Provost marshal

A provost marshal is a title given to a person in charge of a group of military police (MP). The title originated with an older term for military police, provosts. While a provost marshal is now usually a senior commissioned officer, he/she may be a person of any rank, who commands any number of MPs; historically, the title was sometimes applied to civilian officials, especially under conditions of martial law, or when a military force had day-to-day responsibility for some or all aspects of civilian law enforcement (such as some British colonies). A Provost marshal may also oversee security services, imprisonment, fire/emergency services and ambulances.