised that the person was not wanted on warrant after all and another where it was decided that police action was not appropriate in