Here's a fuller picture of the different instances across the UK:
PSNI – Chief Constable Hugh Orde (2003)
The most comprehensive and earliest example. Under the Patten Report reforms that transformed the RUC into the PSNI, Hugh Orde introduced a mandatory Register of Interest for all ~9,000 officers up to and including himself. It covered membership of:
Freemasons
Orange Order (Loyal Orange Institution)
Apprentice Boys of Derry
Royal Black Institution
Opus Dei and other secretive Catholic sects
The register was handed to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan, who could reference it during investigations into bias, maltreatment, or mishandled inquiries. Results showed ~5.3% of officers were Freemasons and ~1.9% were in the Orange Order, with around 6% (~500 officers) refusing to participate.
PSNI – Chief Constable Hugh Orde (2003)
The most comprehensive and earliest example. Under the Patten Report reforms that transformed the RUC into the PSNI, Hugh Orde introduced a mandatory Register of Interest for all ~9,000 officers up to and including himself. It covered membership of:
Freemasons
Orange Order (Loyal Orange Institution)
Apprentice Boys of Derry
Royal Black Institution
Opus Dei and other secretive Catholic sects
The register was handed to Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan, who could reference it during investigations into bias, maltreatment, or mishandled inquiries. Results showed ~5.3% of officers were Freemasons and ~1.9% were in the Orange Order, with around 6% (~500 officers) refusing to participate.
ACPO – All England & Wales Forces (1996)
A landmark decision by the Association of Chief Police Officers required all 43 forces in England and Wales to ask officers and support staff to reveal whether they belonged to a secret organisation or club. It was technically voluntary, but the initiative made clear that membership would be frowned upon. If an officer stayed silent and later faced allegations involving Freemasonry, their silence would count against them.
A landmark decision by the Association of Chief Police Officers required all 43 forces in England and Wales to ask officers and support staff to reveal whether they belonged to a secret organisation or club. It was technically voluntary, but the initiative made clear that membership would be frowned upon. If an officer stayed silent and later faced allegations involving Freemasonry, their silence would count against them.
Home Office / Government-wide (1998–1999)
Following the Home Affairs Committee's 1997 report Freemasonry in the Police and the Judiciary, the government accepted the recommendation that police officers, magistrates, judges, and Crown Prosecutors should register membership of any secret society. Since 1999, all judges, police, prison, and probation officers in England and Wales have been obliged to declare such membership. The registers are held internally by individual forces and not monitored centrally.
Following the Home Affairs Committee's 1997 report Freemasonry in the Police and the Judiciary, the government accepted the recommendation that police officers, magistrates, judges, and Crown Prosecutors should register membership of any secret society. Since 1999, all judges, police, prison, and probation officers in England and Wales have been obliged to declare such membership. The registers are held internally by individual forces and not monitored centrally.
Metropolitan Police – Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (December 2025)
The most recent and significant move. The Met added Freemasonry to its declarable associations policy, requiring all officers and staff to declare past or present membership of any organisation that is "hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other." Key details:
Prompted by the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel (2021), which found the Met had "a form of institutional corruption" and recommended officers declare Freemasonry membership to their chief constable.
A force survey showed two-thirds of respondents felt such membership "affects public perception of police impartiality."
Within the first month, over 300 officers and staff declared membership.
The United Grand Lodge of England launched legal action, calling the policy "unlawful, unfair and discriminatory," arguing it could breach human rights and GDPR rules. The Met vowed to fight the challenge.
Deliberate non-compliance can amount to mis
The most recent and significant move. The Met added Freemasonry to its declarable associations policy, requiring all officers and staff to declare past or present membership of any organisation that is "hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other." Key details:
Prompted by the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel (2021), which found the Met had "a form of institutional corruption" and recommended officers declare Freemasonry membership to their chief constable.
A force survey showed two-thirds of respondents felt such membership "affects public perception of police impartiality."
Within the first month, over 300 officers and staff declared membership.
The United Grand Lodge of England launched legal action, calling the policy "unlawful, unfair and discriminatory," arguing it could breach human rights and GDPR rules. The Met vowed to fight the challenge.
Deliberate non-compliance can amount to mis
Forces That Have Refused
Not all forces have followed. Norfolk Constabulary explicitly stated it would not require officers to declare Freemason membership and had no plans to add it to its disclosable association policy. West Midlands Police confirmed in a 2023 FOI response that officers were not required to declare Freemason membership, and Essex Police gave a similar answer in 2016.
So the answer is: yes, multiple chief constables and bodies have done this — Orde at the PSNI was the most thorough and earliest, the 1996 ACPO decision set a national (if soft) standard, the Home Office made it a formal obligation from 1999, and the Met's 2025 policy is the most recent and legally contested instance.
Not all forces have followed. Norfolk Constabulary explicitly stated it would not require officers to declare Freemason membership and had no plans to add it to its disclosable association policy. West Midlands Police confirmed in a 2023 FOI response that officers were not required to declare Freemason membership, and Essex Police gave a similar answer in 2016.
So the answer is: yes, multiple chief constables and bodies have done this — Orde at the PSNI was the most thorough and earliest, the 1996 ACPO decision set a national (if soft) standard, the Home Office made it a formal obligation from 1999, and the Met's 2025 policy is the most recent and legally contested instance.
@herbertbruna
12 hours ago
We Dutch are in same position as Germany. For decades paying billions to the EU. In the meantime the EU destroyed our energy, our industry, our farmers, censors us, floods us with unwanted criminal migrants. The whole EU is a globalist scam. It must be destroyed!
12 hours ago
We Dutch are in same position as Germany. For decades paying billions to the EU. In the meantime the EU destroyed our energy, our industry, our farmers, censors us, floods us with unwanted criminal migrants. The whole EU is a globalist scam. It must be destroyed!