Aden Police

The Aden Police in 1891 was already a pretty cosmopolitan organisation, but not representative of the percentages of each nationality or religion in the community. (See Census 1891).

At a guess the police force was originally largely or entirely Indian and was in the middle of a gradual change to a locally recruited force. In charge of the police was one of the Assistant Residents. Reporting to him were two British Inspectors. The total force numbered 241, 30 of whom were Harbour Police, 10 were stationed on Perim Island and 15 were mounted police based at Sheikh Othman where there were also 56 foot police.

The remaining 145, including the two Inspectors, covered Aden itself.

Of the 196 foot police, the major sections of the community were covered by 41 Arabs, 62 Somalis and 82 Muslim Indians. There was only one Jew and three Hindus, and three Turks. One Christian, race unknown, plus the two inspectors completed the total.

Ten years later the establishments remained unaltered except that in 1901 the number of mounted police at Sheikh Othman were increased from 15 to 20.

Aden Police Inspectors c1930. Ernest Rayney on right

Armed Foot Police 1935 King's Jubilee Celebrations

Opposite Prince of Wales Pier, the former Tawahi Police Station, now Yemen Ministry of Interior. Photo c2005

We can see from this letter dated 2 Jan 1951 that at the time the Chief Inspector at Tawahi Police Station was Abdul Malek A. Sattar.

The police station in Steamer Point looked quite nice from the front view, with board walks and verandas, with the cells out of sight at the rear. There was a small, raised garden bed with a wall round it between the cells where the police would sit and eat their food whilst Arab prisoners watched, half starved, as the only food most got was rubbish, leftovers and the like. The cells were merely a concrete cube, no water, no TV, no toilet, and were washed out every morning by an Arab policeman with a fire hose. It was a very bad place to end up.